ANTHROPOLOGY FINAL

The Invention of marriage

- Marriage is a social invention - In the Blackfoot legend, men needed marriage - The Anglo-American anthropological protective theory - 3 schools of thought: 1. female-centered groups with males leaving once they reached mating age. 2. male-centered with females leaving 3. 1 male with several women - codependence - marriage formed alliances between bands - direct exchange or indirect cyclic exchange - the oppressive theory - marriage was a way to extend cooperative relations and circulate people and resources beyond the local group - a shift from sharing everything to individual property

The Berdache Tradition

- Western tradition is often accepted as the "natural" behavior of humans; anything different is abnormal - not all societies around the world agree that humans are either men or women - an alternative role in many American Indian societies is referred to as berdache - a berdache: a morphological male who does not fill a society's standard man's role, who has non-masculine character - androgyny status - secure place in tribal mythology - they do at least women's work and mix together the behavior, dress, and social roles of men and women - either asexual or passive partner to another man - In Native American culture, berdache's are not deviant - serve as a mediator between man and woman and physical and spiritual - While western tradition is very black and white, Native Americans are more accepting of the ambiguities of life - In some tribal religions, the Great Spiritual Being is conceived as neither male nor female but as a combination - The Pimas were not so excepting of berdache and equated male androgyny to witchcraft - The Navajo refer to the berdache as nadle which is applied to hermaphrodites - the Navajo believe that humans are dependent for many food things on the inventiveness of nadle. - As children are educated by these stories, gender variation is passed down from generation to generation - Native Americans do not concern themselves with the causes of things, and simply relax and accept that human insights can only go so far - To understand the physical world, one must appreciate the underlying spiritual essence - the function of religion is not to condemn what exists, but to appreciate their contributions - Physical sex is less important than personal desire - a child's tendencies to become a berdache are apparent before the child reachers puberty (9-12) - Many tribes have a public ceremony that acknowledges the acceptance of the berdache status - a berdache role is not forced on a boy by others - many tribes see the berdache role as signifying the proclivities as a dreamer or visionary - VisionQuest - white buffalo or double woman - frees the person from the responsibility of choosing the transformation - 1880s Lakota who committed suicide

Body Ritual Among the Nacirema

- believe the human body is ugly and has a natural tendency to debility and disease - each family has at least one shrine in their home - the focal point is a box that contains charms and potions provided by the medicine man for health - they go to a "holy mouth men" once or twice a year when he digs holes in their teeth or pulls a tooth out and inserts magical powders in the holes - they perform daily mouth rituals with hog hair and magical powders because the mouth is the facilitator of social relationships - men cut their faces with knives regularly and women bake their heads in ovens four times each lunar month - each town has a temple called a latipso swhere people go to to receive torturous "cures" when they are ill - men must first publicly defecate and women are prodded at by the medicine man. - many people die - A "listener" comes and listens to all of their grievances - there are ritual fasts to make the fat skinny, and feasts to make the skinny fat. - women that have their ideal breasts, which are rare, travel town to town and make money showing them off. - Intercourse is taboo and pregnancy is infrequent

"When Brothers Share A Wife"

- fraternal polyandry - Tibet - two, three, four, or more brothers take a wife, who leaves her home to come live with them - eldest brother is dominant - all brothers share the work and participate as sexual partners - offspring treated the same - divorce is simple: a brother can simply leave and establish his own household - it prevents division of the family farm - achieve a higher standard of living - similar to primogeniture in nineteenth-century England because it maintains estates - reduces the risk of family fission - Since authority is only granted to the eldest brother, tensions may occur from a desire to gain power. - Tensions may also arise because of sexual favoritism - two false reasons: female infanticide and starvation in barren climate - While polyandry helps regulate population, it was not created to do this - main incentive is maintenance of a good life - A hereditary servitude, similar to serfdom, encouraged polyandry because there could be a division of labor. - Social scientists often discount people's reasons for doing things, but the Tibetans reasons are actually accurate - polyandry is dying because of the elimination of the serf-based economy and newfound social mobility.

Rising Number of Dowry Deaths in India

- reporting of dowry deaths is unemotional and matter-of-fact - often ignored by the government - rising (some claim that it has always been this many; there are just simply more reports now - All official reports are gross understatements of the truth - Some women fear revenge from the husband's family on her own family; since, dowry is illegal, others fear that their family will face legal penalization - police and courts are known to turn a blind eye - bride burning - women are interviewed in the presence of the husband and his family - prosecution rates are low - demands for dowry can go on for years - Dowry used to be seen as a form of inheritance for the girl. Now, it is considered a vital source of income for the husband's family - Certain characteristics, i.e. job, class, etc., increase the price of the husband - daughters are an unwelcome burden and face abortion and infanticide

Types of Economic Exchange

1. Reciprocity: - Generalized Reciprocity - Balanced Reciprocity - Negative Reciprocity 2. Redistribution 3. Market Exchange

Horticulture Economies

1st Cultivating Economy Technology - where people plant seeds, roots, tubers Use of Hoe or Digging Stick Swidden Agriculture - Slash and Burn Technique Shifting Horticulture - Moving to other areas In order to "shift" you need LAND Land is not a Private Commodity Land tenure is by extended Kin Groups Kin-Based Social Systems Division of Labor: Women Tend Fields; Males Hunt Women Sometimes have Prestige Economic Unit of Production: Household Populations in the 100s Villages Will Splitter Over Population/Land Shortage = Conflict

Religion in America

83% Believe in God 9% Do Not Believe in God 24% Believe that God played a role in Creation and Evolution 53% Say Religion is Very Important in Their Lives Paradox? 25% Attend Services at Least Once or Twice a Month Americans Never Much for Ceremony Rejection of European Authority Lack of Established Church Group Churches Social Activities Group Fellowship Crises of Spirit and Meaning "Individualism" "Awakening" Demand for Spirit and Meaning Novel Forms of Religious Beliefs (Cults?) "Worldly Themes" Electronic Churches Promise of Material Success & Physical Well-being Experts to Interpret Rapid Culture Change Finds Expression in Spiritual Yearnings Not Anti-Religious Mostly Indifference "Most Americans Visit McDonalds More Frequently than Houses of Worship"

Descent Groups

A kind of kinship group in which membership requires being a Direct Lineal Descendant of a Real or Mythical Ancestor Unilineal Descent through Male or Female Line Extended Families Bilateral Descent through Both Male and Female Lines Nuclear Families Evolve from the Extended Family Organization Extended Family Identifies and Separates Individuals by Kin Descent Most Apt to Happen with Food Producing Societies Tribal Organizations Extended Families Unite Descent Groups through First Cousin Marriages Cross-Cousin Marriage - Different Sex Parent Link Mother's Brother's Child Father's Sister's Child Parallel Cousins - Same Sex Parent Link Mother's Sister's Child Father's Brother's Child

Power

Ability to Exercise One's Will Over Others

Polytheism

Belief in Many Gods Agriculturalists/Chiefdom Societies Some Good/Some Evil Varying Degrees of Power Zeus - Only Power over the Head of an Extended Family Constrained by the wishes of his Wife, Hera Consistent with the Dynamics of the Greek Extended Family

Monotheism

Belief in One God Agriculturalists/Industrialists/State Societies More Powerful Gods are Found in Ranked Societies Judeo-Christian God is Absolute Hindu God Siva (God of Destruction and Reproduction) can Destroy the World!

Animism

Belief that Spirits Reside within All Organic and Inorganic Substances Foragers, Horticulturalists Mbuti Pygmies - The Forest Spirit - "Singing"

Patrilocal

Couple Moves in with Groom's Family Cooperative Labor of Men Pastoralists Agriculturalists Inheritance in Male Line

Tribes

Culturally Distinct Population Members consider themselves Descended from the same Ancestors or as part of the same PEOPLE Shifting Horticulturalists and Pastoralists Organized by Village Life, Descent Groups Kin-Based Social System linked by RECIPROCITY Populations = 100s Egalitarianism Decreases as Village Size & Population Density Increases Leadership No Formal Governments; No Formal Offices More Effective Regulatory Mechanisms than Bands Nominal Leaders - Achieved Status Social Control Informal Means Based on Public Sentiment "Oaths" and "Ordeals" As Trials Headman or Council Acting as Mediators in Settling Despites Supernatural Sanctions Warfare Raiding other Villages Linked to Kin-groups War is grounded in Material or Ecological Conditions "Ritual Combat"

Ethnocide

Deliberate and Systematic Destruction of a People's Culture Ethnocentric Beliefs of Superiority/Inferiority Indigenous Culture Must Be Replaced With a Superior Culture! Extreme Ethnocentrism Send Children to Distant Schools Neglect, Starvation, Physical and Sexual Abuse High Rate of Suicide Material Rewards for Converts Bans on Traditional Practices, Rituals and Dress

Genocide

Deliberate and Systematic Destruction of a Political or Cultural Group

Matrilineal Descent

Descent traced through the female's line or group Mother's Brother is the dominant male figure Distributes goods Organizes work Settles disputes Controls inheritance Legal authority

Levels of Political Organization

Elman Service Bands - Tribes - Chiefdoms - States Increasing Levels of Cultural Complexity Correlation with Economic "Adaptive Strategies" May Not Fit All Societies But, Useful to Show How Societies Vary in Social Order

Market Exchange

Exchange of Goods by Buyers and Sellers Supply & Demand Directly By Barter Indirectly By Money and Pricing

Types of Kin

Fictive Arbitrarily Assigned Adoption Consanguineal Blood Kin - Biological Descent Affinal Kin by Marriage - Cultural Affiliation "In-Laws"

Typology of Culture

Foraging Pastoralism Horticulture Agriculture Industrialism

Balanced Reciprocity

Gift-Giving that Carries the Obligation of a roughly Equal Return What is Given Must be Balanced by the Return of Something Comparable Distant Friends of Equal Social Status What if it becomes "Unbalanced"?

Intensive Industrialism

Global Need For Natural Resources Need to Keep Machines Running Automation Increased Occupational Specialization Requires a High Degree of Specialization

Production

How goods are brought in

Distribution

How goods are given out

Consumption

How goods are used

Foraging Economies

Hunting and Gathering Exploiting Natural Resources Small, Migratory Populations (family groups, 40-60) Requires Freedom of Movement Seasonality Weak Territoriality Flexible Borders Division of Labor by Sex and Age Egalitarian Social Relations Few differences in Wealth & Power Economic Unit of Production: Entire Group Cooperation is the Theme Conflict is kept to minimum Decision-making is by Consensus Aggregations during times of plenty (Summer/Fall?) Marriages, trading, etc.

Configuration

In cultural and social studies, configurations are patterns of behaviour, movement (→movement culture) and thinking, which research observes when analysing different cultures and/ or historical changes.

Generalized Reciprocity

Informal Gift-Giving No Accounts are kept No Immediate or Specific Returns are Expected "Gift-Giving for the Sake of Gift-Giving" Close Friends / Relatives

American Economics

Intensive Industrialism Machine as "Sacred Cow" Impersonal Social Systems Run Ourselves Like Machines Automation Alienation Indifference to Quality Workers Become Bored Need to Invention of New Jobs Confusion about "Capitalism" Political? Economic? Political Economy? Democratic Capitalism vs. Authoritarian Capitalism "Land of Plenty", but, in reality, "Plenty to Pay For" Accumulation of Debt! Individual/Households as Economic Unit Females - Primary Day-to-Day Consumers Labor Organized by Specialization, Business Affiliation Middle Class Family Wealth Is Not in Capital Residences and Automobiles Poverty = 12.7% of American families 50% of All Americans will Live in Poverty Before the Age of 65 13.3 Million (18%) of American children under the age of 18 = U.S. Census Bureau

States

Is a Hierarchical, Centralized Form of Political Organization Involves a Central Government that has the Legal Monopoly over the use of FORCE Unlimited Growth (Unlike Chiefdoms!) Populations = Tens of Thousands/Millions Agricultural and Industrial Technologies Based on Formal, Codified LAW Class-Based Social Systems Endogamy - Marry In System of Social Stratification Based on Non-Relatives! Important Distinction from Other Political Levels Socio-economic Factors Have the ability to Expand Indefinitely Incorporation of a Variety of Political Administrative Bureaucracies Maintain Standing Armies Artists and Craft Workers Institutionalized Religious Organization Social Control Maintained through Government Individuals are Members through "Citizenship" Not Kin Networks! Sense of being "One People" Concept of Nationality Government creates Public Policy - Domestic and Foreign Intervenes in every aspect of the Economic Process = Taxation Mostly Market Exchange Passes Laws Uses Force to Uphold Judiciary Decisions Threats Rebellions and Revolutions State wins Loyalty and Solidarity through Ideology Warfare Industrial Societies Global Economic Rivalries Costly Human Lives; Destruction Resources; Energy Distant Regions Leads to Increased Political Centralized Control Can be Volunteer Effort or Coercion Military Draft

Modes of Production

Is a way of organizing production A set of social relations through which labor is deployed to extract energy from nature by means of tools, skills, organization and knowledge

Religion

Is the cultural knowledge of the supernatural that people use to cope with the ultimate problems of human existence Consists of a Belief in the Existence of the Supernatural and of Ways of Dealing (Action) with it. One way of Explaining and Responding to the Unknown Religion is a Universal Aspect of Human Behavior The "Why?" Questions of Life Life, Death, the Universe

Kin-Based Modes of Production

Kin-Based Social System Most important social/economic relationships are with relatives Non-Industrial Societies Labor is usually Not Bought, but Given as a Social Obligation Economic Production is Among Many Expressions of Larger Web of Social Relations Note: Reflects the Wider Social Relationships within the Society

Matrilocal

Living with the Bride's Family Cooperative Labor Of Women Horticulturalists Inheritance Through Female Line

Capitalist Mode of Production

Money Buys Labor Power Social Gap Between People involved in the Production Process Management / Workers Impersonal Relationships

Clans

Non-Corporate Descent Group Claiming Descent From a Common Ancestor Assumed Links Without Knowing! Lacks Residential Unity Depends on Symbols Totems

Polygynous

One Man, Several Wives

Polyandrous

One Woman, Several Husband Fraternal Polyandry

Political Organization

Patterned ways of Legitimate Power Approved by the Community Authority is used to Regulate Behavior

Redistribution

Process by which Goods & Services Flow Through a Centralized Authority Sorted, Counted and Reallocated Ex. Taxes

Industrial Economies

Production of Consumer & Subsistence Goods Through the Intensive Use of Fuel-Powered Machinery Human Labor Involves Operation of Machines Machines are Moveable; Land is Not Mobile Societies - You Go Where the Jobs Are! Regardless of Social Relationships Division of Labor Function We Work as Individuals Not Necessarily with Relatives "Individualism" Competition Economic Unit of Production: Individual Production of "Money" "Capital" Sell Labor for Cash Lack of Personal Involvement with Products Manufactured Lack of Quality? Class-Based Social System Most important social relationships are people that share the same jobs, salaries, etc. "Work Place Families" Economic Domain Stands Apart From Ordinary Social Life Trend Toward Secularization

Kinship and Descent Systems

Refers to Ties of Blood Marriage Adoption Organizes Group Activities & Social Relationships Both a Biological and Cultural Dimension While Kinship Relations More Important in Some Cultures than Others For All Societies it is The Single Most Important Aspect of Social Structure

Kinship Functions

Regulates Access to Property Inheritance Ceremonial Functions Organizes Ritual Regulates Labor Economics Regulates Access to Leadership Political, Support, Protection

Neolocal

Residence Pattern Leave Family of Orientation Set up Family of Procreation

Political Ideology

Shared Standards and Beliefs that Legitimize Power

How American dominant cultures affect developing nations?

Since our culture is so dominant, indigenous populations lose aspects of their culture through our intervention.

Bands

Small groups of People - usually Nuclear Families Foraging Economies Bands tend to be Independent; Politically autonomous; Few Levels of Control or Leadership Importance of Personal Relationships through ties of marriage, kinship, trade Exogamous - Marry Out Flexible Residences Rarely Have Institutional Authority Economic Distribution is Through Reciprocity Leadership No Formal Leaders - Headman Little Differential Authority Leadership based on Talents, Respect, Perceived Supernatural Abilities When Band Leader Dies; Authority also Dies Consensus - Decision-making ex. Inuit Headman Social Control - Informal Consensus Judgment Gossip, Ridicule and Avoidance Banishment Repeat Violators Supernatural Sanctions Group Confessions Offender is seen as a Patient, not a Criminal Warfare Conflict resolved Informally Fighting = Family Feuds, Personal Sporadic Violence; Not Continual Fighting No Formal Organization of War Cooperation is the Theme Social Mechanisms to Maintain Solidarity Fluidity, Flexibility, and Equality

Authority

Socially Approved Use of Power

Reciprocity

Systematic Sharing of Food or Gifts Near Constant Give and Take Among Individuals Reciprocity is the Key to Social Bonds

Ecocide

Systematic and Deliberate Destruction of the Environment Environmental Degradation of Tribal Areas Resource Depletion Erosion Plant and Animal Extinction Eliminates Traditional Means of Economics: Production, Distribution and Consumption Creates Cultural Stress Competition for Limited Resources; Conflict Creates Dependency on Outside Powers

Intensive Agricultural Economies

Technology - Plows, Domesticated Animals, Irrigation Systems, Terracing, Fertilizers Sedentary Agriculture - Occupy a particular piece of land continuously generation after generation Private Property; Usually owned by Elites Great Labor Demands Larger Populations 1,000s and 10,000s "State" Systems Centralized Authority Coordination of Land and Labor Resolve Conflicts of Interest Economic Unit of Production Household Division of Labor: Males are Farmers Females are Domestics Women Rarely Share in Decision-Making "Ranked-Societies" Elites Occupational Specialization Emergence of a Money Economy with Distance Trade Networks

Pastoral Economies

Technology devoted to gaining a livelihood from the care of large herds of domestic animals Limited crop growing By-products of Domestic Animals Wandering/Transhumance Patterns In Search of the Grazing Fields Houses are Portable - Tents Equal Access to Pastures Diet supplemented by Hunting, Fishing, Gathering Concept of Private Ownership Mainly in Animals Ex. Lapp Family Ownership of Individual Reindeer Populations: Groups over 100 people Economic Unit of Production: Household Division of Labor: Males Herd & Care of Animals = Higher Social Status Almost totally found in the Old World Except for Andes Regions of South America

Corporate Descent

They Act as a Unit in Making Decisions about Property Continues after the Death of Members

Negative Reciprocity

To Get Something for Nothing or as Little as Possible Each Side trying to get the Better End of a Bargain Profit! Enemies or Strangers Impersonal Transactions

Economic Consumption

Use of Food and Consumer Goods For Subsistence For Social Status

Chiefdoms

Usually Associated with Intensive Agriculture Populations in the 1,000s+ Dense Populations Few Chiefdoms Remain Today More Sedentary Greater Economic Productivity Based on the Concept of Hereditary Inequality Chiefly Commoner Slaves Centralized Leadership - Formal Office of Chief Ascribed Status Ranked Societies Power of Life or Death Over Individuals Related to Redistributive Exchange Patterns Social Control Chief has authority to make Judgments, to Punish and to Resolve Disputes His Word is Law! Power of Life or Death "Gods" were Guardians of Political Power Limited to the Chief's Presence No Hierarchy of Authority Warfare Chief's Recruit Armies Systematic Warfare Extends the Chiefdom's Region Dominates Surrounding Communities Hence, Controls their Surplus Production Evolved? Transition from Tribes Not well Documented How did One Particular Descent Group Manage to Gain Monopolies over Resources? Degree of Control Over Vital Productive Resources and Labor