anth exam 1

serial monogamy

A form of marriage in which a person may have several spouses in his or her lifetime, but only one spouse at a time.

Habitus

Bourdieu's term to describe the self-perceptions and beliefs that develop as part of one's social identity and shape one's conceptions of the world and where one fits in it

Bronislaw Malinowski

British anthropologist (born in Poland) who introduced the technique of the participant observer (1884-1942) fieldwork and functionalism

Culture is necessary for human existence in three specific ways

Culture provides knowledge and skills to adapt to and thrive in surroundings Culture is the basis for human social life Culture affects our view of reality

fictive kin

Family-like relationships that are not based on blood or marriage but on close friendship ties.

Subfields of Anthropology

Linguistics, Acheaology, Cultural, Biological

ghost marriage

Marriage practice among the Nuer of Sudan in which a widow marries her dead husband's brother and in which the children ensuing from the second marriage are said to be the children of the first, dead husband.

Enculturation

The social process by which culture is learned and transmitted across generations

Matrilocal

a family system in which the husband is expected to live near the wife's parents

Patrilocal

a family system in which the wife is expected to live near the husband's parents

Polygyny

a form of marriage in which men have more than one wife

Polyandry

a form of marriage in which women have more than one husband

ambilineal

a generation affiliates with either their mothers or fathers descent group but not simultaneously with both

lineage

a group of kin whose members trace how they are related, and have specifically known relationships (often this is by blood or marriage)

necrogamy

a marriage in which one of the participating members is deceased

clan

a named descent group who share ancestors

avunculocal residence

a pattern of residence in which a married couple settles with or near the husband's mother's brother

participant observation

a research method in which investigators systematically observe people while joining them in their routine activities

patrilineal descent

a system of tracing descent through the father's side of the family

matrilineal descent

a system of tracing descent through the mother's side of the family

Ethnocentrism

belief in the superiority of one's own ethnic group

cultures

composed of shared cultural knowledge that includes beliefs, behaviors, and perspectives that are shared and learned by members of a group

cross-cousins and parallel cousins

cross=kids of opposite sex siblings (father's sisters kids or mother's brother's kids). parallel=kids of same sex siblings.

E.B. Taylor's definition of culture

culture is a complex whole which includes knowledge, beliefs, arts, morals, laws, customs, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by a human as a member of society

Emic vs. Etic

emic - how local people think, native viewpoint etic - scientist oriented approach where the ethnographer brings to bear an objective and comprehensive viewpoint to studying

Franz Boas

father of modern American anthropology; argued for cultural relativism and historical particularism

Cultural anthropologists study

human beliefs, behaviors, and perspectives

Exogamy

marriage outside the tribe, caste, or social group

totemic clans

members are symbolically identified with certain supernatural powers associated with plants, animals, and natural foods. These clans will often be named after their totemic association

cultural relativism

not judging a culture but trying to understand it on its own terms

affinal kin

people related through marriage

Dowry

property or money brought by a bride to her husband on their marriage

consanguinal kin

related by blood

Kinship

social systems that help to organize people by creating family groups based on descent and marriage

holistic/holism anthropology

strives to study all aspects of the human experience

Bridewealth

the groom and often his family remit a payment in some form to the brides family in order to officialize a marriage

Brideservice involves __________.

the groom working for the bride's family

Endogamy

the practice of marrying within one's own group

cultural integration

the process of combining cultures together into one

descent

the socially established affiliation between members of the group based on their perceived relatedness

bilateral descent

the tracing of kinship through both parents' ancestral lines

unilateral descent

the tracing of kinship through one parent only

Neolocal

Refers to the pattern in which newly married couples set up their own households