anth 411 Exam 1 Flashcards
Master (68 cards)
What was the Bracero Program?
A plan that brought laborers from Mexico to work on American farms from 1942 to 1964.
Guest worker program.
What did the Refugee Act of 1980 accomplish?
Reformed US immigration law and admitted refugees on a systematic basis for humanitarian reasons.
What are ‘living fossils’?
Animals and plants that disappear abruptly from the fossil record, yet are still alive today.
Lewis Henry Morgan.
What is unilineal cultural evolution?
The theory proposed by nineteenth-century anthropologists that all cultures naturally evolve through the same sequence of stages from simple to complex.
Lewis Henry Morgan.
What is historical particularism?
The idea, attributed to Franz Boas, that cultures develop in specific ways because of their unique histories.
What is cultural determinism?
The belief that the culture in which we are raised determines who we are at emotional and behavioral levels.
This supports the theory that environmental influences dominate who we are instead of biologically inherited traits. Franz Boas.
What is Nacerima?
A review of the ritual life of the Nacirema shows them to be a magic-ridden people.
It is hard to understand how they have managed to exist under the burdens which they have imposed upon themselves.
What is cultural anthropology?
The study of people’s communities, behaviors, beliefs, and institutions, including how people make meaning as they live, work, and play together.
What does archaeology study?
Human cultures of the past through artifacts, remains of structures, burials, and sites.
Archaeologists assume that aspects of culture are reflected in material remains.
What is physical/biological anthropology?
The systematic study of humans as biological organisms.
What is an artifact?
A portable object made or modified by humans.
What is an ecofact?
Plant or animal remains found at an archaeological site but not modified by humans.
What is a feature in archaeology?
A non-portable artifact, such as a hearth or ash pit.
Who was Louis Henry Morgan?
An American social scientist who studied American Indians and Greek/Roman societies, proposing three stages: savage, barbaric, civilized.
Who is Franz Boas?
The father of modern American anthropology; argued for cultural relativism and historical particularism.
What is ethnography?
The scientific description of the customs of individual peoples and cultures.
What is participant observation?
A research method where investigators systematically observe people while joining them in their routine activities.
This brings first-hand knowledge and experiences, leading to deeper insights. Boas, Malinowski, Mead.
What are ‘imponderabilia of daily life’?
Routine happenings that represent the real substance of social fabric.
What is a key informant?
A person knowledgeable about the social communications among members of a specific group, who can identify opinion leaders.
What are gatekeepers/barriers to entry?
A bridge or obstacle to overcome to access a community or culture.
What is the difference between qualitative and quantitative data/methods?
Qualitative data focuses on descriptive information, while quantitative data involves numerical measurements.
What are life histories in anthropology?
Studies of the overall lives of individuals, often based on both self-reporting and documents such as letters.
What is culture?
The way of life of a people, including their actions, ideas, norms, values, symbols, and material objects.
It is layered, continuously reworked, created, shared, and socially constructed.
What is glocalization?
The process by which people in a local place mediate and alter regional, national, and global processes.
Example: McDonald’s.