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cultural anthropology
ch 6-10
91
Anthropology
Undergraduate 1
11/07/2007

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Term
cultural adaptation
Definition
a complex of ideas, activities, and technologies that enable people to survive and even thrive
Term
horticulture
Definition
the cultivation of crops with simple hand tools such as digging sticks or hoes
Term
ecosystem
Definition
a system, or functioning whole, composed of both the natural environment and all the organisms living within it
Term
cultural ecology
Definition
the dynamic interaction of specific cultures with their environments
Term
progress
Definition
the ethnocentric notion that humans are moving forward to a higher, more advanced stage in their development toward perfection
Term
convergent evolution
Definition
in cultural evolutino, the development of similar cultural adaptations to similar environmental conditinos by different people with different ancestral cultures
Term
parallel evolution
Definition
in cultural evolution, the development of similar cultural adaptations to similar environmental conditions by peoples whose ancestral cultures were already somewhat alike
Term
culture area
Definition
a geographic region in which a number of societies follow similar patterns of life
Term
culture type
Definition
concerns a particular technology and its relationship with certain environmental features
Term
culture core
Definition
cultural features that are fundamental in the society's way of making its living--including food-producing techniques, knowledge of available resources, and work arrangements involved in applying those techniques to the local environment
Term
food foraging
Definition
hunting, fishing, and gathering wild plant foods
Term
carrying capacity
Definition
the number of people that the available resources can support at a given level of food-getting tehniques
Term
density of socail relations
Definition
the number and intensity of interactions among the members of a camp
Term
neolithic revolution
Definition
the profound culture change associated with the early domestication of plants and animals
Term
swidden farming
Definition
an extensive form of horticulture in which the natural vegetatoin is cut, the slash is subsequently burned, and crops then planted among the ashes
Term
intensive agriculture
Definition
crop cultivation using technologies other than hand tools, such as irrigation, fertilizers, and the wooden or metal plow pulled by harnassed draft animals
Term
pastoralism
Definition
breeding and managing of herds of domesticated grazing animals, such as goats, sheep, cattle, llamas, or camels
Term
transhumance
Definition
among pastoralists, the grazing of animals in low steppe lands in winter and then moving to high pastures on the plateaus in summer
Term
preindustrial cities
Definition
the kinds of urban settlements that are characteristic of nonindustrial civilizations
Term
economic system
Definition
a means of producing, distributing, and consuming goods
Term
technology
Definition
tools and other material equipment, together with the knowledge of how to make and use them
Term
leveling mechanism
Definition
a societal obligation of compelling a family to distribute goods so that no one accumulates more wealth than anyone else
Term
reciprocity
Definition
the exchange of goods and services, of approximately equal value, between two parties
Term
generalized reciprocity
Definition
a mode of exchange in which the value of the gift is not calculated, nor is the time of repayment specified
Term
balanced reciprocity
Definition
a mode of exchange in which the giving and receiving are specific as to the value of the goods and the time of their delivery
Term
negative reciprocity
Definition
a form of exchange in which the giver tries to get the better of the exchange
Term
silent trade
Definition
a form of barter in which no verbal communication takes place
Term
Kula ring
Definition
a form of balanced reciprocity that reinforces trade relations among the seafaring Trobriand people who inhabit a large ring of islands in teh southern pacific off the eastern coast of papua new guinea, and other melanesians
Term
redistribution
Definition
a form of exchange in which goods flow into a central place, where they are sorted, counted, and reallocated
Term
conspicuous consumption
Definition
a term coined by Thorstein Verblen to describe the display of wealth for social prestige
Term
potlatch
Definition
a ceremonial event in which a village cheif publicly gives away stockpiled food and other goods that signify wealth
Term
prestige economy
Definition
creation of a surplus for the express purpose of gaining prestige through a public display of wealth that is given away as gifts
Term
market exchange
Definition
the buying and selling of goods and services, with prices set by rules of supply and demand
Term
money
Definition
anything used to make payments for other things (goods or labor) as well as to measure their value; may be special purpose or multipurpose
Term
informal economy
Definition
the production of marketable commodities that for various reasons escape enumeration, regulation, or any other sort of public monitoring or auditing
Term
marriage
Definition
a culturally sanctioned union between two or more people that establishes certain rights and obligations between the people, between them and their children, and between them and their in laws. rights include, but are not limited to, sex, labor, property, child rearing, exchange, and status
Term
consanguineal kin
Definition
relatives by birth; so called blood relatives
Term
conjugal bond
Definition
the bond between two individuals who are married
Term
affinal kin
Definition
relatives by marriage
Term
incest taboo
Definition
the prohibition of sexual relations between specified individuals, usually parent child and sibling relations at a minimum
Term
endogamy
Definition
marriage within a particular group or category of individuals
Term
exogamy
Definition
marriage outside the group
Term
monogamy
Definition
marriage in whic both partners have just one spouse
Term
polygyny
Definition
marriage of a man to two or more women at the same time; a form of polygamy
Term
polyandry
Definition
marriage of a woman to two or more men at one time; a form of polygamy
Term
group marriage
Definition
marriage in which several men and women have sexual access to one another
Term
levirate
Definition
a marriage custon according to which a widow maries a brother of her dead husband ( a man marries his dead brothers widow)
Term
sororate
Definition
a marriage custom according to which a widower marries his dead wife's sister (a woman marries her deceased sister's husband)
Term
serial monogamy
Definition
a marriage form in which a man or a woman marries or lives with a series of partners in succession
Term
patrilineal parallel cousin marriage
Definition
marriage of a man to his fathers brothers daughter, or a woman to her fathers brothers son
Term
matrilineal cross cousin marriage
Definition
marriage of a woman to her fathers sisters son, or a man to his mothers brothers daughter
Term
bride price
Definition
compensation the groom or his family pays to the brides family upon marriage
Term
bride service
Definition
a designated period of time after marriage when the groom works for the bride's family
Term
dowry
Definition
payment of a womans inheritance at the time of her marriage, either to her or to her husband
Term
family orientation
Definition
the family into which someone is born or adopted and raised
Term
family of procreation
Definition
the family that is formed when someone becomes a parent and raises one or more children
Term
household
Definition
the basic residential unit where economic production, consumption, inheritance, child rearing, and shelter are organized and carried out
Term
conjugal family
Definition
a family formed on the basis of marital ties
Term
consanguineal family
Definition
related women, their brothers, and the women's offspring
Term
blended family
Definition
a married couple raising children together from their previous unions
Term
new reproductive technologies (NRTs)
Definition
an alternative means of reproduction such as surrogate motherhood and in vitro fertilization
Term
nuclear family
Definition
a group consisting of one or more parents and dependent offspring, which may include a step parent, step siblings, and adopted children
Term
extended family
Definition
several closely related nuclear families clustered together into a large domestic group
Term
polygamous family
Definition
one individual with multiple spouses and all of their children
Term
polygynous family
Definition
a type of polygamous family involving a man with multiple wives and their children
Term
polyandrous family
Definition
a type of polygamous family involving a woman with multiple husbands and their children
Term
patrilocal residence
Definition
a residence pattern in which a married couple lives in the locality associated with the husbands fathers relatives
Term
matrilocal residence
Definition
a residence pattern in which a married couple lives in the locality associated with the wife's parents
Term
ambilocal residence
Definition
a pattern in which a married couple may choose either matrilocal or patrilocal residence
Term
neolocal residence
Definition
a pattern in which a married couple may establish their household in a location apart from either the husbands or wifes relatives
Term
avunculocal residence
Definition
residence of a married couple with the husbands mothers brother
Term
sororal polygyny
Definition
marriage of one man to women who are sisters
Term
fraternal polygyny
Definition
marriage of one woman to men who are brothers
Term
kinship
Definition
a network of relatives within which individuals possess certain mutual rights and obligations
Term
descent group
Definition
any publicly recognized social entity requiring lineal descent from a particular real or mythical ancestor for membership
Term
lineage
Definition
a corporate descent group-a unified body or corps or consanguineal relatives who trace their geneological links to a common ancestor and associate with one another for a shared purpose
Term
clan
Definition
typically consisting of several lineages; non corporate descent group whose members assume descent from a common ancestor (real or fictive) without actually knowing the genealogical lnks to the ancestor
Term
unilineal descent
Definition
descent that establishes group membership exclusively through either the male or female line
Term
matrilineal descent
Definition
descent traced exclusively through the female line to establish group membership
Term
patrilineal descent
Definition
descent traced exclusively through the male line to establish group membership
Term
double descent
Definition
a system tracing descent matrilineally for some purposes and patrilineally for others
Term
ambilineal descent
Definition
descent in which the individual may affiliate with either the mothers or fathers descent group
Term
fission
Definition
the splitting of a descent group into two or more new descent groups
Term
totemism
Definition
the belief that people are realated to particular animals, plants, or natural objects by virtue or descent from common ancestral spirits
Term
phratry
Definition
a unlineal descent group composed of two or more clans that assume they share a common ancestry but do not know the precise genealogical links of that ancestry.
Term
moiety
Definition
each group that results from a division of a society into two halves on the basis of descent
Term
kindred
Definition
an individuals close relatives on the maternal and paternal sides of his or her family
Term
Eskimo system
Definition
system of kinship terminology, also called lineal system, which emphasizes the nuclear family by specifically identifying the mother, father, brother, and sister, while lumping together all other relatives into broad categories such as uncle, aunt, and cousin
Term
Hawaiian system
Definition
kinship reckoning in which all relatives of the same sex and genreation are referred to by the same term
Term
Iroquois system
Definition
kinship terminology wherein a father and father's brother are referred to by a single term, as are a mother and mothers siter, but a fathers sister and mothers brother are given separate terms. parallel cousins are classified with brothers and sisters, while cross cousins are classified separeately, but not equated with relatives of some other generation
Term
Crow system
Definition
kinship classification usu associated with matrilineal descent in which a fathers sister and fathers sisters daughter are called by the same term, a mother and mothers sister are merged under another, and a father and fathers brother are lumped in a third. parallel cousins are equated with brothers and sisters
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