MT #2 Flashcards
What are the three dimensions of economic anthropology?
- Production: Process by which goods are obtained from the natural environment and altered to become consumable goods for society.
- Distribution
- Consumption
What is foraging?
Foraging: Mode of livelihood based on resources that are available in nature through gathering, fishing, or hunting. Use a sophisticated knowledge of the environment and seasonal changes. Extensive, sustainable strategy.
What is foraging division of labor?
- Division of labor: Occupational specialization or assigning particular tasks to particular individuals. (Gender and age)
What is foraging property relations?
- Property relations: Private property does not exist, “Use rights”
What are foraging types?
- Temperate region
- Diet: Nuts, tubers, fruits, small animals, and occasional large game
- Labor: Men and women forage, men hunt large game
- Shelter: Casual, non permanent, little maintenance- Ex. San people of Southern Africa
- Circumpolar region:
- Diet: Large marine and terrestrial animals
- Labor: Men hunt and fish
- Shelter: Time intensive construction and maintenance, some permanent- Example: Inuit
What is horticulture?
Horticulture: Based on cultivating domesticated plants in gardens and using hand tools. Supplemented with trading for meat
- Extensive strategy
- Sedentary (one place). Increases reliable food energy that humans can get out of a plot of land
What is horticulture division of labor?
Division of labor: Women do processing, Children are productive (large family advantage)
What is horticulture property relations?
Property relations: More formal use rights then foraging: private property is not characteristic.
What is Swidden?
- Main type of horticulture:
Swidden: Slashes and burns a small area of forest to release plant nutrients into the soil. As soil fertility declines, the farmer allows the plot to regenerate the forest.
What is pastoralism?
Pastoralism: Based on domesticated animal herds and the use of their products
- Extensive strategy
What is pastoralism division of labor?
- Division of labor: Families are basic production unit. Men are in charge of herding, Women in charge of processing products.
What is pastoralism property relations?
- Property relations: Animals are most important property, families goods may be passed down through males, use rights to land and migratory rules.
What are the types of pastoralism?
- Transhumance: Some men move livestock while women, children, and old men stay.
- Nomadism: No permanent villages. Whole social unit moves to new pastures.
What is agriculture?
Agriculture: Growing crops on permanent plots with the use of plowing, irrigation, and fertilizer.
- Intensive not extensive
- Relies on domestic animals and artificial water sources.
What is intensive agriculture? (Division of labor, property rights)
- Intensive agriculture: Can support many times more people per unit of land than horticulturalist, Devotes numerous hours towards land (peasantry)
- Division of labor: family is basic unit. Gender and age define work.
- Property rights: Family is defined and protected by property rights. Can be acquired and sold. Inheritance of land, transfer of rights through marriage.
- Division of labor: family is basic unit. Gender and age define work.
What is industrial agriculture?
- Industrial agriculture: Financial capital is used to ourchase machinery that replaces human and animal labor; produces goods solely for sale.
- Corporate farm: Requires more in the way of labor, technology, and the use of non-renewable natural resources than any other economic system.
- Not sustainable. Displaces and undermines the sustainability of foraging, horticulture, and pastoralism.
What is intensification?
What is reciprocity?
Reciprocity: A mode of distribution characterized by the exchange of goods and services of approximately equal value between parties.
What is generalized reciprocity?
- Generalized reciprocity: Practice of giving a gift without expecting a gift in return, creates moral obligation.
- Main form among foragers
What is balanced reciprocity?
- Balanced reciprocity: practice of giving a gift with the expectation that it will be reciprocated with a similar gift after a limited period of time. Expectation of return of equal value in a time frame.
- Delayed reciprocity: Long lag time between giving and receiving
- Kula ring: men pass ornamental shell armbands and necklaces along to recipients on other islands to cement lifelong relationships between high ranking men on each island.
What is negative reciprocity?
- Negative reciprocity: Form of economic exchange between individuals who try and take advantage of each other. Trying to get the better deal.
- Theft: taking something with no expectation of returning anything to the original owner for it.
- Exploitation: Getting something of greater value for less in return. (Ex. Slavery)
What is redistribution?
Redistribution: Requires centralized social organization. Central position receives economic contributions. Their responsibility to redistribute foods and goods in a way that provides for every member of the group.
What is market exchange?
Market exchange: Mode of distribution in which goods and services are bought and sold, and their value is determined by the principle of supply and demand.
- Not always money: Barter, and direct exchange of commodities between people that does not involve standard currency.
- Evolved from trade. Marketplaces can be large or small, periodic and permanent markets
What is consumption?
- Consumption: culturally relative way goods and services are consumed