anthropology final exam study guide

Why is difficult to have one definition of marriage cross-culturally?

people get married for a variety of different reasons cross-culturally; some marry for love, while others may marry for legal reasons for example

why is cousin marriage not always considered incestuous worldwide?

it brings families together and makes inheriting things like money and land easier

why is it useful to have marriage preference rule? (consider preferences related to endogmany/exogamy)

it is useful to have marriage preference rules to rule out who you can and cannot marry. this is the reason we have engogamy, exogamy, arranged marriages, and consanguineous marriages.

what does it mean to say that marriage is an alliance between groups (vs. between individuals)?

Marriage is “legitimized” through traditional exchanges of wealth; 75% of societies involve economic transactions

why might the exchange of wealth/labor make marriage legitimate? Be able to describe various economic exchanges used for marriage

Wealth/labor makes marriage legitimate because marriage can be seen as a form of balanced reciprocity. oftentimes people practice bride labor where labor is given by the groom to the bride’s family so her family makes an income while giving away a worker (the bride)

What is a rite of passage?

a ritual event that marks a person’s progress from one status to another. Rites of passage are marked by three stages: separation, liminal (in between), and re-incorporation

why is dowry still practiced even though it is illegal?

Dowries are still practiced because they make people want to do better to marry a rich girl. the social status of bride’s family can dictate who she can afford to marry

what are potential advantges of arranged marriage?

People often have better matches because the parents find someone who is most compatible with their child. this often leads to people being better financially, and the couple typically falls in love anyway

what are the desired qualities of a spouse in arranged marriages in india

lighter-skinned, good dowry, if their zodiac signs are compatible, if they have a good job

who writes matrimonial ads in india, and what do these ads focus on?

typically the parents or family of their child that they are trying to marry off. the ads focus on the best and most desireable qualities of the person trying to get married, like their height, career, appearance, etc

what is the utility of various forms of post-marriage residence?

the need for agricultural labor, security, or mobility

What is the purpose of a kinship diagram? How does it differ from a “family tree” or genealogy?

to show a diagram of who someone deems “kin” in their life. it’s different from a family tree because every consanguinal relationship is included into a family tree and that doesn’t have to be the case for a kinship chart. you could also add friends or other relations into a kinship diagram

What are the key differences between Bilateral descent and a Unilineal (matrilineal/patrilineal) descent system?

Bilateral: ancestors that can be related to people through both mothers and/or fathers

Unilateral: descent is traced through only one side of the family (mother’s side OR father’s)

Why might an anthropologist find humans to be “strange” mammals in the context of birth and childhood?

We have such a huge brain compared to the rest of our body. Childbirth is a dangerous process. Women often die from childbirth. Babies are like parasites that are prioritized in the body.

How is childhood socially constructed? What does that mean?

All societies acknowledge that children are different from adults, but how they are different and what expectations are placed on them change according to the society in which they live

Example: ability to complete “work”

How do concepts of child-rearing differ cross-culturally? Be able to provide examples

People parent their kids differently across cultures. For example, the Inuit do not punish their kids until they get older, but the Tongans hit their kids because they believe children are wild and don’t understand things

How does gender socialization take place in the USA?

works by encouraging wanted (and discouraging unwanted) behavior in children; an example of this is girls’ and boys’ being different colors and gendered even though they are the same toys

How do voluntary and involuntary aspects of individual identity form? How do these aspects of identity differ from larger cultural identity?

Individual identities are created and maintained by a social process. There are existing culturally constructed categories, from which individuals choose some and reject others. These categories communicate one's desired identity to others. Identity is created by a feedback between the cultural cues you present and how people respond to them

What does it mean when we say identity is intersectional?

the ways in which difference combine and interact to afford privilege or garner oppression

How does prom constitute a “rite of passage” for many American teenagers?

it’s the first time in a child’s life that they get to dress up, look fancy, and essentially act like an adult for a day

What are the three stages in a rite of passage?

separation, liminal (in-between), re-incorporation

How does death constitute a rite of passage (consider rituals surrounding funerals, etc.)

transitioning the deceased from the living world to a new state (ancestor, spirit, memory) and transforming the status of the bereaved

What are some ways in which culture changes? Know the differences/similarities between them.

Change can be internal (from within the society) or external (from outside the society)

Imperilialism: direct, aggressive contact of one society with another; process of systematic cultural change of a particular society carried out by a more politically/economically/militarily powerful society

Diffusion: the spread of a cultural item from its place of origin to other places (via migration, trade, war, or other contact)

What is the difference between globalization as “homogenization” versus “interconnectedness”?

• Homogenization focuses on the result: cultures and economies becoming similar, often taking on Western, consumerist characteristics.

• Interconnectedness focuses on the process: the increasing interdependence of countries and the rapid exchange of goods, services, information, and people across borders.

How is diffusion different from acculturation?

Diffusion concerns what happens to individual cultural elements, whereas acculturation describes changes to a whole culture.

What are some of the push/pull factors for migration?

push: population pressure, climate change, excess death due to overheating, migration in response to environment

(pull factors = the opposite)

How is an asylum seeker different from a migrant or refugee?

an asylum seeker is one who seek permanent refuge and assistance, whereas a refugee has a well-rounded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group

Worldwide, approximately how many people are displaced today?

The number of internally displaced people reached 83.4 million at the end of 2024, the highest figure ever recorded

What leads to a person being displaced from their home (either internally or internationally)?

conflict, violence, or natural disasters

Currently, which countries create the most displaced people?