Cross-Cultural Comparisions Flashcards
What is culture?
That complex whole which includes knowledge, beliefs, arts, morals, law, custom
&
Capabilities & habits acquired by man as a member of society
What is one of the values of understanding cultures?
Comparing similarities & differences between cultures
Compare unifying characteristics. Understanding one another
What is ethnography?
Study of a single society
What is ethnology?
Comparative study of many societies
Individual ethnography comes before ethnology
By examining the similarities & differences between various groups, we are better able to understand ?
Themes in Human History
Causes behind events
In turn
Able to better understand ourselves
What are the four levels of cultural complexity that Anthropologists usually talk about?
- Band
- Tribe
- Chiefdom
- State
What is a band?
- Groups of Related families
- Typically foragers
- Often nomadic
- Little or no formal leadership
Ex.
Eskimos / Australian Aborigines
What is a tribe?
- Several extended families
- Connected by marriage/age grades/warrior societies
- Pastoralists / Horticulturalists
- Lack central government
- Often War-Like
Ex. Masai of East Africa
What is a chiefdom?
- Chief (permanent offices with rules of succession
- Centralized government (hierarchy of rule)
- No police or army to exercise absolute rule
- People are ranked
Ex. Kirghiz of Central Asia
What is a state?
- Monopoly over legitimate power
- Agencies - Army & Police
- Stratified
- Complex bureaucracies
- Taxation & Markets
- makes money / regulates trade - System of codified law
Ex. Federal States of Japan & China
What are bureaucracies?
Divisions of the government responsible for specific types of affairs and oversight
Ex. Us has different bureaus like
Department of Motor Vehicles
Department of Interior - Land Affairs
Go to specific bureaus for each individualized issue
