Anthropology 310 Final study guide

Social Control

Structures and mechanisms to ensure that society's accepted forms of behavior are upheld.

Power

The ability to influence people or cause them to do things they would not otherwise.

Homogenization

The diminishing cultural diversity as world's cultures become more and more similar to each other.

Consumption

The dominant way of using up goods and services

Gender

The expectations of thought and behavior that each culture assigns to people of different sexes.

Sexual Dimorphism

The physical differences between adult males and females of a specieso E.g. height, weight, genitals, body hair, voice, etc

Politics

The process of selecting leaders and organized control

Intersex

Though most common forms are either XX (female) or XY (male), infrequently, individuals can have unique combinations that result in intermediate forms. They are often called "intersex"||

Bilateral Descent

Trace descent equally through mother and father

Unilineal Descent

Trace only descent through either mother's side OR father's side, but not both.

Matrilineal descent

Traces descent through the mother's side

Fictive Kinship

Unrelated individuals with a close bond and established relationship (e.g. community, support group, soldiers)

Generalized

Value of the exchange is not important and repayment is not determined (or sometimes even expected)

Violence and humanity

Violence occurs in our closest living relatives, the chimpanzees, as well. So its not uniquely human

Political Systems

We surveyed the variety of political organizations seen in human society, though note that the following categories don't necessary capture the complexity possible

Nuclear Family

Western cultures often focus on the nuclear family as a unit, which includes mother, father and their offspring

Endogamy

When a culture required marriage WITHIN a designated group

Exogamy

When a culture requires marriage OUTSIDE of a designated group

Lineage

When a descent group can document genealogical connections to a founding ancestor

Informants/Analysts

When anthropologists are hired by outside organizations to collect cultural data and provide advice on create of effective policy.

Applied Anthropology

When anthropologists become actively engaged with the communities they study

Clan

When the descent group claims a founding ancestor but can't document it (sometimes more mythological and distant, like an origin story)

Formal social control.

Written laws that govern the behavior of individuals in a society. Often founded in religious values of a society Often have specific consequences that are enforced through a penal system

Conflict Resolution

almost entirely by informal social control. Warfare very rare and when occurs, bloodshed is infrequent.

Globalization

changes and transformations resulting from the impact of industrialism and emergence of interconnected economies.

Equity

fairness

Leaders

have persuasive power but no authority or advantages to leadership. Based on personal skills and abilities and may share leadership or reject leadership at any time.

Production

how they get resources. Subsistence strategies: foragers, horticulturalists, pastoralists, agriculturalists, industrial/digital

Equality

sameness

Sexuality

sexuality is independent of either sex or gender. Sexuality is the complex ranges of desires, beliefs, and behaviors that are related to physical contact

Urban Anthropology

studies the processes and social problems created by urban living (a relatively recent phenomenon)

Exchange

the exchange of material and non-material goods

Coercive power

use of force to influence people

Dowry

when Bride's family gives gift to Groom's family.Insufficient dowrys can lead to domestic discord Usually occurs when women are NOT important economic contributors

Cultural Resource Management

works to preserve and manage archaeological and cultural resources. Conduct surveys, excavate, and manage collections.

Sex Chromosomes

|DNA is condensed into 23 pairs of chromosomes. The last pair is the smallest and called "sex chromosomes". Among other things, they contain the DNA code for sex hormones like estrogen and testosterone

Consumerism

- Infinite consumer demands • Agricultural and industrial societies

Economics

A cultural adaptation to the environment that enables a group of humans to use available resources to satisfy their needs

Tribes

A culturally distinct, multiband population that sees themselves as being descended from a common ancestor. Common in horticultural and pastoral groups who are generally larger than forager groups

Race

A flawed system of classification, that uses physical characteristics (like skin color) to divide humans into discrete groups.

Redistribution

A form of exchange in which accumulated wealth is collected from the members of the group and reallocated in a different pattern (e.g. potlatch, taxes)

Family of Orientation

A person's childhood family, where they grew up

Family of Procreation

A person's family as an adult, their spouse and offspring

Representatives/Mediators

A role where an anthropologist acts as a spokesperson or intermediary to represent the societies interests to outside organizations like governments or corporations

Ethnicity

A sense of historical, cultural, and sometimes ancestral connection to a group of people who are imagined to be distinct from those outside the group.

Bands

A small, kinship-based group of foragers. Egalitarian

Marriage

A socially recognized relationship that may involve physical and emotional intimacy as well as legal rights to property and inheritance. Exists in some form in all cultures! o Is usually an economic decision, with compatibility a bonus

Medical Anthropology

A specialization focusing on the cross-cultural study of health Epidemiology: Tracing the spread and distribution of disease and how it might be influenced by cultural factors

Nationalism

A strong sense of loyalty to the nation-state based on shared language, values, and cultures. Can be promoted via media and press.

Kinship

A system of meaning the determines who is related to whom and defines mutual expectations

Unbalanced Exchange

A system of transfers in which the ultimate goal is profit. Modern economies compete to accumulate wealth.

Balanced Exchange

A system of transfers where eventual balance is the goal • Small scale societies rely heavily on cooperation, the more closely related individuals are, the more cooperation there is.

Gender Cross-Culturally

American's generally only recognize two genders, but many cultures recognize a third category (and sometimes even more). o E.g. Two spirit people of the Zuni, Hijras of India

States

An autonomous regional structure of political, economic, and military rule authorized to make laws and use force to maintain order and territory.

Reciprocity

An exchange of resources, goods, and services, among people of relatively equal status, meant to create and reinforce social ties.

Chiefdoms

Autonomous political unit composed of a number of villages or communities under permanent control of a chief. Frequently seen when stratification exists, typically in larger populations, like early agricultural societies

Nuture

Behavior and personality are the product of exposure, experience, and learning (enculturation)

Nature

Behavior and personality is genetic and pre-wired

Biological Sex

Biologists identify organisms as male or female based on the combination of pairs (XX or XY) and the resulting hormones and reproductive morphology.

Companionate Marriage

Built on love and intimacy, but still influenced by cultural expectations and laws

Kinship Groups

Can include individuals from several nuclear families that are all related to each other

Conflicts

Conflicts arise when people deviate from accepted norms and rules

Formal Kinship

Consaguineal kin: Related by blood (your parents and children) Affinal kin: Related by marriage (your spouse)

Culture Change

Diffusion, acculturation, and assimilation are all sped up through the advances in technology and communication in the 20th century. Phones, airplanes, social media all connect societies in a way we never were before.

Complexity

Even in industrialized societies with an emphasis on the nuclear family, families may be complex. E.g. expanded, blended, matrifocal, or single parent

Minimalism

Few and finite consumer demands• Small-scale societies like foragers

Developmental Anthropology

Focuses on the social issues and the cultural dimensions of economic development. Help plan and guide policy.

Family

Generally defined as being based on economic and child-rearing obligations and/or a common residence

Balanced

Gifts where the giver expects to receive something of equal value within a certain amount of time

Bridewealth/Price

Grooms family gives gift to brides family.May be any valuable: currency, objects, or even female relatives of the groom Often occurs when women are important economic contributors in the economy

Structural suffering

Health problems related to inequality and the distribution of health care resources in a society. (e.g. poverty, war)

Anthropology in Business

Help businesses be more successful by applying anthropological methods to analyze culture.

Human Sexuality

Humans are exceptions in the animal world. We are different from most animals in that we: 1. We do it in private 2. We do it all month long 3. We do it for fun.

Informal social control

Informal sanctions (like gossip, social pressure) are effective means of enforcing social norms and are common in all societies. In small scale groups, this is enough.

Marriage exchanges

Many cultures view marriage as an economic transaction

Leveling Mechanisms

Many non-industrial societies have mechanisms to prevent anyone from accumulating too much wealth.

Powerful support systems

May even protect group assets, and influence politics and economy

Patrilineal Descent

Most common. Traces descent through father's side

Incest Taboos

Most cultures forbid sexual relationships with certain close relatives

Polyandry

One female and several males (rare).

Monogamy

One male and one female pairs (most common actual occurrence)

Polygyny

One male and several females (most common system).

Arranged Marriage

Orchestrated by family, typically for economic and political implications

Authority

People can have power to influence others without being able to enforce it. Authority is when members of a society agree to and accept the legitimacy of a ruler

Descent Groups

People who trace kinship based on a shared identity from a (usually distant) common ancestor.Not common in US Often focused on property ownership

Consaguineal kin

Related by blood (your parents and children)

Affinal kin

Related by marriage (your spouse)