Final Exam Flashcards
politics
All about how conflicts and disagreements are resolved and how people are governed
Informal Social Control (internal)
(car example) Gossip, ridicule, shunning, moral codes, religious codes (didn’t steal the car because of internal reasons)
formal social control (external)
(Car example) Laws, police, courts, fines, and prison (didn’t steal the car because of police)
Leveling mechanisms
sanctions to inequality “insulting the meat” to keep people’s ego in check
headmen
very informal, govern by authority. Leadership by persuasion, influence, and personal charisma
chiefs
govern by power. Decisions are backed by sanctions. Leaders can actually punish you
Kings
Absolute power
Types of political Organization
Band, tribe, and chiefdom
Band
Hunter-gatherers. 5-75 people. Headmen govern only in their authority. lead only in their band
tribe
horticulture 75-300. Lead by virtue of their authority. Lead only in their village.
chiefdom
horticulture and or intensive agriculture. A minimum of two settlements. 1,000-100,000 people. Lead by virtue of their power, and demand tribute.
Chiefdom tiers
Nobles (elites)
Commoners (farmers)
Chiefs often have more wives, children, better clothes and food. Chiefs are claimed to be devine
Cow film
Cow died and chief was on trial but recused himself because he was part of it.
state (civilization
intensive agriculture. 10,000 to millions of people. Lead by kinds (lead with absolute power, and establish laws.)
Theories of state evolution
Wittfogel’s hydraulic theory
Carneiro’s environmental circumscription theory
Wittfogel’s hydraulic theory
ancient societies are associated with rivers. State level societies need irrigation to support the system. Need to support large populations through irrigation, but it requires organization. Therefore, people are willing to voluntarily submit to a higher authority out of self-interest
Problems with Wittfogel’s hydraulic theory
complex irrigation systems exist without a strong, centralized governing body
Carneiro’s environmental circumscription theory
3 critical components in the evolution of the state.
- limited agricultural land - can’t have too much land or resources
- population density - need a lot of people where there are limited land
- warfare - need to have land worth fighting for
pre-modern states
characteristics - intensive agriculture, urban centers (cities), specialization of labor (full-time craftsmen, artists), increased social stratificaiton, monumental architecture, laws, standing armies, god kings
bureaucracy
state power transcends kinship as a basis of social organization, role of kinship as the basis for social governance declines.
record keeping
ways to keep track of citizens
pre-inka living conditions
warfare was rapid, hill top locations due to constant warfare potatoes were grown. Few reached 40 years of age
pax inkaica
pacification (law passes that there will be no fighting within groups. Hill tops abandoned, no man’s lands occupied. Significantly more people reached 40 years of age
mita
labor tax, local populations in charge of local public, work projects, you had to do it or else!
Food production
1/3 of state, 1/3 for the state religion, 1/3 for local subsistence
mitimac
rebellious groups were forced relocated population as punishment. Loyal groups were relocated to fertile areas as a reward
kipu
record keeping mnemonic device (memory aid)
capa cocha
human sacrifice. happens when: Emperors illness or death, volcanic eruption, military defeat, ascension to the throne.
religion
social institution involving beliefs and practices based upon a conception of the sacred
sacred
elements which people set apart as extraordinary, inspiring a sense of awe and reverence
What is the role of ANTH
to try and understand what role religion plays in society.
animism (tylor 1870’s)
belief in a supernatural personal force. Tylor held that this was the most primitive form of belief
Mana
Chiefs possess mana. They’re carried on litters so that they don’t touch the ground. Mana is lethal to commoners
Monotheism
Belief in one god (judaism, christianity, and islam)
Polytheism
Belief in many gods (hinduism)
Shamans
Part time religious specialist. Not exempt from substance tasks. Undergoes informal training.
No germ theory of disease
Disease is believed to be caused by malevolent spirits and or supernatural objects
Priests
Full time religious specialist, exempt from daily subsistence tasks. Undergoes formal training. Generally associated with non-egalitarian societies
Rites of Passage
Focus on the individual
Mark and individuals transition from one stage in life to another. (puberty)
Rites of Intensification
Focus on the group/environment/ cosmos
Revitalization movement
societies under tremendous stress. Stress due to rapid contact with Western World, society is in a state of turmoil, so people attempt to reorganize the disrupted society.
Ghost dance
if you dance the ghost dance four straight nights until achieving a trance like state the following will occur:
All the sick and injured would regain their health
Dead indian will rise again and buffalo will return
Melanesian Cargo Cults
natives wanted to be wealthy like foreigners that didn’t have to work for food.
“Rice bowl” Christians
materialistically motivated ‘converts’
Syncrestism
a merging of two belief systems into a new religion (christianity and new guinea beliefs being blended)
Problem with culture change and globalization
Rapid social change can be very devastating to native peoples
Acculturation
culture change, typically the mili
Cash Crops
Native peoples often pushed away from subsistence farming towards growing cash crops
ethnocide
stripping away of a persons ethnic identity
applied anthropology
anthropological training and insight are used to solve real world problems
ethics
anthropologists should serve as liaisons between the western world and native people, help native groups prepare for the challenges they face due to western contact, not our job to tell native people what to do
