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Staple crops
foods that form the backbone of the subsistence system by providing the majority of the calories a society consumes.
Vernaculars
non- standard varieties of a language, which are usually distinguished from the standard by their inclusion of stigmatized forms.
Segmentary lineage
a hierarchy of lineages that contains both close and relatively distant family members.
Negative reciprocity
an attempt to get something for nothing; exchange in which both parties try to take advantage of the other.
Enculturation
the process of learning the characteristics and expectations of a culture or group.
Pastoralism
a subsistence system in which people raise herds of domesticated livestock.
Cultural transmission
the need for some aspects of the system to be learned.
Reverse dominance
societies in which people reject attempts by any individual to exercise power.
Pidgin
a simplified language that springs up out of a situation in which people who do not share a language must spend extended amounts of time together.
Creole
a language that develops from a pidgin when the pidgin becomes so widely used that children acquire it as one of their first languages.
Matrilineal
kinship (family) systems that recognize only relatives through a line of female ancestors.
Agriculture
the cultivation of domesticated plants and animals using technologies that allow for intensive use of the land.
Qualitative
anthropological research designed to gain an in- depth, contextualized understanding of human behavior.
Structural Functionalism
focuses on the ways in which the customs or social institutions in a culture contribute to the organization of society and the maintenance of social order.
Patrilineal
kinship (family) systems that recognize only relatives through a line of male ancestors.
Noble savage
an inaccurate way of portraying indigenous groups or minority cultures as innocent, childlike, or uncorrupted by the negative characteristics of "civilization ..
Mono cropping
the reliance on a single plant species as a food source.
Pragmatics
how social context contributes to meaning in an interaction.
Social classes
the division of society into groups based on wealth and status.
Functionalism
the way that parts of a society work together to support the functioning of the whole.
Subsistence farmers
people who raise plants and animals for their own consumption, but not for sale to others.
Egalitarian
societies in which there is no great difference in status or power between individuals and there are as many valued status positions in the societies as there are persons able to fill them.
Armchair anthropology
an early and discredited method of anthropological research that did not involve direct contact with the people studied.
Deductive
reasoning from the general to the specific; the inverse of inductive reasoning.
Historical linguistics
the study of how languages change.
Matriarchal
a society in which women have authority to make decisions.
Linguistic relativity
the idea that the structures and words of a language influence how its speakers think, how they behave, and ultimately the culture itself.
Cultural relativism
the idea that we should seek to understand another persons beliefs and behaviors from the perspective of their own culture and not our own.
Semantics
how meaning is conveyed at the word and phrase level.
Oaths
the practice of calling on a deity to bear witness to the truth of what one says.
Emic
________: a description of the studied culture from the perspective of a member of the culture or insider.
Key Informants
individuals who are more knowledgeable about their culture than others and who are particularly helpful to the anthropologist.
Interchangeability
the ability of all individuals of the species to both send and receive messages; a feature of some species communication systems.
Etic
________: a description of the studied culture from the perspective of an observer or outsider.
Quantitative
anthropological research that uses statistical, mathematical, and /or numerical data to study human behavior.
Negative reinforcements
punishments for noncompliance through fines, imprisonment, and death sentences.
Generalized reciprocity
giving without expecting a specific thing in return.
Legitimacy
the perception that an individual has a valid right to leadership.
Subsistence system
the set of skills, practices, and technologies used by members of a society to acquire and distribute food.
Code switching
using two or more language varieties in a particular interaction.
Affinal
family relationships created through marriage.
Holism
taking a broad view of the historical, environmental, and cultural foundations of behavior.
Patrilineal descent
a kinship group created through the paternal line (fathers and their children)
Matrilineal descent
a kinship group created through the maternal line (mothers and their children)
Proxemics
the study of the social use of space, including the amount of space an individual tries to maintain around himself in his interactions with others.
Kinesics
the study of all forms of human body language.
Phonemes
the basic meaningless sounds of a language.
Paleoanthropologist
biological anthropologists who study ancient human relatives.
Nuclear family
a parent or parents who are in a culturally- recognized relationship, such as marriage, along with minor or dependent children.
Bridewealth
payments made to the brides family by the grooms family before marriage.
Cultural relativism
the idea that we should seek to understand another persons beliefs and behaviors from the perspective of their own culture and not our own
Deductive
reasoning from the general to the specific; the inverse of inductive reasoning
Enculturation
the process of learning the characteristics and expectations of a culture or group
Hominin
Humans (Homo sapiens) and their close relatives and immediate ancestors
Inductive
a type of reasoning that uses specific information to draw general conclusions
Paleoanthropologist
biological anthropologists who study ancient human relatives
Participant-observation
a type of observation in which the anthropologist observes while participating in the same activities in which her informants are engaged
Armchair anthropology
an early and discredited method of anthropological research that did not involve direct contact with the people studied
Cultural determinism
the idea that behavioral differences are a result of cultural, not racial or genetic causes
Cultural evolutionism
societies evolved through stages from simple to advanced
Cultural relativism
the idea that we should seek to understand another persons beliefs and behaviors from the perspective of their own culture and not our own
Culture
a set of beliefs, practices, and symbols that are learned and shared
Functionalism
the way that parts of a society work together to support the functioning of the whole
Going native
becoming fully integrated into a cultural group through acts such as taking a leadership position, assuming key roles in society, entering into marriage, or other behaviors that incorporate an anthropologist into the society he or she is studying
Holism
taking a broad view of the historical, environmental, and cultural foundations of behavior
Kinship
blood ties, common ancestry, and social relationships that form families within human groups
Participant observation
anthropologist observes while participating in the same activities in which her informants are engaged
Structural-Functionalism
focuses on the ways in which the customs or social institutions in a culture contribute to the organization of society and the maintenance of social order
The Other
is a term that has been used to describe people whose customs, beliefs, or behaviors are "different" from ones own
Cultural relativism
the idea that we should seek to understand another persons beliefs and behaviors from the perspective of their own culture and not our own
Diaspora
the scattering of a group of people who have left their original homeland and now live in various locations
Emic
a description of the studied culture from the perspective of a member of the culture or insider
Etic
a description of the studied culture from the perspective of an observer or outsider
Indigenous
people who have continually lived in a particular location for a long period of time
Key Informants
individuals who are more knowledgeable about their culture than others and who are particularly helpful to the anthropologist
Land tenure
how property rights to land are allocated within societies, including how permissions are granted to access, use, control, and transfer land
Noble savage
an inaccurate way of portraying indigenous groups or minority cultures as innocent, childlike, or uncorrupted by the negative characteristics of "civilization."
Qualitative
anthropological research designed to gain an in-depth, contextualized understanding of human behavior
Code-switching
using two or more language varieties in a particular interaction
Creole
a language that develops from a pidgin when the pidgin becomes so widely used that children acquire it as one of their first languages
Critical age range hypothesis
research suggesting that a child will gradually lose the ability to acquire language naturally and without effort if he or she is not exposed to other people speaking a language until past the age of puberty
Cultural transmission
the need for some aspects of the system to be learned
Dialect
a variety of speech
Gesture-call system
a system of non-verbal communication using varying combinations of sound, body language, scent, facial expression, and touch, typical of great apes and other primates, as well as humans
Historical linguistics
the study of how languages change
Interchangeability
the ability of all individuals of the species to both send and receive messages; a feature of some species communication systems
Kinesics
the study of all forms of human body language
Language
an idealized form of speech, usually referred to as the standard variety
Language universals
characteristics shared by all linguists
Lexicon
the vocabulary of a language
Linguistic relativity
the idea that the structures and words of a language influence how its speakers think, how they behave, and ultimately the culture itself
Morphemes
the basic meaningful units in a language
Morphology
the study of the morphemes of language
Phonemes
the basic meaningless sounds of a language
Phonology
the study of the sounds of language
Pidgin
a simplified language that springs up out of a situation in which people who do not share a language must spend extended amounts of time together
Pragmatics
how social context contributes to meaning in an interaction
Proxemics
the study of the social use of space, including the amount of space an individual tries to maintain around himself in his interactions with others
Semantics
how meaning is conveyed at the word and phrase level
Standard
the variant of any language that has been given special prestige in the community
Note 
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