anthr reading
What is race in anthropology?
Race is a social idea used to group people based on assumed physical differences, not a true biological division of humanity.
Why is race not a biological fact?
Because humans do not fall into clear biological races, and genetic variation within so-called racial groups is often greater than between them.
If race is not biological, why does it still matter?
Because people believe in it, build institutions around it, and use it to justify inequality and different treatment.
What does it mean to say race is a socio-cultural construct?
It means race was created by societies and given meaning through history, politics, and culture rather than biology.
What is racism?
Racism is prejudice, discrimination, or unequal treatment based on race or perceived racial differences.
How is racism connected to power?
Racism is not just personal bias; it also works through social systems, institutions, and unequal access to resources and status.
What is scientific racism?
Scientific racism is the false use of science to claim that some races are naturally superior or inferior to others.
Why is scientific racism important to remember?
Because it helped justify slavery, colonialism, segregation, and inequality by pretending racism was scientific truth.
What is eugenics?
Eugenics is the idea that society should control reproduction to increase people with “desired” traits and reduce people with “undesired” traits.
Why was eugenics harmful?
It led to forced sterilization, discrimination, and the belief that some lives were worth more than others.
What is ethnicity?
Ethnicity is a social identity based on shared culture, language, history, ancestry, and traditions.
How is ethnicity different from race?
Ethnicity is based mainly on cultural traits, while race is wrongly assumed to be based on biology and physical appearance.
Can ethnicity change?
Yes, ethnicity can shift over time because people may adopt new cultural practices, languages, or identities.
What is language?
Language is a structured system of symbols and rules humans use to create and communicate meaning.
How is language different from communication?
Communication is any way of sending information, but language is a specific symbolic system with grammar and shared meaning.
Why is language both biological and cultural?
Humans are biologically capable of language, but the actual language we speak is learned through culture.
What is a sign?
A sign is anything that stands for or points to something else.
What is a symbol?
A symbol is a type of sign whose meaning is learned and based on social agreement, not natural connection.
How are symbols different from other signs?
Symbols are arbitrary and meaningful because people agree on them, while other signs may have a direct or natural link to what they mean.
What is the signifier?
The signifier is the form of the sign, such as a word, sound, or image.
What is the signified?
The signified is the idea or concept that the sign refers to.
What is the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis?
It is the idea that language influences how people think and understand the world.
Does the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis say language completely controls thought?
No, the stronger version says language determines thought, but the more accepted version says language influences thought.
Why is the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis important?
It shows that language is not just a tool for expression; it can shape perception, categories, and worldview.
What is non-verbal communication?
Non-verbal communication is communication without words, such as gestures, posture, facial expressions, and use of space.
What is paralanguage?
Paralanguage is the non-word part of speech, like tone, pitch, volume, speed, and emotion in the voice.
What is silent language?
Silent language refers to non-verbal cultural cues like body language, personal space, timing, and gestures.
What is power?
Power is the ability to influence, control, or direct the behavior and choices of others.
How is politics related to power?
Politics is about how power is organized, used, negotiated, and challenged in society.
What is coercive power?
Coercive power is power based on force, threats, or punishment.
What is persuasive power?
Persuasive power is power based on influence, agreement, or convincing others.
What is internalized control?
Internalized control happens when people follow rules because they accept them as normal or right.
What is externalized control?
Externalized control happens when rules are enforced from outside through pressure, punishment, or authority.
What is political organization?
Political organization is the way a society arranges leadership, decision-making, order, and conflict resolution.
What is a band?
A band is a small, flexible, usually foraging group with informal leadership and little social hierarchy.
What is a tribe?
A tribe is a larger, usually uncentralized society made of kin groups, villages, or lineages with informal leaders.
What is a chiefdom?
A chiefdom is a centralized political system led by a chief with inherited authority and some social ranking.
What is a state?
A state is a centralized political system with formal laws, government institutions, and authority over a territory.
Who proposed the classification of bands, tribes, chiefdoms, and states?
Elman Service.
Why is Elman Service important?
He created a major anthropological classification system for comparing political organization.
What is social stratification?
Social stratification is the unequal ranking of people into layers based on wealth, power, prestige, or status.
What is class?
Class is a form of social stratification based mainly on economic position and is relatively more flexible.
What is caste?
Caste is a rigid hereditary system of social ranking where status is assigned at birth and mobility is very limited.
What are collective identities?
Collective identities are shared identities formed through belonging to a group, such as nation, ethnicity, religion, or community.
How are identities constructed?
Identities are constructed through social interaction, culture, history, symbols, and shared experiences.
What is an imagined community?
An imagined community is a group, especially a nation, whose members feel connected even though they will never know most other members personally.
Why are communities called imagined?
Because the sense of belonging is socially created through symbols, stories, media, and shared identity.
What is the sense of self?
The sense of self is a person’s understanding of who they are as an individual and social being.
How are communities communicated?
Communities are communicated through language, media, rituals, symbols, shared history, and everyday social practices.
What is sex?
Sex refers to biological traits such as chromosomes, hormones, reproductive organs, and anatomy.
What is gender?
Gender refers to the social and cultural meanings, roles, behaviors, and expectations associated with being male, female, or another identity.
What is the main difference between sex and gender?
Sex is biological, while gender is socially and culturally constructed.
What are gender roles?
Gender roles are the expected behaviors, duties, and traits a society assigns to people based on gender.
What does performing gender mean?
Performing gender means expressing gender through behavior, clothing, speech, and actions in ways society recognizes.
Can gender vary across cultures?
Yes, different cultures define and express gender in different ways.
What does it mean that some genders exist outside the binary?
It means not all societies see gender as only male or female, and some recognize additional gender categories.
Why is gender not always binary?
Because human identities and cultural systems are more complex than just two categories.
What is sexuality?
Sexuality refers to how people experience desire, intimacy, attraction, and sexual expression.
What is sexual orientation?
Sexual orientation is the pattern of a person’s emotional, romantic, or sexual attraction to others.
How is sexual orientation different from gender?
Gender is about identity and social role, while sexual orientation is about attraction.
What are food-getting strategies?
Food-getting strategies are the ways people obtain food, such as foraging or producing it.
What is food foraging?
Food foraging is getting food by hunting, fishing, and gathering naturally available resources.
What is food production?
Food production is growing plants or raising animals for food.
What is horticulture?
Horticulture is small-scale farming using simple tools and human labor.
What is pastoralism?
Pastoralism is a food-producing strategy based on herding domesticated animals.
What is domestication?
Domestication is the process by which humans selectively breed plants and animals so they become useful and dependent on humans.
Why was plant domestication important?
It created more stable food supplies, supported larger populations, and helped lead to permanent settlements.
Why was animal domestication important?
It provided food, labor, transport, clothing materials, and helped transform human societies.
When did domestication begin?
It began around 10,000 to 12,000 years ago in different parts of the world.
Where did domestication happen?
It happened in several world regions, including the Fertile Crescent, East Asia, Africa, and the Americas.
What are the three main economic activities in anthropology?
Production, distribution, and consumption.
What is production?
Production is the process of creating or obtaining goods and resources.
What is distribution?
Distribution is the movement or sharing of goods and resources among people.
What is consumption?
Consumption is the use of goods and resources.
What are modes of exchange?
Modes of exchange are the different ways goods and services move between people, such as reciprocity, redistribution, and market exchange.
What is reciprocity?
Reciprocity is the exchange of goods or services between people or groups with an expectation of return.
What is redistribution?
Redistribution is when goods are collected by a central figure or institution and then handed out again.
What is market exchange?
Market exchange is the buying and selling of goods based on prices, money, and supply and demand.
How is a gift different from money in exchange?
A gift often creates social relationships and obligations, while money makes exchange more impersonal and calculated.
What is potlatch?
Potlatch is a ceremonial feast and gift-giving system where wealth is distributed or destroyed to show status, generosity, and social power.
Why is potlatch important in anthropology?
It shows that economic exchange is not only about profit, but also about prestige, relationships, and cultural meaning.
How are economy and inequality connected?
The way resources are produced and distributed affects who has wealth, power, and opportunities.
Why do anthropologists study inequality?
Because inequality shapes everyday life, social status, access to resources, and relationships between groups.