feb19

Chapter 7 –Methods of Analysis: 

Chapter 7 – Methods of Analysis Left: Margaret Mead in Samoa, c. 1920 Right: Bronislaw Malinowski in Papua New Guinea, c. 1915

Today’s Objectives: 

Today’s Objectives How do cultural anthropologists begin and carry out their research? What aspects of culture do cultural anthropologists attempt to discover? Be able to explain the difference between an emic and etic perspective. Review for test on Monday.

Variables Studied - Subsistence: 

Variables Studied - Subsistence All humans have to eat The way we choose to eat reflects cultural and environmental choices. Cultural ecology Biomes (geographic area of climate/food) Subsistence patterns: Foraging or hunting-and-gathering (2mya) Horticulture Pastoralism Intensive agriculture Top: Hunting Bottom: Gathering

Variables Studied - Demography: 

Variables Studied - Demography The study of population and its relationship to society. Demographic anthropology is an important subfield. Fertility – fecundity, birth rate Mortality – life expectancy, mortality rates Migration – push and pull factors Carrying capacity – max population per biome

Variables Studied - Technology: 

Variables Studied - Technology All human techniques and methods of reaching a specific subsistence goal or of modifying or controlling the natural environment. Goods – things (material culture) Services – actions (non-material culture) Cultural materialism

Variables Studied - Economy: 

Variables Studied - Economy Social relationships that organize production, exchange, and consumption of goods and services. Production - creation Exchange - transfer Consumption – use Division of labor Three different approaches: Formalist, substantivist, modern

Variables Studied – Social Structure: 

Variables Studied – Social Structure Status Ascribed versus achieved Role Social stratification The Family Nuclear versus extended Marriage Endogamy versus exogamy Monogamy versus polygamy Polyandry and polygyny Top: Nuclear Left: Extended Bottom: Polygynous

Variables Studied – Social Structure: 

Variables Studied – Social Structure Gender Sex versus gender Enculturation Division of labor Status Age Enculturation Division of labor Status – stratification, age grades Rites of passage Van Gennep – separation, marginalization, aggregation Zuni berdache

Variables Studied – Political Org.: 

Variables Studied – Political Org. Political Power Based on authority Different systems (Service): Band – small, close kin relationships Tribe – early political systems Chiefdom – centralized authority over economic, social, religious aspects State – centralized bureaucracy with power and authority over large areas

Variables Studied – Political Org.: 

Variables Studied – Political Org. Decision-making Field Political arena Warfare and feuds Law and social control Ethos Moral code Sanctions

Variables Studied - Religion: 

Variables Studied - Religion Often studied using a symbolic approach Myths – assumed knowledge Rituals – repetitive behaviors that communicate sacred symbols Specialists – shamans, priests, etc. Movements Cognition Pascal Boyer – How does religion make sense to people?

Cross-Cultural Research: 

Cross-Cultural Research AKA ethnological research HRAF – Human Relations Area Files Ethnographic data on 300 societies Initiated by G.P. Murdock from Yale Help anthropologists figure out what’s universal and what’s culture-specific. Problems: Faulty reporting Hard to understand change

Homework 1 – Interview: 

Homework 1 – Interview Due Wednesday, 2/26/03 Practice your interviewing skills Find someone (preferably from another culture) willing to be interviewed Hold a brief, informal (but structured) interview about: Differences in language (sounds, cliches, phonemes, etc.) and/or Differences in culture (behavior, dress, food, etc.) Write a brief (1 to 2 pages double spaced) summary of what you learned about the other person and his/her culture.

Chapter 8 –Band Societies: 

Chapter 8 – Band Societies Aborigines (native Australians) dancing

Today’s Objectives: 

Today’s Objectives What are foraging societies? What are the characteristics of the five main aspects of cultural investigation in these societies? Demography Technology Social organization Political organization Religion

Bands - Definition: 

Bands - Definition Basic social, economic, and political unit of hunter-gatherer societies Subsistence is based on animals and vegetation Food production developed 12,000 years ago Band societies as old as 1 million years Bands existed in most of the world environments Bands are models for anthropologists of Palaeolithic societies

Modern Foragers: 

Modern Foragers Most modern bands live in marginal environments Some have contact with agricultural societies Nisa – The !Kung have contact with Hereros, a group that pastures cattle (p. 23) Probably unlike the band societies of the past because of contact Above: Herero women in Namibia Below: !Kung family in Namibia

Modern Foragers - Environments: 

Modern Foragers - Environments Figure 8.1 – page 171 Deserts !Kung San or Ju/’hoansi Estimated population of around 100,000 Richard Lee – 1960s to 1990s Gatherer-hunters 60-80% diet from nuts, fruits; 20-30% from meat 2-3 days of work each week for food procurement Australian aborigines (Arunta) 4-5 hours per day gathering food Women/children gather, men hunt !Kung man hunting

Modern Foragers - Environments: 

Modern Foragers - Environments Tropical Rain Forests Mbuti Pygmies of Congo Live in Ituri rain forest At least 5,000 years Change around 450 years ago Hunt/gather division of labor More collective hunting Semang of Malaysia Mbuti father and child

Modern Foragers - Environments: 

Modern Foragers - Environments Arctic Eskimo (or Inuit) Culture dated to 2500 BC Primarily hunting/meat diet Men and women gather The Fast Runner Inuit movie about a native Inuit legend Watch, write 2-3 pages for extra credit (5%) Inuit caribou hunt, 1936

Modern Foragers - Definitions: 

Modern Foragers - Definitions Mobility: as food and other resources become scarce, groups move to other areas. Optimal foraging theory: used to predict what foods the foragers should exploit to make the most efficient use of time and energy

Demography: 

Demography Population density is low Fissioning – leaving the group Like the Yanomamö of Brazil Sometimes fusion occurs too Infanticide Recall Nisa’s story of her brother’s birth (pages 53-68) Fertility rates Slow rate of population growth because of nutrition, stress, and breast-feeding Also low because of sexual abstinence, abortion (Nisa p.178), infanticide, and delayed marriage

Technology: 

Technology Not limited technology, but functional for the particular environment Technology also contains cultural knowledge Desert: Hunting: small bows and arrows, poison Gathering: specialized knowledge, eggshells Tropical: Hunting: traps, snares, and nets; blowgun; poison Gathering: knowledge of seasons Arctic: Hunting: boats, canoes, dogsleds, lances, spears, bows and arrows, harpoons, traps, lamps Gathering: not as important to the diet

Economics: 

Economics Reciprocal economic system Based on exchanges among family groups Reciprocity = sharing of goods and services in the society No capacity for surplus = need for reciprocity Types of reciprocity: Generalized – exchanges will balance out eventually; helps foster an egalitarian society (!Kung) Balanced – expectation of immediate return; more like barter or trade Negative – getting something for nothing

Economics and Property: 

Economics and Property Collective ownership Morgan thought that band societies were communistic Differing forms of property rights Usually extremely flexible in hunting-gathering groups (don’t deny others water) Other things are owned personally: pets, ornaments, clothing, bows, knives, etc.

“Affluent” Societies: 

“Affluent” Societies Original affluent societies Richard Lee found that the !Kung: Had an adequate and reliable food base Had a nutritionally adequate diet Expended as little effort as required to provide for their basic needs Had a longer life expectancy than originally thought (10% over 60) Physically and mentally disabled cared for by community Also called leisured societies Don’t store food or maintain many personal objects Idea is challenged by other anthropologists !Kung spend much time making weapons, tools, clothing Time-allocation studies show that foragers spend a lot of time preparing to hunt and gather Overall caloric intake may be inadequate

Social Organization: 

Social Organization Families Nuclear family and the band are the two basic units of social organization. Nuclear family easiest to relocate. Bands contain up to 4 or 5 nuclear families. People can move in and out of bands.

Social Organization: 

Social Organization Marriage and Kinship Mostly monogamous marriages See Nisa for examples of polygynous ones Typically women are young (12-14) and men are older (18-25) at betrothal Rules Cross-cousin marriage Patrilocal residence Brideservice among the !Kung Divorce Frequent among the !Kung (see Nisa for examples)

Social Organization: 

Social Organization Gender Usually examined along with subsistence, economic, and political patterns Division of labor: gather, hunt – Why? = stronger; = bear, nurse kids , children = safer near camp More flexible in societies other than !Kung Female status  provide much food = good status Eskimos tend to be more patriarchal as  provide more food from hunting

Social Organization: 

Social Organization Age Rites of passage (into adulthood) Mbuti bopi and puberty ritual !Kung first menarche ritual (Nisa, pp. 162-164) Elderly Old age = change in food procurement potential (45 to 75 years old) Elderly have relatively high status (kinship) More experience, more memory Babysitting

Political Organization: 

Political Organization Band is the basic political unit Each band is politically independent, society is egalitarian Leaders are usually male, command by persuasion and influence not by coersion or denying resources Band can “disown” a leader Leadership is not permanent or hereditary Leaders do not get power or wealth, just responsibility and sometimes prestige

Political Organization: 

Political Organization Warfare and Violence 64% of foragers engage in warfare at least once every two years Sporadic violence, not continuous fighting Can’t interrupt subsistence activities long No standing armies, specialized warriors Recall the Yanomamö war display No male-status hierarchy, violence not culturally valued, no private property Conflict Resolution Usually ridicule, loose sanctions, move to another group Eskimo song duel

Religion: 

Religion Oral traditions associated with nature No ties to historical events Form of animism Also concepts of god or gods Examples: Aborigine dreamtime Eskimo religion - shamanism

Art and Music: 

Art and Music Art is closely tied to nature and also has religious significance Music is generally either recreational or religious Mbuti water music Inuit music Tiwi art