Chapter 17 Flashcards
In the context of tribal societies, what is a “big man”?
a person who creates his reputation through entrepreneurship and generosity to others
What is an age set?
a group uniting men born during a certain span of time in some pastoral African societies
The presence and acceptance of which of the following is one of the key distinguishing features of a state?
stratification
The influential sociologist Max Weber defined which three related dimensions of social stratification?
wealth, power, and prestige
According to Max Weber, prestige is the basis of
social status.
Which of the following statements about nonstate societies is true?
Economic, political, and religious activities are often embedded in one another.
Despite the analytical usefulness of learning about anthropologist Elman Service’s typology of political organization into bands, tribes, chiefdoms, and states, it is important to remember that
none of these political entities, or polities, can be studied as a self-contained form of political organization, because all exist within nation-states.
In the anthropological study of political systems, social control maintains social norms (cultural standards) and regulates conflict.
true
According to Pierre Bourdieu and Michel Foucault,
it is easier and more effective to dominate people in their minds than to try to control their bodies.
The sociopolitical organization of foragers tends to be bands.
true
In bands, the leader occupies an official office with coercive control over the members of the community.
false
In tribal societies, the village head leads by example and through persuasion; he lacks the ability to force people to do things.
true
Most band and tribal societies in the world today are completely cut off from the rest of the world.
false
Foraging economies are usually associated with which type of sociopolitical organization?
band
Pantribal sodalities function to integrate the community by providing a series of important nonkin relationships.
true
Age grades represent stages in one’s life with specific tasks, obligations, and duties for the individuals in a given grade.
true
Population control in states refers to things such as a census and citizenship.
true
In the Igbo women’s war, women used song, dance, noise, and “in-your-face” behavior to attempt to subvert formal authority, but women did not gain any greater influence.
false
Modern foragers are not Stone Age relics, living fossils, lost tribes, or noble savages. Still, to the extent that foraging has been the basis of their subsistence, contemporary and recent hunter-gatherers
can illustrate links between foraging economies and other aspects of society and culture, such as their sociopolitical organization
The Inuit song battle is
a means of resolving disputes in order to forestall open conflict.
