...The San ANT 101 Bruce Carruthers 16 July 2012 Kinship is an important part of survival, especially for foraging societies. Foraging, or hunting and gathering, is the oldest form of human society. The San, or “Bushman”, are one of the most known communities and they date back thousands of years. I will identify and describe the kinship system of the San, and I will describe how the culture is impacted by their kinship. Last, I will compare the San to my own society and the impact kinship has in my own life. The San have many kinship systems that are important to insure their continued existence. I will discuss the kinship system as it is related to food, conflict, and marriage. The San are hunters and gathers and food is part of surviving. The San follow a form of exchange in which no tabs are kept, or generalized reciprocity (Nowak & Laird, 2010). This means that all the food is collected and distributed equally through out the group. This means that no one will go hungry. This has a lot of impact on their culture as well. It prevents an excess of wealth, so no one is rich or poor. It insures everyone is healthy and reinforces social ties with their kin. “Kinship is the central organizing principle” (Nowak & Laird, 2010, Managing conflict, para. 1). There is limited property and everyone shares food so there are limited major conflicts among the San. Since the San’s kinships are so strong, arguments are the extent of their conflict...
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...The San Kinship System and Its Impact Upon San Culture Terry Barnes ANT 101 Prof. Cecil Hicks November 29, 2011 The San Kinship System and the It’s Impact upon San Culture The San Culture is interesting, and its kinship bbehaviors are varied. In this paper, I will first share information about the hunters and gathers know as the San or Bushman who live in the of the Kalahari Desert in South Africa. Second, I will Identify and describe their kinship system, briefly describe their culture, and identify three specific examples of how the San’s Kinship System impacts the way they behave, think, act, and live. Lastly, I will compare and contrast a specific San Kinship behavior to American society, and give details that describe whether or not this same behavior has an impact on my life. In Cultural Anthropology, by Nowark and Laid (2010), I learned about the unique aspects and structure of the San Kinship System. Kinship involves how people classify each other, the rules that affect people's behavior, and people's actual behavior. In the San kinship system, both family and kinship relationships are recognized and valued through the practice of marriage, sharing, and generalized reciprocity. Kinship also means time for socializing with kin and friends. Meals are prepared with the items from everyone’s hunting and gathering which allows everyone to share equally in what has been made available. Food is distributed until everyone is sufficiently supplied. Generalized...
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...March 14, 2013 Anthropology 101 Dr.Tovar As far back as time goes many old cultures adapted a lifestyle of hunting and gathering food for themselves in order to survive. This was known as a foraging and it is one of the oldest methods of survival for small groups of tribes everywhere. However, this method had its good days and bad days. Sometimes hunters could bring back enough food to last them for a few days at a time, and then sometimes they wouldn’t find anything at all. So, the bond of kinship began to form amongst the tribe. The premise of a kinship bond was to share your goods and food with someone less fortunate. For example, in the San tribe if a group of hunters went out and only some came back with food, the other hunters would share some of their spoils as to help one another out. So as you can see and will find out, this lifestyle and kinship bond has the ability to help the San tribes prosper a long time. The San tribes of southern Africa live in the Kalahari Desert and have so for a long time thriving through foraging. Their concepts and principals of kinship ties are so straightforward and understandable that it is easy to see why they have flourished for centuries. Specific examples of kinship are shown through how this tribe thinks, how they act, and how they live their lives. When it comes to living day by day, the San use their women to gather all sorts of berries, nuts, and fruits to bring to eat while the men go and bring back the meat. Although they...
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...San, also referred to as Bushmen, are part of the foraging community that resides in Southwest Africa. The San culture is a foraging society and base their kinship from the work that each person contributes. Foraging is the act of looking and searching for food or supplies necessary to survive. Groups of San are usually small in numbers and members relocate frequently to collect food, follow animal migration patterns, and replenish water resources. Since foragers have to move multiple times a year they have a significant lack of material goods, thereby helping promote a non-materialistic culture, fostering a level of contentment with what they have. The women cherish their kinship by sharing time collecting and gathering food for themselves and most importantly their family. The women have a great bond together because they spend so much time together daily. The time that they spend together also makes the long search for food and supplies seem to be a little easier and less miserable on them. They seem happy to be doing what they do and enjoy providing for their families. The men in this culture spend two to three days away hunting. They hunt to provide food for their family. They hunt for enough food to last awhile. This hunting time provides the younger adults with a special kinship with their fathers and/or elders that they will never forget. The San people do not desire a lot of material items. They are happy and content having great supplies of food and...
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...Australian Aborigines Kinship System Donalee Lund ANT101: Introduction to Cultural Anthropology Sashur Henninger January 7, 2013 Australian Aborigines Kinship System The Aborigines of Australia have a very complex kinship system and to be honest I am not sure I fully understand their kinship system. You wanted me to give three specific examples on how the kinship system impacts the Aborigines cultures. By the time I finished researching their kinship system my head was pounding. I will try to explain how their kinship system impacts their daily lives In their culture everyone is related to everyone. The Aborigines are a tight net family; they are divided into two moieties. These moieties are really based on the environment surroundings like animals and plants. This also reinforces social and economic exchanges between the two moieties. Each moiety is given a name and in each moiety they have four marriage class names. For example; moiety A and moiety B two groups and then with in those groups are marriage class names (a, b, c and d). So a man from moiety A can only marry women from moiety B and then their children will be b’s in the moiety A. Then if a “c” man can marry only from moiety A and their children will be d’s in moiety B (Descent Groups by Dennis O’Neil 2007). A lot of times the brothers of moiety A will marry the sisters of moiety B. By marry someone in opposite moiety this is called exogamous system (outside the group). The on law they do have...
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...Inuit of the Artic Kinship ANT 101: Introduction to Cultural Anthropology September 29, 2012 As we study anthropology we ask ourselves the question, what is anthropology and what is the meaning of cultural? In the studies we learn that anthropology is the study of people, their origins, and their cultures. We learned that cultural is the system of government, style of dress or even types of sexual behavior and food. So we put together the words cultural anthropology and the text tells us it is “the comparative study of human cultures with the objective of deepening our understanding of the human condition” (Laird, 2010). With all this to reflect on, this writer will discuss the kinship systems of the Inuit people and their cultural and how it affects them. “The kinship among people is described as is a relationship between any individuals who share a genealogical origin, through biological, cultural, or historical descent. It is one of the most basic principles for organizing individuals into social groups, roles, categories, and genealogy” (Versatile, 2011). The kinship system among the Inuit is describe as the lineal system of terminology emphasizes the nuclear family by specifically identifying mother, father, brother, and sister, while merging together all other relatives such as maternal and paternal aunts, uncles, and cousins, without differentiating among them. An example, one's father is distinguished from his father's brother (uncle) but one's father's brother...
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...Nayar: The Misunderstood Society The Nayar of India is made up of numerous castes of a society still based off of many old traditions. This specific society has drawn much attention and controversy over issues of marriage and kinship. However there are other intriguing aspects of their culture such as descendant lineage, religious beliefs, and methods of healing. Most recently studied aspects of social and economic organization further fascinates anthropologists to attempt to answer “who are the Nayar?” There are many different ways in which a society can structure itself in order to ensure its’ survival. In past times, the Nayar would be described as being foragers, that is, people who hunt animals and gather plant life for subsidence. As time went on, populations grew which resulted in a change in social structure. With a need for increased food and resources, many foragers turned into horticulturists. Permanent settlements were established and plants were intentionally grown through the use of agricultural activities. Like many other societies, the Nayar followed a path similar to this which led to the formation of a state. As defined, “a state is a polity with a centralized government and the power to collect taxes, draft men for labor and work, and make and enforce laws for communities within its territorial borders” (Carneiro, 1970). But that doesn’t completely explain why the Nayar are considered a state. To do this, we can look at specific traits that can be...
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...The Navajo Way Lucious Davis ANT:101 Introduction to Cultural Anthropology Instructor: Jessie Cohen March 10, 2012 The story of the Navajo is one that is filled with triumph, tragedy, and hope. The Navajo are a pastoral people originating in North America. The culture of the Navajo’s is a one filled with traditions that have been passed down from one generation to the next. Their culture is what defines them and it is a major factor in the way they live their lives- including their social organization, beliefs and the way they heal their sick. Background Few cultures have left their imprint on North America like the Navajo. With over 300,000 members, the Navajo are the largest federally recognized tribe in the Unites States. Originating in northwest Canada and eastern Alaska, the Navajo, along with other groups like the Apache migrated to their more commonly known territory- the southwestern United States. Accounts have dated the occupation of the southwestern United States by the Navajo to stretch as far back as 1400. Throughout history, the Navajo have expanded their territory through raiding and commerce, now are mostly confined to a small area that is called the “Four Corners”. This is the area of the southwest United States that is comprised of: Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. The Navajo can best be described as seminomadic- they tend to move according to the seasons. Jett (1978) stated that the actual movement patterns can vary greatly from...
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...husband who shall keep a mistress in the conjugal dwelling or a certain dwelling place and hall have a sexual intercourse under scandalous circumstances with another woman not his wife. Absolute Divorce – is the type of divorce where the party has the right lawfully to marry again. HISTORY OF DIVORCE The term divorce is not foreign to Filipinos, whose forefathers in the pre-Spanish times, according to some historians, practiced it. History tells us that in 1912 that is during the American regime Act No. 2710 was passed providing for the granting of absolute divorce on the grounds of adultery, concubinage and personal violence. However, when the laws was implemented, a number of safeguards were taken to ensure the preservation of marital bond and to prevent abuses, such as filing for divorce could not be done until a year after having established adultery or concubinage and within five years after the date occurred. This measure was resorted to in order to give the spouses a chance for reconciliation it was still possible during the period of waiting. At the time of the Japanese occupation in 1943, a new Divorce Law was passed. Executive Order No. 141 thus replacing Act No. 2710, but this time the grounds for absolute divorce was extended to include an attempt by one spouse on the life of the other, repealed acts of physical violence, incurable insanity, impotence, loathsome contagious disease, intentional or unjustifiable...
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...Culture of SOUTH AFRICA http://www.everyculture.com/Sa-Th/South-Africa.html ORIENTATION Identification. South Africa is the only nation-state named after its geographic location; there was a general agreement not to change the name after the establishment of a constitutional nonracial democracy in 1994. The country came into being through the 1910 Act of Union that united two British colonies and two independent republics into the Union of South Africa. After the establishment of the first colonial outpost of the Dutch East India Company at Cape Town in 1652, South Africa became a society officially divided into colonizer and native, white and nonwhite, citizen and subject, employed and indentured, free and slave. The result was a fragmented national identity symbolized and implemented by the white minority government's policy of racial separation. Economic status has paralleled political and social segregation and inequality, with the black African, mixed-race ("Coloured"), and Indian and Pakistani ("Asian") population groups experiencing dispossession and a lack of legal rights. Since the first nonracial elections in 1994, the ruling African National Congress (ANC) has attempted to overcome this legacy and create unified national loyalties on the basis of equal legal status and an equitable allocation of resources. Location and Geography. South Africa has an area of 472,281 square miles (1,223,208 square kilometers). It lies at the southern end of...
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... Marshall Sahlins Department of Anthropology, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637; e-mail: m-sahlins@uchicago.edu Key Words: modernity, indigenization, translocality, culture, development n Abstract A broad reflection on some of the major surprises to anthropological theory occasioned by the history, and in a number of instances the tenacity, of indigenous cultures in the twentieth century. We are not leaving the century with the same ideas that got us there. Contrary to the inherited notions of progressive development, whether of the political left or right, the surviving victims of imperial capitalism neither became all alike nor just like us. Contrary to the “despondency theory” of mid-century, the logical and historical precursor of dependency theory, surviving indigenous peoples aim to take cultural responsibility for what has been done to them. Across large parts of northern North America, even hunters and gatherers live, largely by hunting and gathering. The Eskimo are still there, and they are still Eskimo. Around the world the peoples give the lie to received theoretical oppositions between tradition and change, indigenous culture and modernity, townsmen and tribesmen, and other clichés of the received anthropological wisdom. Reports of the death of indigenous cultures—as of the demise of anthropology—have been exaggerated. CONTENTS Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ....
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...Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Anthropology at OpenSIUC. It has been accepted for inclusion in Publications by an authorized administrator of OpenSIUC. For more information, please contact jnabe@lib.siu.edu. C u r r e n t A n t h r o p o l o g y Volume 45, Number 3, June 2004 2004 by The Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research. All rights reserved 0011-3204/2004/4503-0004$3.00 An Integrated Analysis of PreHispanic Mortuary Practices A Middle Sican Case Study1 ´ by Izumi Shimada, Ken-ichi Shinoda, Julie Farnum, Robert Corruccini, and Hirokatsu Watanabe Recent debate has raised serious questions about the viability of the social and ideological reconstruction of prehistoric culture on the basis of mortuary analysis. In recent years bioarchaeology has gained considerable prominence, underscoring the fact that death, burials, and associated...
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...in to the general backgrounds of these two tribes, followed by an in depth examination of Religious beliefs practiced by each tribe, as well as the Life cycle rituals of the Yokuts and Cherokee. Directly proceeding this we will then contrast the former in depth examinations with that of the Tlingit tribe who resided in the Northwest culture area and also we will contrast The Yokuts and the Cherokee with the Zuni tribe who reside in the Southwest cultural area. General Background: Yokuts The Yokut tribe is a group of native North Americans found in the California culture area. The Yokut tribe inhabited the San Joaquin Valley of California. The Yokut tribe has been broken up into three main groups based on the area that their territory encompassed. The are the Northern Valley Yokuts who inhabited the region beginning in the northern most San Joaquin valley, present day Stockton, to the area where the San Joaquin Valley turns northward toward the Calaveras and Mokelumne rivers, or present day Modesto. The Next division is known as The Southern Valley Yokuts. This group of Yokuts lived in the Southern San Joaquin Valley from the upper forks of the Kings River, present day Fresno, to the area of the Tehachapi Mountains, present day Fort Tejon (Wallace 1978). Therefore it is safe to say that 500 hundred years ago, if I were standing in the spot where I am typing this paper; then it is possible that I might be staring down a Southern Valley...
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...of their race and ethnicity. These messages make it clear that people with minority status have a different ethnic make-up and one that is less than desirable within mainstream society. Others, especially white Americans, manifest ethnic and racial identity in mostly unconscious ways through their behaviors, values, beliefs, and assumptions. For them, ethnicity is usually invisible and unconscious because societal norms have been constructed around their racial, ethnic, and cultural frameworks, values, and priorities and then referred to as “standard American culture” rather than as “ethnic identity.” This unconscious ethnic identity manifests itself in daily behaviors, attitudes, and ways of doing things. Unlike many minority cultures, there is little conscious instilling of specific ethnic identity through white communities, nor is differential ethnic treatment often identified in the media of white cultures. As we discuss...
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... By examining the African American Civil Rights Movement, I attempt to survey and assess the advantages and disadvantages of both the assimilationist and liberationist perspectives of the GLBT Movement. Historical Context The racist institution of Jim Crow grew out of the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 which abolished slavery in the United States. Long after slavery was abolished, however, African Americans continued to suffer cruel injustices throughout the country. The discriminatory system of Jim Crow perpetually placed blacks as inferior to whites in all circumstances. If these laws, both social and legal, were not abided by, African Americans faced severe consequences of punishment and death. The detestably bigoted establishment pervaded the American culture well into the twentieth century. The laws and etiquette of Jim Crow met resistance through the African American Civil Rights Movement of...
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