Anthropology: Substance Ch 5

The practice of moving gardens to new areas, cutting down fast-growing trees, burning the undergrowth, and planting crops is called

"slash and burn."

Why do anthropologists think agriculture arose nearly simultaneously in different regions of the world?

1. Global climate change led to the extinction of the megafauna (large game animals) that hunters had relied upon. 2. A quest for power among elites led to a culture of feasting and gift-giving, requiring additional and intensive production from the land. Answer: 3. Both of the answer choices are possible hypotheses.

In the Trobriand Islands, which of the following best represents the relationship between people and their yams?

1. Women own the yams, and men share what they grow with women. 2. A large yam pile in a man's house demonstrates he is well-liked and maintains his relationships in the community. 3. Yams are believed to be living beings with minds of their own who may wander away at night if they are not magically charmed into place. 4. All of the answer choices are correct.

Pastoralists raise animals in order to

1. utilize the food products of the animal. 2. use the fur and wool of animals for warmth and clothing. 3. use animal dung for fuel for their cooking fires. 4. all of the answer choices are correct.

People who are disconnected from the production of their food (that is, who do not know where their daily food comes from or how it was produced) are most likely to be in which kind of society?

Agricultural

How do anthropologists today evaluate Marshall Sahlins' statement that foragers are "the original affluent society?"

Anthropologists know that foragers' work and leisure time depends on the availability of resources, making this statement overly romantic.

Which of the following scenarios best represents the "built environment" among foragers?

Foragers clear an area of brush and small trees, leaving the large trees intact, and after eating fruit, discard the seeds which later germinate to produce more trees.

Which of the following subsistence activities is an example of an immediate return system?

Foraging for plant foods in a forest

Which statement best represents the practice of horticulture?

Horticulturalists move their gardens periodically, use simple tools, and largely consume their own crops.

Which of the following statements best describes the relationship between agricultural food production and feeding the world's population?

There is enough food produced to feed everyone on the planet, only it is unevenly distributed, and some regions face shortages and hunger.

The series of steps a food product takes from the field to the store is called

a commodity chain.

World system:

a complex economic system through which goods circulate around the globe. The world system for food is characterized by a separation of the producers of goods from the consumers.

Broad spectrum diet:

a diet based on a wide range of food resources.

Carrying capacity:

a measurement of the number of calories that can be extracted from a particular unit of land in order to support a human population.

Neolithic Revolution:

a period of rapid innovation in subsistence technologies that began 10,000 years ago and led to the emergence of agriculture. Neolithic means "new stone age," a name referring to the stone tools produced during this time period.

Horticulture:

a subsistence system based on the small-scale cultivation of crops intended primarily for the direct consumption of the household or immediate community.

Pastoralism:

a subsistence system in which people raise herds of domesticated livestock.

Foraging:

a subsistence system that relies on wild plant and animal food resources. This system is sometimes called "hunting and gathering."

Rarely, foraging groups may become sedentary instead of nomadic. This is possible when

abundant natural resources create a food surplus, allowing some members of society to pursue other occupations than foraging.

The Neolithic Revolution was characterized by

an explosion of new technologies geared toward farming.

The term that anthropologists use to quantify the number of calories that can be extracted from a particular unit of land to support a human population is

carrying capacity.

The "three sisters" crops of the New World are

corn (maize), beans, and squash.

All of the following are correct about the Maasai's use of land EXCEPT

each herder tries to take more than their share, leaving less for others, and leading to the destruction of the local environment.

The best horticultural crops are

easy to grow, store, and distribute.

Staple crops:

foods that form the backbone of the subsistence system by providing the majority of the calories a society consumes.

The cultural norms and attitudes surrounding food and eating are known as

foodways.

The four modes of subsistence recognized by anthropologists are

foraging, pastoralism, horticulture, agriculture.

A mode of subsistence defined by it reliance on wild plant and animal food resources already available in the environment is called

foraging.

Foragers have a broad spectrum diet, that is, they

have a diet based on a wide range of food resources.

People whose gardens supply the majority of their food are called

horticulturalists.

In Maasai pastoralist society, women

manage the cattle, but do not own their cattle.

In a pastoralist society, wealth and status are measured by the

number of animals a person owns.

A subsistence system that relies on herds of domesticated livestock is called

pastoralism.

Built environment:

spaces that are human-made, including cultivated land as well as buildings.

Delayed return system:

techniques for obtaining food that require an investment of work over a period of time before the food becomes available for consumption. Farming is a delayed return system due to the passage of time between planting and harvest. The opposite is an immediate return system in which the food acquired can be immediately consumed. Foraging is an immediate return system.

Agriculture:

the cultivation of domesticated plants and animals using technologies that allow for intensive use of the land.

Foodways:

the cultural norms and attitudes surrounding food and eating.

Mono-cropping:

the reliance on a single plant species as a food source. Mono-cropping leads to decreased dietary diversity and carries the risk of malnutrition compared to a more diverse diet.

Commodity chain:

the series of steps a food takes from location where it is produced to the store where it is sold to consumers.

A subsistence system is

the set of practices used by members of a society to acquire food.

Subsistence system:

the set of skills, practices, and technologies used by members of a society to acquire and distribute food.

Historical ecology:

the study of how human cultures have developed over time as a result of interactions with the environment.

Modes of subsistence:

the techniques used by the members of a society to obtain food. Anthropologists classify subsistence into four broad categories: foraging, pastoralism, horticulture, and agriculture.

Domestic economy:

the work associated with obtaining food for a family or household.

In subsistence studies, the term domestic economy refers to

the work associated with obtaining food for a family or household.