monkey class final exam

actually anthropology

Why are anthropologists interested in language? How are language and culture related?

Language is used to communicate, shape social interactions, and transmit cultural knowledge. Furthermore, language influences our understanding of the world and our perceptions of reality. 

What are some differences between human language, and other forms of animal communication?

How does language work? phonology, morphology, sociolinguistics, syntax

Language functions through a hierarchical system of components: phonology (sound system), morphology (word formation), syntax (sentence structure), and semantics (meaning).

anguage and how we see the world: Noam Chomsky; Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis

Noam Chomsky: Universal Grammar Hypothesis, believed that human brains are inherently predisposed to learn and understand language in a way that transcends the specifics of any particular language. 

Spair-Whorf Hypothesis: Structure of a language affects its speakers worldview or cognition, and thus peoples perceptions are relative to their spoken language.

Language and change: pidgins and creoles, effects of colonialism

Pigdin is a language with no native speakers that develops in a single generation between members of communities that have their own distinct languages. There is little grammar or pattern in word order.

Creoles are created when the first generation children spontaneously add grammatical complexity.

The effects or colonialism is that 80% of the world speaks 1% of the worlds langauges, and a language dies every 14 days.

What is lost if a language dies?

The world loses knowledge and perspective captured in that language

Call systems

Sounds and movements that animals use to communicate

Cognate words

Words in two or more languages that sound somewhat different today but would have changed systematically from the same word.

example: english mother / dutch moeder

Language

A system of communication consisting of sounds, words, and grammar

philology

The comparative study of ancient texts and documents to the study structure, historical development, and relationships of a language or languages.

proto-language

The supposed common ancestor language which became extinct after divergences took place.

descriptive linguistics

the study of langue, or the formal structure of language.

Morphology

how words are formed into meaningful units

Phonology

the structure of speech and sounds

Stops

Sounds that are made by an occlusion, or stopping, of the airstream through the oral cavity or mouth. like b d and g.

Syntax

how words are strung together to form sentences and more complex utterances, such as paragraphs.

Sociolinguistics

the study of how sociocultural norms and context shape language use and the effects of language use on society.

Linguistic relativity

the idea that people speaking different languages perceive or interpret the world differently because of the differences in their language.

ethnoscience

the study of how people classify things in the world

creole language

languages of mixed origin that developed from complex blending of two parent langauges

pidgin langauges

mixed language with specified grammar that people rarely use as a mother tongue.

language ideology

ideologies that people have about the superiority about their language or dialect and the inferiority of others.

Economic anthropology

a field that studies how human societies organize their economic lives, including production, distribution, exchange, and consumption. it is cross-cultural not studying only one type.

How does culture shape the value of money?

culture shapes the value of money by embedding it within social relationships, rituals, and symbolic meanings, transforming it from a mere economic tool into a reflection of shared beliefs and power structures.

Three types of reciprocity

Owning things: appropriation and consumption

Appropriation refers to how individuals or groups claim ownership—whether through labor, ritual, or exchange—while consumption examines how the use, display, or destruction of goods reinforces status, belonging, or resistance.

Ways of transferring goods: gift exchange, redistribution (potlach, kula ring), markets

All three principles can be in the same society but govern different kinds of transactions.

Market Principle: buying, selling, and valuation based on supply and demand.

Redistribution: Flow of good from a local level to a center, then back out.

Gift giving: Exchange by social equals who are normally related by kinship, marriage, or close personal ties.

How is capitalism different than other types of economies?

its emphasis on private ownership, profit-driven markets, and individual competition. Also the inherit belief that well being can be achieved thorough consumption.

Balanced reciprocity

A form of exchange where goods or services are traded with the expectation of equal value in return.

Capitalism

An economic system based on private ownership, profit motive, and market competition.

Commodities

Goods or services produced for exchange or sale in a market

Cultural economics

The study of how cultural factors influence economic behavior and systems

Delayed reciprocity

An exchange where the return of goods or services occurs after a time lag

Division of labor

The specialization of tasks within a society or economic system

Formal economics

The study of economic behavior based on mathematical models and rational choice theory.

General purpose money

Money that can be used to purchase a wide variety of goods and services.

Generalized reciprocity

Exchange without immediate expectation of return, often among close kin.

Limited purpose money

Money restricted to specific types of transactions or social contexts.

Negative reciprocity

Exchange aimed at gaining an advantage, often involving exploitation.

Neoclassical economics

A school of economics emphasizing individual choice, supply-demand, and market equilibrium.

Prestige economies

Systems where wealth is exchanged to gain social status rather than material goods.

Spheres of exchange

Culturally defined categories limiting what can be traded for what

Substantive economics

The study of how economies are embedded in social and cultural institutions.

Surplus value

The profit generated from the difference between labor costs and product value.

Transactional orders

The social and cultural frameworks governing economic exchanges

Describe the four main modes of subsistence patterns in human societies

1. Foraging - The search for edible things

2. Horticulture - Small-scale subsistence agriculture

3. pastoralism - raising animal herds

4. Intensive agriculture - large scale or commercial agriculture

How do food, culture, and meaning intersect?

Food, culture, and meaning intersect as humans biologically can eat almost anything, but culturally choose specific foods based on availability, rules, and shared identity—turning eating into a symbolic act that connects people, landscapes, and beliefs (e.g., the Hua’s spiritual food rules vs. supermarket anonymity).

What is “Traditional Ecological Knowledge” and how does it relate to science?

Indigenous ecological knowledge and its relationship with resource management strategies.

Is sometimes unkown to western science bc species are endemic (only in one place)

often resides in song, local langauge, specialized rituals.

Native science often employs many concepts such as observation, background research, and experimentation familiar to non-native researchers highlighting the interconnectedness of science.

What is sustainability/sustainable development? What do ecological footprints measure?

Sustainability is “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.

ecological footprints measure human demand on nature by calculating the land and resources required to support a population's consumption and absorb its waste.

No, Indigenous and non-Western societies have long practiced sustainable environmental stewardship

No, Indigenous and non-Western societies have long practiced sustainable environmental stewardship

Animal husbandry

The breeding and raising of livestock for food, labor, or other resources

Artifactual landscapes

Environments shaped by human activity, reflecting cultural practices and history.

Carrying capacity

The maximum population size an ecosystem can sustain without degradation

Cultural landscape

the idea that people have images, knowledge, and concepts of the physical landscape that affect how they will interact with it.

Environmental justice

The fair treatment of all people regarding environmental benefits and burdens, regardless of race or class

Ethnobiology

indigenous ways of naming and codifying living things

Ethnoscience

Early anthropological interest in knowledge systems of non western societies

Foodways

Cultural practices surrounding food production, preparation, and consumption

Green Revolution

20th-century agricultural innovations (e.g., hybrid crops, pesticides) to boost global food production

Intensification

Increasing agricultural productivity per land unit, often through labor or technology

Political ecology

The study of power dynamics in human-environment relationships, including resource conflicts

Swidden agriculture

Also called slash-and-burn farming, where land is cleared, cultivated, then left fallow.

Structuralist-Fundamentalist model of stability

views society as a complex system of interconnected institutions (e.g., family, religion, economy) that work together to maintain social order and equilibrium, where each part serves a function to sustain the whole

Neo-evolutionary models of political organization: Bands, Tribes, Chiefdoms, States

Neo-evolutionary models of political organization classify societies into four progressive stages based on complexity:

1. Bands – Small, egalitarian groups of foragers with informal leadership (e.g., Inuit).

2. Tribes – Larger pastoral or horticultural groups with decentralized authority (e.g., Maasai).

3. Chiefdoms – Hierarchical societies with inherited rank and redistributive economies (e.g., Polynesian chiefdoms).

4. States – Centralized, stratified polities with formal institutions and coercive power (e.g., ancient Mesopotamia).

(This framework, developed by Sahlins and Service, emphasizes increasing scale and inequality but is critiqued for oversimplifying diversity.)

Critiques to the neo-evolutionary models

neo-evolutionary classifications like Bands, Tribes, Chiefdoms, and States face several critiques:

1. Overgeneralization: They impose rigid, linear stages on diverse societies, ignoring hybrid or non-linear political forms (e.g., nomadic empires or egalitarian states).

2. Eurocentric Bias: The model assumes progression toward "complexity" (equated with Western states), marginalizing alternative governance systems (e.g., Indigenous consensus-based models).

3. Static Categories: Real societies often blend traits (e.g., tribal confederacies with chiefdom-like hierarchies) or shift dynamically, defying fixed labels.

4. Cultural Determinism: It reduces political evolution to environmental or technological factors, neglecting agency, colonialism, and historical contingencies.

Characteristics of political power: action-oriented, structured, and gendered.

Action oriented: Emphasizes that politics is a dynamic field of social relations in which people are constantly managing their ability to exercise power over others.

Structural: Power that not only operates within settings but also organizes the very settings in which social and individual action take place.

Gendered: In growing number of societies, women exercise more leadership and political power. In others women have little official power but are able to exert power in other ways.

How is social inequality constructed and upheld?

Social inequality is neither natural nor inevitable, but constructed through cultural, economic, colonial, and political mechanisms. It is meant to maintain a created hierarchy.

Is violence inevitable? How do people avoid aggression, brutality, and war?

No, violence is a cultural process. Cultures shape what is “legitimate” violence and it is a powerful and meaningful and political strategy.

We avoid violence by repairing strained relationships with adjudication, negotiation, mediation, and agreeing to disagree.

What are some examples of “structural violence” in the US and/or other countries?

-Inequality to healthcare access, jobs, education

-Famine/war/genocide

-Disproportionate suffering to disease/other problems

-Racism

Acephalous society

A society without a centralized leader or hierarchy, where power is distributed

Action theory

Focuses on how individuals’ actions and decisions shape political processes (e.g., voting, protests)

Age-grades

Social groups based on age, often with shared roles (e.g., Maasai warrior cohorts)

Band

Small, egalitarian group of foragers with informal leadership

Centralized political system

Power concentrated in leaders/institutions (e.g., states, chiefdoms).

Chiefdom

Hierarchical society with inherited rank

Nation-states

Political units where state and national identity align

Non-centralized political system

Power dispersed (e.g., tribes, acephalous societies)

Racialization

Assigning racial identities to groups, often to justify inequality (e.g., colonial caste systems).

State

Centralized polity with coercive institutions (e.g., taxes, military)

Structural power

Systemic forces shaping societal options (e.g., capitalism, colonialism)

Structural-functionalism

Theory viewing society as stable, interdependent parts (e.g., Durkheim’s solidarity).

Tribe

Larger than bands, with kinship-based leadership

What are characteristics of families and how are they structured in different societies?

Families in all societies are dynamic. Kin relationships are about social ties between individuals as much as biological. All societies have developed ways of ensuring that the family group has some control over collective resources or the labor of its members.

What do kinship charts show? Do kinship terms mean the same across societies?

A visual representation of biological family relationships. Can only describe biological relations not the contents of the relationships.

Kinship terminologies vary, there are thousands that mean different things across societies.

Descent Rules & Kinship Groups

1. Unilineal Descent

• Patrilineal: Descent traced exclusively through the father’s line (e.g., traditional Han Chinese, ancient Romans).

• Matrilineal: Descent traced exclusively through the mother’s line (e.g., the Mosuo of China, the Akan of Ghana).

2. Kinship Groups Based on Unilineal Descent

• Lineage: A direct descent group from a known common ancestor (e.g., Scottish clans like Clan MacDonald).

• Clan: A broader descent group with a (sometimes mythical) common ancestor (e.g., Navajo clans, Cherokee Anigiduwagi).

Why do people get married?

Marriage can take in diverse forms, and our own cultural model of basing marriage on love and sex is not important to all societies, especially those in which marriage is about making social, economic, and political ties with other groups.

What is a “biocultural perspective” on gender differences?

examines how biology (e.g., hormones, anatomy) and culture (e.g., socialization, norms) interact to shape gendered behaviors, roles, and inequalities—rejecting purely biological or purely social determinism.

How fixed are gender roles? How can a cross-cultural perspective shed light on variance?

Gender roles are not biologically fixed but culturally constructed, as cross-cultural studies reveal vast diversity—from matrilineal societies (e.g., Mosuo women inheriting property) to "third gender" roles (e.g., hijras in India)—challenging universalist claims about "natural" gender norms.

What are some cross-cultural perspectives on same-sex sexuality?

Cross-cultural perspectives on same-sex sexuality reveal diverse social meanings and acceptance, challenging Western binaries like "gay/straight":

religion

a symbolic system that is socially enacted through rituals and other aspects of social life

rite of passage

a life-cycle ritual that marks a persons transition from one social state to another.

magic

an explanatory system of causation that does not follow naturalistic explanations

animism

the belief that inanimate objects like trees, rocks, cliffs, and hills were animated by spiritual forces or beings.

What is “fundamentalism” in any religion? What can explain the rise of it in the U.S.?

Fundamentalism refers to a strict, often literal adherence to core religious doctrines, typically as a reaction against modernity, secularism, or perceived moral decline. It emphasizes returning to "original" teachings and resists compromise with pluralism or scientific rationalism.

Its rise in the US can be attrubuted to the fact that it’s a cultural defense mechanism against perceived existential threats to identity and power.

how is religion linked to social and political action?

Religions have always been linked to political organizations and the social order. Anthropologists reject the idea that as the world modernized it would become more secular, drawing on the widespread rise of fundamentalism to demonstrate the continuing social and political importance of religion.

Is religion a cultural universal? What roles does it serve in society?

Religion is a cultural universal, found in all known human societies, though its forms vary widely (e.g., animism, monotheism, secular spiritualities). It serves key roles like:

• Meaning-making (explaining suffering, death, and cosmology),

• Social cohesion (rituals binding communities, enforcing norms), and

• Power legitimation (justifying hierarchies or resistance).

how do anthropologists study religion?

study religion ethnographically (through participant observation, e.g., rituals or pilgrimages) and comparatively, analyzing how beliefs and practices shape—and are shaped by—social power, ecology, and meaning systems.

Totemism

a belief system where a group of people, such as a clan or family, has a spiritual relationship with an animal, plant, or natural object, known as a totem

What does it mean to apply an anthropological perspective to contemporary global issues such as
overpopulation, climate change, ethnic conflict, genocide, war, and the depletion of natural
resources?

1. Applying an anthropological perspective to global issues means analyzing them through the lens of cultural systems, power dynamics, and human adaptability—e.g., how climate change impacts Indigenous land rights or how ethnic conflicts stem from colonial legacies.

What is Urban Anthropology? Why is this an increasingly important area of study?

1. Urban Anthropology studies cities as cultural ecosystems, focusing on migration, inequality, and hybrid identities; it’s vital as over half humanity now lives in urban areas, reshaping social ties and sustainability.