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Anthropology

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the study of humanity, from its evolutionary origins millions of years ago to its current worldwide diversity

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societies

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populations of people living in organized groups with social institutions and expectations of behavior

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culture

answer

the learned values, beliefs, and rules of conduct that are shared to some extent by the members of a society, and that govern their behavior with one another

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symbolic culture

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the ideas people have about themselves, others, and the world, and the ways that people express these ideas

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material culture

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the tools people make and use, the clothing ornaments they wear, the buildings they live in, and the household utensils they use

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holistic perspective

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a perspective in anthropology that views culture as an integrated whole, no part of which can be completely understood without considering the whole

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comparative perspective

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an approach in anthropology that uses data about the behaviors and beliefs in many societies to document both cultural universals and cultural diversity.

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culture change

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changes in peoples' ways of life over time through both internal and external forces

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globalization

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The spread of economic, political, and cultural influences throughout a very large geographic area or through a great number of different societies. Through globalization, many countries and local communities are enmeshed in networks of power and influence far beyond their borders, exchanging goods and services, forms of entertainment, and information technologies

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cultural anthropology

answer

the study of cultural behavior, especially the comparative study of living and recent human cultures

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ethnology

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aspect of cultural anthropology involved with building theories about cultural behaviors and forms

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ethnography

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aspect of cultural anthropology involved with observing and documenting peoples' ways of life

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indigenous behavior

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peoples who are now minority groups in state societies but who were formerly independent and have occupied their territories for a long time

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ethnocentrism

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the widespread human tendency to perceive the ways of doing things in one's own culture as normal and natural and that of others as strange, inferior, and possibly even unnatural or inhuman

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cultural relativism

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an approach in anthropology that stresses the importance of analyzing cultures in that culture's own terms rather than in terms of the culture of the anthropologist. This does not mean, however, that all cultural behavior must be condoned

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ethical relativism

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the belief that all rights and wrongs are relative to time, place, and culture, such that no moral judgements of behavior can be made

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linguistic anthropology

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the study of language and communication, and the relationship between language and other aspects of culture and society

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historical linguistics

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the study of changes in language and communication over time and between peoples in contact

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archaeology

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the study of past cultures, both historic cultures with written records and prehistoric cultures that predate the invention of writing

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Biological/ Physical Anthropology

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the study of human origins and contemporary biological diversity

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paleoanthropology

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the study of the fossil record, especially skeletal remains, to understand the process and products of human evolution

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medical anthropology

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a discipline that bridges cultural and biological anthropology, focusing on health and disease in human populations

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applied anthropology

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an area of anthropology that applies the techniques and theories of the field to problem solving outside of traditional academic settings

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forensic anthropology

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Biological anthropologists who analyze human remains in the service of criminal justice and families of disaster victims

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cultural resources management (CRM)

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the application of archaeology to preserve and protect historic structures and prehistoric sites

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contact archaeology

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the application of archaeology to assess the potential impact of construction on archaeological sites and to salvage archaeological evidence

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cultural knowledge

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information that enables people to function in their society and contributes to the survival of the society as a whole

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cultural models

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shared assumptions that people have about the world and about the ideal culture

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norms

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sets of expectations and attitudes that people have about appropriate behavior

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subculture

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a group whose members and others think of their way of life as different in some significant way from that of other people in the larger society

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enculturation

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process of learning one's culture through informal observation and formal instruction

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taboos

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Norms specifying behaviors that are prohibited in a culture

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cultural core

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practices by which people organize their work and produce food and other goods necessary for their survival

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cultural integration

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tendency for people's practices and beliefs to form a relatively coherent and consistent system

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symbol

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a word, image, or object that stands for cultural ideas or sentiments

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naturalized concepts

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ideas and behaviors so deeply embedded in a culture that they are regarded as universally normal or natural

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culture wars

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internal disagreements in a society about cultural models or about how society or the world should be organized

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counterculture

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an alternative cultural model within a society that expresses different views about the way that society should be organized

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worldview

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a culture-based, often ethnocentric way that people see the world and other peoples

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culture contact

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direct interaction between peoples of different cultures through migration, trade, invasion, or conquest

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syncretism

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process by which a cultural product is created when people adapt a cultural item selectively borrowed from another culture to fit there existing culture

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assimilation

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process by which a less numerous and less powerful cultural group changes its ways and cultural identity to blend in with the dominant culture

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acculturation

answer

process by which a group adjusts to living within a dominant culture while at the same time maintaining its original cultural identity

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cultural pluralism

answer

condition in a stratified society in which many diverse cultural groups ideally live together equally and harmoniously without losing their cultural identities and diversity

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modernization

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complex cultural change, both internal and external, based on industrialism and a transnational market economy

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cultural evolution

answer

belief of early anthropologists that cultures evolve through various stages from a simpler and more primitive state to a complex and more culturally advanced state

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social darwinism

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early belief that cultures compete for survival of the fittest, as in the process of natural selection in biological evolution

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culture history

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ongoing culture change in which people respond and adapt to their environment

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ethnogenesis

answer

changing process in which people develop, define, and direct their own cultural and ethnic identities

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inventions

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new technologies and systems of knowledge

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innovation

answer

process by which new technologies and systems of knowledge are based on or built from previous tools, knowledge, and skills

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revolution

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process by which people try to change their culture or overturn the social order and replace it with a new, ideal society and culture

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diffusion

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spread of ideas, material objects, and cultural practices from one society to another through direct and indirect cultural contact

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reactive adaption

answer

coping response to loss and deprivation of captive, conquered, or oppressed peoples

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revitalization movement

answer

type of nonviolent reactive adaption in which people try to resurrect their culture heroes and restore their traditional way of life

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global culture

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a constellation of technologies, practices, attitudes, values, and symbols that spread internationally and enmesh nations and communities throughout the world in networks of power and influence

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socialization

answer

a process similar to enculturation that emphasizes social rather than cultural factors in learning one's culture

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social birth

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social recognition of the transition to personhood

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child-rearing practices

answer

methods used to take care of infants and young children, including ways of feeding, playing with, and carrying, as well as sleeping arrangements

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folklore

answer

texts that relate traditional stories, the exploits of cultural heroes and characters handed down from generation to generation

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status

answer

the position or rank that one occupies in a group or society that carries certain role expectations

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gender identity

answer

they way that people think about themselves in terms of their sex, or how they present themselves as men or women

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rites of passage

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rituals that mark culturally significant transitions throughout the life cycle, including birth, puberty, marriage, and death

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initiation rites

answer

rituals that mark a person's transition from childhood to adulthood

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psychological anthropology

answer

a subfield of cultural anthropology that studies the psychological motivations of behavior and the personality types prevalent in a society

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naturalization

answer

the process of learning and incorporating attitudes, values, and behaviors so that they sem natural or part of one's nature rather than learned cultural behavior

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personality

answer

a constellation of behavioral traits and dispositions. Some features of personality emerge at birth whereas others are acquired in the process of enculturation and psychological and cognitive growth

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private self

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one's inner feelings and concepts of oneself

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public self

answer

the self that one projects in public, in interactions with others

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self-concepts

answer

attitudes that people hold about themselves

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independent self

answer

concepts of individuals as self-contained, independent agents with a focus on their own thoughts, feelings, and achievements

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interdependent self

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concepts of individuals as connected to others, related to other people, with a focus on group needs rather than individual inner feelings, opinions, and attitudes.

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national character

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a constellation of behaviors and attitudes thought to be characteristic of a model personality type prevalent in a particular country

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deviance

answer

behaviors that violate cultural norms and expectations

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culture-specific psychological disorders

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psychological disorders that seem to occur with some frequency in certain cultures but are rare or absent in others

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economic anthropology

answer

subdiscipline of anthropology that focuses on subsistence strategies and economic systems

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subsistence patterns

answer

methods of obtaining food using available land and resources, available labor and energy and technology

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foragers

answer

peoples who subsistence pattern is hunting and gathering

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food producers

answer

users of a subsistence strategy that transforms and manages the environment to obtain food

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pastoralism

answer

a subsistence strategy focusing on raising and caring for large herds of domesticated animals

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horticulture

answer

a subsistence strategy that focuses on small-scale farming using a relatively simple technology

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agriculture

answer

a subsistence strategy focusing on intensive farming, investing a great deal of time, energy, and technology

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carrying capacity

answer

the number of people who can be sustained by the resources and environment in which they live

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settlement pattern

answer

the way people distribute themselves in their environment, including where they locate their dwellings, how they group dwellings into settlements, and how permanent or transitory those settlements are

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reciprocity

answer

principles of mutual gift giving

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redistribution

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the gathering together and then reallocation of food and resources to ensure everyone's survival

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leveling mechanisms

answer

cultural practices designed to equalize access to food, resources and social prestige through a community so that no one individual can amass greater wealth or greater prestige than other people

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nomads

answer

people who do not have permanent homes but travel to sources of food as the food becomes seasonably available

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optimal foraging theory

answer

application of animal studies and decision theory to human foraging

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transhumance

answer

the practice among pastoralists of moving to new pastureland on a seasonal basis

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surplus

answer

food and other goods that are produced at a level greater than that needed for survival

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sedentary communities

answer

settlement pattern involving long-term, permanent settlements

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slash and burn societies

answer

a farming technique for preparing new fields by cutting down trees and bushes and then burning them to clear the land and enrich the soil with nutrients

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intensive agriculture

answer

application of technology and intensive labor to farming, such as the plow and irrigation

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consumption

answer

the use of subsistence resources, including outcomes of production

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economic system

answer

cultural methods of allocating natural resources, the means of exploiting the resources through technology, the organization of work, and the production, distribution, consumption, and exchange of goods and services

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production

answer

system of extracting resources and utilizing labor and technology to obtain foods, goods, and services

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specialization of labor

answer

system of allocating work in which different people perform different tasks

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generalized reciprocity

answer

the exchange of goods and services without keeping track of their exact value, but often with the expectation that their value will balance but over time

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balanced of reciprocity

answer

exchange of goods and services of a specified value at a specified time and place

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potlatch

answer

ceremonial feast, characteristic of indigenous Pacific Northwest coast societies, during which hosts distributed to guests a great deal of food and goods that had been accumulated over many months or years

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negative reciprocity

answer

exchange of goods and services in which each party seeks to benefit at the expense of the other, thus making a profit

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barter

answer

an exchange of product in which one person gives one type of product in exchange for another type of product

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redistribution networks

answer

economic systems in which an organizer amasses food and other goods and then distributes to community members or guests at large public gatherings

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trade

answer

system of exchange in which goods are exchanged for either other goods or for money

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market economy

answer

economic system in which products are traded in impersonal exchanges between buyers and sellers using an all-purpose currency

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commodity

answer

a product that can be sold or traded in return for money or other products

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capitalism

answer

an economic mode of production in which the goal is to amass wealth in the form of money to gain control over the means of production and then use this control to accumulate even greater wealth

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capital

answer

land, money, factories, and the like that support and supply that materials needed for production

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surplus value

answer

the amount of value that workers produce in capitalist production that is greater than the wage paid to them

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colonialism

answer

policies in which countries establish colonies in distant places to exploit their resources and labor, and possibly to establish settlements of their own citizens abroad

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poll taxes

answer

taxes levied on households

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industrialism

answer

the use of machines to produce products and foods

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industrial agriculture

answer

application of industrial technology and chemicals to farming for increased productivity

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consumerism

answer

culture of consumption of goods and services

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kinship system

answer

system of determining who one's relatives are and what one's relationship is to them

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consanguines

answer

people related by blood

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affines

answer

people related through marriage

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fictive kin

answer

unrelated individuals who are regarded and treated as relatives

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rules of descent

answer

social rules that stipulate the nature of relationships from one generation to another

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bilateral descent

answer

principle of descent in which people think of themselves related to both their mother's kin and their father's kin at the same time

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unilineal descent

answer

principle of descent in which people define themselves in relation to only one side, either their mother's side or their father's side

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kindred

answer

kinship group consisting of known bilateral relatives with whom people interact, socialize, and rely on for economic and emotional assistance

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matrilineal

answer

descent system in which kinship group membership and inheritance pass through the female line

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patrilineal

answer

descent system in which kinship group membership and inheritance pass through the male line

question

patriarchy

answer

social system in which men occupy positions of social, economic, and political power from which women are excluded

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inheritance

answer

rules for the passage of land, wealth, and other property from one generation to the next

question

double descent

answer

kinship principle in which people belong to kinship groups of both their mother and father

question

parallel descent

answer

kinship principle in which descent and inheritance follow gender-linked lines so that men consider themselves descended from their fathers and women sondier themselves descended from their mothers

question

ambilineal descent

answer

principle of descent in which individuals may choose to affiliate with either their mother's or their father's kinship group

question

lineage

answer

a set of relatives tracing descent from a known common ancestor

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exogamy

answer

marriage principle in which people cannot marry members of their own lineage or clan but instead must forge alliances with members of their own group

question

endogamy

answer

marriage principle in which people marry members of their own group

question

parallel cousin

answer

a child of one's mother's sister or one's father's brother

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cross-cousin

answer

a child of one's mother's brother or one's father's sister

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clans

answer

named groups of people who believe that they are relatives even though they may not be able to trace their actual relationships with all members of their group

question

matriclans

answer

clans formed through descent and inheritance from women of their group

question

patriclans

answer

clans formed through descent and inheritance from men of their group

question

totem

answer

an animal or plant believed by a group of people to have been their primordial ancestor or protector

question

segmentary lineages

answer

lineages organized in a hierarchical structure, ranked according to the number of generations they encompass

question

phraties

answer

groups of linked clans that are usually exogamous

question

moieties

answer

groups of linked clans that divide a society into two halves, usually exogamous

question

avoidance relationships

answer

patterns of behavior between certain sets of kin that demonstrate respect and social distance

question

joking relationships

answer

patterns of behavior between certain sets of kin that involve reciprocal joking, teasing, and playfulness, sometimes taking the form of flirtation and sexual innuendo

question

kinship terminology system

answer

system of terms used to address and refer to relatives

question

iroquois system

answer

kin terms that emphasize the difference between one's parents' same-sex siblings and parents' opposite-sex siblings, classifying parallel cousins with one's own siblings

question

eskimo system

answer

kin terms making distinctions between the nuclear family and all other types of relatives and on gender

question

Hawaiian system

answer

kin terms making distinctions only of generation and gender

question

crow system

answer

kin terms used by some matrilineal peoples that extend the term for one's mother and mother's brother to include cross-cousins on the maternal side

question

sudaneses system

answer

kin terms that give separate words for all kin relationships

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