Key Concepts in Cultural Anthropology and Social Structures

Culture

is learned through both informal and formal processes

Globalization

Increasing the interdependence and interconnectedness of countries

Colonialism

As states expand into an empire, they generally introduce colonialism, bringing new political and economic orders to the territories they conquer.

Wealth Extraction

As states expand, they are interested in extracting new wealth (land, resources, and people) and bringing that wealth into their core areas.

it affected most of the world

European Capitalism was devastating to many societies because it affected most of the world, since it conceived of ownership in a completely new way.

Commodity

In a capitalist world, everything can be converted into a commodity.

Dependency Theory

argues that the wealthiest nations create underdevelopment (and dependency) in formerly prosperous areas.

World-system theory

focuses more on the institutions of capitalism: Banking, Finance, and highly skilled Industrial production rather than individual goods.

Monogamy

marriage between 2 people

Types of Monogamy

Heterosexual (Man and Woman) and LGBTQ+

Polygamy

marriage between several people

Types of Polygamy

polygyny and polyandry

Polygyny

one man marries several women

Polyandry

one woman marries several men

Kinship Types

Consanguine (Blood), Affinal (Marriage), and Fictive (Neither Marriage nor Blood (Social))

Patrilocal

relating to a pattern of marriage in which the couple settles in the husband's home or community.

Matrilocal

relating to a pattern of marriage in which the couple settles in the wife's home or community.

Neolocal

a type of family where a couple chooses to move away from their families and create their own home.

Nuclear family

a family unit consisting of two parents and their children

Single parent

a family unit consisting of one parent and their children.

Extended family

a family unit that includes multiple generations of relatives, such as parents, children, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins

Joint families

two parents, their sons, their sons' wives, and all of the unmarried children of their sons.

Bilateral kinship systems

You are related to both your mother's and your father's sides (predominant in the US)

Patrilineal

Descent through the male line

Matrilineal

Descent through the female line

Expendability Theory

Men do labor activities that are dangerous because they're more expendable. The core premise is that one male can potentially father offspring with multiple females, making the reproductive output of females more critical for population growth.

Incest taboo

restrictions against marrying "close" family, but "close" is defined differently between cultures.

Exogamy

only allowing marriages "outside" of the group.

Endogamy

only allowing marriages "inside" of the group.

Cousin marriage

In many cultures, cousin marriage is preferred.

Sex

refers to biological sexual differences. A set of characteristics associated with reproduction generally assigns individuals into male and female categories.

Factors: chromosomes, genes, hormones, reproductive organs and secondary sex characteristics.

Gender

a set of cultural constructs describing characteristics that are historically related to notions of femininity, masculinity, women, men, nonbinary people, or social norms.

Gender roles

Societies around the world assign tasks to their members based on differences in sex.

Animism

the belief that inanimate objects have special powers.

Monotheism

the belief in the existence of one god.

Polytheism

the worship of many gods.

Prayer

A way of addressing (connecting with) supernatural forces.

Mana

an impersonal supernatural power that is sometimes believed to be transferable from an object that contains it to one that does not.

Exhortation

people who are believed to have a closer relation to the supernatural and are expected to use their gifts to give orders, heal, threaten, comfort, and interpret.

Feasts

Eating and drinking in a religious context.

Sacrifice/offerings

giving something of value to the invisible forces to influence them or to gain religious merit.

Rites of Passage

They help us control uncertainty, which is seen as dangerous for society.

Taqui Oncoy (Dance of Sickness)

Andean people reacted to the Spanish conquest and the depopulation of the Andes because of European disease.

Nacirema

Satirizes aspects of American culture (daily hygiene routines, the healthcare system, the pursuit of physical perfection) (Nacirema is "American" backwards)

Stages of Rites of Passage

Most Rites of Passage involve the following stages: Separation, Transition, Re-incorporation.

Separation

The ritual removal of the individual from society.

Transition

The isolation of the individual following separation and prior to incorporation.

Re-incorporation

The return of the individual into society in his or her new status