Anthropology

Anthro Exam 2

Status

A person’s social position in society

Achieved status

Status earned through effort or choice

Ascribed status

Status assigned at birth

Assimilation

Process of adopting the dominant culture

Colonialism

Political and economic domination of one territory by another

Ethnicity

Identification with a cultural group

Ethnic group

Group sharing language, culture, ancestry, or traditions

Ethnocide

Destruction of a group’s culture without killing its members

Genocide

Intentional physical extermination of a group

Hypodescent

Assigning mixed-heritage individuals to the subordinate group

Hyperdescent

Assigning mixed-heritage individuals to the dominant group

Multiculturalism

View that cultural diversity strengthens society

Phenotype

Observable physical characteristics

Race

Social classification based on physical traits

Racism

Belief that one race is superior plus discriminatory power

Prejudice

Negative attitudes toward a group

Discrimination

Unequal treatment based on group membership

Nation

Group sharing common culture, language, and identity

State

Centralized political organization governing a territory

Nation-state

A state whose people share a common national identity

Melanin

Skin pigment that protects against UV radiation

Foraging

Hunting animals and gathering wild plants for food

Horticulture

Small-scale farming using simple tools

Pastoralism

Herding domesticated animals for subsistence

Pastoral nomadism

Entire group moves with livestock

Transhumance

Seasonal livestock movement while some people stay behind

Agriculture

Large-scale intensive farming using advanced tools

Industrialization

Economy based on mechanized production

Nomadic

Moving frequently without permanent settlements

Egalitarian

Society with little inequality in wealth or power

Mode of production

How a society organizes labor and resources

Means of production

Resources used to produce goods (land, tools, labor)

Alienation

Feeling disconnected from work and its products

Market principle

Buying and selling with prices set by supply and demand

Redistribution

Central authority collects goods and redistributes them

Reciprocity

Exchange of goods between social equals

Generalized reciprocity

Giving without expecting immediate return

Balanced reciprocity

Equal exchange within a specific time period

Negative reciprocity

Attempt to get more than you give in exchange

Potlatch

Ceremonial feast where wealth is given away for status

Bands

Small, kin-based, egalitarian foraging groups

Tribes

Larger societies with informal leadership and no central government

Chiefdoms

Ranked societies ruled by hereditary chiefs

States

Complex societies with centralized governments

Big Man

Leader who gains influence through generosity and persuasion

Tonowi

Hereditary leader with formal authority

Village Head

Local leader with limited authority

Endogamy

Marriage within one’s social group

Social control

Methods used to enforce social norms

Hegemony

Dominance maintained through ideology and consent

Weapons of the weak

Everyday subtle resistance by subordinate groups

Public transcript

Open behavior toward those in power

Hidden transcript

Private acts of resistance

Gender roles

Cultural expectations for behavior based on gender

Gender performance

Expressing gender through behavior and appearance

Gender stratification

Unequal access to power and resources based on gender

Patriarchy

System in which men hold primary authority

Gender identity

Personal internal sense of one’s gender

Transgender

Gender identity differs from sex assigned at birth

Cisgender

Gender identity matches sex assigned at birth

Intersex

Born with biological traits outside typical male/female categories

Sexual orientation

Pattern of romantic or sexual attraction

Heterosexuality

Attraction to the opposite sex

Homosexuality

Attraction to the same sex

Bisexuality

Attraction to more than one gender

Asexuality

Little or no sexual attraction to others

Kinship

Social system that organizes family relationships

Nuclear family

Parents and their children

Family of orientation

Family a person is born into

Family of procreation

Family formed through marriage and children

Descent groups

Kin groups that share a common ancestor

Matrilineal descent

Tracing ancestry through mothers

Patrilineal descent

Tracing ancestry through fathers

Bilateral descent

Tracing ancestry through both parents

Ambilineal descent

Choosing mother’s or father’s descent line

Lineage

Descent group tracing to a known ancestor

Clan

Descent group claiming a symbolic common ancestor

Ego

Reference person in a kinship diagram

Kin terms

Words used to describe relatives

Affinal kin

Relatives by marriage

Consanguineal kin

Relatives by blood

Fictive kin

Non-relatives treated as family

Patrilocal residence

Living with or near the husband’s family

Matrilocal residence

Living with or near the wife’s family

Lineal relatives

Direct ancestors and descendants

Collateral relatives

Relatives not in the direct line (siblings, cousins)