antropologia cultural - glossário

7/22/2019 Antropologia Cultural - Glossário

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/antropologia-cultural-glossario 1/31

http://www.anth.ucsb.edu/glossary/index2.html

01/04/2005

Cultural Anthropologyrelated terms

acculturation: cultural change that occurs in response to extended !irsthandcontacts between two or more pre"iously autonomous groups.

acephalous society: a society without a political head such as a president#chie!# or $ing.

achie"ed status: social standing and prestige re!lecting the ability o! anindi"idual to ac%uire an established position in society as a result o!

indi"idual accomplishments &c!. ascribed status'.

adaptation: changes in gene !re%uencies resulting !rom selecti"e pressures being placed upon a population by en"ironmental !actors( results in a

greater !itness o! the population to its ecological niche.

administrati"e system: a twentiethcentury system o! ownership in which land

is owned and managed by the state( !ound in China# the )o"iet *nion# and

some parts o! A!rica and +atin America.

a!!inal $in: persons related by marriage.

age grade: a group o! people o! the same sex and approximately the same age

who share a set o! duties and pri"ileges.

age set: a group o! people roughly the same age who pass through "arious agegrades together.

alienation: the !ragmentation o! indi"iduals, relations to their wor$# thethings they produce# and the resources with which they produce them.

allomorphs: !orms contained in morphemes that di!!er in sound but not inmeaning.

allophones: sounds that belong to the same phoneme.

altruistic act: a beha"ior characteri-ed by sel!sacri!ice that bene!its

others.

ambilineal descent: a descent ideology based on ties traced through either

the paternal or the maternal line.

ambilocality: residence o! a married couple with or near the $in o! either

husband or wi!e# as they choose.



animal husbandry: the breeding# care# and use o! herd animals# such assheep# goats# camels# cattle# and ya$s.

animatism: belie! in an impersonal supernatural !orce.

animism: belie! in a soul# a spiritual essence that di!!ers !rom the

tangible# physical body.

anthropological linguistics: the scienti!ic study o! human communication

within its sociocultural context and the origin and e"olution o! language.

anthropology: the study o! humanity our physical characteristics as

animals# and our uni%ue nonbiological characteristics we call culture. he

subect is generally bro$en down into three subdisciplines: biological

&physical' anthropology# cultural &social' anthropology# and archaeology.

aphasia: a language disorder resulting !rom brain damage.

applied anthropology: the acti"ity o! pro!essional anthropologists in

programs that ha"e as primary goals changes in human beha"ior belie"ed to

ameliorate contemporary social# economic# and technological problems.

archaeology: a subdiscipline o! anthropology in"ol"ing the study o! the

human past through its material remains.

arranged marriage: any marriage in which the selection o! a spouse is

outside the control o! the bride and groom. art the process and products o!

applying s$ills to any acti"ity that trans!orms matter# sound# or motioninto !orms considered aesthetically pleasing to people in a society.

ascribed status: social standing or prestige which is the result o!inheritance or hereditary !actors &c!. achie"ed status'.

authority: the ability to exert in!luence because o! one,s personal prestigeor the status o! one,s o!!ice.

autonomy: ta$ing commands !rom only one authoritati"e source# onesel!# and

reecting all attempts to o"erride one,s autonomy. oral autonomy entailsma$ing the !inal decisions about what one should do. olitical autonomy

entails ha"ing the liberty to act upon the decision one has made.

a"unculocal residence: residence o! a married couple with or near a brother

o! the husband,s mother who is usually a senior member o! his matrilineage.

balanced reciprocity: gi!t gi"ing that clearly carries the obligation o! an

e"entual and roughly e%ual return.



band: a small territoriallybased social group consisting o! 2 or morenuclear !amilies. A loosely integrated population sharing a sense o! common

identity but !ew speciali-ed institutions.

bi!urcation: a basis o! $in classi!ication that distinguishes the mother,sside o! the !amily !rom the !ather,s side.

bilateral descent: a descent ideology in which indi"iduals de!ine themsel"esas being at the center o! a group o! $in composed more or less e%ually o!

$in !rom both paternal and maternal lines.

bilocal residence: regular alternation o! a married couple,s residence

between the household or "icinity o! the wi!e,s $in and o! the husband,s

$in.

biological imperati"es: the basic human dri"es !or !ood# rest# sexual

satis!action# and social contact.

biological species: a group o! interbreeding populations that is

reproducti"ely isolated !rom other such groups.

bound morphemes: morphemes that must be attached to other morphemes to

con"ey meaning.

bourgeoisie: a arxian term re!erring to the middle class.

bride price: payment made by a man to the !amily !rom whom he ta$es a

daughter in marriage.

bride ser"ice: ser"ice rendered by a man as payment to a !amily !rom whom he

ta$es a daughter in marriage.

bride wealth: property gi"en by the !amily o! the groom to the !amily o! the

bride to compensate them !or the loss o! their daughter,s ser"ices.

call system: a repertoire o! sounds# each o! which is produced in response

to a particular situation.

carrying capacity: the point at or below which a population tends to

stabili-e.

caste: a social category in which membership is !ixed at birth and usually

unchangeable.

cattle complex: an ast A!rican socioeconomic system in which cattle

represent social status as well as wealth.



census: a comprehensi"e sur"ey o! a population designed to re"eal its basicdemographic characteristics.

centrali-ation: concentration o! political and economic decisions in the

hands o! a !ew indi"iduals or institutions.

ceremonial !und: the portion o! the peasant budget allocated to religious

and social acti"ities.

chie!dom: a term used to describe a society that operates on the principle

o! ran$ing# i.e. di!!erential social status. 3i!!erent lineages are gradedon a scale o! prestige# calculated by how closely related one is to the

chie!. he chie!dom generally has a permanent ritual and ceremonial center#

as well as being characteri-ed by local speciali-ation in cra!ts.

ci"ili-ation: a term used by anthropologists to describe any society that

has cities.

clan: a unilineal descent group usually comprising more than ten generations

consisting o! members who claim a common ancestry e"en though they cannot

trace stepbystep their exact connection to a common ancestor.

class: a ran$ed group within a strati!ied society characteri-ed by achie"ed

status and considerable social mobility.

closed corporate community: a community that strongly emphasi-es community

identity and discourages outsiders !rom settling there by restricting land

use to "illage members and prohibiting the sale or lease o! property tooutsiders.

code sheets: anthropologists, chec$lists o! obser"ed beha"iors and in!erredmoti"ations !or or attitudes toward them.

cognates: words so similar !rom one language to the next as to suggest that both are "ariants o! a single ancestral prototype.

cogniti"e anthropology: the study o! how peoples o! di!!erent cultures

ac%uire in!ormation about the world &cultural transmission'# how they process that in!ormation and reach decisions# and how they act on that

in!ormation in ways that other members o! their cultures consider

appropriate.

cogniti"e imperati"e: the human need to impose order on the world by mental

processes.

cogniti"e processes: ways o! percei"ing and ordering the world.



collateral relati"es: people to whom one is related through a connecting person.

communal cult: a society with groups o! ordinary people who conduct

religious ceremonies !or the wellbeing o! the total community.

community identity: an e!!ort by spea$ers to identi!y themsel"es with a

speci!ic locality and to distinguish themsel"es !rom outsiders.

con!lict: in its political mani!estation# con!lict exacts an e"erincreasing

toll in human li"es and misery.

conugal relationship: the relationship between spouses.

consanguineal $in: persons related by birth.

control: in the scienti!ic method# a situation in which a comparison can be

made between a speci!ic situation and a second situation that di!!ers#ideally# in only one aspect !rom the !irst.

controlled comparison: a method in which hypotheses are tested by comparingtwo or more populations that are similar or identical in most respects other

than that which has been de!ined as the independent "ariable.

con"ersion: the use o! a sphere o! exchange !or a transaction with which it

is not generally associated.

corporate ownership control: o! land and other producti"e resources by agroup rather than by indi"iduals.

corporateness: the sharing o! group members in speci!ic rights.

cor"ee: unpaid labor in lieu o! taxation# usually on road construction and

maintenance.

creationscience: the idea that scienti!ic e"idence can be and has been

gathered !or creation as depicted in the ible. ainstream scientists and

the )upreme Court discount any scienti!ic "alue o! creationsciencestatements.

creole: a pidgin language than has e"ol"ed into a !ully de"eloped language#with a complete array o! grammatical distinctions and a large "ocabulary.

crosscousins: mother,s brothers, children and !ather,s sisters, children.

crosscultural research: &holocultural research' a method that uses a global



sample o! societies in order to test hypotheses.

cultural anthropology: a subdiscipline o! anthropology concerned with the

nonbiological# beha"ioral aspects o! society( i.e. the social# linguistic#

and technological components underlying human beha"ior. wo important

branches o! cultural anthropology are ethnography &the study o! li"ingcultures' and ethnology &which attempts to compare cultures using

ethnographic e"idence'. n urope# it is re!erred to as social anthropology.

cultural determinism: the idea that except !or re!lexes all beha"ior is the

result o! learning.

cultural di!!usion: the spreading o! a cultural trait &e.g.# material

obect# idea# or beha"ior pattern' !rom one society to another.

cultural ecology: a term de"ised by 6ulian )teward to account !or thedynamic relationship between human society and its en"ironment# in which

culture is "iewed as the primary adapti"e mechanism.

cultural en"ironment: the complex o! products o! human endea"or# including

technology and social institutions.

cultural e"olution: the theory that societal change can be understood by

analogy with the processes underlying the biological e"olution o! species.

cultural materialism: the theory# espoused by ar"in 7arris# that ideas#

"alues# and religious belie!s are the means or products o! adaptation to

en"ironmental conditions &8material constraints8'.

cultural relati"ism: the ability to "iew the belie!s and customs o! other

peoples within the context o! their culture rather than one,s own.

cultural uni"ersal: those general cultural traits !ound in all societies o!

the world. culture shoc$ a psychological disorientation experienced when

attempting to operate in a radically di!!erent cultural en"ironment.

culture area: a region in which se"eral groups ha"e similar culture

complexes.

culture o! po"erty: a sel!perpetuating complex o! escapism# impulse

grati!ication# despair# and resignation( an adaptation and reaction o! the

poor to the marginal position in a classstrati!ied# highly indi"iduated#capitalistic society.

culture: learned# nonrandom# systematic beha"ior and $nowledge that can betransmitted !rom generation to generation.



deep structure: an abstract twopart mental model consisting o! a noun

phrase and a "erb phrase# with the optional addition o! an ad"erb orad"erbial phrase.

demographic transition: a rapid increase in a society,s population with the

onset o! industriali-ation# !ollowed by a le"eling o!! o! the growth ratedue to reduced !ertility.

demography: the study o! the processes which contribute to populationstructure and their temporal and spatial dynamics. .

dependent "ariable: a "ariable that is a!!ected by the independent "ariable.

descent group: a group o! consanguineal $in united by presumed lineal

descent !rom a common ancestor.

descent ideology: the concept o! $inship as a basis o! unambiguous

membership in a group and possibly o! property rights and political

obligations.

descent relationship: the ties between mother and child and between !ather

and child.

descent tracing: one,s $inship connections bac$ through a number o!

generations.

descripti"e linguistics: that branch o! anthropological linguistics that

studies how languages are structured.

diachronic studies: use o! descripti"e data !rom one society or population

that has been studied at many points in time.

di!!erentiation: organi-ation in separate units !or "arious acti"ities and

purposes.

di!!usion: when elements o! one culture spread to another without wholesale

dislocation or migration.

diglossia: the situation in which two !orms o! the same language are spo$en by people in the same language community# depending on the social situation.

displacement &language' he ability to communicate about e"ents at times and places other than those o! their occurrence( enables a person to tal$ and

thin$ about things not directly in !ront o! him or her.

di"ination: a practice in which an element o! nature acts as a sign to

pro"ide supernatural in!ormation to the di"iner.



di"ision o! labor: the set o! rules !ound in all societies dictating how theday to day tas$s are assigned to the "arious members o! a society.

domestic cycle: the changes in household organi-ation that result !rom a

series o! demographic e"ents.

domestic mode o! production: the organi-ation o! economic production and

consumption primarily in the household.

domestication: the process by which people try to control the reproducti"e

rates o! animals and plants by ordering the en"ironment in such a way as to!a"or certain species.

double descent: a system o! descent in which indi"iduals recei"e some rights

and obligations !rom the !ather,s side o! the !amily and others !rom themother,s side.

dowry: payment made by the bride,s !amily to the groom or to the groom,s!amily.

dys!unction: the notion that some cultural traits can cause stress orimbalance within a cultural system.

ecclesiastical cult: a highly complex religious system headed by a !ulltime priest.

ecological determinism: a !orm o! explanation in which it is implicit that

changes in the en"ironment determine changes in human society.

ecology: the study o! the dynamic relationships o! organisms to each other

and the total en"ironment.

economic class: a group that is de!ined by the economic position o! its

members in relation to the means o! production in the societythe wealthand relati"e eocnomic control they may command.

economic system: the ideas and institutions that people draw upon and the

beha"iors in which they engage in order to secure resources to satis!y theirneeds and desires.

ecosystem: a group o! organisms with speci!ic relationships betweenthemsel"es and a particular en"ironment.

egalitarian society: a society that recogni-es !ew di!!erences in wealth# power# prestige# or status.



emic: a perspecti"e in ethnography that uses the concepts and categories

that are rele"ant and meaning!ul to the culture under analysis.

empirical: recei"ed through the senses &sight# touch# smell# hearing#

taste'# either directly or through extensions.

empiricism: reliance on obser"able and %uanti!iable data.

enculturation: the process by which human in!ants learn their culture.

endogamy: a rule re%uiring marriage within a speci!ied social or $inship

group.

entrepreneurs: indi"iduals who are willing to ta$e ris$s and brea$ with

traditional practices in order to ma$e a pro!it.

entrepreneurship: economic inno"ation and ris$ ta$ing.

en"ironment: e"erything external to the organism.

e%uilibrium: a balance among the components o! an ecosystem.

ethnicity: a basis !or social categories that are rooted in socially

percei"ed di!!erences in national origin# language# and/or religion.

ethnobotany: a subdiscipline o! anthropology that explores how societies

percei"e and categori-e plants in their en"ironment and how they use these

plants !or !ood# medicine# ritual# etc.

ethnocentrism: the tendency to udge the customs o! other societies by the

standards o! one,s own ethnographic present: describes the point in time at

which a society or culture is !ro-en when ethnographic data collected in the!ield are published in a report.

ethnography: that aspect o! cultural anthropology concerned with thedescripti"e documentation o! li"ing cultures.

ethnohistory: the study o! ethnographic cultures through historical records.

ethnology: a subset o! cultural anthropology concerned with the comparati"e

study o! contemporary cultures# with a "iew to deri"ing general principles

about human society.

ethnomusicology: the study o! music in a crosscultural perspecti"e.

etic: a perspecti"e in ethnography that uses the concepts and categories o!

the anthropologist,s culture to describe another culture.



e"olution: the process by which small but cumulati"e changes in a speciescan# o"er time# lead to its trans!ormation( may be di"ided into two

categories: physical e"olution &adapti"e changes in biological ma$eup' and

cultural e"olution &adapti"e changes in thought and beha"ior'.

e"olutionary ecology: the study o! li"ing organisms within the context o!

their total en"ironment# with the aim o! disco"ering how they ha"e adapted.

exchange: the distribution o! goods and ser"ices among members o! a society.

exogamy: marriage outside a particular group with which one is identi!ied.

extended !amily household: a multiple!amily unit incorporating adults o!

two or more generations.

!amily household: a household !ormed on the basis o! $inship and marriage.

!icti"e $in: persons such as godparents# compadres# 8blood brothers#8 andold !amily !riends whom children call 8aunt8 and 8uncle8.

!ield dependence: the tendency to see the !ield o! "ision as a single unit#with separate obects existing only as part o! the whole.

!ield independence: the tendency to see the obects in one,s !ield o! "isionas discrete units# distinct !rom the !ield as a whole.

!ieldwor$: the !irsthand obser"ation o! human societies.

!ission!usion society: a constantly changing !orm o! social organi-ation

whereby large groups undergo !ission into smaller units and small units !use

into larger units in response to the acti"ity o! the group and the season o!the year.

!loodwater !arming: the practice o! planting crops in areas that are !loodede"ery year in the rainy season# the !loodwaters thus pro"iding natural

irrigation.

!ol$tales: traditional stories !ound in a culture &generally transmittedorally' that may or may not be based on !act.

!oraging: collecting wild plants and hunting wild animals !or subsistence.

!ormal inter"iew: an inter"iew that consists o! %uestions designed to elicit

speci!ic !acts# attitudes# and opinions.

!ormal organi-ation: a group that restricts membership and ma$es use o!



o!!icially designated positions and roles# !ormal rules and regulations# and

a bureaucratic structure.

!ormalism: a school o! economic anthropology which argues that i! the

concepts o! !ormal economic theory are broadened# they can ser"e as analytic

tools !or the study o! any economic system.

!ossil: the remains or traces o! any ancient organism.

!raternal polyandry: marriage o! one woman with a set o! brothers.

!ree morphemes: morphemes that are complete words when standing alone.

!reehold: pri"ate ownership o! property.

9rench structuralism: the theoretical school !ounded by Claude +e"i)traussthat !inds the $ey to cultural di"ersity in cogniti"e structures.

!unction: the contribution that a particular cultural trait ma$es to thelonge"ity o! the total culture.

!unctionalprocessual approach: see processual archaeology.

!unctionalism: the theory that all elements o! a culture are !unctional in

that they ser"e to satis!y culturally de!ined needs o! the people in thatsociety or re%uirements o! the society as a whole.

gender: a cultural construct consisting o! the set o! distinguishable

characteristics associated with each sex.

generali-ed reciprocity: in!ormal gi!t gi"ing !or which no accounts are $ept

and no immediate or speci!ic return is expected.

genetic determinism: the idea that all beha"ior# including "ery speci!ic

beha"ior# is biologically based# in contrast to cultural determinism.

genetics: the study o! the mechanisms o! heredity and biological "ariation.

grammar: the !ormal structure o! a language# comprising phonology#morphology# and syntax.

grammatical structure: the rules !or organi-ing elements o! a language intomeaning!ul utterances.

graphic arts: those !orms o! art such as painting and drawing.

great nglish "owel shi!t: a linguistic change during the iddle nglish



period# when spea$ers o! nglish began to alter the sounds o! "owels#

e"entually changing all "owel sounds in the language.

group: a number o! indi"iduals who interact on a regular basis and ha"e a

sense o! collecti"e identity.

habitat: the speci!ic area where a species li"es.

habitus: as de!ined by ourdieu# a culturally speci!ic way not only o! doingand spea$ing# but also o! seeing# thin$ing and categorising. 7abitus tends

to be8naturali-ed8 in that it is ta$en !or granted or assimilated into the

unconscious so that habitus is a necessary condition o! action and sharedunderstanding.

hegemony: preponderant in!luence or authority o! one indi"idual or social

group o"er another. heliocentric: a suncentered model o! the uni"erse.

hermeneutics: !ormal study o! methods o! interpretation. 9ollowing adamer#

the hermeneutical process is o!ten regarded as in"ol"ing complex interaction between the interpreting subect and the interpreted obect.

historical linguistics: the study o! how languages change o"er time.

historical particularism: a detailed descripti"e approach to anthropology

associated with 9ran- oas and his students# and designed as an alternati"eto the broad generali-ing approach !a"ored by anthropologists such as organ

and ylor.

holism: the philosophical "iew that no complex entity can be considered to be only the sum o! its parts( as a principle o! anthropology# the assumption

that any gi"en aspect o! human li!e is to be studied with an eye to its

relation to other aspects o! human li!e.

holocultural research: see crosscultural comparison.

7omo sapiens: the human species.

hori-ontal migration: a nomadic pattern characteri-ed by regular mo"ement

o"er a large area in search o! grass( also called plains migration.

horticulture: a simple !orm o! agriculture based on the wor$ing o! small

plots o! land without dra!t animals# plows# or irrigation( also calledextensi"e agriculture.

household: a domestic residential group whose members li"e together inintimate contact# rear children# share the proceeds o! labor and other

resources held in common# and in general cooperate on a daytoday basis.



7uman ;elations Area 9iles: &7;A9' a compilation o! reports on <<0 societiesthat are used !or crosscultural research.

huntergatherers: a collecti"e term !or the members o! smallscale mobile or

semisedentary societies# whose subsistence is mainly !ocused on huntinggame and gathering wild plants and !ruits( organi-ational structure is based

on bands with strong $inship ties.

hunting and gathering: in"ol"es the systematic collection o! "egetable

!oods# hunting o! game# and !ishing.

hypothesis: a statement that stipulates a relationship between a phenomenon

!or which the researcher see$s to account and one or more other phenomena.

hypotheticodeducti"e explanation: a !orm o! explanation based on the!ormulation o! hypotheses and the establishment !rom them by deduction o!

conse%uences which can then be tested against the archaeological data.

iconography: an important component o! cogniti"e archaeology# this in"ol"es

the study o! artistic representations which usually ha"e an o"ert religious

or ceremonial signi!icance( e.g. indi"idual deities may be distinguished#each with a special characteristic# such as corn with the corn god# or the

sun with a sun goddess etc.

incest taboo: the prohibition o! sexual intimacy between people de!ined as

close relati"es.

incest: sexual intercourse between closely related persons.

inclusi"e !itness: an indi"idual,s own !itness plus his or her e!!ect on the

!itness o! any relati"e.

independent !amily household: a single!amily unit that resides by itsel!#

apart !rom relati"es or adults o! other generations.

independent "ariable: the "ariable that can cause change in other "ariables.

indi"idualistic cult: the least complex !orm o! religious organi-ation inwhich each person is his or her own religious specialist.

induction: a method o! reasoning in which one proceeds by generali-ation!rom a series o! speci!ic obser"ations so as to deri"e general conclusions

&c!. deduction'.

ndustrial Age: a cultural stage characteri-ed by the !irst use o! complex

machinery# !actories# urbani-ation# and other economic and general social



changes !rom strictly agricultural societies.

industrial society: a society consisting o! largely urban populations that

engage in manu!acturing# commerce# and ser"ices.

industrialism: a !orm o! social organi-ation in which the population,s needs!or !ood# manu!actured products# transportation# and many ser"ices are met

through the use o! machines powered largely by !ossil !uel.

in!ormal inter"iew: an unstructured %uestionandanswer session in which the

in!ormant is encouraged to !ollow his or her own train o! thought# where"er

it may lead.

in!ormant: a person who pro"ides in!ormation about his or her culture to the

ethnographic !ieldwor$er.

inno"ation: the process o! adopting a new thing# idea# or beha"ior pattern

into a culture.

instinct: a geneticallydetermined pattern o! beha"ior that is

characteristic o! a species and is o!ten a response to speci!ic internal or

en"ironmental stimuli.

institutions: a society,s recurrent patterns o! acti"ity# such as religion#

art# a $inship system# law# and !amily li!e.

intensi!ication: an increase in the product deri"ed !rom a unit o! land or

labor.

intensi"e agriculture: a !orm o! agriculture that in"ol"es the use o! dra!t

animals or tractors# plows# and o!ten some !orm o! irrigation.

in"ention: any new thing# idea# or way o! beha"ing that emerges !rom within

a society.

in"entory o! resources: a catalogue o! the $inds o! materials the people

under in"estigation ta$e !rom their en"ironment in order to clothe# house#

and !eed themsel"es( the amount o! time they spend procuring these

materials( the %uantity o! !ood they collect or produce( and thedistribution o! the research population per unit o! land.

ati: local subcastes !ound in 7indu ndia.

oint !amily household: a complex !amily unit !ormed through polygyny or

polyandry or through the decision o! married siblings to li"e together m theabsence o! their parents.



uncture: the lin$age or separation o! syllables by pauses.

$in selection: the process whereby an indi"idual,s genes are selected by

"irtue o! that indi"idual,s increasing the chances that his or her $in,s

genes will be propagated into the next generation.

$in terminology: the terms that systematically designate distinctions

between relati"es o! di!!erent categories.

$indred: a collection o! bilateral $in.

$ula ring: a system o! ceremonial# noncompetiti"e# exchange practiced inelanesia to establish and rein!orce alliances. alinows$i,s study o! this

system was in!luential in shaping the anthropological concept o!

reciprocity.

language: a highly !lexible and complex system o! communication that allows

!or the exchange o! detailed in!ormation about both interior and exterior

conditions. As a creati"e and open system# new signals may be added and newideas transmitted.

law: a rule o! social conduct en!orced by sanctions administered by a particular source o! legitimate power.

legitimacy: the right to rule on the basis o! recogni-ed principles.

le"eling mechanism: a social or economic practice that ser"es to lessen

di!!erentials in wealth.

le"irate: a social custom under which a man has both the right to marry his

dead brother,s widow and the obligation to pro"ide !or her.

lexicon: in linguistics# the total number o! meaning!ul units =such as words

and a!!ixes' o! a language.

lexicostatistics: the study o! linguistic di"ergence between two languages#

based on changes in a list o! common "ocabulary terms and the sharing o!

common root words &see also glottochronology'.

lexigram: a symbol that represents a word.

li!e expectancy: the length o! time that a person can# on the a"erage#expect to li"e.

lineage: a unilineal descent group composed o! people who trace theirgenealogies through speci!ied lin$s to a common ancestor.



lineal relati"es: direct ascendants and descendants.

lingua !ranca: any language used as a common tongue by people who do not

spea$ one another,s nati"e language.

linguistic anthropology: a subdi"ision o! anthropology that is concerned primarily with unwritten languages &both prehistoric and modern'# with

"ariation within languages# and with the social uses o! language(

traditionally di"ided into three branches: descripti"e linguistics# thesystematic study o! the way language is constructed and used( historical

linguistics# the study o! the origin o! language in general and o! the

e"olution o! the languages people spea$ today( and sociolinguistics# thestudy o! the relationship between language and social relations.

linguistics: the scienti!ic study o! language.

lin$ed changes: those changes brought about in a culture when other

&interconnected' parts o! that same culture undergo change.

local races: subdi"isions o! geographical races. >ne type consists o!

partially isolated groups# usually remnants o! once larger units. he second

type includes !airly large subdi"isions that contain a degree o! "ariationwithin them.

low energy budget: an adapti"e strategy by which a minimum o! energy is usedto extract su!!icient resources !rom the en"ironment !or sur"i"al.

macro!amily: classi!icatory term in linguistics# re!erring to a group o!

language !amilies showing su!!icient similarities to suggest that they aregenetically related &e.g. the ?ostratic macro!amily is seen by some

linguists as a unit embracing the ndouropean# A!roAsiatic# *ralic#

Altaic# and @art"elian language !amilies'.

anichean: a belie"er in religious or philosophical dualism# !rom a

religious dualism originating in ersia in the third century A.3. andteaching the release o! the spirit !rom matter through strict sel!denial.

mano: a handheld stone used !or grinding "egetable !oods on a stone slab or

8metate8.

mapping: drawing a map showing the physical !eatures o! a community( usually

an early step in a !ield proect.

marginal people: those indi"iduals who are not in the mainstream o! their

society.

mar$et exchange: a mode o! exchange which implies both a speci!ic location

!or transactions and the sort o! social relations where bargaining can



occur. t usually in"ol"es a system o! pricema$ing through negotiation.

arxist anthropology: based principally on the writings o! @arl arx and

9riedrich ngels# this posits a materialist model o! societal change. Change

within a society is seen as the result o! contradictions arising between the

!orces o! production &technology' and the relations o! production &socialorgani-ation'. )uch contradictions are seen to emerge as a struggle between

distinct social classes. Current arxist anthropology !ocuses on the

trans!ormation o! social orders and the relationships between con!lict andcultural change.

material culture: the buildings# tools# and other arti!acts that includesany material item that has had cultural meaning ascribed to it# past and

present.

matriarchy: a society ruled by !emales.

matriclan: a group that claims but cannot trace their descent through the

!emale line !rom a common !emale ancestor.

matri!ocal !amily household: a !amily unit based solely on the bond between

a mother and her children.

matri!ocal: centered on the mother( said o! a !amily situation common to the

urban poor worldwide in which the woman and her relationships with herchildren and her !emale $in !orm the core o! !amily li!e.

matrilineage: a lineage whose members trace their genealogies through

speci!ied !emale lin$s to a common !emale ancestor.

matrilineal descent group: a unilineal descent group in which membership is

inherited through the maternal line.

matrilineal descent: descent traced through the !emale line.

matrilocal residence: residence o! a married couple with or near the wi!e,s

$in.

mechanical solidarity: a type o! social integration based on mutuality o!interests !ound in those societies with little di"ision o! labor.

moderni-ation the process o! social change whereby traditional societies

ta$e on the characteristics o! more industriali-ed societies.

mechani-ation: the replacement o! human and animal labor by mechanical

de"ices.

menarche: !irst menstruation.



mercantile system: a system o! ownership common in urope and elsewherea!ter the eighteenth century in which land became the pri"ate property o!

indi"idual owners.

methodological indi"idualism &or indi"idualistic method': approach to thestudy o! societies which assumes that thoughts and decisions do ha"e agency#

and that actions and shared institutions can be interpreted as the products

o! the decisions and actions o! indi"iduals.

microraces: arbitrary di"isions o! large local races.

model: a system o! hypothetical principles that represents the characters o!

a phenomenon and !rom which predictions can be made.

moiety: one o! the two subdi"isions o! a society with a dual organi-ationalstructure.

monocausal explanation: the attribution o! one cause to the existence o! a phenomenon.

monogamy: an exclusi"e union o! one man and one woman.

monotheism: belie! in one god.

moral economy approach: "iews peasants as being less concerned with

indi"idual pro!it than with the security o! $nowing they will be protected

in ad"ersity.

morphemes: the smallest units o! speech that con"ey meaning.

morphology: the study o! structure# including the system by which speechunits are combined to !orm meaning!ul words.

multicausal explanation: the attribution o! more than one cause to theexistence o! a phenomenon.

multilineal e"olutionism: an anthropological approach that !ocuses on the

de"elopment o! indi"idual cultures or populations without insisting that all!ollow the same e"olutionary pattern.

multi"ariate explanation: explanation o! culture change# e.g. the origin o!the state# which# in contrast to monocausal approaches# stresses the

interaction o! se"eral !actors operating simultaneously.

natural selection: the process whereby members o! a species who ha"e more

sur"i"ing o!!spring than others pass their traits on to the next generation#



whereas the less !a"ored do not do so to the same degree.

negati"e reciprocity: an exchange between enemies or strangers in which each

side tries to get the better end o! the bargain.

?eolithic: an >ld orld chronological period characteri-ed by thede"elopment o! agriculture and# hence# an increasing emphasis on sedentism.

neolocal residence: residence o! a married couple in a new householdestablished apart !rom both the husband,s and the wi!e,s $in.

networ$: a web o! social ties o! "arious $inds.

niche: the en"ironmental re%uirements and tolerances o! a species( sometimes

seen as a species, 8pro!ession8 or what it does to sur"i"e.

nomadic pastoralism: the strategy o! mo"ing the herds that are one,s

li"elihood !rom pasture to pasture as the seasons and circumstances re%uire.

nonunilineal descent group: a $in group in which descent may be traced

through either parent or through both.

non"erbal communication: the "arious means by which humans send and recei"e

messages without using words &e.g.# gestures# !acial expressions# touching'.

nou"eau riche: people with newly ac%uired wealth.

norm: the most !re%uent beha"ior that the members o! a group will show in a

speci!ic situation.

nuclear !amily household: an independent !amily unit !ormed by a monogamous

union.

nucleation: the tendency o! populations to cluster in settlements o!

increasing si-e and density.

open: a characteristic o! language that re!ers to the expansionary nature o!

language# which enables people to coin new labels !or new concepts and

obects.

ordeal: a pain!ul and possibly li!ethreatening test in!licted on someone

suspected o! a wrongdoing.

organic solidarity: the unity o! a society !ormed o! dissimilar# speciali-ed

groupings# each ha"ing a restricted !unction &3ur$heim'.

paleontologists: experts on animal li!e o! the distant past.



paleontology: that speciali-ed branch o! physical anthropology that analy-esthe emergence and subse%uent e"olution o! human physiology.

paradigmatic "iew: approach to science# de"eloped by homas @uhn# which

holds that science de"elops !rom a set o! assumptions &paradigm' and thatre"olutionary science ends with the acceptance o! a new paradigm which

ushers in a period o! normal science.

parallel cousins: mother,s sisters, children and !ather,s brothers,

children.

participant obser"ation: actual participation in a culture by an

in"estigator# who see$s to gam social acceptance in the society as a means

to ac%uire understanding o! her or his obser"ations.

pastoralism: a !orm o! social organi-ation based on herding.

patriclan: a group that claims but cannot brace their descent through themale line !rom a common male ancestor.

patrilineage: a lineage whose members brace their genealogies throughspeci!ied male lin$s to a common male ancestor.

patrilineal descent group: a unilineal descent group in which membership isinherited through the paternal line.

patrilineal descent: descent traced through the male line.

patrilocal postmarital residence: a custom where by a married couple resides

in the household or "icinity o! the husband,s parents.

patrilocal residence: residence o! a married couple with or near the

husband,s $in.

patrimonial system: a system o! ownership# !ollowed in northern and central

urope during the iddle Ages# in which land was controlled by !eudal lords

who held their domains by hereditary right.

patron client relationship: a mutually obligatory arrangement between an

indi"idual who has authority# social status# wealth# or some other personal

resource &the patron' and another person who bene!its !rom his or hersupport or in!luence &the client'.

peasants: !armers who lac$ control o"er the means o! their productiontheland# the other resources# and the capital they need to grow their crops#

and the labor they contribute to the process.



phoneme: a class o! sounds that di!!er slightly !rom one another but thatmay be substituted !or one another without any change o! meaning.

phonology: the sound system o! a language.

phratry: a group that typically consists o! se"eral clans that extend the

rights and obligations o! $inship to one another but retain distinct

identities.

physical anthropology: the scienti!ic study o! the physical characteristics#

"ariability# and e"olution o! the human organism.

physical en"ironment: the complex o! inanimate elements that surround an

organism.

pidgin: a language based on a simpli!ied grammar and lexicon ta$en !rom one

or more !ully de"eloped languages.

plastic arts: those !orms o! art such as sculpture# car"ing# pottery# and

wea"ing.

political economy approach: assumes that peasants rationally calculate the

ad"antages.

politics: the process by which a community,s decisions are made# rules !or

group beha"ior are established# competition !or positions o! leadership is

regulated# and the disrupti"e e!!ects o! disputes are minimi-ed.

polyandry: marriage between one woman and two or more men simultaneously.

polygamy: plural marriage.

polygyny: marriage between one man and two or more women simultaneously.

polytheism: belie! in many gods.

populationist "iewpoint: the concept that only indi"iduals ha"e reality and

that the type is illusory. )ince no two indi"iduals are exactly ali$e#"ariation underlies all existence.

positi"e eugenics: a method o! increasing the !re%uency o! desirable traits by encouraging reproduction by indi"iduals with these traits.

positi"ism: theoretical position that explanations must be empirically"eri!iable# that there are uni"ersal laws in the structure and

trans!ormation o! human institutions# and that theories which incorporate



indi"idualistic elements# such as minds# are not "eri!iable.

postpartum sex taboo: the prohibition o! a woman !rom ha"ing sexual

intercourse !or a speci!ied period o! time !ollowing the birth o! a child.

postmating mechanism: any !orm o! reproducti"e isolation that occurs a!termating.

potlatch: a !orm o! competiti"e gi"eaway !ound among the ?orthwest CoastAmerican ndians that ser"es as a mechanism !or both achie"ing social status

and distributing goods.

power: the ability to exert in!luence because one,s directi"es are bac$ed by

negati"e sanctions o! some sort.

prebendal system: a system o! ownership common in the centrali-ed bureaucratic states that arose in China# ogul ndia# eru# and the >ttoman

mpire# in which land was temporarily assigned to administrators or tax

collectors by the ruler.

prehistoric: the period prior to written records !or any gi"en area. n

?orth America synonymous with

prehistory: the period o! human history be!ore the ad"ent o! writing.

primatology: the study o! li"ing nonhuman primates.

primiti"e: a derogatory term used to describe smallscale# preliterate# and

technologically simple societies.

processors: huntergatherers who occupy one permanent settlement# !rom which

they mo"e to temporary camps to exploit seasonally a"ailable resources &a!oraging pattern'.

production: the con"ersion o! natural resources to usable !orms.

producti"e li!e span: the period bounded by the culturally established ages

at which a person ideally enters and retires !rom the wor$ !orce.

producti"ity: the amount o! wor$ a person accomplishes in a gi"en period o!

time.

pro!ane: the sphere o! the ordinary and routine( the e"eryday# natural

world.

proxemics: the study o! human perception and use o! space in communication

and social relations.



psychic unity: a concept popular among some nineteenthcenturyanthropologists that assumed that all people when operating under similar

circumstances will thin$ and beha"e in similar ways.

psychological anthropology: the study o! the relationship between cultureand indi"idual personality.

purdah: the uslim or 7indu practice o! $eeping women hidden !rom menoutside their own !amily( or# a curtain# "eil# or the li$e used !or such a

purpose.

race: a subgroup o! human population that shares a greater number o!

physical traits with one another than they do with those o! other subgroups.

random sample: a sample in which each indi"idual in a population has thesame chance o! being selected as any other.

ran$ed societies: societies in which there is une%ual access to prestige andstatus e.g. chie!doms and states.

rational economic decisions: the weighing o! a"ailable alternati"es andcalculation o! which will pro"ide the most bene!it at the least cost.

rebellion: an attempt within a society to disrupt the status %uo andredistribute the power and resources.

reciprocity: a mode o! exchange in which transactions ta$e place between

indi"iduals who are symmetrically placed# i.e. they are exchanging ase%uals# neither being in a dominant position.

redistribution: a mode o! exchange which implies the operation o! somecentral organi-ing authority. oods are recei"ed or appropriated by the

central authority# and subse%uently some o! them are sent by that authority

to other locations.

re!utationist "iew: approach which holds that science consists o! theories

about the empirical world# that its goal is to de"elop better theories#

which is achie"ed by !inding mista$es in existing theories# so that it iscrucial that theories be !alsi!iable &"ulnerable to error and open to

testing'. he approach# de"eloped by @arl opper# emphasi-es the important

o! testability as a component o! scienti!ic theories.

regulation o! access to resources: control o"er the use o! land# water# and

raw materials.

relati"ism: the concept that a cultural system can be "iewed only in terms



o! the principles# bac$ground# !rame o! re!erence# and history that

characteri-e it.

religion: a !ramewor$ o! belie!s relating to supernatural or superhuman

beings or !orces that transcend the e"eryday material world.

rent !und: the portion o! the peasant budget allocated to payment !or the

use o! land and e%uipment.

replacement !und: the portion o! the peasant budget allocated to the repair

or replacement o! materials depleted by normal wear and tear.

research design: systematic planning o! research# usually including &1' the

!ormulation o! a strategy to resol"e a particular %uestion( &2' the

collection and recording o! the e"idence( &<' the processing and analysis o!

these data and their interpretation( and &4' the publication o! results.

resilience: the ability o! an ecosystem to undergo change while still

maintaining its basic elements or relationships.

re"itali-ation mo"ements: conscious e!!orts to build an ideology that will

be rele"ant to changing cultural needs.

re"olution: an attempt to o"erthrow the existing !orm o! political

organi-ation# the principles o! economic production and distribution# andthe allocation o! social status.

rite o! solidarity: any ceremony per!ormed !or the sa$e o! enhancing the

le"el o! social integration among a group o! people.

rites o! intensi!ication: rituals intended either to bolster a natural

process necessary to sur"i"al or to rea!!irm the society,s commitment to a particular set o! "alues and belie!s.

rites o! passage: rituals that mar$ a person,s transition !rom one set o!socially identi!ied circumstances to another.

ritual: beha"ior that has become highly !ormali-ed and stereotyped.

role: a set o! beha"ioral expectations appropriate to an indi"idual,s social

position.

sacred: the sphere o! extraordinary phenomena associated with awesome

supernatural !orces.

sampling bias: the tendency o! a sample to exclude some members o! the

sampling uni"erse and o"errepresent others.



sampling error: in population genetics# the transmission o! anonrepresentati"e sample o! the gene pool o"er space or time due to chance.

)ee also !ounder principle and genetic dri!t.

sampling unit: the subelement o! the total population selected !orsampling.

sampling uni"erse: the largest entity to be described# o! which the sampleis a part.

sampling: the probabilistic# systematic# or udgmental selection o! asubelement !rom a larger population# with the aim o! approximating a

representati"e picture o! the whole.

sanction: any means used to en!orce compliance with the rules and norms o! asociety.

)apirhor! hypothesis: the notion that a person,s language shapes her orhis perception and "iew o! the world.

scarce resources: a central concept o! estern economics which assumes that people ha"e more wants than they ha"e resources to satis!y them.

science: a method o! reaming about the world by applying the principles o!the scienti!ic method# which includes ma$ing empirical obser"ations#

proposing hypotheses to explain those obser"ations# and testing those

hypotheses in "alid and reliable ways( also re!ers to the organi-ed body o!

$nowledge that results !rom scienti!ic study.

scienti!ic theory: a statement that postulates ordered relationships among

natural phenomena.

scientism: the belie! that there is one and only one method o! science and

that it alone con!ers legitimacy upon the conduct o! research.

sedentary pastoralism: animal husbandry that does not in"ol"e mobility.

sedentism: the practice o! establishing a permanent# yearround settlement.

segmentary lineage: a descent group in which minimal lineages are

encompassed as segments o! minor lineages# minor lineages as segments o!maor lineages# and so on.

segmentary societies: relati"ely small and autonomous groups# usually o!agriculturalists. who regulate their own a!!airs( in some cases# they may

oin together with other comparable segmentary societies to !orm a larger



ethnic unit.

selecti"e attention: unconscious !ocusing on and response to stimuli that

are percei"ed to be important# to the exclusion o! other stimuli.

selecti"e pressure: pressure placed by a selecti"e agent upon certainindi"iduals within the population that results in the change o! allele

!re%uencies in the next generation.

semantic domains: groups o! related categories o! meaning in a language.

semantics: the study o! the larger system o! meaning created by words.

senescence: old age.

serial monogamy: an exclusi"e union !ollowed by di"orce and remarriage# perhaps many times.

settlement pattern: the spatial distribution o! cultural acti"ities across alandscape at a gi"en moment in time.

sexual di"ision o! labor: the situation in which males and !emales in asociety per!orm di!!erent tas$s. n huntinggathering societies males

usually hunt while !emales usually gather wild "egetable !ood.

sexual strati!ication: the ran$ing o! people in a society according to sex.

shaman: a medium o! the supernatural who acts as a person in possession o!

uni%ue curing# di"ining# or witchcra!t capabilities.

shamanistic cult: that !orm o! religion in which parttime religious

specialists called shamans inter"ene with the deities on behal! o! theirclients.

sharecropping: wor$ing land owned by others !or a share o! the yield.

shi!ting culti"ation: &swidden# slash and burn' a !orm o! plant culti"ation

in which seeds are planted in the !ertile soil prepared by cutting and

burning the natural growth( relati"ely short periods o! culti"ation on theland are !ollowed by longer periods o! !allow.

slash and burn agriculture: a method o! !arming# also called swiddenagriculture# by which !ields are cleared# trees and brush are burned# and

the soil# !ertili-ed by the ash# is then planted.

sla"ery: a practice that permits some people within a society to own other

persons and to claim the right to their labor.



social anthropology: see cultural anthropology. B social category: acategory composed o! all people who share certain culturally identi!ied

characteristics.

social class: a category o! people who ha"e generally similar educationalhistories# ob opportunities# and social standing and who are conscious o!

their membership in a social group that is ran$ed in relation to others and

is replicated o"er generations.

social control: a !ramewor$ o! rewards and sanctions that channel beha"ior.

social di"ision o! labor: the process by which a society is !ormed by the

integration o! its smaller groups or subsets.

social mobility: the ability o! people to change their social positionwithin the society.

social norm: an expected !orm o! beha"ior.

social pressure: a means o! social control in which people who "enture o"er

the boundaries o! society,s rules are brought bac$ into line.

social strati!ication: the ran$ing o! subgroups in a society according to

wealth# power# and prestige..

sociali-ation: the process by which a person ac%uires the technical s$ills

o! his or her society# the $nowledge o! the $inds o! beha"ior that are

understood and acceptable in that society# and the attitudes and "alues thatma$e con!ormity with social rules personally meaning!ul# e"en grati!ying(

also termed enculturation.

society: a group o! interacting people who share a geographical region# a

sense o! common identity# and a common culture.

sociobiology: the study o! the biological control o! social beha"ior.

sociocultural anthropology: a branch o! anthropology that deals with

"ariations in patterns o! social interaction and di!!erences in cultural beha"ior.

sociolinguistics: a branch o! anthropological linguistics that studies howlanguage and culture are related and how language is used in di!!erent

social contexts.

sorcery: the per!ormance o! certain magical rites !or the purpose o! harming

other people.



sororate: a social custom under which a widower has the right to marry oneo! his deceased wi!e,s sisters# and her $in are obliged to pro"ide him with

a new wi!e.

speciali-ation: the limited range o! acti"ities in which a single indi"idualis li$ely to be engaged.

speciali-ed pastoralism: the adapti"e strategy o! exclusi"e reliance onanimal husbandry.

speech community: a socially distinct group that de"elops a dialect( a"ariety o! language that di"erges !rom the national language in "ocabulary#

pronunciation# and grammar.

spheres o! exchange: the modes o! exchange reciprocity# redistribution#and mar$et exchange that apply to particular goods or in particular

situations.

spirit possession: the supposed control o! a person,s beha"ior by a

supernatural spirit that has entered the body.

stability: the ability o! an ecosystem to return to e%uilibrium a!ter

disturbances.

state: a term used to describe a social !ormation de!ined by distinct

territorial boundedness# and characteri-ed by strong central go"ernment in

which the operation o! political power is sanctioned by legitimate !orce. n

cultural e"olutionist models# it ran$s second only to the empire as the mostcomplex societal de"elopment stage.

statistical analysis: the application o! probability theory to %uanti!ieddescripti"e data.

status: a position in a pattern o! reciprocal beha"ior.

strati!ication: the di"ision o! a society into groups that ha"e "arying

degrees o! access to resources and power.

strati!ied sample: a sample obtained by the process o! di"iding a population

into categories representing distincti"e characteristics and then selecting

a random sample !rom each category.

strati!ied society: a society in which extensi"e subpopulations are accorded

di!!erential treatment.

structural !unctionalism: the theory that the central !unction o! the



"arious aspects o! a society is to maintain the social structurethe

society,s pattern o! social relations and institutions.

structuralist approaches: interpretations which stress that human actions

ate guided by belie!s and symbolic concepts# and that underlying these ate

structures o! thought which !ind expression in "arious !orms. he properobect o! study is there!ore to unco"er the structures o! thought and to

study their in!luence in shaping the ideas in the minds o! the human actors

who created the archaeological record.

structured inter"iew: an ethnographic datagathering techni%ue in which

large numbers o! respondents are as$ed a set o! speci!ic %uestions.

substanti"ism: a school o! economic anthropology that see$s to understand

economic processes as the maintenance o! an entire cultural order.

supernatural belie!s: a set o! belie!s !ound in all societies that transcend

the natural# obser"able world.

sur!ace structure: the particular arrangement o! words that we hear or read.

symbol: something that can represent something distant !rom it in time andspace.

synchronic studies: rely on research that does not ma$e use o! or control!or the e!!ects o! the passage o! time.

synchronic: re!erring to phenomena considered at a single point in time(

i.e. an approach which is not primarily concerned with change &c!.diachronic'.

syntax: the arrangement o! words into meaning!ul utterances.

synthetic theory o! e"olution: the theory o! e"olution that !uses 3arwin,s

concept o! natural selection with in!ormation !rom the !ields o! genetics#mathematics# embryology# paleontology# animal beha"ior# and other

disciplines.

system: a series o! interrelated parts wherein a change in one part bringsabout changes in all parts.

systematic sampling: a !orm o! probabilistic sampling employing a grid o!e%ually spaced locations( e.g. selecting e"ery other s%uare. his method o!

regular spacing runs the ris$ o! missing &or hitting' e"ery single example

i! the distribution itsel! is regularly spaced.

terms o! address: the terms people use when they address their $in directly.



terms o! re!erence: the terms by which people re!er to their $in when theyspea$ about them in the third person.

territory: an area that a group de!ends against other members o! its own

species.

theism: belie! in one or more gods o! extrahuman origin.

theory: a step in the scienti!ic method in which a statement is generated on

the basis o! highly con!irmed hypotheses and is used to generali-e about

conditions not yet tested.

totem: a plant or animal whose name is adopted by a clan and that holds a

special signi!icance !or its members# usually related to their mythical

ancestry.

trans!ormational grammar: ?oam Choms$y,s theory o! linguistics# based on the

!act that a single meaning may be expressed in di!!erent !orms.

trans!ormational rules: according to trans!ormational grammar# the

techni%ues by which deep structure is translated into sur!ace structure.

transhumance: seasonal mo"ement o! li"estoc$ between upland and lowland

pastures.

tra"elers: huntergatherers who !ollow a regular yearly round# occupying a

series o! campsites !or brie! periods when a "alued resource is a"ailable in

the "icinity o! each site &a logistical pattern'.

tribe: a descent and $inshipbased group in which subgroups are clearly

lin$ed to one another# with the potential o! uniting a large number o! localgroups !or common de!ense or war!are. *nli$e bands# tribes are usually

settled !armers# though they also include nomadic pastoral groups whose

economy is based on exploitation o! li"estoc$. ndi"idual communities tendto be integrated into the larger society through $inship ties.

unilineal descent group: a $in group in which membership is inherited only

through either the paternal or the maternal line# as the society dictates.

unilineal e"olution: a pattern o! cultural progress through a se%uence o!

e"olutionary stages( the basic premise o! the early cultural e"olutionists.

unstructured inter"iew: an ethnographic datagathering techni%ue usually

used in the early stages o! one,s !ieldwor$ in which inter"iewees are as$edto respond to broad# openended %uestions.



urbani-ation: the proportionate rise in the number o! people li"ing in

cities in comparison to the number li"ing in rural areas.

urbani-ed society: a society in which a maority o! people li"e in cities.

"ariable: any property that may be displayed in di!!erent !orms.

"arnas caste: groups in 7indu ndia associated with certain occupations.

water table: the le"el o! water under the earth.

wealth: the accumulation o! material obects that ha"e "alue within asociety.

witchcra!t: use o! religious ritual to control# exploit# or inure

unsuspecting# or at least uncooperating# other persons.

wor$day: the culturally established number o! hours that a person ideally

spends at wor$ each day.

antropologia cultural - glossário

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