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Anthropology midterm
UCSB Anthropology 2, Chapters 1,2,3,5,6,10,11
46
Anthropology
Undergraduate 1
10/29/2009

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Term
cultural relativism
Definition
the notion that cultures should be analyzed with reference to their own histories and values rather than according to the values of another culture
Term
emic
Definition
examining societies using concepts, categories, and distinctions that are meaningful to members of that culture
Term
etic
Definition
examining societies using concepts, categories, and rules derived from science; an outsider's perspective
Term
ethnocentrism
Definition
judging other cultures from the perspective of one's own culture
Term
ethnography
Definition
the major research tool of cultural anthropology; includes both fieldwork among people in a society and the written results of such fieldwork
Term
ethnology
Definition
the attempt to find general principles or laws that govern cultural phenomena
Term
holism
Definition
an approach that considers culture, history, language, and biology essential to a complete understanding of human society
Term
adaptation
Definition
a change in the biological structure of lifeways of an individual or population by which it becomes better fitted to survive and reproduce in its environment
Term
diffusion
Definition
the spread of cultural elements from one culture to another
Term
enculturation
Definition
the process of learning to be a member of a particular cultural group
Term
historical particularism
Definition
a theoretical position in anthropology associated with American anthropologists of the early 20th century that focuses on providing objective descriptions of cultures within their historical and environmental context
Term
norms
Definition
shared ideas about the way things ought to be done, rules of behavior that reflect and enforce culture
Term
plasticity
Definition
the ability of human individuals or cultural groups to change their behavior with relative ease
Term
symbol
Definition
something that stands for something else, central to culture
Term
values
Definition
shared ideas about what is true, right, and beautiful
Term
culture shock
Definition
feelings of alienation and helplessness that result from rapid immersion in a new and different culture
Term
participant observation
Definition
the fieldwork technique that involves gathering cultural data by observing people's behavior and participating in their lives
Term
racism
Definition
the belief that some human populations are superior to others because of inherited, genetically transmitted characteristics
Term
agriculture
Definition
a form of food production in which fields are in permanent cultivation using plows, animals and techniques of soil and water control
Term
foraging
Definition
hunting and gathering
Term
horticulture
Definition
production of plants using a simple, nonmechanized technology; fields are not used continuously
Term
nomadic pastoralism
Definition
a form of pastoralism in which the whole social group and their animals move in search of pasture
Term
pastoralism
Definition
a food-getting strategy that depends on the care of domesticated herd animals
Term
peasants
Definition
rural cultivators who produce for the subsistence of their households but are also integrated into larger, complex state societies
Term
sedentary
Definition
settled, living in one place
Term
subsistence strategies
Definition
the pattern of behavior used by a society to obtain food in a particular environment
Term
swidden cultivation
Definition
a form of cultivation in which a field is cleared by felling the trees and burning the brush
Term
balanced reciprocity
Definition
the giving and receiving of goods of nearly equal value with a clear obligation of a return gift within a specified time limit
Term
cargo system
Definition
a ritual system common in Central and South America in which wealthy people are required to hold a series of costly ceremonial offices
Term
generalized reciprocity
Definition
giving and receiving goods with no immediate or specific return expected
Term
household
Definition
a group of people united by kinship or other links who share a residence and organize production, consumption and distrubution among themselves
Term
market exchange
Definition
an economic system in which goods and services are bought and sold at a money price determined primarily by the forces of supply and demand
Term
negative reciprocity
Definition
exchange conducted for the purpose of material advantage and the desire to get something for nothing
Term
reciprocity
Definition
a mutual give-and-take among people of equal status
Term
redistribution
Definition
exchange in which goods are collected and then distributed to members of a group
Term
class
Definition
a category of persons who all have about the same opportunity to obtain economic resources, power, or prestige
Term
social stratification
Definition
a system where two or more categories of people are ranked high or low in relation to each other and have differential access to wealth and status
Term
wealth
Definition
the accumulation of material resources or access to the means of producing these resources
Term
prestige
Definition
social honor or respect
Term
ascribed status
Definition
a social position into which a person is born
Term
achieved status
Definition
a social position that a person chooses or achieves on his or her own
Term
caste system
Definition
a system of stratification based on birth in which movement from one stratum to another is not possible
Term
ethnic groups
Definition
categories of people who see themselves as sharing an ethnic identity that differentiates them from other groups or from the larger society as a whole
Term
nation state
Definition
a sovereign, geographically based state that identifies itself as having a distinctive national culture and historical experience
Term
multiculturalism
Definition
the view that cultural diversity is a positive value and makes an important contribution to contemporary societies
Term
essentialism
Definition
a view of ethnicity that holds that ethnic groups are distinguished by essential, historically rooted, and emotionally experienced cultural differences
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