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Cultural Anthropology Final!
DunDunDun!
194
Anthropology
Undergraduate 1
04/25/2012

Additional Anthropology Flashcards

 


 

Cards

Term
kinship system
Definition
the predominant form of kin relationships in a culture and the kinds of behavior involved.
Term
descent
Definition
the tracing of kinship relationships though parentage
Term
bilineal descent
Definition
the tracing of descent through both parents
Term
unilineal
Definition
the tracing of descent through only one parent
Term
patrilineal descent
Definition
a descent system that highlights the importance of men in tracing descent, determining marital residence with or near the groom's family, and providing for inheritance of property through the male line.
Term
matrilineal descent
Definition
a descent system that highlights the importance of women by tracing descent through the female line, favoring marital residence with or near the bride's family and providing for property to be inherited through the female line.
Term
eskimo kinship terms
Definition
Unique terms for kin within the nuclear household that are not used for any other relatives: mother, father, sister, brother, etc.
Term
iroquois kinship terms
Definition
Unilineal systems. Merging - mother and mother's sister are considered "mother" - father and father's brother are considered "father". Parent's siblings considered siblings - except for the mother's brother or the father's sister.
Term
marriage
Definition
a union, between two people who are likely to be, but are not necessarily, coresident, sexually involved with each other, and procreative.
Term
incest taboo
Definition
a strongly held prohibition against marrying or having sex with particular kin
Term
endogamy
Definition
marriage within a particular group or locality
Term
parallel cousin
Definition
offspring of either father's brother or mother's sister.
Term
cross cousin
Definition
offspring of either one's father's sister or mother's brother
Term
exogamy
Definition
marriage outside a particular group or locality
Term
dowry
Definition
the transfer of cash and goods from the bride's family to the newly married couple
Term
brideprice
Definition
the transffer of cash and goods from the groom's family to the bride's family and to the bride
Term
brideservice
Definition
a form of marriage exchange in which the groom works for his father-in-law for a certain length of time before returning home with bride.
Term
monogamy
Definition
marriage between two people
Term
polygamy
Definition
marriage involving multiple spouses
Term
polygyny
Definition
marriage with one guy multiple ladies
Term
polyandry
Definition
one woman multiple guys
Term
family
Definition
a group of people who consider themselves related through a form of kinship, such as descent, marriage, or sharing
Term
household
Definition
either one person living alone or a group o people who may or may not be related by kinship and who share living space
Term
nuclear household
Definition
a domestic unit containing one adult couple (married or partners) with/out children
Term
extended household
Definition
a coresidential group that comprises more than one parent-child unit
Term
stem household
Definition
a coresidential group that comprises only two married couples related through males, commonly found in East Asian cultures
Term
Matrifocality
Definition
a household in which a female/s is the central figure around whom other members cluster
Term
social group
Definition
a cluster of people beyond the domestic unit who are usually related on grounds other than kinship
Term
primary group
Definition
a social group in which members meet on a face-to-face basis
Term
secondary group
Definition
a group of people who identify with one another on some basis but may never meet with one another personally
Term
age set
Definition
a group of people close in age who go through certain rituals, such as circumcision, at the same time
Term
youth gang
Definition
a group of young people, found mainly in urban areas, who are often considered a social problem by adults and law enforcement.
Term
ascribed position
Definition
a person's standing in society based on qualities that the person has gained through birth
Term
achieved position
Definition
a person's standing in society based on the qualities that the person has gained through action
Term
status
Definition
a person's position, or standing, in a society
Term
mestizaje
Definition
a racial mixture in central and south america, indigenous people who are cut off from their roots.
Term
diaspora population
Definition
a dispersed group of people living outside their original homeland
Term
patriarchy
Definition
the dominance of men in economic, political, social, and ideological domains
Term
matriarchy
Definition
the dominance of women in economic, political, social, and ideological domains
Term
caste system
Definition
a form of social stratification linked with Hinduism and based on a person's birth into a particular group
Term
dalit
Definition
the preferred name for the socially defined lowest groups in the Indian caste system; the name means "oppressed" or "ground down"
Term
civil society
Definition
the collection of interest groups that function outside the government to organize economic and other aspects of life
Term
power
Definition
the ability to take action in the face of resistace, through force if necessary
Term
authority
Definition
the ability to take action based on a person's achieved or ascribed status or moral reputation
Term
influence
Definition
the ability to achieve a desired end by exerting social or moral pressure on someone or some group
Term
political organization
Definition
groups within a culture that are responsible for pulic decision making and leadership, maintaining social cohesion and order, protecting group rights, and ensuring safety from external threats
Term
band
Definition
the form of political organizations o foraging groups, with flexible membership and minimal leadership
Term
tribe
Definition
a form of political organization that comprises several bands or lineage groups, each with a similar language and lifestyle occuping a distinct territory
Term
big-man system (big-woman system)
Definition
a form of political organization midway between tribe and chiefdom and involving reliance on the leadership of key individuals who develop a political following through personal ties and redistributive feasts
Term
moka
Definition
a strategy for developing political leadership in highland New Guinea that involves exchanging gifts and favors ith individuals and sponsoring large feasts where further giftgiving occurs.
Term
chiefdom
Definition
a form of political organization in which permanently allied tribes and villages have one recognized leader who holds an office
Term
state
Definition
a form of political organization in which a centralized political unit encompasses many communities, a bureaucratic structure, and leaders ho possess coercive power
Term
social control
Definition
processes that, through both informal and formal mechanisms, maintain orderly social life
Term
norm
Definition
a generally agreed upon standard for how people should behave, usually unwritten and learned unconsciously
Term
law
Definition
a binding rule created through enactment or custom that defines right and reasonable behavior and is enforceable by the threat of punishment
Term
policing
Definition
the exercise of social control through processes of surveillance and the threat of punishment related to maintaining social order
Term
trial by ordeal
Definition
a way of determining innocence or guilt in which the accused person is put to a test that may be painful, stressful, or fatal
Term
critical legal anthropology
Definition
an approach within the rosscultural study of legal systems that examines the role of law and judicial processes in maintaining the dominance of powerful groups through discriminatory practices rather than protecting less powerful people
Term
social justice
Definition
a concept of fairness based on the social equality that seeks to ensure entitlements and opportunities for disadvantaged members of society
Term
sectarian conflict
Definition
conflict based on perceived differences between divisions or sects within a religion
Term
war
Definition
organized and purposeful group action directed against another group and involving lethal force
Term

corporate social responsibility

 

(csr)

Definition
business ethics that seek to generate profits for the corporation while avoiding harm to people and the environment
Term
nation
Definition
a group of people who share a language, culture, territorial base, political organization, and history
Term
religion
Definition
beliefs and behavior related to supernatural beings and forces
Term
magic
Definition
the attempt to compel supernatural forces and beings to act in certain ways
Term
myth
Definition
a narrative with a plot that involves the supernaturals
Term
doctrine
Definition
direct and formalized statements about religious beliefs
Term
animatism
Definition
a belief system in which the supernatural is conceived to as an impersonal power
Term
ritual
Definition
patterned behavior that has to do with the supernatural realm
Term
life-cycle ritual
Definition
a ritual that marks a change in status from one life stage to another
Term
pilgrimage
Definition
round-trip travel to a sacred place or places for purposes of religious devotion or ritual
Term
ritual of inversion
Definition
a ritual in which normal social roles and order are temporarily reversed.
Term
sacrifice
Definition
a ritual in which something is ofered to the supernaturals
Term
priest/ess
Definition
a male or female full-time religious specialist whose position is based mainly on abilities gained through formal training.
Term
world religion
Definition
a term coined in the nineteenth century to refer to a religion that is based on written sources, has many followers, is regionally widespread, and is concerned with salvation.
Term
religious pluralism
Definition
the condition in which one or more religions coexist either as comeplementary to each other or as competing systems
Term
religious syncretism
Definition
the blending of features of two or more religions
Term
revitalization movement
Definition
a socioreligious movement, usually organized by a prophetic leader, that seeks to construct a more satisfying situation by reviving all or parts of a religion that has been threatened by outside forces or by adopting new practices and beliefs.
Term
cargo cult
Definition
a form of revitalization movement that emerged in Melanesia in response to Western and Japanese influences.
Term
applied anthropology
Definition
Involves the use or application of anthropological knowledge to help solve social problems
Term
archaeology
Definition
The study of past human cultures through their material remains
Term
biological anthropology
Definition
The study of humans as biological organisms, including their evolution and contemporary variation
Term
Consumption variations among modes of livelihood
Definition
Foraging - Minimalism, Finite Needs
Industrialism/Informatics - Consumerism, Infinite Needs
Term
Different modes of exchange
Definition
Foraging - Gift
Industrialism - Sale
Term
Consumerism vs Minimalism
Definition
Consumerism - People's demands are many and infinite, and the means of satisfying.

Minimalism - Characterized by few and finite consumer demands and adequate and sustainable means to achieve them.
Term
Types of Reciprocity
Definition
Generalized Reciprocity {kin, friends} - no return calculated or expected. Example; buying coffee for a friend.

Expected Reciprocity {trading partners} - return expected at some time.

Redistribution {leader, pooling group} - feast and give away.
Term
Leveling Mechanisms
Definition
An important process in small-scale societies that works to keep people equal.
Unwritten, culturally embedded rules that prevent an individual from becoming wealthier or more powerful.

Maintained through social pressure and gossip
Term
Potlatching
Definition
Resurgence of group feasting and exchange in recent times among native peoples of the Northwest Coast region
Term
Pure gift
Definition
Extreme form of generalized reciprocity.
Term
Inequalities in consumption
Definition
An inequality in consumption.
Term
Old Amish Order
Definition
Christians who live in rural areas of US and Canada
Term
Fertility – Family, state and global levels
Definition
State: Economic factors, maintaining the tax base, military

Global: Religious teaching, international relations

Family: economic stability
Term
Intercourse
Definition
Sex
Term
Fertility control – direct and indirect
Definition
Indirect: Women’s low-fat diet and work/exercise || Prolonged breastfeeding
Direct: Induced abortion
Infanticide
Term
Personality
Definition
An individual’s patterned and characteristic way of behaving, thinking, and feeling.

Gained largely through enculturation; variation in personality in different cultural contexts
Term
Puberty & adolescence and activities within each
Definition
he existence within a culture of multiple categories of femininity, masculinity and androgyny that are tolerated and legitimate

rites of passage: leaving, fgm
Term
Rites of initiation
Definition
Related to period of seclusion and training in adult roles and knowledge
Term
Gender pluralism
Definition
the existence within a culture of multiple categories of femininity, masculinity and androgyny that are tolerated and legitimate
Term
Parenthood
Definition
Being a parent
Term
Infanticide
Definition
The killing of an offspring
Term
cultural anthropology
Definition
Study of the life ways of the world’s
living people, for example:
Making a living
Reproduction and life cycle
Health
Marriage and family
Social groups, politics
Term
cultural relativism
Definition
A belief that one culture is absolutely right
Term
biological determinism
Definition
considers individuals’ biological factors such as genes and hormones in order to explain why they think and behave in certain ways.
Term
cultural constructionism
Definition
culture shapes and influences human behavior.
Term
interpretivism
Definition
focuses on understanding culture by studying what people think about, their explanations of their lives and the symbols that are important to them.
Term
cultural materialism
Definition
examines a culture’s material aspects of life in order to understand the culture itself. Uses the “barrel model” consisting of infrastructure (natural resources, economy and politics), structure (social and political organization, kinship) and super structure (ideology, belief systems, world views).
Term
agency
Definition
the ability of an individuals to make choices and exercise free will.
Term
structurism
Definition
emphasizes that free will is an illusion as larger forces such as economy and social and political organization determine choice.
Term
anthropology
Definition
The study of humanity
Term
linguistic anthropology
Definition
Study of communication, mainly (but not exclusively) among humans
Term
microculture
Definition
social classes, small different cultures
Term
Ethnomedicine
Definition
Ethnomedicine is the study of cross-cultural health systems
Term
Perceptions of body
Definition
Cultures differ in how they define people's bodies. Perception of what a "body" actually is, attitudes to death, attitudes to surgery, separation of mind and body, perception of internal and external parts.
Term
Disease & Illness
Definition
Disease refers to a specific pathology; a physical or biological abnormality.

Illness refers to the meanings and elaborations given to a particular physical state.
Term
Culture specific syndromes
Definition
A health problem with a set of symptoms associated with a particular culture
Term
Ethno-etiology
Definition
Cross-cultural explanations for the causes of health problems and suffering
Term
Prevention
Definition
Different cultures have various forms of health protection
Charms
Spells
Hygiene
Term
Humoral healing
Definition
based on balance among elements within the body
Term
Shamans
Definition
healers
Term
Healers
Definition
All cultures recognize certain people as having special abilities to diagnose and treat health problems
Term
Historical Trauma
Definition
cumulative emotional and psychological wounding, over the lifespan and across generations
Term
Structural Suffering
Definition
Structural suffering refers to health problems caused by war, famine, terrorism, forced migration, and poverty
Term
Placebo effect
Definition
Healing as providing symbolic meaning
Term
Critical Medical Anthropology
Definition
Focus on how economic and political power structures and inequality (structural suffering, structural violence”) affect health and access to healing
Term
Diseases of Development
Definition
Health problems caused or increased by development activities or by development itself
Term
Medical Pluralism
Definition
Coexistence of multiple healing systems in one culture
Term
class
Definition
A set or category of things having some property or attribute in common and differentiated from others by kind, type, or quality.
Term
culture
Definition
Learned and shared ways of behaving and thinking.
Term
ethnicity
Definition
The fact or state of belonging to a social group that has a common national or cultural tradition.
Term
ethnocentrism
Definition
Belief that one's own culture is correct
Term
functionalism
Definition
Belief in or stress on the practical application of a thing, in particular.
Term
gender
Definition
societal definition of sex.
Term
globalization
Definition
growth to a global or worldwide scale
Term
holism
Definition
parts of a whole are in intimate interconnection, such that they cannot exist or be understood independently of the whole.
Term
indigenous people
Definition
people there originally
Term
localization
Definition
a determination of the place where something is
Term
race
Definition
has no biological basis
Term
symbol
Definition
A thing that represents or stands for something else
Term
primates
Definition
Primates are an order of mammals that includes modern humans
Vary in size from several ounces to over 400 pounds
Some inhabit limited areas; others range more widely
Term
natural selection
Definition
the environment exerts pressure that selects individuals to reproduce the next generation.
Term
hominins
Definition
Separated from other great apes from 8 million until 3 million years ago
Lived in Africa
Distinct from other apes
Term
australopithecines
Definition
Category of several extinct species found and East and Central Africa
Lived between 4 million and 2 million years ago
“Lucy” famous because so much of her skeleton was preserved
Era provides the first artifacts, in the form of stone tools, which indicate culture
Term
Homo habilis
Definition
Fossils found in Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania by Louis and Mary Leakey
Exhibited manual dexterity, upright posture, and fully bipedal locomotion
Used distinctive stone tools, named Olduwan
Term
Homo erectus
Definition
First hominin species that was widely distributed across the Old World
Highly successful in terms of duration (around 2 million years)
Brain about 2/3 the size of the average modern human brain
Term
Homo floresienses
Definition
Recent discovery of dwarf-sized species in Indonesia
Fossil evidence dates to 18,000 years ago
Just over 3 feet tall, stood upright, was probably bipedal
Small brain but stone tools are like those of modern humans with larger brains
Term
Anatomically Modern Humans (AMH)
Definition
Homo sapiens, the species to which modern humans belong
Significant morphological changes
Steeper foreheads with smaller brow ridges
Smaller faces
Smaller incisor teeth
Thinner limb bones
More elaborate and complex culture
Term
clovis culture
Definition
Based on archaeological evidence the first modern humans in the New World
Characterized by the Clovis point, which is bifacial and fluted
Oldest sites are dated to 11,000 years ago
Clovis culture was short-lived
Term
neolithic revolution
Definition
A time of rapid transformation in technology related to plant and animal domestication
Developed tools such as sickle blades and grinding stones
Began in the Old World in Mesopotamia, especially the Fertile Crescent
Term
Upper Paleolithic
Definition
The period of modern human occupation in Europe and Eurasia 45,000 to 12,000 years ago
Technology included microliths and other small, finely made stone and bone tools, nets, and baskets
A period of rapidly increasing cultural complexity, referred to as a cultural revolution or “Golden Age.”
Term
The Great Apes
Definition
Category of large, tailless primates

Locomotion by brachiation

Modern humans and great apes share a common ancestor

All great ape species in the wild are endangered
Term
bipedalism
Definition
the condition of being two-footed or of using two feet for standing and walking.
Term
anthropogenic
Definition
caused or produced by humans
Term
brachiation
Definition
locomotion accomplished by swinging by the arms from one hold to another.
Term
fossil
Definition
any remains, impression, or trace of a living thing of a former geologic age, as a skeleton, footprint, etc.
Term
foraging
Definition
the acquisition of food by hunting, fishing, or the gathering of plant matter.
Term
evolution
Definition
change in the gene pool of a population from generation to generation by such processes as mutation, natural selection, and genetic drift.
Term
savanna
Definition
grassland region with scattered trees, grading into either open plain or woodland, usually in subtropical or tropical regions.
Term
Cro-Magnons
Definition
an Upper Paleolithic population of humans, regarded as the prototype of modern Homo sapiens in Europe. Skeletal remains found in an Aurignacian cave in southern France indicate that the Cro-Magnon had long heads, broad faces, and sunken eyes, and reached a height of approximately 5 feet 9 inches (175 cm).
Term
Oldowan tradition
Definition
The Oldowan Tradition is the name given to a pattern of stone-tool making by our hominid ancestors, some 2.5 million years ago.
Term
sedentism
Definition
the transition from nomadic to permanent.
Term
Domestication
Definition
is the process whereby a population of animals or plants, through a process of selection, is changed at the genetic level, accentuating traits that benefit humans.
Term
Acheulian tradition
Definition
The Acheulean Tradition is an Old World Lower and Middle Paleolithic culture, dated from 1.4 million years ago to 100000 years ago.
Term
knuckle walking
Definition
Knuckle-walking is a form of quadrupedal walking in which the forelimbs hold the fingers in a partially flexed posture that allows body weight to press down on the ground through the knuckles.
Term
Mousterian tradition
Definition
Homo neanderthal-somethingelseyouaddedontheend
Term
collaborative research
Definition
Research that involves the cooperation of researchers, institutions, organizations and/or communities, each bringing distinct expertise
Term
culture shock
Definition
Feelings of :
uneasiness, loneliness, and anxiety that occur when a person shifts from one culture to another one.
reduced competence as a cultural actor
Term
deductive approach (to research)
Definition
etic
Term
emic
Definition
seeks to understand what insiders say and understand about their culture, their categories of thinking
Term
ethnography
Definition
descriptive writing about a culture
Term
etic
Definition
data collected according to the outsider researchers’ questions and categories
Term
fieldwork
Definition
Practical work conducted by a researcher in the natural environment, rather than in a laboratory or office.
Term
indigenous knowledge
Definition
knowledge known by the tribes
Term
inductive approach
Definition
emic
Term
informed consent
Definition
informed decision made by a person to be observed
Term
multi-sited research
Definition
fieldwork conducted on a topic in more than one location
Term
participant observation
Definition
Learning about culture by living in a culture for an extended period
Term
qualitative data
Definition
descriptive field notes, narratives, myths, songs, etc.
Term
quantitative data
Definition
statistics
Term
questionnaire
Definition
a fieldwork technique
Term
rapport
Definition
Rapport is a trusting relationship between the researcher and the study population
Term
agriculture
Definition
Intensive strategy of production..

More labor, use of fertilizers, control of water supply, use of animals.

Involves indigenous knowledge
Term
economic system
Definition
the linked processes of livelihood, consumption, and exchange
Term
extensive strategy
Definition
A form of livelihood involving temporary use of large areas of land and a high degree of spatial mobility
Term
family farming
Definition
a family that farms together tolerates each other!
Term
food security
Definition
the ability of an individual, household, group, or country to obtain an adequate diet over time in order to sustain health.
Term
formal sector
Definition
Jobs can be stable and lucrative
Jobs can be part-time and unstable
Term
informal sector
Definition
Work that is not officially registered and sometimes illegal.
Term
horticulture
Definition
Growing crops in gardens using hand tools
Term
industrial capital agriculture
Definition
a form of agriculture that is capital-intensive, substituting machinery and purchased inputs for human and animal labor.
Term
industrialism/informatics
Definition
The production of goods through mass employment in business and commercial operations
Term
pastoralism
Definition
Reliance on products of domesticated animal herds
Term
intensive strategy
Definition
a form of livelihood that involves continuous use of the same land and resources
Term
mode of livelihood
Definition
the dominant way of making a living in a culture.
Term
use rights
Definition
A system of property relations in which a person or group has socially recognized priority in access to particular resources such as gathering, hunting, and fishing areas and water hole.
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