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Neoevolution
Another Evolutionary Approach to Cultural Anthropology
54
Anthropology
Undergraduate 1
12/03/2012

Additional Anthropology Flashcards

 


 

Cards

Term
Unlinear Evolution
Definition
All societies pass through simpler (lower) to increasingly complex (higher) cultural stages
Term

who were the two men involved in unilinear evolution?

 

Definition
tyler and morgan 
Term
what did unilinear evolution lead to?
Definition
it established an objective measure of cultural evolution
Term
what is involved in an objective measure of cultural evolution?
Definition
evolution occurs as the amount of energy harnessed from environment increases. this new way of evolution does not rely on value judgements inadequate methods
Term
name that goes along with neoevolutionism?
Definition
leslie white
Term
what is this new type of evolution?
Definition
neoevolutionism- Universal evolution
Term
neo-evolutionism
Definition
type of cultural evolution, which developed laws that apply to culture as a whole and argued that human societies pass through similar stages of development. these changes are drivin by technological improvements that harness more energy. harness more energy and your culture changes (C=ET)--> leads to increase in inequality
Term
Person associated with multilinear evolution and cultural ecology and brought cultural ecology to forefront of multilinear evolution?
Definition
Julian Steward
Term

Multilinear Evolution

 

Definition
evolutionary change-does not assume all cutlures follow the same evolutionary path. 
Term

what does multilinear evolution about linteraction between culture and local environment?

 

Definition
people who face similar environmental challenges are likely to devlop similar technologies. similar solutions lead to parallel developmnet of cultural institutions
Term
cultural ecology
Definition
people living in similar ecologies likey develop similar technologies, social structures, political institutions
Term
adaptation
Definition
in biology/ecology refers to the developments of behavioral and physiological characteristics that aid survivorship in a given environment
Term
what does adaptation refer to?
Definition
adjustments organisms make to their surroundings. I.e. animals adapting to natural surroundings. humans tend to alter nature in process of adapting to it more than other organisms.
Term
interactions
Definition
emphasizes alteration. human-invironment interaction
Term
resources
Definition
food, water, stone, wood. other things found in environment that people can use to meet their needs
Term
what are some problems the environment throws at people that they must overcome to survive?
Definition
recource scarcity, high/low temperatures, too much/little rainfall, disease (pathogen), competition for resources (humans and non humans)
Term
production
Definition

acquiring energy and materials from the environment.

patterned, organized activities by which people invest labor and technology to transform natural resources into products that satisfty their needs and wants

Term
what are the three components of production?
Definition

1. time and energy to do the work(labor)

2. available tools and knowledge (technology)

3. natural resources in the environment (resources)

Term
factors in organizing production
Definition

1. divisions of labor: allocating productive work to different kinds of people

2. patterns of cooperation: inorder to harness resources efficiently

3. rights to resources: potential conflicts over access to natural resources--> conflict resolution and resource rights (ownership and use rights)

Term
what is one big probelm with the labor and organization of production?
Definition
free rider problem- some people are inherently lazy and will let others do the work for them because they know someone will pick up the slack
Term
What types of food production did people involve themselves in before industrial production?
Definition

1. hunting and gathering

2. pastorlism 

2. agriculture

Term
hunting and gathering
Definition
Foraging: collecting wild plants, hunting wild game, sometimes fishing
Term
pastoralism
Definition
Herding: tending of livestock herd, harvest meat, milk, blood, hides. involves trading and selling. keep surplus, you have portal packet of wealth that you can take with you--> something beyond mere subsistence 
Term
what are the three main types of agriculture?
Definition
horticulture, intensive, industrial
Term
horticulture
Definition
subsistence agriculture- includes cultivation of domesticated crops and use of hand tools and human power i.e. slash and burn
Term
intensive agriculture
Definition
more prodcutive, surplus produced and marked by use of animal-power and mechanical power
Term
industrial agriculture
Definition
large-scale farming an duse of complex machinery. linked to food processing
Term
characteristic of foraging societies
Definition

division of labor based on sex and age

high mobility (nomadic) 

low population densities (50 or less)--> bands

organized around family groups

egalitarian

lack of social, politicl and economic complexity

 

Term
division of labor in foraging society (what do men, women and children do)
Definition

women collect and may hunt small things such as insects

men hunt bigger animals

child jobs depend on safety level of their work--> if predation is not a threat, kids do a lot of work, if it is-their work comes when they are older

(jobs are very dependent on location)

Term
what are the three types of foraging
Definition

1. pedestrian

2. equestrian

2.aquatic

Term
pedestrian foraging
Definition

prior to about 10,000 years ago (what everyone practiced)

common pattern

highly mobile

used subsistence tools

 

Term
examples of foraging cultures
Definition

Ju/'hoansi

!Kung San

Term
equestrian foraging
Definition

horses for mobility and hunting efficiency

only in great plains of US and Argentine

societies became more warlike and heirarchical chiefdoms

Term
aquatic foraging
Definition

focus on marine resources

permanent settlements

most associated with NW Coast Indians

Term
pastoralism
Definition
occurs in areas unsuitable for agriculture 
Term
pastoral nomads
Definition
follow a seasonal pattern of migration that is variable.live in temporary settlements
Term
examples of pastoral nomads
Definition
masai
Term
transhumance pastoralists
Definition

follow a cyclical pattern of migration between two locations

permanent settlements in both areas

depend less on animals for subsistence

can engage in trade

Term
examples of transhumance pastoralists
Definition
mongolia
Term
describe areas where pastorlism occurs
Definition

low rainfall, short growing season, inedivle grasslands

deserts, grasslands, savannas, mountains, arctic

Term
advantages of herding in pastoralism
Definition

animals can eat marginal vegetation and transform it into human food(milk, blood, fat, and muscle) 

animals provide an insurance against droughts and crop faillures and are mobile so they cna go to water and pasture

Term
why did humans domesticate plants and animals?
Definition

increases the supple of selected species by controlling their location and numbers

supports greater numbers of people

nutritional status, health usually decline

Term
transistion to agriculture lead to an increase in healthy people. true or false.
Definition
false. transition to agriculture lead to downward health. domestication most likely was stubbled upon accidently. 
Term
why  change to domestication when foraging live is good?
Definition
climate change or population pressure
Term
horticulture
Definition
shifting cultivation or slash and burn (swidden)
Term
example of slash and burn agriculture culture
Definition
yanomamo
Term
slash and burn
Definition

farm the forest in a cycle: deforest, burn, cultivate

works well with low population density

now mainly done in central, south america and southeast asia and central africa

Term

how does the size of a horticulturalist group differ from that of a group of foragers?

 

Definition
horticulturists live in larger groups called villages and are permanently settled while foragers live in bands( 50 are less people) and are nomadic
Term
land rights of horticulturalists?
Definition
families have more definite rights of ownership over particular pieces of land than do families in a foraging band
Term
intensive agriculture
Definition

a system of cultivation in which plot productivity is mainted season after season

uses irrigation, crop rotation, naturla fertilizers, and plows powered by animals

technological innovations make plots more productive

 

Term
examples of intensive agriculture
Definition
terracing, chinamps, mechanical
Term
consequences of intensive agriculture
Definition

allowed a single farm family to produce a surplus over and above its own needs

the surplus can be traded, sold, or taxed and supports poeple who do not themselves do farm work

Term
what did intensive agriculture lead to
Definition

rise of civilization

social stratification

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