Midterm 2

Question 1

• What are some of the ways in which humans produce or collect their food?

Answer 1

Foraging - Food is collected from the local environment
Pastoralism - Subsistence strategy that relies on raising livestock
Horticulture - Small-scale farming for personal use
Agriculture - Large-scale use of domesticated plants and animals
Domestication - Organisms changed through human control of demography, reproduction, diet.

Question 2

• What is domestication?

Answer 2

Organisms changed through human control of demography, reproduction, diet, etc.
Select traits desirable to humans -Disposition, Taste, Size

Question 3

• In what ways are domesticated plants and animals often changed?

Answer 3

Animal Domestication - Anatomical changes, Trauma/disease patterns, Selection for traits that render an animal less “fit”, Presence outside of natural range
Plant Domestication - Unable to reproduce without human intervention, Seeds remain on stalk (tough rachis), Gigantism, Larger seeds, DNA

Question 4

• How did plants and animals become domesticated?

Answer 4

Plant Domestication - Likely incidental rather than intentional at first, Harvesting plants with the best traits and planting their seeds, Short term choices = long term changes, Intentionally manipulating plants to create more desirable strains
Animal Domestication - Anatomical changes, Trauma/disease patterns, Selection for traits that render an animal less “fit”, Presence outside of natural range

Question 5

• How does culture influence what we think counts as food and what foods are healthy?

Answer 5

What we consider food is partially culturally determined, Huge variety of things we could conceivably eat but don’t, Some foods considered inedible by one group may be desirable for another, Appropriate food pairings – pineapple on pizza?

Question 6

• What is the importance of food sharing in human societies?

Answer 6

Preparing food and eating often highly social, Express solidarity and maintain social bonds, Reaffirm cultural values, Ex. Western families traditionally meet to consume evening meal, Food sharing likely has deep evolutionary roots, observed in other primates, Reciprocal Altruism = giving freely with the expectation that others will do the same, Costly Signaling = Giving to demonstrate value and wealth

Question 7

• How do humans use food to mark our social identities?

Answer 7

Foods maintain social identities - Markets and festivals, Okanagan fruit, Craft brewing

Question 8

• How is food used in rituals?

Answer 8

Incorporated into rituals - Feasting and fasting
Reaffirms religious identities and values – Gratitude, Self-control, Purity

Question 9

• How has globalization shaped foodways?

Answer 9

Separation of production and consumption - How comfortable would you be killing a cow?
Potentially undermines the cultural value of food, Counter trends - Pick your own berry farms, Farmer’s markets, Petting zoos

Question 10

• How is the field of economic anthropology different from economics?

Answer 10

All aspects of how humans meet their needs and wants, Broader focus on non-market economies, Social and cultural meaning of economic activity, Why people want things in the first place

Question 11

• Identify and explain each of the modes of production

Answer 11

Production: transforming raw materials into product
Distribution: getting products to people
Consumption: using up the products

Question 12

• How is work defined and carried out by different societies?

Answer 12

Tributary Production: Production still largely domestic, BUT…, Portion of production given to rulers as tribute, Less direct control over means of production, Pre-industrial societies in many parts of the world

Capitalist Production: Many modern industrial societies, Workers sell labour to capitalist class who own the means of production, Less control over products of labour and other decisions surrounding work

Different modes coexist to varying degrees, Ex. Many subsistence farmers still participate in market capitalism, Ex. Many people who live in capitalist societies engage in informal/domestic economic activity

Question 13

• Why do humans give gifts?

Answer 13

The exchange of gifts, May be accompanied by ritual – Christmas, birthdays, Individually beneficial, Creates social connections, Communicates cultural values, Generosity, selflessness

Question 14

• What are the different types of reciprocity?

Answer 14

Types of reciprocity correspond to social distance

Generalized: neither time nor value of return gift is specified

Balanced: return gift of equal value expected within a specific time

Negative: parties try to get the better of the exchange

Question 15

• What is redistribution? What are some examples?

Answer 15

Economic contributions from group members aggregated, Redistributed to provide for members, Requires centralized social organization, Ex. Taxes

Question 16

• How is market exchange different from reciprocity?

Answer 16

Market: Institution for regulating exchange, Money: a multipurpose medium of exchange, May be considered a form of negative reciprocity, Usually less personal, but not always – hairdresser/barber

Question 17

• What are informal economies?

Answer 17

Economic activity unregulated and untaxed, “Grey markets”, Operates according to own internal rules, Huge proportion of global economic activity, Missed by common economic metrics like GDP

Question 18

• What are some ways that globalization has impacted economic activity around the world?

Answer 18

Disposable clothing in the West sent to SA, Asia, Africa, Sold in public textile markets or out of households, Unregulated and untaxed, Sellers follow market rules and make business decisions Traditional basket making in southern Tanzania - used for domestic tasks, Competition from cheap plastic containers, Revived for overseas markets/means of cultural expression, Complicated consequences of globalization

Question 19

• How does consumption influence production and distribution?

Answer 19

Consumer behavior drives changes in production and distribution - Ethically sourced goods, Fair trade, Organic, Local goods

Question 20

• How does our culture influence our patterns of consumption?

Answer 20

Some consumption is context specific, Consuming specific dishes, Wearing certain clothes, Drinking alcohol at work

Question 21

• How is politics related to economics?

Answer 21

Different groups within society have different economic resources and goals, Political power often derived from economic control of land, money, labor

Question 22

• What are class and caste? What is the difference?

Answer 22

Class: Defined by wealth and occupation, In capitalist economies often linked to control over factors of production, Also, about social relations and presentation, use of symbols, E.g., Elizabethan Sumptuary Laws (1500s), E.g., Old money vs New money Class identity intersects with other social categories, Class inequality tends to mirror other forms of inequality, Gender, Race, Ethnicity

Caste: Endogamous occupational groups in a hierarchical system, Movement and association between castes prohibited – Heritable + for life, European executioners, West African Iron workers, Burakumin in Japan

Question 23

• What is social complexity?

Answer 23

Many parts and connections between those parts, Large populations, Surplus production, More and larger institutions, Social stratification – distinct layers

Question 24

• What are the categories of social complexity? What common features define each one?

Answer 24

Band (based on skill, age, gender), tribe (Equal access to wealth and prestige), chiefdom (Greater ability to coerce), state (Bureaucracy with significant power – taxation, enforcement), Egalitarian (everyone is equal), Ranked (levels), Stratified.

Question 25

• How might states have formed?

Answer 25

Bureaucracy with significant power – taxation, enforcement, Monopoly over the legitimate use of force, Large populations supported by agriculture, Significant stratification

Question 26

• How and why do states collapse?

Answer 26

Foreign invasion, Disease, Social inequality, Natural disaster, Climate change, Environmental mismanagement

Question 27

• How do societies maintain social control?

Answer 27

Enforce/encourage cooperation, Discourage destructive behaviour, Methods of control are different and culturally derived

Question 28

• How do societies create social solidarity between people not directly related to one another?

Answer 28

Age sets: sodalities that organize people based on age, Grades in primary education, Maasai – boys, junior warrior, senior warrior , elders

Question 29

• What is power, and what are the different types?

Answer 29

Power: ability to transform a situation, In society - to make others do what you want, Sources of power and ways of securing legitimacy are culturally dependent

Interpersonal power - Ability of one individual to impose their will on another

Organizational power - Ability to control others in particular social settings

Structural power - Control over social settings

Question 30

• How does the use of power differ between types of societies?

Answer 30

States tend to rely on formal coercive methods, Law courts, police, military, Code of Hammurabi, Babylon, However, individuals must also be persuaded to accept social controls

Question 31

• What are the different types of conflict?

Answer 31

Feuds – recurring hostility between kin groups, Revenge

Raids – acquires resources from other populations without controlling them, Parasitic