Anthropology (SOCA-105) Exam 2

Hunting and Gathering

Commonly known as foraging, people exploit wild plants and animals of their territory for food.

Horticulture

Farming using human labor and simple tools, larger groups, greater control over food sources.
More stable and sedentary

Pastoralism

Commonly known as herding, in which people intentionally plant, care for, and harvest products of livestock (domesticated animals) for food, trade, and other uses.

Agriculture

Commonly known as cultivation, in which people intentionally plant , care for, and harvest crops (domesticated plants) for food and other uses.

Bands

-egalitarian social equality
Ex: Ju/'Hoansi
-23 in a band
-are mobile and don't stay for long periods
-no formal authority, leader has no power but influence, decision making done by consensus, leaders are older men and women
-nuclear family, bilateral ki

Tribes

-egalitarian social equality
-Ex:Yanomami
-100 in a village, 2000 in a tribe
-permanent villages
-village head= council of the elders, status achieved through exchange but still have no real force
-big men= have leadership over several villages
- kinship

Chiefdoms

-ranked/stratified social equality
-ex: Hawaii
-lived in permanent villages
-Have a true authority figure with a formal office, but this position is given through hereditary lineages. This ruler can distribute resources,etc.
- People are given an ascribed

States

-rank/stratified social equality
-Ex: Mesoamerica
-large settlements of at least 10,000
-permanent political offices with a centralized government
-states define citizenship and rights, maintain law and order, etc
-kinship is no longer important in organi

Three Forms of Reciprocity

1. Generalized
2. Balanced
3. Negative

Egalitarian

Relating to or believing in the principle that all people are equal and deserve equal rights and opportunities.

Major differences between band, tribe, chiefdom, and state level societies?

Decision making in a political system
Warfare and feuds
Law and social control

Enculturation

The process by which infants and children socially learn the culture of those around them.

Cultural Relativism

The principle of regarding the beliefs, values, and practices of a culture from the viewpoint of that culture itself.

Ethnocentrism

Something cultural, AN EXTREME, that you believe your culture is the best, and all other cultures should be eradicated.

What are the defining characteristics of culture?

Knowledge, belief, arts, morals, law, custom, and other capabilities and habits acquuired by man as a member of society

How do you define culture?

Learned, socially acquired traditions of thought and behavior found in human societies

How do anthropologist define culture?

Values, beliefs, and norms transmitted within a particular society within a particular society

Identify the type of political organization found in association with each of the subsistence types we've discussed. What primary purpose does each type of organization serve?

...

Be able to recognize the various patterns of social organization within each type of society/political organization. Be able to compare and contrast the patterns of chiefdom social organization with those of foraging and tribal societies.

...

What is the nature of political leadership in a band society?

Based on family, kinship, gender, and age

Horticulture vs Agriculture

Horticulture is a form of agriculture where people use a limited, non-mechanized technology to cultivate plants/

What is a subsistence pattern?

The method by which a society acquires its food resources

Why do anthropologists consider subsistence patterns so significant?

It determines how organizations will collect their food and how they will live in their environments.

How are subsistence patterns influence by environment?

How they are able to travel and what type of agriculture methods they must use

How do subsistence patterns influence cultural patterns?

They give a structure to the organization which will determine many factors

Compare and contrast the social organization of chiefdom societies with the social organization of bands and tribes. Be specific with regard to characteristics.

...

How did the practices of reciprocity and redistribution differ in states, versus chiefdoms, versus bands and tribes?

generalized reciprocity
a transaction that involves the least conscious sense of interest in material gain or though of what might be received in return
expected reciprocity
exchange of approximately equally valued goods or services, usually between peopl

What is a state as defined anthropologically in your textbook and lecture notes?

A state is a compulsory political organization with a centralized government that maintains a monopoly of the legitimate use of force within a certain geographical territory.

How do cultural anthropologists conduct ethnological fieldwork?

Participant observation and time allocation analysis and random sampling.
They have a key informant who relays information to them and develops a friendship.

Are there problems that one should be aware of while doing this type of research?

Asking the same questions to individuals will keep the data reliable, but if there is too much variation it will be unreliable

Society vs. Culture

Society: consist of the patterns of relationships among people within a specified territory
Culture: Viewed as the by-products of those relationships

Hunting and Gathering

Commonly known as foraging, people exploit wild plants and animals of their territory for food.

Horticulture

Farming using human labor and simple tools, larger groups, greater control over food sources.
More stable and sedentary

Pastoralism

Commonly known as herding, in which people intentionally plant, care for, and harvest products of livestock (domesticated animals) for food, trade, and other uses.

Agriculture

Commonly known as cultivation, in which people intentionally plant , care for, and harvest crops (domesticated plants) for food and other uses.

Bands

-egalitarian social equality
Ex: Ju/'Hoansi
-23 in a band
-are mobile and don't stay for long periods
-no formal authority, leader has no power but influence, decision making done by consensus, leaders are older men and women
-nuclear family, bilateral ki

Tribes

-egalitarian social equality
-Ex:Yanomami
-100 in a village, 2000 in a tribe
-permanent villages
-village head= council of the elders, status achieved through exchange but still have no real force
-big men= have leadership over several villages
- kinship

Chiefdoms

-ranked/stratified social equality
-ex: Hawaii
-lived in permanent villages
-Have a true authority figure with a formal office, but this position is given through hereditary lineages. This ruler can distribute resources,etc.
- People are given an ascribed

States

-rank/stratified social equality
-Ex: Mesoamerica
-large settlements of at least 10,000
-permanent political offices with a centralized government
-states define citizenship and rights, maintain law and order, etc
-kinship is no longer important in organi

Three Forms of Reciprocity

1. Generalized
2. Balanced
3. Negative

Egalitarian

Relating to or believing in the principle that all people are equal and deserve equal rights and opportunities.

Major differences between band, tribe, chiefdom, and state level societies?

Decision making in a political system
Warfare and feuds
Law and social control

Enculturation

The process by which infants and children socially learn the culture of those around them.

Cultural Relativism

The principle of regarding the beliefs, values, and practices of a culture from the viewpoint of that culture itself.

Ethnocentrism

Something cultural, AN EXTREME, that you believe your culture is the best, and all other cultures should be eradicated.

What are the defining characteristics of culture?

Knowledge, belief, arts, morals, law, custom, and other capabilities and habits acquuired by man as a member of society

How do you define culture?

Learned, socially acquired traditions of thought and behavior found in human societies

How do anthropologist define culture?

Values, beliefs, and norms transmitted within a particular society within a particular society

Identify the type of political organization found in association with each of the subsistence types we've discussed. What primary purpose does each type of organization serve?

...

Be able to recognize the various patterns of social organization within each type of society/political organization. Be able to compare and contrast the patterns of chiefdom social organization with those of foraging and tribal societies.

...

What is the nature of political leadership in a band society?

Based on family, kinship, gender, and age

Horticulture vs Agriculture

Horticulture is a form of agriculture where people use a limited, non-mechanized technology to cultivate plants/

What is a subsistence pattern?

The method by which a society acquires its food resources

Why do anthropologists consider subsistence patterns so significant?

It determines how organizations will collect their food and how they will live in their environments.

How are subsistence patterns influence by environment?

How they are able to travel and what type of agriculture methods they must use

How do subsistence patterns influence cultural patterns?

They give a structure to the organization which will determine many factors

Compare and contrast the social organization of chiefdom societies with the social organization of bands and tribes. Be specific with regard to characteristics.

...

How did the practices of reciprocity and redistribution differ in states, versus chiefdoms, versus bands and tribes?

generalized reciprocity
a transaction that involves the least conscious sense of interest in material gain or though of what might be received in return
expected reciprocity
exchange of approximately equally valued goods or services, usually between peopl

What is a state as defined anthropologically in your textbook and lecture notes?

A state is a compulsory political organization with a centralized government that maintains a monopoly of the legitimate use of force within a certain geographical territory.

How do cultural anthropologists conduct ethnological fieldwork?

Participant observation and time allocation analysis and random sampling.
They have a key informant who relays information to them and develops a friendship.

Are there problems that one should be aware of while doing this type of research?

Asking the same questions to individuals will keep the data reliable, but if there is too much variation it will be unreliable

Society vs. Culture

Society: consist of the patterns of relationships among people within a specified territory
Culture: Viewed as the by-products of those relationships