Anthropology Quiz 12

Polygyny

A marriage form in which a man is married to two or more women at the same time; a form of polygamy

serial monogamy

A marriage form in which a man or a woman marries or lives with a series of partners in succession

polyandry

A marriage form in which a woman is married to two or more men at one time; a form of polygamy

group marriage

A marriage form in which several men and women have sexual access to one another; also called co-marriage

dowry

A payment at the time of a woman's marriage that comes from her inheritance, made to either her or husband

Polygamy

a marriage form in which one individual has multiple spouses at the same time; ; from the Greek words poly (many) and gamos (marriage)

consanguineal family

A family of blood relatives, consisting of related women, their brothers, and the women's offspring's

What are the different types of descent groups in kin-ordered societies?

-A descent group is any kin group whose member s share a direct line of descent from a real (historical) or fictional common ancestor. -Unilineal descent establishes kin group membership exclusively through the male line (patrilineal) or female line (matrilineal). Matrilineal descent does not automatically confer gender authority. -There is a close relationship between a culture's infrastructure and its descent system. Generally, patrilineal descent predominates where male labor is seen as primary, as among pastoralists and agriculturalists. Matrilineal descent predominates mainly among horticulturalists where female subsistence work is vital -The two major forms of a unilineal descent group (patrilineal or matrilineal) are the lineage (a kin group descended from a common ancestor whose relationship to member s can be exactly stated in genealogical terms) and the clan (an extended kin group, often consisting of several lineages, whose members claim common descent from a remote ancestor, usually legendary or mythological).

What is a stratified society, and what are the possibilities and limitations of upward and downward social mobility?

-A stratified society is divided into two or more categories of people who do not share equally in basic resources that support income, status, and power. Societies may be stratified by gender, age, social class, or caste -A social class includes individuals having equal or nearly equal prestige according to a society's system of evaluation -A caste is a closed social class with membership determined by birth and fixed for life. A classic example is the traditional Hindu caste system of India. It encompasses a complex ranking of 2,000 castes associated with specific occupations and customs, and organized into four basic orders or varnas. -The hierarchy in a stratified society may also be based on ethnic origin or notions of race. In South Africa, for example, people of European descent maintained power through apartheid - a repressive regime of racial segregation and discrimination against indigenous black Africans from 1948 to 1992. A racist regime also existed in the United States -Most stratified societies offer at least some social mobility - upward or downward change in one's social class position. Even in caste societies, which impose severe institutionalized limits on social mobility, there is some flexibility through group action , as seen in the Dalit movement in India.

Beyond kinship, what kinds of group do humans form and why?

-Because ties of kinship and household are not always sufficient to handle all the challenges of human survival, people also form groups based on gender, age, common interest, and social status. -Grouping by gender separates men and women to varying degrees in different societies. -Age grouping may augment or replace kinship grouping. An age grade is a category of people organized by age. Some societies have age sets also, which are comprised of individuals who move together through a series of life stages. -Common-interest associations are based on sharing particular activities, objectives, values, or beliefs. Linked to social change and urbanization, their roots may be found in the first horticultural villages -The Internet has lessened face-to-face interaction while opening up new forms of virtual communication through social media.

What are the different types of descent groups in kin-ordered societies? pt. 2

-Double descent (matrilineal for some purposes, patrilineal for others) is rare. Ambilineal descent provides the flexibility of affiliating with either the mother's or father's descent group. Bilateral descent derives from both the mother's and father's families equally -Because lineages are commonly exogamous, sexual competition within the group is largely avoided, and marriage reinforces alliances between lineages -Unlike lineages, clan residence is usually dispersed. Clan identification is often reinforced by totems. A phratry is a unilineal descent group of two or more clans that supposedly share a common ancestry. When a society is divided into two halves, each half consisting of one or more clans, these two major descent groups are called moieties -Because the bilateral descent system may result in a huge kinship group that is socially impractical , the group is usually reduced to a small circle of paternal and maternal relatives called the kindred .

How do different cultures permit or restrict sexual relations?

-Every society has rules and customs concerning sexual relation, marriage, household and family structures, and childrearing practices. These play important roles in establishing and maintaining the social alliances and continuity that help ensure a society's overall well-being -Most cultures are sexually permissive and do not sharply regulate personal sexual practices. Others are restrictive, prohibiting all sexual activity outside of marriage. Of these, a few punish adultery by imprisonment, social exclusion, or even death, as traditionally prescribed by some religious laws -Incest taboos forbid marriage and sexual relations between certain close relatives. Such taboos are related to the practices of *endogamy (marrying within a group) and *exogamy (marrying outside a group)

what is kinship, and what role does it play in social organization?

-Kinship is a social network of relatives with in which individua ls possess certain mutual rights and obligations -In nonindustrial societies, kin groups deal with challenges that families and households cannot handle alone- defense, resource allocation, cooperative labor. In larger and more complex societies, formal political systems take over many of these matters.

What does kinship terminology reveal about human relation?

-Kinship terminology varies across cultures and often reveals the structure of kinship groups, the importance of certain relationships, and prevailing attitudes about specific kin -The Hawaiian system is the simplest system of kinship terminology, with all relatives of the same generation and gender referred to by the same term -The Eskimo system emphasizes the nuclear family and merges all other relatives in a given generation into a few large, generally undifferentiated categories -In the Iroquois system, a single term is used for a father and his brother and another for a mother and her sister. Parallel cousins are equated with brothers and sisters but distinguished from cross-cousins. -New reproductive technologies challenge traditional not ions of kinship and gender, resulting in new social categories.

What is marriage?

-Marriage is a culturally sanctioned union between two or more people that establishes certain rights and obligations between them, them and their children, and them and their-in-laws -Marriage falls into several broad categories. Monogamy, having one spouse, is most common. Serial Monogamy, in which a person marries a series of partners, is common among Europeans and North Americans -Polygamy (one individual having multiple spouses) comes in two forms: polygyny and polyandry. Although few marriages in a given society may be polygynous, it is preferred form of marriage in the majority of the world's cultures -Because few communities have a surplus of men, polyandry (a women having several husbands) in uncommon. Also rare is group marriage, in which several men and several women have sexual access to one another -In Western industrial and postindustrial countries, marriages are generally based on ideals of romantic love. In nonwestern societies, economic considerations are of major concern in arranging marriages, and marriage servers to bind two families as allies

How do globalization and technology impact marriage and family?

-New reproduction technologies, surrogacy, and international adoptions are adding new dimensions to familial relationships -another phenomenon changing the makeup of the households and families worldwide is the ever-growing population of temporary and migrant workers

What is marriage?

-Preferred marriage partners in many societies are particular cross-cousins (mother's brother's daughter if a man; father's sister's son if a women) or, less commonly, parallel cousins on the paternal side (father's brother's son or daughter). Cross cousin marriage is a means of maintaining and reinforcing solidarity between related group -A growing number of societies support same-sex marriages. In some African cultures, traditional woman-woman marriages provide a socially approved way to deal with problems for which heterosexual marriages offer no satisfactory solution - In many cultures, marriages are formalized by economic exchange : Bride wealth is the payment of money or other valuables from the groom's to the bride's kin. Bride service occurs when the groom is expected to work for a period of time for the bride's family. A dowry is the payment of a woman's inheritance at the time of marriage to her or to her husband -Divorce is possible in all societies. Reasons and frequency vary, but the most common reasons across cultures are infidelity, sterility, cruelty, and desertion -The extended family consists of several closely related nuclear families living and often working together in a single hosuehold

What kinds of marital residence patterns exist across cultures?

-Three common residence patterns are patrilocal (married couples living in the locality of the husband's father's place of residence), matrilocal (living in the locality of the wife's mother's place of residence), and neolocal (living somewhere apart from the husband's or wife's parents) -In North America and parts of Europe, increasing numbers of people live in nonfamily households, either alone or with nonrelatives. This includes unmarried cohabiting couples. Many others live in nontraditional families, including single-parent households and blended families

household

A domestic unit of one or more people living in the same residence. Other than family members, a household may include nonrelatives, such as servants

conjugal family

A family established through marriage

marriage

A culturally sanctioned union between two or more people that establishes certain rights and obligations between the people, between them and their children, and between them and their in-laws. Such marriage rights and obligations most often include, but are not limited to, sex, labor, property, childrearing, exchange, and status.

bride service

A designated period of time (sometimes several years) when the groom works for the bride's family

neolocal residence

A residence pattern in which a married couple establishes its household in a location apart from either the husband's or the wife's relatives

patrilocal residence

A residence pattern in which a married couple lives in the husband's father's place of residence

matrilocal residence

A residence pattern in which a married couple lives in the wife's mother's place of residence

parallel cousins

The child of a father's brother or a mother's sister

cross-cousin

The child of a mother's brother or a father's sister

Bridewealth

The money or valuable goods paid by the groom or his family to the bride's family upon marriage; also called bride-price

extended family

Two or more closely related nuclear families clustered together in a large domestic group

social class

a category of individuals in a stratified society who enjoy equal or nearly equal prestige according to the hierarchical system of evaluation

Caste

a closed social class in a stratified society in which membership is determined by birth and fixed for life

monogamy

a marriage form in which both partners have just one spouse

Incest

marriage or sexual intercourse between people who are too closely related, usually parent and child and sibling relations at a minimum

Exogamy

marriage outside the group

Endogamy

marriage within a particular group or category of individuals

family

two or more people related by blood, marriage, or adoption. The family may take many forms, ranging from a single parent with one or more children, to a married couple or polygamous spouses with or without offspring, to several generations of parents and their children