Cultural anthropology vocab chapters 1-5 – Flashcards
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ethnography
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fieldwork in a particular culture
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anthropology
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the study of the human species and its imediate ancestors
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holistic
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pertaining to the whole of the human condition, past, present, and future; biology, society, language, and culture
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culture
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traditions and customs that govern behavior and beliefs; distinctly human; transmitted through learning.
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adaptation
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the process by which organisms cope with environmental stresses
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food production
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plant cultivation and animal domestication
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general anthropology
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the field of anthropology as a whole, consisting of cultural, archaelogical, biological, and linguistic anthropology
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racial classification
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the atempt to assign humans to discrete categories (purportedly) based on common ancestry
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phenotype
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an organism's evident traits, its "manifest biology" --- anatomy and physiology
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biocultural
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referring to the inclusion and comnination (to solve a common problem) of both biological and cultural approaches --- one of anthropology's hallmarks
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natural selection
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originaly formulated by charles darwin and alfred russel wallace, the process by which nature selects the forms most fit to survive and reproduce in a given environment. such as the tropics
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tropics
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geographic belt extending about 23 degrees north and south of the equator
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cultural anthropology
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the study of human society and culture; describes, analyzes, interprets, and explains social and cultural similarites and differences
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enthnology
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the theoretcal, comparative study of society and culture; compares cultures in time and space
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archaeological anthropology
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the branch of anthropology. commonly nown as archaeology, that reconstructs, describes, and interprets human behavior and cultural patterns through material remains; best known for the study of prehistory
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biological (physical) anthropology
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the branch of anthropologythat studies human biological diversity in time and space --- for instance, hominid eveolution, human genetics, human biological adaptation; also includes primatology (behavior and eveolution of moneys and apes)
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primates
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members of the zoological order that includes humans, apes, monkeys, and prosimians, such as lemurs
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linguistic anthropology
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the branch of anthropology that studies linguistic variation in time and space, including interrelations between language and culture; includes historical linguistics and sociolinguistics
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sociolinguistics
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study of relationships between social and linguistic variation; study of language in its social context
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science
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a systematic field of study of body of knowledge that aims, through experiment, observation. and deduction, to produce reliable explanations of phenomena, with reference to the material and physical world.
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applied anthropology
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the application of anthropological data, perspectives, theory, and methods to identify, asses, and solve contemporary social problems
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cultural resource management CRM
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the branch of applied archaeology aimed at preserving sites threated by dams, highways, and other projects
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enculturation
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the social process by which culture is leaned and transmitted across the generations
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symbol
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a verbal or nonverbal sign that arbitrarily and by convention stands for something else, with which it has no necessary or natural connection
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core values
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key, basic, or central values that integrate a culture and help distinguish it from others
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hominids
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members of the zoological family that includes fossil and living humans. chimps, and gorillas
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hominins
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members of the evolutionary line leading to and including modern humans, as distinct from chimps and gorillas
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universal
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something that exists in every culture
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generality
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culture pattern or trait that exists in some but not all societies
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particularity
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distinctive or unique culture trait, pattern, or integration
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national culture
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cultural experiences, beliefs, learned behavior patterns, and values shared by citizens of the same nation
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international culture
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cultural traditions that extend beyond national boundaries
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subcultures
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different cultural symbol-based traditions associated with subgroups in the same complex society
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ethnocentrism
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the tendency to view one's own culture as best and to judge the behavior and beliefs of cultually different people by one's own standards
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cultural relativism
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the position that the values and standards od cultures differ and deserve respect. anthropology is characterized by methodological rather than moral relativism.
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human rights
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doctrine that invokes a realm of justice and marality beyond and superior to particular countries, cultures, and religions
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cultural rights
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doctrine that certain rights are vested not in individuals but in identifiable groups, such as religious and ethnic minorities and indigenous societies
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intellectual property rights (IPR)
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each society's cutural base --- its core beliefs and prinicples
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diffusion
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borrowing between cultures either directly or through intermediaries
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acculturation
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the exchange of cultural features that results when groups come into continuous firsthand contact; the origianl cultural patterns of either or both groups may be altered, but the groups remain distinct
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independent invention
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development of the same culture trait or pattern in separate cultures as a result of comparable needs and circumstances
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globalization
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a set of processes, including diffusion, migration, and acculturation, that promotes change in today's interlinked world
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infromed consent
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an agreement sought by enthographers from community members to take part in research
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participant observation
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a characteristic ethnographic technique; taking part in the events one is observing, describing, and analyzing.
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interview schedule
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ethnographic toold of structuring a formal interview. a prepared form guides interviews with households or individuals being compared systematically
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genealogical method
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procedures by which ethnographers discover and record connections of kinship, descent, and marriage, using diagrams and symbols
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key cultural consultation
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an expert on a particular aspect of local life who helps the ethnographer understand that aspect
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life history
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of a cultural consultant; provides a personal cultural portrait of existence or change in a culture
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emic
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the research strategy that focuses on native explanations and criteria of significane
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etic
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the research strategy that emphasizes the observer's rather than the natives' explanations, cetegories, and criteria of significance
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cultural consultant
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someone the ethnographer gets to know in the field, who teaches him or her about their society andculture
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longitudinal research
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long-term study of a community, society, culture, or other unit, usually based on repeated visits
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survey research
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characteristic research procedure among social scientists other than anthropologists, which studies society through sampling, statistical analysis, and impersonal data collection
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sample
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a smaller study group chosen to represent a larger population
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random sample
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a sample in which all members of th population have an equal statistical chance of being included
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variable
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attributes that differ from one person or case to the next
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complex societies
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nations; large and populous, with ocial stratification and central governments
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westernization
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the diffusion of europeana cultures into tribal societies
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development anthropology
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the branch of applied anthropology that focuses on socal issues in, and hte cultural dimension of, economic development
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equity, increased
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a reduction in absolute poverty and a fairer distribution of wealth
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overinnovation
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characteristic of development projects that require major changes in people's daily lives, especially ones that interfere with customary subsistence pursuits
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underdifferentiation
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planning fallacy of viewing less-developed countries as an undifferentiated group; ignoring cultural diversity and adopting a uniform approach (often ethnocentric) for very different types of project beneficiaries
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anthropology and education
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anthropological research in classrooms, homes, and neighborhoods, viewing students as total cultural creatures whose enculturation and attitudes toward education belong to a larger context that includes family, peers, and society
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urban anthropology
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the anthropological study of life in and around world cities, including the study of urban social problems. differences between urban and other environments and adapation to city life
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medical anthropology
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unites biological and cultural antrhopologists in the study of diseases, health problems, health care systems, and theories about illness in different cultures and ethnic groups
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disease
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an etic, or scientifically identified, health threat caused by a bacterium, virus, fungus, parasite, or other pathogen
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illness
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an emic condition of poor health felt by the individual
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health care system
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beliefs, customs, and specialists concerned with ensuring health and preventing and curing illness; a cultural universal
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curer
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specialized role aquired through a culturally appropriate process of selection, training, certification, and aquisition of a professional image
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scientific medicine
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a health care system based on scientific knowledge and procedures, encompassing such fields as pathology, microbiology, biochemistry, surgery, diagnostic technology, and applications
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call systems
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systems of communication among nonhuman primates, composed of a limited number of sounds that vary in intensity and duration; tied to environments stimuli
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cultural transmission
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a basic feature of language; transmission through learning
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productivity
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the ability to use the rules of one's language to create new expressions comprehensible to other spreakers; a basic feature of language
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displacement
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a llingusitic capactiy that allows humans to talk about things and events that are not present
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kinesics
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the study of communication through body movements, stance, gestures, and facial expressions
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descriptive linguistics
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the scientific study of a spoken language. including its phonology, morphology, lexicon, and syntax
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phonology
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the study of sounds used in speech
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morphology
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the study of form; used in linguistics and for form in general
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lexicon
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vocabulary; a dictionary containing all the morphenes in a anguage and their meaning
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syntax
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the arrangement and order of words in phrases and sentences
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phoneme
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significant sound contrast in a language that serves to distinguish meaning as in minimal pairs
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phonetics
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the study of speech sounds in general; what people actually say in various languages
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phonemics
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the study of significan sound contrasts (phomemes) of a particular language
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sapir-whorf hypothesis
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theory that different languages produce different ways of thinking
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focal vocabulary
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a set of words and distinctions that are particularly important to certain groups such as types of snow to eskimos
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semantics
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a language's meaning system
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sociolingusitcs
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study of relationships between social and linguistic variation; study of language in its socal context
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style shifts
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variation in speech in different contexts
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diglossia
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the existence of "high" (formal) and "low" (familial) dialects of a single language, such as German
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black english vernacular
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a rule-governed dialect of american english (sometimes called ebonics) with roots in southern english. african american youth and many adults speak BEV in their casual, intimate speech
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historical linguistics
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subdivision of linguistics that studies languages over time
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daughter languages
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languages developing out of the same parent language
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protolanguage
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language ancestral to several daughter languages
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language subgroups
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languages within a taxonomy of related languages that are most closely related
