Anthropology Midterm

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applied anthropology

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the use of anthropological expertise on a very practical level in trying to understand and alleviate human problems such as the impact of a new system of agriculture in a society, the causes of illiteracy among adults in a given group, etc.

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ethnocentrism

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the tendency to judge the customs of other societies by the standards of one's own ethnographic present: describes the point in time at which a society or culture is frozen when ethnographic data collected in the field are published in a report.

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relativistic fallacy

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Unable to make a moral judgment.

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Sapir-Whorf hypothesis

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the notion that a person's language shapes her or his perception and view of the world.

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Phonology

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the sound system of a language.

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Phoneme

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a class of sounds that differ slightly from one another but that may be substituted for one another without any change of meaning.

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Morpheme

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the smallest units of speech that convey meaning.

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Semantics

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the study of the larger system of meaning created by words.

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Market Exchange

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a mode of exchange which implies both a specific location for transactions and the sort of social relations where bargaining can occur. It usually involves a system of price-making through negotiation.

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Generalized reciprocity

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informal gift giving for which no accounts are kept and no immediate or specific return is expected.

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Negative reciprocity

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an exchange between enemies or strangers in which each side tries to get the better end of the bargain.

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band

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When used generally, this term refers to small-scale societies whose economy is based on hunting, gathering, and fishing, and have a relatively un-complex social organization.

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chiefdom

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a term used to describe a society that operates on the principle of ranking, i.e. differential social status. Different lineages are graded on a scale of prestige, calculated by how closely related one is to the chief. The chiefdom generally has a permanent ritual and ceremonial center, as well as being characterized by local specialization in crafts.

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nuclear family

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an independent family unit formed by a monogamous union.

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family

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a major division of an order, consisting of closely related genera.

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dowry

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payment made by the bride's family to the groom or to the groom's family.

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monogamy

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an exclusive union of one man and one woman.

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unilineal descent

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a kin group in which membership is inherited only through either the paternal or the maternal line, as the society dictates.

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enculturation

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he process by which human infants learn their culture.

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syntax

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the arrangement of words into meaningful utterances.

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participant observation

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he study of a culture or society usually carried out by living for an extended period of time with its members. The participant-observer takes part in everyday life and carefully records such things as behaviour, events and conversations, in order to obtain a fully-rounded picture of beliefs, social groupings and customs.

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ethnocentric fallacy

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JUST ETHNO>an adjective describing the condition of viewing and judging (often in pejorative terms) other cultures and societies according to the (usually taken-for-granted) assumptions of one’s own society. By way of contrast, anthropology is concerned not only to highlight our assumptions but also to show that other cultures and societies are different to our own, but not any worse or better.

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cultural relativism

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the ability to view the beliefs and customs of other peoples within the context of their culture rather than one's own.

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lexicon

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in linguistics, the total number of meaningful units {such as words and affixes) of a language.

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redistribution

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mode of exchange which goods are received or appropriated by the central authority, and some of them are sent to other locations.

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phonetics

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sounds of a language, the sound a language makes

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balanced reciprocity

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gift giving that clearly carries the obligation of an eventual and roughly equal return

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Neolithic Revolution

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a term coined by V.G. Childe in 1941 to describe the origin and consequences of farming (i.e. the development of stock raising and agriculture), allowing the widespread development of settled village life.

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Tribe

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descent and kinship-based group in which subgroups are clearly linked to one another, with the potential of uniting a large number of local groups for common defense or warfare. Unlike bands, tribes are usually settled farmers, though they also include nomadic pastoral groups whose economy is based on exploitation of livestock. Individual communities tend to be integrated into the larger society through kinship ties.

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State

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term used to describe a social formation defined by distinct territorial boundedness, and characterized by strong central government in which the operation of political power is sanctioned by legitimate force. In cultural evolutionist models, it ranks second only to the empire as the most complex societal development stage.

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Genitor

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Biological father

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Exogamy

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the custom of marrying outside the tribe, family, clan, or other social unit.

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Incest Taboo

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the prohibition of sexual intimacy between people defined as close relatives.

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Bridewealth

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property given by the family of the groom to the family of the bride to compensate them for the loss of their daughter's services.

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Polygamy

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Having 2 or more partners

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Bilateral Descent

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Descent through either the male or female line. In a society which follows bilateral descent, individuals exhibit no preference for either matrilineal or patrilineal kin, and consider themselves equally related to both groups. Rather than corporate descent groups, people belong to individual kindreds.

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ethnocentric fallacy

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the belief that the behavior and beliefs of those in other cultures can be judged from the perspective of one's own culture, thus suggesting that one's own culture is superior to the other.