ANT 160-201 Band and Tribal Societies Vocabulary & Concepts

Vocabulary and key conceptual flashcards covering core definitions, social organization, subsistence strategies, and comparison points between Band and Tribal societies.

Food Foraging

Obtaining food by gathering naturally occurring plants and hunting or trapping wild animals (the primary subsistence strategy of Band societies).

Nomadic

Moving from place to place according to seasonal resource, food, and water availability rather than living in permanent settlements.

Bilateral Kinship

Tracing descent and reckoning relatives through both the mother's and father's sides of the family equally.

Unilineal Kinship

Tracing descent through only one parent's line (either patrilineal or matrilineal).

Patrilineal Descent

Tracing kinship, inheritance, and social roles exclusively through the father's male line.

Matrilineal Descent

Tracing kinship, inheritance, and social roles exclusively through the mother's female line.

Horticulture

Small-scale crop cultivation using simple handheld tools (e.g., digging sticks, machetes) and techniques like slash-and-burn farming.

Pastoralism

A subsistence strategy based on herding domesticated livestock and surviving primarily on herd products (milk, blood, yogurt).

Situational Leadership

Informal leadership where authority shifts to whoever possesses the specific skills or expertise needed for a given task.

Shaman

A part-time religious practitioner believed to have direct abilities to communicate with spirits, heal, and mediate with the supernatural.

Band Society Population Size

Approximately 25 to 50 people, usually composed of extended family groups.

Band Society Diet

~70% vegetable matter (gathered nuts, roots, fruits) and ~30% meat (mostly small, trapped animals).

Band Society Gender Roles

Flexible roles where women primarily gather and men primarily hunt, but either sex will perform the other's task if an opportunity arises.

Band Society Property Rights

Dominated by group rights, with minimal personal property due to frequent moving, and sharing as a central cultural norm.

Band Society Social Control

Informally enforced mechanisms without police or courts, relying on group social pressure, public expectations, and severe consequences like ostracism (social exclusion).

Band Religious Beliefs

Spiritual practice characterized by veneration of nature, direct communication with spirits/nature, and reliance on part-time religious practitioners called shamans.

Emergence of Tribal Societies

First emerged around 10,000–12,000 years ago, alongside the domestication of plants and animals.

Tribal Subsistence Strategies

The two main subsistence strategies of Tribal societies: Horticulture (slash-and-burn farming) and Pastoralism (animal herding).

Three Sisters Planting Method

Planting corn, beans, and squash together in the same plot so they complement each other and maximize soil nutrient use.

Council of Elders

The primary political decision-making body in a Tribal society, whose authority is based on age, gender, and family ties (no centralized bureaucracy).

Tribal Religious Focus

Veneration of ancestral spirits, who are believed to continue actively influencing the lives of living family members.

Band vs. Tribal Kinship Systems

Bands practice Bilateral kinship (tracing both parents' lines), whereas Tribes practice Unilineal kinship (patrilineal or matrilineal).

Band vs. Tribal Political Leadership

Bands use Situational leadership based on immediate skill, while Tribes rely on Councils of Elders based on age and gender.

Band vs. Tribal Religious Focus

Bands focus on Nature veneration and Shamans, while Tribes focus heavily on Ancestral spirits.

Band Survival in Marginal Environments

The persistence of remaining Band societies in environments like deserts, rainforests, and the Arctic because these areas are difficult and costly to convert into intensive agriculture or livestock production.