Cultural Anthropology Ch2 Vocab

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Culture

Back 1

A society’s shared and socially transmitted ideas, val- ues, and perceptions, which are used to make sense of experi- ence and generate behavior and are reflected in that behavior.

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enculturation

Back 2

The process by which a society’s culture is passed on from one generation to the next and individuals be- come members of their society.

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Society

Back 3

An organized group or groups of interdependent peo- ple who generally share a common territory, language, and cul- ture and who act together for collective survival and well-being.

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gender

Back 4

The cultural elaborations and meanings assigned to the biological differentiation between the sexes.

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subculture

Back 5

A distinctive set of ideas, values, and behavior patterns by which a group within a larger society operates, while still sharing common standards with that larger society.

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ethnic group

Back 6

People who collectively and publicly identify themselves as a distinct group based on cultural features such as common origin, language, customs, and traditional beliefs.

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ethnicity

Back 7

This term, rooted in the Greek word ethnikos (“nation”) and related to ethnos (“custom”), is the expression for the set of cultural ideas held by an ethnic group.

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pluralistic society

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A society in which two or more ethnic groups or nationalities are politically organized into one territo- rial state but maintain their cultural differences.

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symbol

Back 9

A sign, sound, emblem, or other thing that is arbi- trarily linked to something else and represents it in a meaning- ful way.

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social structure

Back 10

The rule-governed relationships—with all their rights and obligations—that hold members of a society together. This includes households, families, associations, and power relations, including politics.

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infrastructure

Back 11

The economic foundation of a society, includ- ing its subsistence practices and the tools and other material equipment used to make a living.

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superstructure

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A society’s shared sense of identity and worldview. The collective body of ideas, beliefs, and values by which members of a society make sense of the world—its shape, challenges, and opportunities—and understand their place in it. This includes religion and national ideology.

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cultural adaptation

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A complex of ideas, activities, and tech- nologies that enables people to survive and even thrive in their environment.

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cultural relativism

Back 14

The idea that one must suspend judg- ment of other people’s practices in order to understand them in their own cultural terms.