Final Exam Flashcards
Four major subfields of anthropology
Biological, cultural, archaeology, linguistic
The domination and subjugation of Indigenous peoples by Europeans and their descendants
Colonialism
Four characteristics of culture
Shared, symbolic, patterned, learned
the belief that all people are important and have viable cultures, and that each culture must be understood in context
Cultural relativism
the view point that all aspects of biology and/or culture are related
Holism
Homo sapiens or a larger group of hominins
Human
Food procurement; basic food needs for survival
Subsistence
a physical adaptation that allows an organism to survive better in its environment
Biological adaptation
a belief or behaviour that allows an organism with culture (especially humans) to better thrive in their environment
Cultural adaptation
an cultural insider’s perspective; the perspective of the subject
Emic
an outsiders perspective; an objective explanation
Etic
The process by which a child learns his or her own culture
Enculturation
practice of eating insects for food
Entomophagy
A term used to describe the geographic origin, language, and other features of a person
Ethnicity
The belief that others are wrong or abnormal because they are different from us
Ethnocentrism
The process and product of a research study in cultural anthropology
Ethography
Something that stands for something else with little or no natural relationship to its referent; a type of sign;
Sumbol
Seven characteristics of the anthropological perspectie
Holistic, comparative, evolutionary, qualitative, field-based, focused on linkages, focused on changes
Tylor’s stages of the evolution of religion
Animism, polytheism, monotheism
The material remains of the human past and, in some cases, the description of the human past based on material remains
Archaeological record
Any location where there is physical evidence of past human activity
Archaeological site
any portable object showing evidence of being made or used by people
Artifact
a collection or gathering of things
Assemblage
A non-portable object or patterning created by people and recognized archaeologically, such as a fire hearth
Feature
Animal remains used to make inferences about paleo-environments and diets
Faunal remains
a discrete accumulation of refuse
Midden
Major event in neolithic period
First signs of domestication
The study or the human past, but not within the framework of science or scholarly archaeology
Pseudoarchaeology
large ice-free area connecting Asia to NW Americas during the last ice age
Beringia
Space between two ice sheets covering most of Canada during the last ice age, providing a possible route from Beringia to south areas
Ice-free corridor
the theory that people came down the coast of what is now Alaska and British Columbia using boats or walking along the coastline
Costal migration route
Theory of boat travel across the North Atlantic and southward down the glacial environment of eastern Canada
Solutrean hypothesis
Five characteristics of domesticated crops
Larger seeds
higher yield per unit of area
loss of natural seed dispersal mechanisms,
tougher connective tissue holding seed pods to the stem,
More brittle husks
Six characteristics of animals that are suited for domestication
Flexible diet Fast growth Breeds easily in captivity Non-aggressive Calm Modifiable social hierarchy
Archaeological signs of animal domestication
Animals outside their natural range
Physical changes in animal shape and size
more complete skeletons
Abrupt increase in animal numbers in one location
Increased numbers of males killed for meat
Transforming the environment with the goal of producing food using farming and/or animal husbandry
Food production
A way of life that revolves around domesticating animals and herding them to pasture
Pastoralism
A farming technique that can support a large population using advanced tools and irrigation; also known as intensive cultivation
Agriculture
land cultivation in small-scale farms or gardens
Horticulture
a type of political organization found in settlements of typically from a few thousands to a tens of thousands of people, characterized by social inequality to hereditary leadership, and based on horticulture
Chiefdom
a settlement supporting a dense population with a centralized government, specialization, and socio-economic hierarchy
City
a social division that separated members of a society into two groups: also called a moiety
Clan
a type of political organization in a highly populated, industrial society with strong centralized government
State
the practice of living in one place for a long time
Sedentism
Analysis of the order and position of layers of archaeological remains
Stratigraphy
A classification according to general type
Typology
plant and animals remains used to make inferences about paleo-environments and diet
Ecofacts
Dates of colonialism
18th century to present
First farmers (Date)
10,000 ya in neolithic period
First archaeological artifacts date back to when?
2.5 million years ago
The study of humans through the remains of their physical activities
Archaeology
a widely shared understanding about the world that helps us organize our experience in it; determines the metaphors used in communication
Cultural model
Symbolic system expressing meaning through sounds or gestures
Language
Sapir-Worf Hypothesis
Linguistic relativity principle that says language shapes people’s perception of the world because language structures our thoughts
Hypothesis that says language determines thought and can limit the way we think
Linguistic determinism
Something that stands for something else
Sign
The very specific set of non-verbal cues such as gestures, body movements, and facial expressions that is acquired by speakers of a language
Silent language
The earliest form of religion; a belief in spiritual beings that inhabit natural objects
Animism
Gods and goddesses
Deities
The use of powers to contact and control supernatural forces or beings
Magic
Belief in a single, all-powerful deity
Montheism
A sacred story that explains the origins of the world or people in it
Myth
Belief in multiple gods
Polytheistic
A full time religious practitioner
Priest/priestess
A part time religious practitioner
Shaman
A set of beliefs and behaviours pertaining to supernatural forces or beings that transcend the observable world
Religion
Stages of rites of passage
- separation
- transition
- Incorporation
repetitive social symbolic practice; formal behaviour performed in sacred places at set times
Ritual
describes those aspects of life that are outside of a scientific understanding and that we cannot measure or test; religious
Supernatural
personified or embodied beings, such as deities or spirits, that exist beyond the observable world
Supernatural beings
personified or embodied beings, such as deities or spirits, that exist beyond the observable world
Supernatural beings
disembodied powers, such as luck, that exist beyond the observable world
Supernatural forces
sacred impersonal force that can reside in people, animals, plants, and objects; a disembodied power that exists in the world
Mana
merging different belief systems after culture contact
Syncretism
Four components of a religious belief system
Interest in the supernatural
Use of ritual
Guided by myths
Symbolic
Shaping the evolution of a species for human use
Domestication
Describes a society in which every member has the same access to resources and status; non-hierarchical
Egalitarian
utilization of food resources available in the environment; also known as food foraging or hunting and gathering
Foraging
Five types of food producers
Horticulturalists
Pastoralists
Intensive agriculturalists
Industrialists
A farming technique that can support a large population using advanced tools and irrigation; also known as intensive cultivation
Agriculture
o Year-round cultivation of crops for a surplus
Intensive agriculturalists
Producing food at low cost using highly mechanized technology
Industralists
Cultivation that does not make intensive use of land, labour, capital, or machinery
Horticulture
Farmers prepare a plot of land by clearing fast-growth trees and other plant material from an area and burning the debris directly in the plot
Swidden cultivation
o A social and economic obligation to distribute wealth so that no one member of a group accumulates more than anyone else
Leveling mechanism
a form of specialized sharing in which the value of a gift is not specified at the time of exchange, nor is the time of repayment
Generalized reciprocity
A form of exchange in which the value of goods is specified as well as the time frame of repayment
Balanced reciprocity
deceptive practice in which the exchange is unequal; an exchange in which the seller asks for more than the value of the item
Negative reciprocity
reallocation of goods; an economic system in which goods and money flow into a central entity, such as a governmental authority or religious institution
Redistribution
prices set by supply and demand
Market exchange/economy
division of tasks in a community based on sex
Sexual division of labour
The collective and cumulative knowledge that a group of people has gained from living in their particular ecosystem over many generations
Traditional ecological knowledge
the way in which a society gets their food
Foodways
descended from the same ancestors
Consanguineal
Related by marriage
Affinial
Related by blood
Kinship
a permanent social unit whose members claim common ancestry – fundamental unit of tribal societies
Descent group
only one line of descent is recognized
Unilinear descent
tracing of descent equally through both parents
Bilateral descent
In a descent tree, which is male and which is female?
Male = triangle Female = circle
the practice of seeking a spouse within one’s own group
Endogamous
the practice of seeking a spouse outside one’s own group
Exogamy
the practice of marrying someone similar to you in terms of background, social status, aspirations, and interest
Homogamy
a residence pattern in which a husband moves to his wife’s household of orientation
Matrilocal
a residence pattern in which a wife moves to her husband’s household of orientation
Patrilocal
A residence pattern in which a husband and wife move into a new household and not into either’s household of orientation
Neolocality
Family pattern made up of two generations: the parents and their unmarried children
Nuclear family
A family pattern made up of three generations living together: parents, married children, and grandchildren
Extended family
family in which one is born and grows up
Family of orientation
formed through marriage and children
Family of procreation
a form of marriage compensation in which the family of the groom is required to present valuable gifts to the bride’s family
Bride price
a form of marriage compensation in which the family of the groom is required to work for the bride’s family
Bride service
a form of marriage compensation in which the family of the bride is required to present valuable gifts to the groom’s family or to the couple
Dowry
the practice of a woman having multiple husbands
Polyandry
the practice of having two or more wives at the same time
Polygyny
the practice of having two or more spouses
Polygamy
the practice of having one spouse
Monogamy
Attraction to males
Androphilia
Attraction to females
Gynophilia
Attraction regardless of gender
Ambiphilia
differences in male and female biology
Sexual dimorphism
culturally appropriate roles of individuals in society of different sexes and/or gender identities
Gender roles
oversimplified, strongly held ideas about characteristics associated with gender
Gender stereotypes
The hierarchical division of males and females in society
Gender stratification
a gender role accepted in some societies as combining elements of male and female genders
Third gender
a social role a person achieves due to work and opportunity
Achieved status
a social role of a person that is fixed at birth
Ascribed status
a form of social stratification based on differences in wealth and status
Class
a hierarchical system based on birth; most commonly associated with Hindu India
Caste
a political system with a centralized governing body that has power and authority to govern
Centralized system
a political system with no centralized governing body in which decisions are made by the community
Decentralized system
power based in fear, suppression of free will use of punishment, threat
Coercive power
power based in the ability to convince
Persuasive power
The deliberate representation of particular identities as if they were the result of biology or nature
Naturalising discourses
The apparent or real dominance of men and subordinate status of women in society
Gender discrimination
The way a society maintains order internally and manages affairs externally
Political organization
a type of political organization with a decentralized power structure, often seen among horticulturalists or pastoralists; decentralized power, big man
Tribe
a small egalitarian society of food foragers who live and travel together; decentralized power
Band
a type of political organization found in settlements of typically a few thousand to tens of thousands of people, characterized by social inequality and hereditary leadership, and based on horticulture; centralized power, chief
Chiefdom
a type of political organization found in settlements of typically a few thousand to tens of thousands of people, characterized by social inequality and hereditary leadership; centralized power, industrial food production
State
The ability to compel another person to do something that he or she would not do otherwise
Power
the positive reputation or high regard of a person or other entity merited by actions, wealth, authority, or status
Prestige
having legitimate power by law
Authority
the ability of members of society to rise in social class
Social mobility
the ranking of members of a society into a hierarchy
Social stratification
subordinate groups with less power and less secure access to resources than majority groups
Minority groups
superordinate, dominant, or controlling groups
Majority groups
a term used to describe varieties or subspecies of a species; inaccurately used to refer to human differences - cultural and not biological
Race
Phenomenon wherein children of a union between members of different groups are automatically placed in the minority group
Hypodescent
Racist categorization of humans into taxonomically different species by race
Human species according to Linneaus (1758)
deliberate elimination of a group through mass murder
Genocide
destruction of an ethnic group’s culture
Cultural genocide
The ability of the economy to support indefinite growth while ensuring a minimum quality of life for all members of society
Economic sustainability
the integration of economic, social, political, and geographic boundaries and processed
Globalization
Pros of globalization (8)
- Free trade
- Economic growth
- Competition drops prices
- Brings money/tech to poor countries
- Widespread markets
- Spread of information
- Cultural intermingling
- Increased rate of travel
Cons of globalization
- Money gap increases
- Lots of trade barriers
- Jobs shift to lower paying nations
- Tax havens
- Social injustices
- Corporate involvement in politics
- Increased global inequality
- Spread of disease (eg. HIV)
Selling ownership of public resources to private companies
Privatization
The ability of social systems (such as families, communities, regions, or nations) to provide for the needs of their people so that they can attain a stable and healthy standard of living
Social sustainability
Three pillars of sustainability
Environmental, social, economic
The idea that individual actors sharing a natural resource will inevitably act in their own best interest, eventually depleting the resource
Tragedy of the commons
Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs
Sustainability
The collective and cumulative knowledge that a group of people has gained over many generations living in their particular ecosystem
Traditional Ecological Knowledge
