Understanding Human Interaction with Environment in Anthropology

These flashcards cover key concepts in anthropology related to human interaction with the environment and cultural evolution as discussed in the lecture.

Franz Boas

An anthropologist who argued that cultures are unique products of their own histories and interactions.

Neo-evolutionism

A perspective in anthropology that seeks to understand cultural evolution in a comparative framework without value judgments.

Leslie White

An anthropologist known for linking a society's ability to extract energy from nature to its cultural complexity.

Cultural Ecology

The study of how human cultures adapt to their environments.

Julian Steward

An anthropologist who developed the idea of multi-linear cultural development, suggesting environments present constraints rather than determine cultural structure.

Cultural Materialism

A theoretical framework by Marvin Harris that emphasizes the role of material conditions in shaping culture.

Probabilistic Infrastructural Determinism

Harris's principle that cultural evolution is driven by material infrastructure of a society.

Superstructure

The ideologies, beliefs, and values of a society as shaped by its material conditions.

Energy Extraction

The process by which societies harness natural energy resources to develop and sustain higher levels of societal complexity.

Comparative Analysis

An approach in anthropology that compares cultures to identify similarities and differences without value judgments.