Social Science Midterm Flashcards
the sacred and profane
The profane is defined as part of the “ordinary world”, something that has no religious or spiritual significance. It does not mean that it’s bad, the object or action has no religious significance. The sacred is the complete opposite in terms of something that is regarded as holy or something that requires reverence. Sacred refers typically to religious beliefs or ideas. The sacred is “forbidden and set apart”. All religions require a division between sacred and profane. Throughout the book Waterlily and is shown throughout hunter gatherer culture (ex. red paint on hands and faces to show reverence for the Great Spirit). One example of the scared is in Waterlily when before any ceremony they have to paint either themselves or other objects red to show reverence to the Great Spirit or when handling anything that is considered profane.
Technology
Technology allows humans to efficiently interact with their environment, beyond what they can do with their bodies. It allows humans to multiply and conserve their energy. It aids humans in extending our overall power as a species since we are limited to what we can do with our own bodies. Nomadic tribes developed multiple kinds of tools, Mode 1 tools which allowed them to more efficiently hunt for food. With this working definition slaves can even be considered technology for either the Spaniards or ancient civilizations.
Animism
The belief that there are multiple and distinct spirits throughout the natural world. All trees, plants, and other worldly objects have their own spirit. Elements of the natural world are believed to have “personhood”. In Waterlily, when they performed a ritual involving the cutting down of a tree, they talked about how the tree was alive and conscious, they thanked the tree for its sacrifice as well. “Instead of trying to control nature, individuals control their relationship with nature”. These animists believed that in order to survive, there needed to be a balance between nature and humans.
domestication
This is the process of modifying plants or animals to fit the needs of humans. Domesticated plants and animals then become co-dependent on the humans domesticating them. With the introduction of domestication, plants and animals cannot grow and reproduce on their own without the aid of humans. The Agricultural Revolution heavily impacted the idea of domestication of animals and plants. Pastorialists raise domesticated livestock while agriculturalists grow domesticated plants. Overall, the domestication of plants and animals allowed for higher population density. Natural selection vs artificial selection is also significant when discussing domestication. Humans select the traits that they like in an animal or plant (artificial). In Natural Selection nature weeds out the specific traits they don’t see benefit plants and animals in the evolutionary world.
carrying capacity
The carrying capacity refers to the maximum population size of a species that the environment is able to sustain/the amount of people who can live within a given level of technology. The carrying capacity is used to describe the maximum amount of individuals an environment can hold without causing a depletion of resources. This applies to both human and animal species. The factors that apply to carrying capacity is food, shelter, climate, competitors, etc. It is also closely related with higher population densities (more people living in a smaller area)
surplus
More complex and successful societies have a surplus. Agriculture allows a society to produce more food than is needed to meet people’s immediate needs (economic surplus). More complex societies from surplus create division of labor and stratification. Stratification is still ever present in our modern society, those who work hard to create the surplus rarely get a share of it. The wealthy and powerful get the surplus found within a complex society. The more surplus there is the more inequality is present. The ruling elites appropriate the surplus.
imperium
This was the power over life and death or the right to use violence on an individual to impose order. The King of Rome had the power of imperium and so did slave owners. It was under their jurisdiction to impose order onto those they are in charge of. The King of Rome was in charge of those in his kingdom and Magistrates were in charge of the slaves they owned as well as those who lived on their land. For example, the King of Rome had the authority to send people into battle and inflict the death punishment onto criminals. Overall it is the power to command.
“patria potestas”
This translates to the “power of the father”. The male head of a household had complete authority over the lives and property of his children, wife, slaves, and other dependent relatives. Women usually remained under their fathers authority even after they marry off. Fathers also had the ability to discipline those under his branch of family even having the authority to kill one of his children with a justified reason like keeping order within the household. This can relate to Augustus Caesar being named the “father of the country” since the family order is used as a model for the political order seen within his government.
imagined order
An imagined order refers to the shared beliefs, societal norms, and values within a society. Religions and countries or empires are built upon imagined orders which help keep order. An imagined order usually includes shared history and origins about a society. A set of laws and institutions also relate to an imagined order in the sense that these things help to regulate behavior within a society. Language and the way a society communicates also plays a massive role in an imagined order since language helps to establish myths or historical narratives to depict a society’s origin. These myths legitimize rules, the social ladder and regulations seen within a government. Overall an imagined order relates to every nation past and present to create cohesion and power of authority.
natural slavery
Natural Slavery refers to a group of people who are inherently born to be slaves due to their natural inferiority or self governance. They need some sort of master or higher status individual to help govern and be their voice of reason. According to Aristotle, he believed that some people are just born with characteristics or qualities that require them to serve others. He also believes that there are some individuals that are born to lead or govern those who are born “natural slaves”. He believed that those who fell into the category of natural slaves lacked the ability to possess rationality, reason, and leadership qualities.
-hierarchy within nature
- it is unnatural for the natural slave to be free, living in bondage to the master is natural
Reconquista
It is a military and cultural project. It was a long battle in reconquering originally Christian territories in the Iberian Peninsula from Muslim rule. It forced the conversion of Muslims and Jews to Christianity. Eventually in 1492 the Muslim rulers were expelled from Spain.
The Columbian Exchange
As Europeans travelled to the New World, they brought with them disease, domesticated plants, and animal species. It was overall the exchange of ideas and culture with both the Europeans and the Native Americans that already inhabited America. This all occurred after Christopher Columbus’ voyage in 1492.
encomienda system
encomendar= to entrust
The Laws of Burgos authorized the encomienda system. The encomendero is the person in charge of a group of Native Americans. They are expected to protect the Natives, teach them Christianity, and organize them for labor. The Native Americans are obligated to pay tribute by working for the encomendero. The Native Americans are needed to produce a surplus. The encomederos thought that these Native Americans were incapable of self governance that they needed to take care of them. This system was also generational so those Natives who’s parents were bound to the encomienda system were automatically apart of it as well.
“Just War” Theory
For war to be legitimate it had to be deemed legitimate by a higher authority. War also had to be carried out due to self defense purposes and it also had to have an end goal of enacting peace. The Spanish used the “Just War” theory to wage war against the Natives. The Spanish believed that the pope was the higher power to grant them the ability to enact war. The Spanish threatened the Natives that if they did not submit to the Spanish then they would make war against them. Requiremiento was a key factor in this as well. It was purposefully read in a language that the natives could not understand so that the Spanish could convert them to Christianity and kill them off. They believed that they were converting them from uncivilized barbarians to civilized men. Overall, the Spanish violated natural law and did not comply to the requirements of a “just war”.
“no slavery, no state”
This phrase means that slavery was essentially the backbone for many social systems. Slaves define the bottom of the social ladder, maintaining the hierarchy within a society. Slave labor for all early societies was crucial in developing their economy and keeping the state functional. The success of a state was due to slave labor. The slaves were the ones to produce a surplus, creating a complex society. States also created laws and myths that supported the need for slavery like the idea of natural slavery and the idea of certain groups of people being an inferior sub human.
