Anthropology ch. 11
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Ecosystem
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Composed of both the natural environment and all the organisms living within it
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Cultural evolution
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culture change over time (not to be confused with progress)
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Progress
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Ethnocentric notion that humans are moving forward to a higher, more advanced stage in their development toward perfection
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Convergent evolution
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in cultural evolution, the development of similar cultural adaptations to similar environmental conditions by different peoples with different ancestral cultures
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Parallel evolution
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in cultural evolution, the development of similar cultural adaptations to similar environmental conditions by peoples whose ancestral cultures are already somewhat alike
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Food foraging
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Mode of subsistence involving some combination of hunting, fishing and gathering of wild plants
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Horticulture
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Cultivation of crops in food gardens
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Slash-and-burn cultivation
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an extensive form of horticulture in which the natural vegetation is cut, the slash is subsequently burned, and crops are then planted among the ashes; also known as swidden farming
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Agriculture
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intensive crop cultivation, employing plows, fertilizers, and/or irrigation
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Pastoralism
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breeding and managing migratory herds of domesticated grazing animals, such as goats, sheep, cattle, llamas, or camels
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Peasant
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Small scale producer of crops or livestock
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Industrial society
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A society in which human labor, hand tools, and animal power are largely replaced by machines, with an economy primarily based on big factories
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Industrial food production
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may be defined as large-scale businesses involved in mass food production, processing, and marketing, which primarily rely on laborsaving machines
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Economic system
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an organized arrangement for producing, distributing, and consuming goods
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Technology
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tools and other material equipment, together with the knowledge of how to make and use them
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Reciprocity
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the exchange of goods and services, of approximately equal value, between two parties
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Generalized reciprocity
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a mode of exchange in which the value of what is given is not calculated, nor is the time of repayment specified
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Balanced reciprocity
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A mode of exchange in which the giving and the receiving are specific as to the value of the goods and the time of their delivery
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Negative reciprocity
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a form of exchange in which the aim is to get something for as little as possible; neither fair nor balanced, it may involve hard bargaining, manipulation, and outright cheating
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Kula ring
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a form of balanced reciprocity that reinforces trade relations amoung the seafaring Melanesians who inhabit a large ring of islands IN the southwestern Pacific ocean
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Redistribution
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a form of exchange in which goods flow into a central place, where they are sorted, counted, and reallocated
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Conspicuous consumption
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a showy display of wealth for social prestige
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Potlatch
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on the northwest coast of north america, a ceremonial event in which a village chief publicly gives away stockpiled food and other goods that signify wealth
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Prestige economy
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creation of a surplus for the express purpose of displaying wealth and giving it away to raise one's status
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Leveling mechanism
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a cultural obligation compelling prosperous members of a community to give away goods, host public feasts, provide free service, or otherwise demonstrate generosity so that no one permanently accumulates significantly more wealth than anyone else
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Market exchange
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the buying and selling of goods and services, with prices set by rules of supply and demand
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Money
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Means of exchange used to make payments for other goods and services as well as to measure their value
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Informal ceremony
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A network of producing and circulating marketable commodities, labor, and services that for various reasons escape government control.
