Cultural Foundations
This term refers to an object or idea that represents something beyond its literal meaning, often reflecting deep cultural beliefs.
What is a symbol?
The spread of cultural elements from one society to another, often through migration or trade.
What is diffusion?
This theory in anthropology suggests that all elements of culture serve a function in maintaining social order and cohesion.
What is functionalism?
This branch of philosophy concerns the study of existence and the nature of being, especially in relation to cultural understandings of reality.
What is ontology?
The practice of settlers on the American frontier adopting wood-frame houses to replace dugout homes reflects a cultural process of __________.
What is diffusion?
These formalized actions are performed to express or reinforce the values of a society.
What is a ritual?
The study of the relationship between human societies and their environments, focusing on how cultural traits evolve in response to ecological factors.
What is cultural ecology?
This perspective argues that social structures, such as kinship, function together like parts of a system to maintain balance and stability.
What is structural functionalism?
This approach in anthropology explores how cultures construct their realities, including human and nonhuman relationships, as part of their worldview.
What is ontological anthropology?
When cultural elements like house structures, clothing, or food spread between societies, this is an example of __________.
What is diffusion?
This concept focuses on the organized patterns of relationships and roles in a society that regulate how people interact.
What is social structure?
This theory emphasizes the role of material factors, like technology and economic systems, in shaping cultural practices.
What is cultural materialism?
This theory suggests that cultural systems can be understood by examining their underlying binary oppositions, such as male/female or good/evil.
What is structuralism?
In her work, Mary Douglas argued that this is an essential mechanism that cultures use to regulate dangerous or transgressive elements, like foods or behaviors.
What is taboo?
The move from simple dugout homes to more elaborate wooden homes by settlers illustrates cultural __________, as they seek to create symbols of wealth and success.
What is cultural evolutionism?
The term for ceremonies marking significant life transitions such as birth, marriage, or death in a given culture.
What are rites of passage?
The outdated concept that cultures move through distinct stages in a unidirectional manner, from "primitive" to "advanced."
What is unilineal evolution?
This theory in anthropology is focused on understanding how cultural systems respond to societal needs, like food, security, and reproduction.
What is functionalism?
This unusual animal, the pangolin, was both sacred and dangerous to the Lele people because it didn’t fit conventional categories of animals. It was an example of a cultural __________.
What is a symbol?
This idea suggests that although the physical structure of a home changed, its purpose as a shelter remained central to the settlers’ needs.
What is functionalism?
This term refers to the long-term transformation of cultural practices, often through stages or as a response to external influences.
What is cultural evolutionism?
This approach, developed by Franz Boas, emphasizes the unique historical development of each culture, rejecting universal stages of cultural development.
What is historical particularism?
Claude Lévi-Strauss is most associated with this approach, which analyzes myths and cultural practices in terms of opposites and contrasts.
What is structuralism?
The study of this relationship often looks at how humans interact with nonhuman entities like animals, spirits, and natural elements in their cultural context.
What is ontological anthropology?
The humorous portrayal of trickster figures in many cultures serves to diminish their disruptive power, contrasting sharply with the regulating role of __________.
What are taboos?