Anthopology ch 7

Social status that comes through talents, actions, efforts, activities, and accomplishments, rather than ascription. 114

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

Social status (e.g., race or gender) that people have little or no choice about occupying. 114

Basic unit of social organization among foragers. A band includes fewer than one hundred people; it often splits up seasonally. 85, 109

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

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

Form of sociopolitical organization intermediate between the tribe and the state; kin-based with differential access to resources and a permanent political structure. 109

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

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

Pertaining to finances and taxation. 127

A legal code, including trial and enforcement; characteristic of stateorganized societies. 111

Permanent political position. 120

Stratification system that facilitates social mobility, with individual achievement and personal merit determining social rank. 124

The ability to exercise one's will over others—to do what one wants; the basis of political status. 124

Esteem, respect, or approval for acts, deeds, or qualities considered exemplary. 124

The most extreme, coercive, abusive, and inhumane form of legalized inequality; people are treated as property. 125

Classification scheme based on the scale and complexity of social organization and the effectiveness of political regulation; includes band, tribe, chiefdom, and state. 109

A non-kin-based group that exists throughout a tribe, spanning several villages. 116

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

Any position that determines where someone fits in society; may be ascribed or achieved. 115

Characteristic of a system with socioeconomic strata; see also stratum . 124

The lower, or underprivileged, group in a stratified system. 124

The upper, or privileged, group in a stratified system. 124

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

Upward or downward change in a person's social status. 124

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

All a person's material assets, including income, land, and other types of property; the basis of economic status. 124