Anthro exam 3

anthro exam

Broad Spectrum Revolution - Mesolithic period

Broad Spectrum Revolution - Mesolithic period

15000 (Middle East) - 12000 years ago (Europe); human tool manufacture is more sophisticated, allowing for a "broad spectrum" or wider range of plant/animal life to be hunted, gathered, or fished for subsistence (expanded diet from just a few food sources); set the stage for food production (pottery was also being made)

Neolithic Revolution

12000 years ago; a switch from nomadic hunter-gather lifestyles to a more settled agricultural lifestyle, with economies based upon food production and domesticating plants/animals; corresponds with population growth and subsequently territory expansion

gradual shift to food production timeline

12000-10000 years ago: semi-nomadic hunting and gathering; 10000-7500 years ago: dry farming (without irrigation) and domesticating goats/sheep; 7500-5500 years ago: increased specialization and water management

vertical economy

environmental zones with contrasting climate, vegetation, and resources in close proximity; allowed for a variety of resources to be used

food production begins in Middle east begins because of

vertical economy: high plateau, hilly flanks, piedmont steppes, alluvial desert

Hilly flanks

Woodland zone just north of Tigris and Euphrates rivers (in Middle east) - sedentism

Sedentism

the practice of living in one place for a long time

Piedmont steppes

treeless plain

Alluvial desert

rich, fertile soil deposited by rivers (Tigris and Euphrates)

sedentism in the Hilly Flanks

allows for year-round settlement by Natufians, who could gather food for a year in 3 weeks; storage; helped population growth --> movement to less optimal areas --> domestication

Domestication

the process of changing or taming plants or animals to make them more useful to humans

domestication of plants

selecting for features like tough axes (hold onto grains, more firmly), brittle husks (edible portion of wild cereals are enclosed by a husk, easier to access), and larger seeds

domestication of animals

selecting for features like size and compliance (except for the cat)

spread of food production

east-west trade routes in Old World: diffusion, trade migration; less reliance on animal domestication in New World; production has arose independently in some places

features that co-evolve with food production

sedentism, private property; water management (ex. irrigation systems) --> stratification where some people control the water system and thus have more resources and power

Advantages of food production

high productivity; reliable; predictable crop yields; invention + discovery (spinning, weaving, pottery, metallurgy); monumental architecture; sciences + math; writing

metallurgy

the science of working with metals

Costs of food production

more intensive labor; less varied, less nutritious diet (case study: corn in US); divisions of labor + child labor; health decline and disease; inequality, poverty, slavery, crime, war; environmental degradation + pollution

case Study: corn in the US

largest US crop in terms of total production is corn; there is a cost of relying so heavily on a few food products (ex. famine)

Lee, "The Hunters: Scarce Resources in the Kalahari" + prior beliefs

fieldwork (oct 1963-jan 1994); Kalahari Desert of Botswana, Ju/'hoansi-!Kung bushmen; 6-9 inches of rainfall/year; widely held beliefs were that hunting meat provides primary sustenance for foragers, that foraging is a "precarious and arduous struggle for existence"

Lee, "The Hunters: Scarce Resources in the Kalahari" findings

hunting/gathering occurs within 6-mile radius of water, 2-3 days 12-19h/week; women provide 2-3x as much food as men; accumulate no more than 2-3 days worth of food; veggies comprise 60-80% total diet by weight; most important food is mongongo nut (50% diet); meat is a prestige food bc it's acquired less reliably with more effort

Lee, "The Hunters: Scarce Resources in the Kalahari" social organization

14 camps living near permanent water holes (~30 ppl); collected food are shared equitably; population constantly in potion (1/3 time spent foraging, 1/3 visiting, 1/3 entertaining); move camp 5-6 times/year, but within 10-12 miles of home waterhole; elderly, leaders are respected and cared for and don't have to forage, ritual skills; children do not forage until marriage (15-20 years old for women, 20-25 for men); when not gathering, women rest, embroid, visit camps, entertain visitors, cook, crack nuts, collect firewood, housework; men trance dance in addition to hunting (not consistent in terms of schedule)

Adaptive Strategy

the unique way to make a living by how each culture uses its particular environment to provide the necessities of life; pastoralism, horticulture, agriculture, industrialism

Egalitarian society

a society in which all persons of a given category have equal access to economic resources, power, and prestige (few/no status distinctions between individuals based on age/gender/achievements/talents)

Ranked society

society with hereditary inequality, where privilege is based on genealogical connection to the chief; stratification exists for prestige but there aren't defined social classes

Stratified society

society with sharp social divisions; unequal access to resources; inherited status

political organization

the patterned ways in which power is legitimately used in a society to regulate behavior, maintain social order, make collective decisions, and deal with social disorder

power

the ability to impose one's will on others (usually based upon control of resources)

authority

the ability to cause others to act based on characteristics such as honor, status, knowledge, ability, respect, or holding formal public office (socially approved use of power)

Foraging

hunting and gathering of food naturally available (ex. Baka, !Kung in Lee's chapter)

foraging correlates

low population density; mobility/seasonal movement; egalitarian societies (authority not power) with division of labor by gender and age, and sharing/cooperating; typically reliable with lots of leisure time; simple stone tools; little impact on environment

Pastorialism

the raising of livestock and domesticated herd animals for food (cattle, sheet, caribou, camels, etc for meat, milk, and blood); allows humans and animals to not compete for the same food resources (adaptation in environments not suited for agriculture)

transhumant pastoralism

a form of pastoralism in which herd animals are moved regularly throughout the year to different areas as pasture becomes available; permanent home base

nomadic pastoralism

a form of pastoralism in which the whole social group (men, women, children) and their animals move in search of pasture

pastoralism correlates

low population density; mobility; gendered divisions of labor (warriors)

risks of pastoralism

drought, storms, disease, theft; subsistence strategies and trade for manufactured goods/grain

Horticulture

production of plants using a simple, non mechanized technology and where the fertility of gardens and fields is maintained through long periods of fallow

fallow

plowed but not sowed land to restore its fertility as part of a crop rotation

swidden cultivation (slash and burn)

fields are cleared by felling trees and burning brush to return nutrients to soil; mixed subsistence (also hunt/fish/raise animals, etc)

Agriculture

a form of food production in which fields are in permanent cultivation using plows, animals, and techniques of soil and water control.

horticulture correlates

low population density; simple tools (hoes, axes machetes); permanent villages; typically some stratification/inequalities: division of labor by gender, leaders w informal authority based on consensus; low grade warfare

agriculture correlates

complex technologies (plows, irrigation, terracing, selective breeding); high population densities; intensive use of labor; more capital investment needed; vulnerable to environment (crop failure = disaster); productive (supports 14x more ppl than horticulture + surplus); sedentary villages w complex social organization; social stratification (non food producing occupations with more prestige)

Industrialism

the process of the mechanization of production and producing goods/services besides foods (manufacturing, mass production)

industrialism correlates

vastly increased population growth; expanded consumption of resources (especially energy); harms environment; occupational specialization; selling labor, cash economy; large, mobile, skilled, specialized labor force, which are controlled by states and employed by firms; social class; unequal distribution of wealth

Economy

A system for producing and distributing goods, and services to fulfill people's wants and consumption

Distribution

shift in focus to how resources are allocated and consumed; market (dominated by profit), redistribution (controlled by a central power), reciprocity (prominent among social equals)

Market principle

Maximizing profit; law of supply and demand (cost and scarcity); prestige associated w consumption and maximization); fast, impersonal

Redistribution

exchange in which goods are collected to the center and then distributed to members of a group (common in chiefdoms); taxation, tithing, ceremonial feasting (potlatch)

potlatch (pacific Northwest)

competitive feasting; prestige (social honor or respect); adaptation to fluctuating plenty and famine

Reciprocity

mutual exchange among people of relatively equal status; associated w egalitarian societies and foraging; form of reciprocity and speed/expectation of return is connected to closeness of social relationship between givers/receivers

generalized reciprocity

giving and receiving without expectation of return; close kin (ex. parent's care)

balanced reciprocity

giving and receiving of goods of nearly equal value, with expectation of return within specified time limit; can start/built relationships (ex. Kula ring - necklaces and bracelets)

negative reciprocity

exchange conducted for the purpose of material advantage; social distance (stealing, bargaining)

Village head

local tribal leader with limited authority

"Big man"

a leader with support across villages

Office

a permanent political position in a political structure

Social Control

the maintenance of norms and regulation of conflict (informal mechanisms and law)

how do societies persuade individuals to conform?

informal mechanisms like ridicule, gossip, bullying, supernatural interventions, accusations of witchcraft, shunning; law and punishment

Law

systematic application of force by a constituted authority; a legal code of state-organized society w trial and enforcements, where violations are punished

social organization and stratification

societies have different systems of social differentiation; the relative access individuals and groups have to wealth (material assets), power and prestige; formal and informal inequalities (egalitarian, rank, stratified societies)

Band

a small group of people related by blood or marriage who live together and are loosely associated with a territory in which they forage

Band correlates

20-50 ppl, usually extended family; associated w foraging; egalitarian; generalized or balanced reciprocity; minimal role specialization or differences in access to wealth/power/prestige; ties w other bands through marriage, kinship, trade; no formal leadership (decisions by consensus or elders who can persuade); informal mechanisms for social order

Tribe

a culturally distinct population whose members consider themselves descended from the same ancestor

Tribe correlates

larger than bands but still small; unilineal kin groups; pastoralists and horticulturalists; egalitarian; reciprocity and redistribution; age groups important; village head or "big man", authority through achievements (no office/centralized gov); informal mechanisms to control deviance and settle disputes

Chiefdom

a society with social ranking in which political integration is achieved through an office or centralized leadership called the chief

Chiefdom correlates

integrated village units; organized through kinship; centralized leadership (chief); ranked society; highly productive horticulture or pastoralism; redistribution through chief; chief has power to resolve conflict and punish deviants; chief has spiritual/symbolic power too

State

a hierarchical, centralized form of political organization in which a central gov has a legal monopoly over the use of force

State correlates

stratified; centralized gov; legal monopoly + code of law to determine punishment for deviance; agriculture and industrialism; territory; state protects and controls exchange/distribution of goods; redistribution through taxes; economic + occupational specialization; economic + social inequalities; elites are a minority

Ongka's Big Moka

Example of a gift-based economy (pigs?) Maintains not only the status of the big man, but also the whole kinship alliance network - through complex reciprocity relations

rites of passage

social rituals marking the transition in state or social status (ex. childhood --> adulthood)

3 stages of rites of passage

separation, liminality, reincorporation/aggregation

separation stage (rite of passage)

symbolic and/or physical removal

liminal stage (rite of passage)

inbetween-ness phase; belonging in no category (left the past one but not yet achieved the new one), occupy no social status, which is symbolically made clear: initiates are often invisible in some way because they cannot be socially recognized, a lot of our identity is social - "social death";

reincorporation stage (rite of passage)

incorporation ceremony, new status, new responsibilities/rights, new name (often)

is marriage a rite of passage?

(Susanna Fioratta - marriage + adulthood in W. Africa): marriage confers new responsibilites and new importance; without marriage, men and women cannot achieve this status regardless of qualities like age, occupation, or economic success; different in US

to anthropologists, marriage (+systems of defining gender, families, and kinship) solves the problems of:

regulating sexual access between spouses; assigning responsibility for care of children (legal parentage and joint fund); providing for the transfer of property and social position through generations; organizing an individual's rights and responsibilities to others

Marriage

the customs, rules, and obligations that establish a special relationship between sexually cohabitating adults, between them and any children they take responsibility for, and between the kin of the married couple (forms bonds between couples but also between family + kin groups, extending alliances); however there are many ways to organize marriage from culture to culture

incest taboos

prohibitions on sexual relations between relatives ("relatives" varies: most societies ban parent-children and siblings, some ban certain kinds of cousins)

cross-cousin marriage

marriage between an individual and the child of his or her mother's brother or father's sister (more accepted as "ideal")

parallel-cousin marriage

marriage between the children of a parent's same-sex siblings (mother's sisters, father's brothers) (more commonly agreed to be incestuous)

Why are incest taboos so common? (debated)

biological explanations (some awareness that inbreeding is biologically bad), but this doesn't explain why cross-cousin is "ok" in many societies yet parallel-cousin is bad; innate aversion based on the familiarity of having been raised together, but this could apply to anyone you're close with; alliance theory

alliance theory (applying to incest)

it is adaptive to avoid incest because marrying people outside of groups/communities creates more alliances, building stronger, beneficial social networks

Exogamy

customs involving marrying outside of a particular group, expanding network

Endogamy

rules prescribing that a person must marry within a particular group, keeping control of resources

Sororate

the custom whereby a woman marries the widower (male widow) of a deceased sister

Levirate

the custom whereby a man marries the widow of a deceased brother

why do sororates and levirates exist?

allows marriage to continues within the same family so that alliances and fulfillment of marriage contract is not ended

Monogamy

Marriage to only one person at a time

serial monogamy

individuals that marry several people throughout their life, but only one at a time

Polygamy

plural marriage; marriage to several people at the same time

Polygyny

a rule allowing a man to have more than one wife at the same time; women are economically important and can increase the man's wealth/social position; extends the man's alliances (common among chiefs, headman, state leaders bc it increase political power); status of women not uniformly low (sometimes even high), eases workload and may correspond w increased freedoms; conflict among wives not uncommon, sororal polygyny sometimes preferred

sororal polygyny

the marriage of a man to two or more sisters at the same time

Polyandry

a rule allowing a woman to have more than one husband at the same time; mainly in Tibet and Nepal; often related to shortage of land, also functional when men leave home for long periods of time; can be related to shortage of women

dowry

presentation of goods by the bride's kin to the family of the groom; less common, source of security for the wife, compensation for taking on economic burden of another family member

bridewealth (lobola)

cash or goods given by the groom's kin to the bride's kin to legitimize a marriage; daughters are valuable to their families, so compensation for losing one; entitles husband to certain rights, but also confers rights on wife - returned if marriage ends

affine

a relative by marriage (ex. in-laws)

Kinship

A social bond based on common ancestry, marriage, or adoption

what does kinship do?

responsibilities, expectations, alliances/sense of belonging, in industrial societies, many rights and responsibilities are determined by citizenship rather than kinship

Descent

culturally established affiliations between children and one/both parents

Descent groups

permanent groups based on belief in shared ancestry