chp 12-22 Flashcards
(23 cards)
Food Collection
Definition: Gathering naturally available plants and animals.
Key Point: Main human survival method until ~10,000 years ago.
Contemporary Foragers
Still exist (~500,000 people)
Live in remote, harsh environments
Low population density
Mostly nomadic or semi-nomadic
Rely 80% on plant-based food
Examples: Khung (Kalahari), Inuit (Arctic)
Pastoralism
Herding domesticated animals
Nomadic/semi-nomadic
Found where farming isn’t possible
Depend on trade with cultivators
Agriculture
Uses irrigation, fertilizers, machinery
Higher yields
Supports large populations
Leads to labor specialization, social stratification, and permanent settlements
Industrialization
Mechanized farming
High food output
Uses biotechnology (e.g., GPS, laser leveling)
Produces for export & market
Issues: Overuse of land, environmental damage, overdependence on technology
Kinship Defined
Kinship: Core social structure; based on:
Consanguineal ties (blood)
Affinal ties (marriage)
Fictive ties (adoption, godparents)
Functions of Kinship
Vertical Function: Links generations (inheritance, continuity)
Horizontal Function: Links within the same generation (social unity)
Cultural Rules in Kinship
Kinship terms are based on:
Generation (e.g., uncle ≠ cousin)
Gender
Lineality (e.g., father → grandfather)
Consanguineality (e.g., wife’s brother)
Relative Age (e.g., taya vs chacha)
Connecting Relative’s Gender
Social Status (e.g., married vs unmarried brother)
Side of the Family (e.g., phupho vs khala)
Rules of Descent
Patrilineal: Father’s side
Matrilineal: Mother’s side
Ambilineal: Choice of either side
Unilineal: Through one side only
Bilateral: Both sides equally
Double Descent: Different things inherited from mother’s vs father’s side
Consanguineal vs Affinal Kin
Consanguineal: Blood relatives
Affinal: Related by marriage (e.g., sister vs sister-in-law)
Descent Groups
Lineage: Traces ancestry through known links
Clan: Claims descent, not always traceable
Phratry: Group of related clans
Moiety: Society divided into two descent-based halves
Kinship Organizations
Unilineal: Traced through one line (common in 60% of cultures)
Bilateral: Common in foraging and industrial societies; forms kindred
Double Descent: Rare (5%); e.g., Yako of Nigeria
Primary Kinship Systems
Eskimo: Focus on nuclear family, merges extended relatives (common in West)
Hawaiian: Broad categories (e.g., all aunts = mother)
Iroquois: Differentiates cross vs parallel cousins
Sudanese: Most detailed; different term for every relation
Omaha: Patrilineal focus; merges mother’s male relatives
Crow: Matrilineal focus; opposite of Omaha
Kinship Diagrams
Used by anthropologists
Symbols:
♂ = Male
♀ = Female
= Marriage
= Descent
Family and Marriage in Culture
Family & Marriage
Family: Basic unit for economy, reproduction, and child-rearing.
Marriage: Socially approved union, assumed to be permanent.
Functions of Family
Regulate marriage, gender roles, child care, and inheritance.
Marriage Rules
Exogamy: Marry outside a group.
Endogamy: Marry within a group (lineage, caste, ethnicity).
Types of Marriage
Monogamy: One spouse.
Polygamy: Multiple spouses.
Polygyny (man with multiple wives)
Polyandry (woman with multiple husbands)
Marriage Transactions
Bride-wealth: Groom’s family → Bride’s family.
Bride service: Groom works for bride’s family.
Dowry: Bride’s family → Groom’s family.
Woman exchange: Families swap daughters.
Reciprocal exchange: Equal gift exchange between families.
Family Structures & Residence Patterns
Residence Patterns
Patrilocal: With husband’s family.
Matrilocal: With wife’s family.
Avunculocal: With husband’s maternal uncle.
Ambilocal: With either side.
Neolocal: New independent residence.
Family Structures
Nuclear: Parents + children (small, mobile).
Extended: Includes grandparents, uncles, etc. (larger, multigenerational).
Modern Trends
Nuclear families common in mobile or urban societies.
Extended families common in traditional/rural areas or where economic support is needed.
Residence Patterns and Family Structures
Residence Patterns
Patrilocal: Living with husband’s father’s family (most common).
Matrilocal: With wife’s father’s family.
Avunculocal: With husband’s maternal uncle.
Ambilocal: With either side.
Neolocal: New home by the couple.
Family Structures
Nuclear family: Parents and children (2 generations).
Extended family: 3+ generations, often living together and sharing responsibilities.
Modern Trends
Industrialization favors nuclear families.
In developing countries, extended families still serve as support systems.
Gender and Culture
Meaning of Gender
Gender includes how societies view and expect men and women to behave—not just biological differences.
These expectations differ between cultures.
- Gender Roles
Men usually do tasks like hunting, war, construction.
Women do child-rearing and domestic tasks—but there are exceptions.
- Status of Women
Women’s status depends on labor division, value of their work, rights, and power.
Generally, women have lower status than men globally.
- Gender Stratification
This means unequal treatment based on gender, often giving more power to men.
However, some societies are more gender-equal (e.g., Mbuti Pygmies).
Gender Roles in Culture
Gender Ideology
Beliefs that men are superior help keep male dominance in place.
But women don’t always accept these beliefs.
- Negative Impact
Harmful ideologies can lead to:
Female infanticide
Domestic violence
Nutritional deprivation
Honor killings
- Women’s Employment
More women are working outside the home due to globalization.
The traditional “housewife” role is less common now.
- Occupational Segregation
Women and men often work in different jobs.
Women are paid less than men.
- Feminization of Poverty
Women suffer more from poverty.
They have less access to resources and must often care for children, affecting overall family health.
Stratification and Culture
Stratification: Unequal access to wealth, power, prestige leads to hierarchical social ranks.
Social Ranking: All societies rank individuals differently, leading to varying degrees of inequality.
Max Weber’s Dimensions:
Wealth
Power
Prestige
Types of Societies:
Class Societies: Status can be achieved; allow mobility (e.g., U.S.).
Caste Societies: Status is inherited; no mobility (e.g., Hindu India).
Theories of Stratification
Functionalists:
Inequality is necessary for society’s stability.
Rewards skilled individuals more (e.g., doctors).
Criticized for ignoring unfair success (e.g., pop stars).
Conflict Theorists:
Stratification exists to protect the power of upper classes.
Leads to exploitation, lack of mobility, conflict, even revolution.
Influenced by Karl Marx.
Balanced View: Both theories help explain some aspects, but neither alone is enough.
Culture and Change
Cultural Change: All cultures change, some slowly (e.g., tribal), others rapidly (e.g., industrialized).
How Change Happens:
Invention: New ideas/tools, often unintentional, driven by need.
Diffusion: Spread of cultural items between societies.
Selective and two-way
Involves modification (e.g., pizza adapted to local taste)
Material items spread more easily than ideas.
