Exam 4 Flashcards
What is down-the-line exchange?
each village is independent and trade a little bit of what they have with their immediate neighbors
What is central place distribution?
resources flow into a central place in bulk where they are distributed in smaller amounts to surrounding areas
Decentralized Political Organization
bands and tribes
no specialized political officials
no central authority
egalitarian; equal access to social rewards
achieved status
Centralized Political Organization
chiefdoms and states
specialized political officials, offices
rank or stratified systems of inequality
ascribed status
How are decisions made in decentralized political systems?
village head: very limited authority, local, can only influence decisions
big men: limited authority, regional influence based on wealth and prestige
How are decisions made in centralized political systems?
chiefs and heads of state: permanent offices with absolute authority and power
How is control maintained in centralized systems?
constituent hierarchy: control is conceded into an individual or office
social relationships
prestige
hegemony
coercive hierarchy: control is maintained through the threat/use of violence
kin-based defense group
standing military
police
How is control maintained in decentralized systems?
witchcraft, sorcery, and shame
informal social control resists consolidation of power
maintains egalitarian systems
Scalar Stress Models (Push Model)
states regulate complex information
people are pushed into positions of leadership for everyone’s benefit
hydraulic systems
regional trade
Conflict Models (Pull Model)
states consolidate control over resources
people are pulled into positions of leadership, co-opting labor and resources
population growth: need for intensive use of resources
war/conflict: strategy to consolidate power over large territories
environmental circumscription: prevents group dispersal, creates social stratification
What are underdeveloped countries victims of?
poor soil
bad climate
overpopulation
lack of education
lack of resources
war
political instability
What does the UN Human Development Index measure?
per capita income
life expectancy
education levels
infant mortality rates
What is Modernization Theory?
the developed world lifted themselves out of poverty via modern technology, ideas, and institutions
the underdeveloped world remains in poverty because they haven’t modernized
solution: modernization (development)
What is World Systems Theory?
poverty and inequality began as core (industrial) nations exploited peripheral countries for cheap, raw materials and labor
it’s not that poor countries are underdeveloped, it’s that they were underdeveloped
During the 1400s, how did the developed and underdeveloped communities look different than today?
Indigenous communities in the 1400s were some of the most developed at the time, meanwhile Europe was in the Dark Ages
What happens between 1453-1800?
the emergence of a world economic system; created an industrialized core and an underdeveloped periphery
Ethnocentrism
the belief that your cultural values and practices are superior when compared to those of another
Cultural Relativism
cultures need to be understood in their own terms, not according to the ideals of civilization; you have to understand the values, norms, and meanings people attach to their practices
Ethnography
a study of a particular culture; a written book/article about a particular culture
Archaeological Context
preserved archaeological record
static
present
observable
Systemic Context
actual past human behavior
dynamic
past
unobservable
Symbolic Consciousness
information able to be stored outside of the human brain
Generalized Reciprocity
How people share things with no regard for their value or interest in compensation; The primary mechanism of exchange among foragers
Paleolithic
the old stone age, characterized by the creation and use of stone tools
Foraging
a mode of subsistence defined by its reliance on wild plant and animal food resources already available in the environment
Neolithic
the period of human culture that began around 10,000 years ago in the Middle East and later in other parts of the world
characterized by the beginning of farming, the domestication of animals, the development of crafts such as pottery and weaving, and the making of polished stone tools
Horticulture
low intensity subsistence farming designed to minimize the risk of crop failure through field rotations, diverse crop complexes, and genetic diversity
Unilineal Descent
tracing an individual’s kinship through a single gendered line
What are the 4 Subfields of Anthropology?
archaeology
biological anthropology
cultural anthropology
linguistic anthropology
What changes occur in human society after the Neolithic (Agricultural) Revolution?
degenerative health conditions
more violent trauma
lower adult life span
increased child mortality
women rarely survive child-bearing years
square structures for houses
burials in house floors
How does anthropology use inductive (ethnography) and deductive (scientific) methods to study humanity?
when using scientific methods to study humanity, anthropologists propose theories that lead to observations. on the other hand, when using ethnographic methods, the observations are what lead to the theory.
How do the 4 sub-fields in Anthropology combine to provide a holistic study of humanity?
the main tenet of holism is that societies should be studied as a whole, utilizing all forms of anthropology. by using all four approaches that the subfields provide, we are able to understand individual members of a culture, the social structure of communities that live in certain cultures, and the culture itself.
Archaeology
studies the remains of past human cultures
Biological Anthropology
studies humans from a biological perspective with a focus on primatology and human origins
includes forensic anthropology as well
Cultural Anthropology
studies contemporary human societies
conduct ethnographies and ethnologies
Linguistic Anthropology
studies the relationship between language and culture including the diversity of human languages and the social patterns that affect language use
What type of practice is global development?
top-down
What are the problems with top-down development?
ignores local knowledge, values, and concerns
aid favors large projects with clear benefits to the donor country
impersonal and are often resisted
What are features of the colonial experience?
forced to switch from food crops to cash crops
takeover of land by non-natives
distorted control of trade (marketing boards)
What are the myths of global poverty?
all poverty is not the same
poverty is lived and experienced locally, not globally
What are the results of Modernization Theory?
under-differentiation: tendency to view all impoverished countries as being similar
over-innovation: too much change creates other problems
What is the anthropological approach to development?
bottom-up
this approach helps avoid under-differentiation and over-innovation
What are key features of a bottom-up approach to development?
partners with local peoples to improve success
builds upon, rather than changes, social structures
creates more direct benefits to the impoverished
What is ethnicity?
a group of people emphasizing a common heritage (language, history, geography, religion, etc)
both something that is self-selected and something that is placed upon us
fluid, context-dependent, and ties people together
formed during the struggle for resources
What are structural inequalities?
unequal access to ________ on the basis of impersonal and exploitative power relationships between broad categories of people in society
employment
education
housing
healthcare
income
safety
etc
Strategies of Inclusion (Us)
origin myths, shared rituals and festivals, food, dress
promotes group solidarity
creates imagined communities
Strategies of Exclusion (Them)
ethnic boundary markers
creates “the other”
Nations (Imagined Communities)
imagined to be limited and sovereign
imagined camaraderie even though we don’t all know each other
