Anthopology ch 7

  1. achieved status
    Social status that comes through talents, actions, efforts, activities, and accomplishments, rather than ascription. 114
  2. age set
    Group uniting all men or women (usually men) born during a certain time span; this group controls property and often has political and military functions. 117
  3. ascribed status
    Social status (e.g., race or gender) that people have little or no choice about occupying. 114
  4. band
    Basic unit of social organization among foragers. A band includes fewer than one hundred people; it often splits up seasonally. 85, 109
  5. big man
    Figure often found among tribal horticulturalists and pastoralists. The big man occupies no office but creates his reputation through entrepreneurship and generosity to others. Neither his wealth nor his position passes to his heirs. 114
  6. caste system
    Closed, hereditary system of stratification, often dictated by religion; hierarchical social status is ascribed at birth, so that people are locked into their parents' social position. 124
  7. chiefdom
    Form of sociopolitical organization intermediate between the tribe and the state; kin-based with differential access to resources and a permanent political structure. 109
  8. conflict resolution
    The means by which disputes are socially regulated and settled; found in all societies, but the resolution methods tend to be more formal and effective in states than in nonstates. 111
  9. differential access
    Unequal access to resources; basic attribute of chiefdoms and states. Superordinates have favored access to such resources, while the access of subordinates is limited by superordinates. 122
  10. fiscal
    Pertaining to finances and taxation. 127
  11. law
    A legal code, including trial and enforcement; characteristic of stateorganized societies. 111
  12. office
    Permanent political position. 120
  13. open-class system
    Stratification system that facilitates social mobility, with individual achievement and personal merit determining social rank. 124
  14. power
    The ability to exercise one's will over others—to do what one wants; the basis of political status. 124
  15. prestige
    Esteem, respect, or approval for acts, deeds, or qualities considered exemplary. 124
  16. slavery
    The most extreme, coercive, abusive, and inhumane form of legalized inequality; people are treated as property. 125
  17. sociopolitical typology
    Classification scheme based on the scale and complexity of social organization and the effectiveness of political regulation; includes band, tribe, chiefdom, and state. 109
  18. pantribal sodality
    A non-kin-based group that exists throughout a tribe, spanning several villages. 116
  19. state (nation-state)
    Complex sociopolitical system that administers a territory and populace with substantial contrasts in occupation, wealth, prestige, and power. An independent, centrally organized political unit, a government. 109
  20. status
    Any position that determines where someone fits in society; may be ascribed or achieved. 115
  21. stratification
    Characteristic of a system with socioeconomic strata; see also stratum . 124
  22. subordinate
    The lower, or underprivileged, group in a stratified system. 124
  23. superordinate
    The upper, or privileged, group in a stratified system. 124
  24. tribe
    Form of sociopolitical organization usually based on horticulture or pastoralism. Socioeconomic stratification and centralized rule are absent in tribes, and there is no means of enforcing political decisions. 109
  25. vertical mobility
    Upward or downward change in a person's social status. 124
  26. village head
    Leadership position in a village (as among the Yanomami, where the head is always a man); has limited authority; leads by example and persuasion. 113
  27. wealth
    All a person's material assets, including income, land, and other types of property; the basis of economic status. 124
Author
gabo
ID
156932
Card Set
Anthopology ch 7
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Key terms
Updated