Vocab
Emic ethnography
Attempts to capture what idea and practices mean to members of a culture.
Bronislaw Malinowski
Functionalist that wanted to understand the structures in a society; showed that native societies were just as complex as they were.
Biological
The study of humankind from a biological perspective.
Chapter 1
Anthropology is the comparative study of human societies and culture.
Ethnocentrism
The idea that one's own culture is superior to any other.
Etic ethnography
Describes and analyzes culture according to principles and theories drawn from Western scientific traditions such as ecology, economy, or psychology.
Franz Boaz
Challenged scientific racism; wanted firsthand learning and active participation; Had an influence of Development of Anthropology U.S.; Developed the concept of cultural relativism.
Linguistic
Is concerned with understanding language and its relation to culture.
Chapter 2
Anthropologists differ today in that they do fieldwork when in the past anthropologists mostly observed.
Cultural Relativism
The idea that a person's values and customs must be understood in terms of the culture to which they belong.
Functionalism
The theory that all aspects of a society serve as a function and are necessary for the survival of that society.
Claude Levi-Strauss
He developed structuralism and revolutionized anthropology by applying linguistic concepts to cultural analysis; know as the father of modern anthropology.
Archaeology
The study of past cultures through their material remains.
Chapter 3
Culture is the learned, symbolic, at least partially adaptive, and ever-changing patterns of behavior and meaning shared by members of a group.
Carrying Capacity
The maximum amount of people an environment can support.
Foraging
Depends on the use of plant and animal resources naturally available in the environment.
Morgan and Tylor
They developed the theory of cultural evolution, proposing that all societies progress through distinct stages.
Cultural
The study of human society and culture.
Chapter 5
The major types of subsistence strategies include foraging, horticulture, pastoralism, nomadism, agriculture, and industrialism.
Fieldwork
The firsthand, intensive, systematic exploration of a culture.
Pastoralism
Primarily involves the care of domesticated herd animals who's dairy and meat products are a major part of the pastoralist diet.
Max Weber
Developed the alternative explanation to social stratification which suggests a relationship between religion and political economy.
Applied
The application of anthropological training and knowledge within specific occupational settings and institutional contexts.
Chapter 8
Social stratification refers to the social hierarchy that results from the relatively permanent unequal access to goods and services in state societies.
Ethnography
A detailed account of a culture's processes.