Anthropology Exam 2 Terms

Front 1

agriculture

Back 1

Nonindustrial system of plant cultivation characterized by continuous and intensive use of land and labor.

Front 2

balanced reciprocity

Back 2

See generalized reciprocity.

Front 3

band

Back 3

Basic unit of social organization among foragers. A band includes fewer than one hundred people; it often splits up seasonally.

Front 4

correlation

Back 4

An association between two or more variables such that when one changes (varies), the other(s) also change(s) (covaries); for example, temperature and sweating.

Front 5

economy

Back 5

A population's system of production, distribution, and consumption of resources.

Front 6

generalized reciprocity

Back 6

Principle that characterizes exchanges between closely related individuals: As social distance increases, reciprocity becomes balanced and finally negative.

Front 7

horticulture

Back 7

Nonindustrial system of plant cultivation in which plots lie fallow for varying lengths of time.

Front 8

market principle

Back 8

Profit-oriented principle of exchange that dominates in states, particularly industrial states. Goods and services are bought and sold, and values are determined by supply and demand.

Front 9

means (or factors) of production

Back 9

Land, labor, technology, and capital-major productive resources.

Front 10

mode of production

Back 10

Way of organizing production a set of social relations through which labor is deployed to wrest energy from nature by means of tools, skills, and knowledge.

Front 11

negative reciprocity

Back 11

See generalized reciprocity.

Front 12

nomadism, pastoral

Back 12

Movement throughout the year by the whole pastoral group (men, women, and children) with their animals. More generally, such constant movement in pursuit of strategic resources.

Front 13

pastoralists

Back 13

People who use a food-producing strategy of adaptation based on care of herds of domesticated animals.

Front 14

peasants

Back 14

Small-scale agriculturist living in a state, with rent fund obligations.

Front 15

potlatch

Back 15

Competitive feast among Indians on the North Pacific Coast of North America.

Front 16

reciprocity

Back 16

One of the three principles of exchange. Governs exchange between social equals; major exchange mode in band and tribal societies.

Front 17

redistribution

Back 17

Major exchange mode of chiefdoms, many archaic states, and some states with managed economies.

Front 18

transhumance

Back 18

One of two variants of pastoralism; part of the population moves seasonally with the herds while the other part remains in home villages.

Front 19

age set

Back 19

Group uniting all men or women (usually men) born during a certain time span; this group controls property and often has political and military functions.

Front 20

big man

Back 20

Figure often found among tribal horticulturalists and pastoralists. The big man occupies no office but creates his reputation through entrepreneurship and generosity to others. Neither his wealth nor his position passes to his heirs.

Front 21

chiefdom

Back 21

Form of sociopolitical organization intermediate between the tribe and the state; kin-based with differential access to resources and a permanent political structure.

Front 22

differential access

Back 22

Unequal access to resources; basic attribute of chiefdoms and states. Superordinates have favored access to such resources, while the access of subordinates is limited by superordinates.

Front 23

fiscal

Back 23

Pertaining to finances and taxation.

Front 24

head, village

Back 24

A local leader in a tribal society who has limited authority, leads by example and persuasion, and must be generous.

Front 25

law

Back 25

A legal code, including trial and enforcement; characteristic of state-organized societies.

Front 26

office

Back 26

Permanent political position.

Front 27

power

Back 27

The ability to exercise one's will over others to do what one wants; the basis of political status.

Front 28

prestige

Back 28

Esteem, respect, or approval for acts, deeds, or qualities considered exemplary.

Front 29

sociopolitical typology

Back 29

Classification scheme based on the scale and complexity of social organization and the effectiveness of political regulation; includes band, tribe, chiefdom, and state.

Front 30

sodality, pantribal

Back 30

A non-kin-based group that exists throughout a tribe, spanning several villages.

Front 31

state

Back 31

Complex sociopolitical system that administers a territory and populace with substantial contrasts in occupation, wealth, prestige, and power. An independent, centrally organized political unit; a government. A form of social and political organization with a formal, central government and a division of society into classes.

Front 32

stratification

Back 32

Characteristic of a system with socioeconomic strata; see also stratum.

Front 33

subordinate

Back 33

The lower, or underprivileged, group in a stratified system.

Front 34

superordinate

Back 34

The upper, or privileged, group in a stratified system.

Front 35

tribe

Back 35

Form of sociopolitical organization usually based on horticulture or pastoralism. Socioeconomic stratification and centralized rule are absent in tribes, and there is no means of enforcing political decisions.

Front 36

wealth

Back 36

All a person's material assets, including income, land, and other types of property; the basis of economic status.