Adaptive Strategies and Societies PDF

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This professor is no longer at OU but these are notes directly from the book and lectures ...

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anthro 2/3+2/10 2/3 • Adaptive Strategies (economics) ◦ typology of economics ▪ foraging (hunter gatherer) ▪ horticulture ▪ agriculture ▪ pastoralism ▪ industrialism ◦ hunter gatherers- foraging economies relied on nature to make their living ▪ ****not engaged in food production**** ▪ they move around the landscape, don’t stay in the same spot ▪ H-G mobility patterns ▪ typically, foraging groups are highly mobile ▪ residential mobility= foragers ▪ logistic mobility= collectors ◦ cultivation ▪ horticulture- cultivation that makes intensive use of none of the factors of production; lands, labor, capital, and machinery ▪ agriculture- cultivation that requires more labor than horticulture does; uses land intensively and continuously ▪ costs and benefits of agriculture: ▪ long-term yield per area is far greater and more dependable than horticulture ▪ agricultural societies tend to be more densely populated than horticultural ones ▪ higher labor costs ▪ often associates with market economies ▪ peasants- small-scale agriculturalists who live in nonindustrial states and have rent obligations ◦ pastoralism ▪ pastoralists- herders whose activities focus on such domesticated animals as cattle, sheep, goats, camels, and yaks ▪ before the Industrial Revolution, pastoralism was almost totally confined to Old World ▪ pastoral nomadism- members of pastoral society follow heard throughout the year ▪ transhumant pastoralism- part of group moves with heard; most stay in home village ▪ division of labor: division of economic labor related to age and

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gender is a cultural universal, but specific tasks assigned to each sex and age vary mode of production- way of organizing production distribution, exchange 3 principles orienting exchanges: market principle -buying, selling, and valuation are based on supply and demand (bargaining is characteristic) redistribution- flow of goods into a center, then back out; characteristic of chiefdoms reciprocity- exchange between social equals, normally related by kinship, marriage, or close personal ties societies usually dominate by one balanced reciprocity- midpoint on reciprocity continuum, between generalized and negative reciprocity generalized reciprocity- exchanges among closest in social circle negative reciprocity- winner and loser, potentially negative outcome coexistence of exchange principles: in North America, the market principle governs most exchanges

◦ ▪ 2/10 • political organization- the patterned ways in which power is legitimately used in a society to regulate behavior • social differentiation- the relative access individuals and groups have to basic material resources, wealth, power, and prestige • social complexity- the number of groups and their interrelationships in a society • egalitarian societies- no individual or group has more access to resources, power, or prestige than any other ◦ no fixed number of social positions for which individuals must compete ◦ typically associated with bands and tribes • ranked society- institutionalized differences in prestige but no restrictions on access to basic resources ◦ individuals obtain what they need to survive through their kinship group ◦ associated with horticulture or pastoral societies with a surplus of food ◦ associated with chiefdoms • stratified society- formal, permanent, social and economic inequality. characterized by differences in standard of living, security, prestige and political power ◦ economically organized by market systems

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based on intensive cultivation(agriculture) and market/industrial economies associated with formal of political organization called the state power and authority power- refers to ability to exercise one’s will over others authority- formal, socially approved use of power political anthropology: ideology and processes political ideology- the shared beliefs and values that legitimate the distribution and use of power in a particular society political process- the ways in which individuals and groups use power to achieve public goals sources of power and authority leadership- the ability to direct an enterprise or action manipulation of kinship networks control over distribution of wealth political movements based on charisma social control of behavior- ways societies deal with abnormal behavior and conflict: gossip and ridicule fear of witchcraft accusations law law is found in every society universality of law law addresses conflicts that would otherwise disrupt community life in complex societies, functions of law belong to legal institutions such as courts codified laws band societies small groups of people (20-50 people) related by blood or marriage live together and are loosely associated with a territory in which they forage egalitarian band societies: leadership decision-making is by consensus leaders are older men and women leaders cannot enforce their decisions; they can only persuade sharing and generosity are important sources of respect band societies: social order and conflict resolution maintained by gossip, ridicule, and avoidance violations of norms are forbidden

• tribal societies- members consider themselves descended from the same ancestor ◦ found primarily among pastoralists and horticulturalists ◦ egalitarian ◦ leadership: usually a self-made leader who gains power through personal achievements rather than through political office ▪ Big Men, Big Women- people in the community with achieved status • tribal societies: political integration ◦ the local segments of a tribe are integrated in various ways: ▪ age set- group of people of similar age and sex who move through some or all of life’s stages together ▪ age grade- specialized associations based on age which gratify a society by seniority ▪ segmentary lineage system- a form of socio-political organization in which multiple descent groups form at different levels and function in different contexts • tribal societies: warfare ◦ compared to band societies, tribal societies have a high degree of warfare ◦ tribal warfare may be linked to the need to balance population and resources • chiefdom societies ◦ characteristics: ▪ monumental architecture ▪ distinct ceremonial centers ▪ elaborate grave goods reflect high social status ▪ larger settlements by smaller villages ▪ cultivators and pastoralists • chiefdom society: leadership ◦ chiefdoms have centralized leaderships; they are not acephalous, like tribes (lacking a government lead) ◦ chiefdoms are based on a tributary mode of exchange- coerced redistribution • state societies- central government with monopoly over the use of force ◦ more populous, heterogeneous, and powerful than other political organizations ◦ able to organize large populations for coordinated action ◦ defend against external threats • pg. 307 chart • government- an interrelated set of status roles that have the authority to

coordinate and regulate behavior within a society • nations- people who share a common territory, history and identity ◦ nation-state- when the state political system aligns and is enforced by the nation #...