Ancient Civilizations Midterm

Fall 2024 @ Kent State University w/ Dr. Bebber

00, Cross-Cultural Similarities are…

produced by patterns of thought/behavior common to all human groups

OR

shaped by similar environmental/functional constraints AND parallel development/co-evolution

00, Anthropology’s opposite and complementary goals

show that people are biologically the same everywhere

AND

to celebrate cultural variation

00, Rationalism and Relativism can be traced back to…

the 18th century

The Rationalism of the Enlightenment and Romantic Reaction against the Enlightenment

00, Rationalism stresses…

…Human Similarities

Despite cultural differences, human needs, drives, motivations, desires, feelings, and sentiments are everywhere much the same

Assumes that basic human behavior has been shaped by hominid evolution, during which natural selection has 'wired' the human brain to cope with various problems.

00, Rationalism values…

…the study of behavior, especially adaptive behavior, more highly than the study
of beliefs and consciousness

minimizes the importance of human agency; sees humans as product of environment

00, Rationalism argues…

…environmental factors determine human behavior and social organization

Change due to the rational calculation of the relative selective advantages of different strategies

00, Rationalism encourages…

…an interest in sociocultural evolution.

Privileges the study of cross-cultural similarities, Dismisses 'unique, exotic particulars.’

00, a critique for Rationalism

Rationalism can be “deterministic”

i.e. minimizes the importance of human agency; sees humans as products of the environment

00, Cultural Anthropology is based on…

… relativism

It teaches an appreciation for all cultures and their practices. Relativists view cultures as highly diverse and idiosyncratic and thus hard to compare with one another.

00, Relativists stress…

… Variation

Cultural differences are the focus of study.

00, Relativists argue…

… ideas and beliefs, not the material conditions of life, determine human behavior.

No environmental or biological constraints on behavior and behavior is viewed as culturally mediated and determined

00, As we get further away from things related directly to basic human needs…

… we can expect to see more variation in cultural traits.

i.e. expressions of identity, ideology, arts, etc.

01, For 95% of human history, our ancestors sustained themselves by…

Foraging

OR

Hunting and Gathering

01, before states were formed, variation was…

… the norm.

Just because we see a behavior ethnographically or historically doesn’t mean it was universal or even common.

Conversely, there were likely many practices and behaviors that we cannot conceptualize from our modern perspective.

01, The development of permanent, “state-level” social organization is largely a function of…

population density.

Which is a result of changing subsistence economies and changing cultural constraints on birth rates.

01, In anthropology, an ‘Economy’ is…

… the study of the relationships between populations and their natural and cultural resources.

This encompasses production, distribution, consumption, and stratification.

01, The three main modes of economic systems are…

1. Foraging (hunting and gathering)

2. Herding (pastoralism)

3. Cultivation of plant crops (horticulture and agriculture)

01, True or False: Economic Development was progressive and linear.

FALSE! this is not a progressive, linear trajectory (i.e. one mode is not better than another)

Many groups practice a mixture of the three main modes of economy. Can vary seasonally; hunting more in winter, etc... it can take hundreds or thousands of years for the transition

Sometimes groups try “farming” but then say “nah” Stonehenge was built between 5-4000 ya; by forager/herders, not grain farmers. They had begun growing barley, wheat, etc...by 5000 ya, but gave it up during a cold, dry period.

01, What are Subsistence Economies?

Economies in which people produce what they consume.

No substantial surplus.

01, are people practicing Subsistence Economies poor?

No. They have limited wants, but unlimited means to fulfill them.

In modern hunter/gatherer communities, there is insecurity, but only as a symptom of the exploitation of indigenous economies.

01, what are the two (wrong) extremes that western perspectives give to hunter/gatherers?

Brutal vs. Noble Savage.

1. Primitive/violent/backward - environment is harsh and hostile = i.e. “brutal savage” concept; endless struggle to survive

2. Innocent/pure/”state of nature” – environment is idealised Garden of Eden = i.e. “noble savage” concept

01, who said “Individuals in a ‘state of nature’ would live in continual fear, and danger of violent death” ?

Thomas Hobbes

01, who said “Life is nasty, brutish, and short.” ?

Thomas Hobbes

01, who said that “individuals in a ‘state of nature’ embodied peacefulness and equality, harmony etc…” ?

Jean-Jaques Rousseau

Who coined the term “The Noble Savage” ?

John Dryden

“I am as free as Nature first made man, ‘Ere the base Laws of Servitude began, When wild in the woods the noble Savage ran.”

01, from indigenous perspectives, the environment is…

…a dwelling place, or home

01, from indigenous perspectives, nature is…

sacred, and should be protected for future generations

01, from indigenous perspectives, land is owned by…

…nobody. There is no “property.”

01, from indigenous perspectives, all things deserve…

… consideration and respect

01, from indigenous perspectives, you are an element of…

the natural world, with a connection to your surroundings.

01, western scientists are finally realizing that…

… indigenous knowledge can provide insight into animal behavior and environmental issues.

01, what is foraging?

The acquisition of food by hunting, fishing, or the gathering of plant matter.

(sometimes called “hunter-gatherers-fishers”)

01, what is often hunted more, large or small animals?

small animals

01, True or False, Things like experience, having a sharp eye, and skill are required as opposed to physical strength and advanced weaponry when huntinh.

TRUE, this is contrary to how hunters are often depicted.

01, True or False, hunting was only done by men.

FALSE, lots of hunting was done by women!

01, True or False, Fishing was only done by women.

FALSE, fishing was done by both genders.

01, Gathering requires…

great knowledge and skill

01, True or False, gatherers did not nurture plants, only collected them.

FALSE! Gatherers often nurtured plants, leaves, seeds, tubers, nuts, fruits, etc…

01, gender inequality in forager groups was…

… low. Women's contribution to subsistence was high, people were few, land was plentiful, and crowding minimal.

01, warfare among foraging groups was…

… generally rare; groups could readily avoid one another in the food search.

01, True or False, Modern studies show that women's gathering yields
more calories on average than men's hunting activities.

TRUE! Thus, women have value and high social status.

01, when women have high value and social status in groups, group control of sexuality is _____, plus casual sex and frequent divorce are ____.

Low, Common.

01, in sharing societies, the effort into getting more food than you need is…

… reduced.

There is an expectation to share all foraged food. Storage is unnecessary and difficult because of this.

01, Foragers have ____ birthrates and ___ interbirth intervals.

Low, Long (3-4 year)

Foragers often carry their child all day while they work, this allows for “on demand” nursing at 10-15 min intervals all day and night... Babies are breastfeed commonly up to age 4-5; decreasing frequency with age. This causes lactational amenorrhea; in which the mothers do not ovulate

The added nutritional stress from lactation (>600 calories per day used to produce milk) can cause the mother temporary deficiencies that halt ovulation (i.e. breastfeeding can act as natural birth control)

01, True or False, when hunter/gatherers live in abundant environments, their population grows higher.

FALSE, mostly. H/G groups can have high pop growth rates if culturally mediated

01, how were hunter/gatherer groups able to control reproduction?

1. Carrying and nursing an older toddler may have led to spontaneous abortion (miscarriage)

2. Some believe that twins brought bad luck (might kill one or both usually by exposure...)

3. Breastfeeding two babies at once is extremely physically demanding

   • Thus, infanticide was common; sickly or malformed neonates

   • “neonaticide” was preferred over physical abortion as it was

   safer for the mother

4. Many plants are known abortifacients;
   • ethnographically, 72% of HG groups report abortion practices

01, what percentage of game hunters were female?

30-50%

01, True or False, in hunter/gatherer societies, Men participate minimally in parenthood.

FALSE! Males spend a large portion of their time playing with or teaching kids

01, what is “alloparenting” ?

Group parenting

This was common in hunter/gatherer societies with 8 to 14 caretakers per child!

01, what are the two main types of hunter/gatherer strategies?

Foragers and Collectors

01, what does Residential Mobility (foragers) require?

1. the movement of all members of a residential base from one locality to
   another

2. tend to acquire food on a day-to-day basis near their residential base

3. adapted to environments where the distributions of critical resources are spatially or temporally uneven

01, what does Logistical Mobility (Collectors) require?

1. Movement of specialized task groups to acquire food resources located far away from their residential base

2. bring these resources back and store them

3. distribution of important resources is spatially and/or temporally homogenous in the environment (i.e. a rich ecological setting)

01, Hayden’s (1990) Generalized hunter/gatherers…

… rely on scarce and/or fluctuating resources (“foragers” in Binford’s model)

01, Generalized hunter/gatherers have ___ population densities

low

01, Generalized hunter/gatherers have ___ mobile and ___ foraging strategies.

highly, opportunistic.

01, Generalized hunter/gatherers have ___ toolkits with ___ interassemblage variability.

generalized, little