Anthropology Test #3

sexual dimorphism

physical differences between the sexes of a species not related to reproduction functions

sex

biological differences (female and male)

gender

a cultural interpretation of the biological differences (man and woman)

gender roles

the tasks and activities a culture assigns to the sexes

gender relations

the expected interactions between gender

gender stereotypes

assumption based on gender role

cultural relativism

studying another culture from its point of view without imposing your on cultural values

culture

ideas and behaviors that are learned and transmitted

folk taxonomy

a system of classification based on their relationships among cultural categories for important items and ideas

subsistence patterns

the methods you get your food and what type of food

sedentary

staying in 1 place

nomadic

move around a lot

egalitarian

equal access to resources, shared resources

social stratification

more power in some aspects

division of labor

job responsibilities

domestication

need people to survive, dependent on people

potlach

form of economic system

non intensive

humans doing the labor, simple tools

fallow

rest

intensive agriculture

labor intensive, domesticate animals, irrigation, terracing, fertilizer

generalized reciprocity

the giving and taking of goods and services without any immediate expectation go equal return

balanced reciprocity

exchange of goods and/or labor with an expectation of an immediate and equal return

redistribution

surpluses are collected under governing body and goods are redistributed based on the needs they have

market system

form a balanced reciprocity using a symbolic good

dowry

gifts from brides side to couple, typical associated with low status for women

brideprice

gifts from the groom's kin to the wife's, which stabilizes the marriage by acting as an insurance against divorce

brideservice

labor by groom paid in lieu of cash and goods to bride's family

groomservice

labor by bride paid in lieu of cash and goods to groom's family

polygyny

1 husband, plural wives

polyandry

1 wife, plural husbands

patrilineal

tracing family through male/female line

patrilocal

woman moves to where male's family is

nuclear family

immediate parents and their immediate offspring

extended family

2 or more married couple and their offspring

bilateral descent

trace lineage through 2 sides, both sides of family

unilinear descent

trace through 1 parent

patrilineal system

traced through dad/male

matrilineal system

traced through mom/female

incest taboo

a cultural rule prohibiting sexual relations and marriage between specified classes of relatives

exogamy

marrying outside kinship group

endogamy

marrying inside kinship group

ethnocentrism

making value judgements about another culture from the perspective of one's own cultural system

speech

using vocal cords to make/produce sound

language

human communication by means of shared symbols

morpheme

unit of meaning

phoneme

unit of sound

sociolinguistics

study of language in its social context

displacement

ability to describe concepts not in immediate space or moment, talk to past, present, future

duality

two levels of human language (used sounds and meaning)

productivity

have ability to constantly make new combos of symbols

arbitrariness

we have arbitrary assigned meaning to our symbols

historical linguistics

branch on linguistics that attempt to classify and construct a family tree of languages

cognates

words that are similar in 2 or more languages as a result of common descent

syntax

rules of word order in a language

religion

a system of ideas and rules for behavior based on supernatural explanations

monotheistic

belief in 1 supernatural

polytheistic

belief in many supernatural

animism

belief that all things have a soul

mana

force that can be possessed by a person, object, place

shaman

part time supernaturally chosen religious specialist who can manipulate the supernatural

priests

full time religious specialist who can interpret the supernatural