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Cultural Anthropology > Midterm > Flashcards

Midterm Flashcards

1
Q

Agriculture

A

-first societies built near rivers or in wet environments
-Techniques that allow cultivation more permanently
-High population density with large, permanent communities
-Frequent food shortages
-Trade is very important
-High degree of craft specialization
-Considerable differences in individual wealth
-many full-time political officials, roles still exist even after a person’s death

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2
Q

Agency

A

-Intermediate contact: diffusion by intermediate contact occurs through the agency of third parties
-Ex: traders carry cultural practices to a society different from the group of origination
-Definition: ability of people to act and make choices within a social and cultural context

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3
Q

Anthropology

A

-Systematic and scientific study of humans
-Systematic: not always able to use direct experiments, ethnography, observation and interviews
-Scientific: testable, empirical (falsify your own hypothesis)

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4
Q

Applied Anthropology

A

-practical application of anthropological theories
-goal to solve real-world problems
-employment of outside of academic settings
-more popular with globalization

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5
Q

Archaeology

A

-study of past cultures
-focus on material remains/ written records
-Use excavation: involved carefully digging and removing sediment to uncover material remains
-record context of material remains

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6
Q

Associations

A

-Describe a phenomenon by comparing components within a general principle, relationship, or model
-In Anthro: associations are most often presented as probabilities rather than certainties
-variability: has variables
-predictability: predicts a phenomenon
-statistical association: association generated through statistical analysis

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7
Q

Biological Anthropology

A

-study of human evolution and biological variation
-relies largely on fossils
-can also include the study of our non-human primate cousins

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8
Q

Berlin-Kay Color Study

A

-Interviewed numerous cultures to catalog and analyze their ‘base color terms’
-base color terms must be widely applicable and monoleximic (one word/ concept)
-used color charts
-2 color cultures: light vs. dark, white vs. black, and wet vs. dry
-3 color cultures: Red, white, Black
-Different stages across chart identification
-only addition of colors across stages, no colors ever lost
-stage is correlated with type of subsistence
-Environmental shift to cultural shift to language shift
-Refute’s the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis

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9
Q

Caste Societies

A

-most closed version of class
-rigid stratification
-a ranked group in which membership is determined at birth
-marriage is restricted to your own caste
-Ex: India and Hinduism

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10
Q

Cultural Anthropology

A

-study of how and why cultures in the past and present vary or are similar
-interest in all learned ideas and behaviors that have become customary in a group

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11
Q

Cultural Ecology

A

-Julien Steward
-analysis of relationship between culture and its environment
-cultures develop in response to environmental pressures
-Criticism: does not explain why many cultures develop different adaptations under the same environmental pressures

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12
Q

Cultural Relativism

A

-objective descriptions
-method to cut through bias
-keep own moral code but harsh judgement is removed
-goal is to develop understanding
-Ex: slavery from a moral standpoint is always unethical
-focus on tolerance
-customs and ideas understood in the context of that society’s problems and opportunities

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13
Q

Culture

A

-collection of learned and shared behaviors and ideas that are characteristic of a particular society or population
-Center of the anthropological perspective
-Is an evolved trait
-Created the need for additional brain power
-Generally adaptive: culture increases survival likelihood
-Dynamic: whatever you learn must be functional in the environment

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14
Q

Domestication

A

-taking control over certain natural processes
-animal breeding and plant seeding
-domesticated animals and plants are different from their wild forms

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15
Q

Economy

A

-all societies have a division of labour based on gender and age
-all cultures have an economy
-Three Major Components of Economies:
*Who gets access to resources (food, land, labour, etc.): transition to ownership , not present in foraging societies
*Conversion of resources: conversion into food, tools and other goods, industrialism
*Distribution of good and services: reciprocity, redistribution and market or commercial exchange

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16
Q

Egalitarian Societies

A

-no groups or individuals that must always have prestige
-society in which all people have equal access to wealth, power and prestige
-depend heavily on sharing
-roles are not conducive to wealth, power and prestige
-Tend to have leveling mechanisms to prevent arrogance
-community property
-development of group identity over individualism

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17
Q

Ethnocentrism

A

-cultural bias
-not anthropological, simply judgement
-weird= description of perception/ feeling rather than what that practice is
-inhibits scientific thinking
-judge other cultures only in terms of our own

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18
Q

Ethnography

A

Extremely in-depth study of 1 culture

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19
Q

Ethnology

A

Comparative study of cultures

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20
Q

Ethnoscience

A

-Study of how indigenous peoples classify and understand their world
-bottom up
-very root of cultures engaging with the world

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21
Q

Linear Evolutionism

A

-very westernized
-more destructive than informational
-Tylor: evolution of humans and their cultures represent a single line of development, primitive to civilized over time, justified oppression and colonization
-Morgan: used terminology; savage, barbaric and civilized, sciencifying already existing values
-Spencer: social darwinism, okay for weak to die or to be poor, eugenics used by Nazis
-Criticism: does not help explain or appreciate individual cultural variation

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22
Q

Multi-lineal Evolutionism

A

-Julien Stewart
-branching model
-applied new biological evolution knowledge to anthropology
-cultures diverged due to different environmental needs
-must understand context to understand modern forms of culture
-does not allow for linear progression but rather multiple lines of unique evolutionary development
-Criticism: accused of rebranding Historical Particularism

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23
Q

General (Universal) Evolutionism

A

-Leslie White
-culture follows universal patterns of development
-culture must be understood at the largest possible level acknowledging individual differences
-P=ET, P= production, E= energy consumed, T= efficiency of using energy (technology)
-ecology and economics together in cultural evolution formula
-Criticism: did not explain why some cultures endure under given pressures and others do not, no explanation for increased production of some cultures, difficult to measure and therefore hard to disprove

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24
Q

Fieldwork

A

-deepest kind of knowledge
-firsthand experience with people being studied
-usual means by which anthropological information is obtained
-usually involves participant observation for a year or more
-may also include censuses or surveys

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25
Q

Food Collection

A

-food attainment strategy that obtains wild plant and animal resources through gathering, hunting, scavenging, and fishing

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26
Q

Food Production

A

-Around 10,000 years ago, certain peoples in diverse geographic locations changed to a system of food production rather than collection
-Increase in global population= manipulation of crops/ foods
-emergence of drier summers and colder winters after the ice age
-Three different types: horticulture, pastoralism, and agriculture

27
Q

Foraging

A

-food collection subsistence method
-nomadic, hunt diverse food sources
-most live in small communities
-complex foragers: large communities, typically dependent on fishing; more likely to have a permanent location, warfare, and social inequality

28
Q

Fossils

A

hardened remains or impressions of plants and animals that lived in the past

29
Q

Functionalism

A

-Branislaw Malinowski
-systems have a function
-look for some aspect of culture that functions to provide for individual needs
-society= functional system
-Criticisms: does not explain why specific cultural patterns emerged over other equal alternatives, also does not explain why some societies do not meet the needs of everyone

30
Q

Historical Particularism

A

-Franz Boaz
-We should collect as much data as possible about indigenous cultures before they are gone
-each culture is unique and must be understood by historical events that led to its development
-historical context is important
-we should reject evolutionism and any other attempt to develop universal models for cultural development
-ranking of societies is not an accurate description
-Criticism: does not account or explain universal patterns across cultures

31
Q

Holistic Approach

A

-study of humans from all aspects
-makes anthropology unique from other fields

32
Q

Horticulture

A

-some domestication
-more likely to be matriarchal
-growing of crops with relatively simple tools and methods
-men-oriented societies have a more violent culture
-Low to moderate population density
-small to moderate communities
-more sedentary, communities move every few years
-Minimal trade
-Infrequent food shortages
-None or few craft specialists
-minimal differences in individual wealth
-some part-time leadership officials, usually women

33
Q

Hunter-gatherer

A

-Foragers, use food collection methods
-Lowest population density
-Small maximum community size
-Nomadic or semi-nomadic
-Infrequent food shortages
-Minimal trade
-No full time craft specialists
-Generally no individual wealth differences
-Informal political leadership

34
Q

The Kula Ring

A

-simple exchange of shells between people which may be engaged in through expeditions to other islands set up by chiefs for relationship establishment, surplus trading, and status increase.
-2 types:
*Mwali: shell armbands
*Soulava: shell necklaces

35
Q

Lexicon

A

-Approximated by a dictionary
-words, morphs, and their meanings

36
Q

Descriptive Linguistics

A

-how language works, mechanics and rules
-invented special methods and concepts of describing language
-all languages have a basic fundamental structure
-inheritance of common language system from a common ancestor
- includes phonology, morphology and syntax

37
Q

Historical Linguistics

A

-How languages change over time
-languages constantly change, especially over generations
-Language families: connections between languages
-culture history: where certain languages came from
-isolation brings about divergence between communities
-contact results in greater language resemblance

38
Q

Sociolinguistics

A

-Concerned with the ethnography of speaking or cultural patterns of speech variation in different social contexts
-social status reflection in speech
-gender differences in speech: natural separation of groups
-multilingualism and code switching: yelling or cussing in someone’s native language
-different environments= differences in speech

39
Q

Maladaptive

A

-diminish chances of survival and reproduction
-likely to disappear

40
Q

Market Exchange

A

-values in terms of costs
-exchange of goods
-dominant way of thinking about the economy

41
Q

Neolithic

A

-later part of the stone age
-radical shift from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle to a settled, agricultural one
-permanent settlements, complex social structures, and specialized tools

42
Q

Norms

A

-standards or rules about what is acceptable behavior
-importance is reflected in how members of a society react when violated
-act as cultural constraints on our everyday lives

43
Q

Participant Observation

A

-careful observation and even participation in the important events of a society
-questioning people about native customs

44
Q

Pastoralism

A

-primarily involves raising large heards of animals
-Practiced in grassland regions
-Must interact with agriculturalists to meet their needs
-occurs after the creation of agriculture
-men dominated to work against raiding
-most violence
-low population density and communities
-Nomadic or semi-nomadic
-Frequent food shortages
-Trade is very important
-moderate differences in individual wealth
-part-time and full-time officials

45
Q

Potlatch

A

-Nimpkish, group of 19th century Native Americans
-economy based on food collecting
-large catches of salmon helped to support large, relatively permanent villages
-example of a rank society
-proving one’s high status was done through giving away wealth
-Tribal chiefs hosted grand feasts, potlatches, at which they gave gifts to every guest

46
Q

Primary Subsistence

A

-responsibility of attainment typically falls to the men
-food getting activities: gathering, hunting, fishing, herding, and agriculture

47
Q

Secondary Subsistence

A

-activities that involve the preparation and processing of food to either make it edible or to store it
-household work typically falls to women and therefore are usually in charge of secondary subsistence as well.

48
Q

Primatology

A

-study of anatomy, behavior, ecology and genetics of living and extinct nonhuman primates
-gives us insight into how evolution has shaped us
-study of closest living ancestors

49
Q

Race

A

-age of discovery: era in which sea travelers can go long distances, recognition of stark differences between populations
-defining of the races= justification for exploitation
-no evidentiary support
-race is a construct
-assumption that there were additional traits associated with race
-no clear lines between the categories of race

50
Q

Racism

A

-the belief, without scientific basis, that some races are inferior to others
-associated with social stratification

51
Q

Rank Societies

A

-do not have unequal access to wealth or power
-social groups do have an unequal access to status positions and prestige
-often have a position of a chief

52
Q

Balanced Reciprocity

A

-works well for small communities
-exchange of gifts
-do not care about monetary value
-removing the price tag, it is the thought that counts

53
Q

General Reciprocity

A

-giving and taking system
-building a relationship
-reciprocal expectation
-Giving a neighbor flour with no immediate reciprocation
-Core of many indigenous societies

54
Q

Redistribution

A

-taxation
-authority redistributes monetary funds
-want to do right by everyone

55
Q

Sapir- Whorf Hypothesis

A

-Derived from Linguistic Determinism: human thoughts are determined by language used, language defines options of how you can think
-Linguistic Relativism is part of the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis
-If language determines thoughts, thoughts determine culture, then culture is ultimately determined by language
-language is a force in its own right
-you cannot understand another culture until you understand their language.

56
Q

Sedentarism

A

-practice of living in one place for a long time
-often associated with the transition from nomadic to agricultural societies

57
Q

Society

A

-group of people who occupy a particular territory and speak a common language generally not understood by neighboring peoples
-can encompass multiple countries: ‘North American culture’

58
Q

Structuralism

A

-Claude Levi-Strauss
-humans cultures are manifestations of underlying psychology
-surface representation of underlying structures of the human mind
-Moiety Societies (Romeo & Juliet), reflect left and right sides of the brain
-Criticism: not scientific, no evidence to support, instead assumes an association

59
Q

Structural-Functionalism

A

-Arthur Radcliffe-Brown
-Disagreement with Malinowski
-Acknowledgement that many cultures do a bad job of meeting everyone’s needs
-social system once established= organism
-individuals are cells, a few deaths are part of the maintaining the overall organism/ society
-social system overtakes individual needs
-explains wealth and power disparities
-Criticism: does not account for individual or group variability, devalued the individual, negative societal perspective, does not explain why human nature/ society is so detrimental

60
Q

Subculture

A

-shared customs of a group within a society
-Ex: culture of poverty
-individual variation is a major source of new culture

61
Q

Syntax

A

-study of how words are put together to create complex ideas
-linguistic structure to convey meaning
-Time (tense), space (referential), and relationships
-may convey ideas not defined in the lexicon

62
Q

Theoretical Orientation

A

-informs every social science discipline
-give general ideas about how phenomena are to be explained
-based on accepted theoretical frameworks

63
Q

Theories

A

-explanations of laws and statistical associations
-statistical association: observed relationship that is unlikely to be due to chance
-scientists formulate theories to explain observed relationships
-may contain unobservable ideas
-never proven
-predict future events
-generate hypotheses for future research

64
Q

Why do we need different subfields in Anthropology?

A

-each provide a distinct perspective on the human experience
-more subfields= greater specialization

Cultural Anthropology (1 decks)

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