Anthropology Midterm

Subfields of Anthropology

The study of humankind from a broad perspective, focusing especially on the biological and cultural differences and similarities among populations and societies of both the past and the present

the subfield of anthropology that studies the biological aspects of humankind

the subfield of Anthropology that specializes in investigating the biological evolution of the human species

the study of primates, including monkeys and apes

physical differences among human populations; an interest of physical anthropologists

physical anthropologists who identify and analyze human skeletal remains

the study of past cultures through the excavation of sites and analysis of material remains to investigate cultures that existed before the development of writing.

the subfield of archaeology the past of literate peoples through excavation of sites and analysis of artifacts and other material remains

the business in which private companies bid for contracts to excavate archaeological sites on public and private land

the subfield of Anthropology that studies the way of life of contemporary and historically recent human populations 

ethnographic research that involves observing and interviewing the members of a culture to describe their contemporary way of life

a written description of the way of life of some population

the subfield that focuses on the interrelationships among language and other aspects of people's culture

the subfield of anthropology whose practitioners use anthropological methods, theories, and concepts to solve practical, real world problems; practitioners often are employed by a government agency or private organization.

the process through which diverse peoples and nations are integrated into a single system involving flows of technology, transportation, communications, travel, and market exchanges

the assumption that any aspect of a culture is integrated with other aspects, so that every aspect of culture must be understood in its total context

the insistence by anthropologists that valid hypotheses and theories about humanity be tested with data from a wide range of cultures

the notion that one should not judge the behavior of other peoples using the standards of one's own culture

the attitude or opinion that the morals, values, and customs of one's own culture are superior to those of other peoples

shared, socially transmitted knowledge and behavior

the cultural tradition a group of people recognize as their own; the shared customs and beliefs that define how a group sees itself as distinctive

a territorially distinct and largely self-perpetuating group whose members have a sense of collective identity and who share a common language and culture

the transmission of culture to succeeding generations by means of social learning

the behaviors that most people perform when they are in certain culturally defined situations

a social position in a group, with its associated and reciprocal rights (privileges) and duties (obligations)

shared ideas and expectations about how certain people ought to act in given situations

shared ideas or standards of worthwhileness of goals and lifestyles

objects, behaviors, and so forth whose culturally defined meanings have no necessary relationship to their inherent physical qualities

the ways the members of a culture perceive social and natural reality and divide reality into categories that are culturally variable 

the way people interpret reality and events, including how they see themselves in relation to the world around them

the total system of linguistic knowledge that allows the speakers of a language to send meaningful messages and hearers to understand them 

a regional or subcultural variant of language

the study of the sound system of a language

the smallest unit of sound that speakers unconsciously recognize as distinctive from other sounds

languages in which changing the voice pitch within a word alters the meaning of the word

the study of the units of meaning in a language

a combination of phonemes that conveys a standardized meaning

a morpheme that can stand alone as a word

a morpheme that is attached to a free morpheme to alter its meaning

the subfield of cultural anthropology that studies how language is related to culture and the social uses of speech

a class of things or properties that are perceived as alike in some fundamental respect; hierarchically designed

the idea that language profoundly shapes the perceptions and world view of its speakers

the nineteenth-century theoretical orientation that held that all cultures pass through a similar sequence of stages in their development

the theoretical orientation emphasizing that each culture is a unique result of its distinctive past, which makes cross-cultural generalizations questionable

the theoretical orientation that analyzes cultural elements in terms of their useful effects to individuals or to the persistence of the whole society

the theoretical orientation holding that the main influence on human ways of life is how people produce and distribute resources from their environment

those who adopt the contemporary theoretical orientation that culture knowledge and behavior patterns are largely independent of the material conditions of life; they claim that each culture must be analyzed on its own terms and mistrust cross-cultural comparisons

the orientation that questions the truth value of beliefs and knowledge, including those of science; focuses especially on how power relationships affect the creation and spread of ideas and beliefs

methods used by fieldworkers to gather information from a lot of individuals or families very quickly; common survey instruments are censuses and formal questionnares

methods of collecting information about a culture by systematic questioning; may be structured (questionnaires) or unstructured (open-ended questions)

a member of a society who provides information to a fieldworker, often through formal interviews or surveys

a member of a society who is especially knowledgeable about some subject and supplies information to a fieldworker 

the main technique used in conducting ethnographic fieldwork, involving living among a people and participating in their daily activities

the feeling of uncertainty and anxiety that an individual experiences when placed in a strange cultural setting

adaptation based on harvesting only wild plants and animals

adaptation based primarily on the planting, tending, and harvesting of domesticated plants

adaptation based on the control and breeding of domesticated livestock, which are taken to naturally occurring pastureland 

the productive technology that harnesses the energy of fossil fuels to satisfy human material needs and wants

a small foraging group with flexible composition that migrates seasonally

the process by which people control the distribution, abundance, and biological features of certain plants and animals in order to increase their usefulness to humans

a method of cultivation in which hand tools are powered by human muscles are used

a system of cultivation in which plots are planted annually or semiannually; usually uses irrigation, natural fertilizers, and (in the old world) plows powered by animals

food or other goods produced by a worker in excess of the amount needed for his or her own consumption as well as the needs of his or her dependents

a form of complex society in which many people live in cities

rural people who integrated into a larger society politically and economically

a form of seasonal mobility, usually referring to pastoral peoples who move their livestock herds to locations with lust pastureland 

the widespread pastoral pattern of migrating to different elevations in response to seasonal differences in temperature and pastureland 

the process in which companies located in one country relocate their production facilities to other countries to reduce costs and be more competitive

a group of people who culturally consider themselves to be relatives, cooperate in certain activities, and share a sense of identity as kinfolk

a family unit consisting of only parents and children

a group of related nuclear families that live together in a single household

prohibition against sexual intercourse between certain kinds of relatives

marriage rules that prohibit individuals from marrying a member of their own social group or category

marriage rules that require individuals to marry some member of their own social group or category

the practice in which each individual is allowed to have only 1 spouse at a time

the practice in which one man is allowed to have multiple wives

the practice in which one woman is allowed to have multiple husbands

several women and several men married to one another simultaneously 

the custom in which a prospective groom and his relatives are required to transfer goods to the relatives of the bride to validate the marriage

the custom in which a man spends a period of time working for the family of his wife

the custom in which the family of a woman transfers property or wealth to her upon her marriage

where a newly married couple go to live after their marriage

a residence form in which a couple lives with or near the husbands parents

a residence form in which a couple lives with or near the wive's parents

a residence form in which a couple chooses to live with either the wife's or the husband's family

a residence form in which a couple establishes a separate household apart from both the husband's and wife's parents

descent through one "line"; includes both patrilineal and matrilineal descent

a kinship system in which individuals trace their primary kinship relationships through their fathers

a kinship system in which individuals trace their primary kinship relationships through their mothers

a unilineal descent group larger than an extended family whose members can actually trace how they are related

a named unilineal descent group, some of whose members are unable to trace how they are related but still believe themselves to be kinfolk

a kinship system in which individuals trace their kinship relationships equally through both parents

all the bilateral relatives of an individual 

a kinship system in which individuals trace their kinship relationships through both female and males