Anthropology Exam 3

Affinal

family relationships created through marriage

Age grades

groups of men who are close to one another in age and share similar duties or responsibilities

Age sets

named categories to which men of a certain age are assigned at birth

Band

the smallest unit of political organization, consisting of only a few families and no formal leadership positions, egalitarian society

Big man

a form of temporary or situational leadership; influence results from acquiring followers

Bilateral cross-cousin marriage

a man marries a woman who is both his mother’s brother’s daughter and his father’s sister’s daughter

Bilateral descent

kinship (family) systems that recognize both the mother’s and the father’s “sides” of the family

Caste system

the division of society into hierarchical levels; one’s position is determined by birth and remains fixed for life

Chiefdom

large political units in which the chief, who usually is determined by heredity, holds a formal position of power, ranked society

Circumscription

the enclosure of an area by a geographic feature such as mountain ranges or desert or by the boundaries of a state

Codified law

formal legal systems in which damages, crimes, remedies, and punishments are specified

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

Feuds

disputes of long duration characterized by a state of recurring hostilities between families, lineages, or other kin groups

Ideologies

ideas designed to reinforce the right of powerholders to rule

Legitimacy

the perception that an individual has a valid right to leadership

Lineage

individuals who can trace or demonstrate their descent through a line of males or females back to a founding ancestor

Matrilateral cross-cousin marriage

a man marries a woman who is his mother’s brother’s daughter

Nation

an ethnic population

Negative reinforcements

punishments for noncompliance through fines, imprisonment, and death sentences (a cultural universal, all societies have some form of punishment)

Oaths

the practice of calling on a deity to bear witness to the truth of what one says

Ordeal

a test used to determine guilt or innocence by submitting the accused to dangerous, painful, or risky tests believed to be controlled by supernatural forces

Peasants

residents of a state who earn a living through farming

Poro and sande

secret societies for men and women, respectively, found in the Mande-speaking peoples of West Africa, particularly in Liberia, Sierra Leone, the Ivory Coast, and Guinea

Positive reinforcements

rewards for compliance; examples include medals, financial incentives, and other forms of public recognition

Proletarianization

a process through which farmers are removed from the land and forced to take wage labor employment

Raids

short-term uses of physical force organized and planned to achieve a limited objective

Ranked

societies in which there are substantial differences in the wealth and social status of individuals; there are a limited number of positions of power or status, and only a few can occupy them

Restricted exchange

a marriage system in which only two extended families can engage in this exchange

Reverse dominance

societies in which people reject attempts by any individual to exercise power

Segmentary lineage

a hierarchy of lineages that contains both close and relatively distant family members

Social classes

the division of society into groups based on wealth and status

Sodality

a system used to encourage solidarity or feelings of connectedness between people who are not related by family ties

State

the most complex form of political organization characterized by a central government that has a monopoly over legitimate uses of physical force, a sizeable bureaucracy, a system of formal laws, and a standing military force, stratified society

Stratified

societies in which there are large differences in the wealth, status, and power of individuals based on unequal access to resources and positions of power

Sumptuary rules

norms that permit persons of higher rank to enjoy greater social status by wearing distinctive clothing, jewelry, and/or decorations denied those of lower rank

Tribe

larger than a band, political units organized around family ties that have fluid or shifting systems of temporary leadership, egalitarian society

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. (Example: Most hunter/gatherer societies like the !Kung, Inuit, and aboriginal Australians)

Animatism

a religious system organized around a belief in an impersonal supernatural force

Animism

a religious system organized around a belief that plants, animals, inanimate objects, or natural phenomena have a spiritual or supernatural element

Anthropomorphic

an object or being that has human characteristics

Cargo cult

a term sometimes used to describe rituals that seek to attract material prosperity. The term is generally not preferred by anthropologists

Collective effervescence

the passion or energy that arises when groups of people share the same thoughts and emotions

Cosmology

an explanation for the origin or history of the world

Cultural appropriation

the act of copying an idea from another culture and in the process distorting its meaning

Filial piety

a tradition requiring that the young provide care for the elderly and in some cases ancestral spirits

Magic

practices intended to bring supernatural forces under one’s personal control

Millenarians

people who believe that major transformations of the world are imminent

Monotheistic

religious systems that recognize a single supreme God

Polytheistic

religious systems that recognize several gods

Priests

full-time religious practitioners

Profane

objects or ideas are ordinary and can be treated with disregard or contempt

Prophet

a person who claims to have direct communication with the supernatural realm and who can communicate divine messages to others

Reincarnation

the idea that a living being can begin another life in a new body after death

Religion

the extension of human society and culture to include the supernatural

Revitalization rituals

attempts to resolve serious problems, such as war, famine or poverty through a spiritual or supernatural intervention

Rite of intensification

actions designed to bring a community together, often following a period of crisis

Rite of passage

a ceremony designed to transition individuals between life stages

Sacred

objects or ideas are set apart from the ordinary and treated with great respect or care

Shaman

a part time religious practitioner who carries out religious rituals when needed, but also participates in the normal work of the community

Sorcerer

an individual who seeks to use magic for his or her own purposes

Supernatural

describes entities or forces not governed by natural laws

Zoomorphic

an object or being that has animal characteristics

James Frazer

Wrote The Golden Bough (1890), attempted to compose the first comprehensive study of the world’s major magical and religious belief systems, he had only minimal information about the beliefs he wrote about and he was quick to apply his own opinions.

Law of Similarity

Like affects like

Law of Contagion

Associated objects or people can influence each other

Karl Marx

viewed religion as an ideology, a way of thinking that attempts to justify inequalities in power and status. In his view, religion created an illusion of happiness that helped people cope with the economic difficulties of life under capitalism

EB Taylor

Sir E.B. Tylor, was less dismissive of unfamiliar belief systems, but he defined religion minimally and, for some, in overly narrow terms as “the belief in supernatural beings.”

Bronislaw Malinowski

functionalist, conducted research in the Trobriand Islands located near Papua New Guinea, believed that religious beliefs met psychological needs. He observed that religion “is not born out of speculation or reflection, still less out of illusion or apprehension, but rather, out of the real tragedies of human life, out of the conflict between human plans and realities.”

Symbolic Interactionism

What is being communicated through the use of the sacred and the role of religion in how we experience identity

4 types of cultural variation or types of supernatural entities and powers

Dieties, Ancestor Spirits, Animatism, Animism

Cosmology

ways of explaining the origin of the universe and the principles or “order” that governs reality. In its simplest form, a cosmology can be an origin story, an explanation for the history, present state, and possible futures of the world and the origins of the people, spirits, divinities, and forces that populate it

Pilgrimage

Traveling to a sacred sight as a form of a ritual

Emile Durkeim

recognized that religion was not simply a belief in “supernatural beings,” but a set of practices and social institutions that brought members of a community together

Conflict Theory

is a sociological framework that examines the role of conflict in social structures and relationships, emphasizing that societal change arises from struggles between competing groups, particularly in terms of class and authority. This theory has roots in both classical and modern thought, with Karl Marx being a seminal figure whose work focused on class struggle, labor relations, and the critique of capitalism.

Leslie White

hypothesized that cultures became more advanced as they became more efficient at harnessing energy (calories) and that technology and social organization were both influential in instigating such efficiencies.

Julian Steward

founded the theory of cultural ecology, attempted to show that social systems arise out of patterns of resource exploitation which, in turn, are determined by the technological adaptation of a people to their natural environment

Clifford Geertz

one of the anthropologists responsible for creating the symbolic approach, suggested that religious practices were a way to enact or make visible important cultural ideas. The symbols used in any religion, such as a cross or even a cow, can be interpreted or “read” by anthropologists to discern important cultural values

Adaptive

Traits that increase the capacity of individuals to survive and reproduce

Biocultural evolution

Describes the interactions between biology and culture that have influenced human evolution.

Biomedical

An approach to medicine that is based on the application of insights from science, particularly biology and chemistry

Communal healing

An approach to healing that directs the combined efforts of the community toward treating illness

Culture-bound syndrome

An illness recognized only within a specific culture

Emotionalistic explanation

Suggests that illnesses are caused by strong emotions such as fright, anger, or grief; this is an example of a naturalistic ethno-etiology

Epidemiological transition

The sharp drop in mortality rates, particularly among children, that occurs in a society as a result of improved sanitation and access to healthcare.

Ethno-etiology

Cultural explanations about the underlying causes of health problems

Ethnomedicine

The comparative study of cultural ideas about wellness, illness, and healing

Humoral healing

An approach to healing that seeks to treat medical ailments by achieving a balance between the forces, or elements, of the body

Maladaptive

Traits that decrease the capacity of individuals to survive and reproduce

Medical anthropology

A distinct sub-specialty within the discipline of anthropology that investigates human health and health care systems in comparative perspective

Naturalistic ethno-etiology

Views disease as the result of natural forces such as cold, heat, winds, or an upset in the balance of the basic body elements

Personalistic ethno-etiology

Views disease as the result of the actions of human or supernatural beings

Placebo effect

A response to treatment that occurs because the person receiving the treatment believes it will work, not because the treatment itself is effective

Shaman

A person who specializes in contacting the world of the spirits.

Somatic

Symptoms that are physical manifestations of emotional pain.

Zoonotic

Diseases that have origins in animals and are transmitted to humans

Stigmatized Illness

reified beliefs about what a particular sickness looks like leading to discriminatory care (Goffman believes this hinders our integration into society)

Talcott Parsons

Functionalist, coined the idea of the “sick role.” He believed that doctors serve as a gatekeeper to legitamize those who are relieved from their normal social role and into the sick role

Medicalization

The process by which previously normal aspects of life are redefined as being a state of illness (Ex. Obesity)

Demedicalization

The process by which aspects previously defined as states of illness are redefined as normal social variation (Ex. homosexuality)

According to this anthropologist, any culture could be considered more "evolved" as it increased the amount of energy captured per person per unit of time - no matter what way that energy was captured.

Leslie White