DOCSLIB.ORG

Peregrine Pp

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Peregrine Pp Cross-Cultural TOC VARIATION IN STRATIFICATION Peter N. Peregrine hy are social classes prominent in most of the world’s soci- eties today? It is an intriguing question, particularly because humans lived in egalitarian groups (which lack W 1 social classes) for most of our genus’s two million year existence. It was only about eight thousand years ago that class-stratified soci- eties began to develop, first in the Middle East, then in East Asia, India, Africa, and later, in the Americas.2 For example, in the period between 8000 and 5000 B.C. many of the people living in the Euphrates River valley altered their ancient lifestyle of semi- nomadic hunting and gathering in small, egalitarian groups to one centered on urban life under the rule of powerful kings.3 Why did this lifestyle change happen? Why, as the anthropologist-philoso- pher Maurice Godelier put it, did “social groups and individuals … cooperate in the production and reproduction of their own subordi- nation, even exploitation”?4 We need to have a basic understanding of what stratification is before we try to answer this question. Stratification, as I use it, refers to the extent to which a society maintains institutionalized differ- ences in individuals’ access to resources, prestige, or power.5 By institutionalized I mean that stratification is built into the institutions or social structures of a society. In any society there will be differ- ences between individuals—some will be stronger, faster, brighter, more charismatic—but while those personal differences may lead to differences in access to resources, prestige, or power, they are not the basis of stratification; nor are the virtually universal differences based on age and sex. Rather, stratification refers to the differentia- tion of individuals on the basis of social criteria, often the family they were born into, and not on personal abilities or biological char- acteristics.6 There is extensive variation in stratification among soci- eties in the contemporary world, and it might help us better under- stand the origins of stratification if we first have some understanding of this diversity. CONTEMPORARY VARIATION IN STRATIFICATION The most common scheme used for classifying cross-cultural varia- tion in stratification was developed by anthropologist Morton Fried. Fried’s scheme organizes societies into three types: (1) egalitarian; (2) rank; and (3) stratified.7 In egalitarian societies there are many indi- vidual differences in access to resources, prestige, and power, but 3 4 CROSS-CULTURAL RESEARCH these differences are based solely on personal abilities, and not on any formal social criteria.8 They are, in essence, non-stratified soci- eties by the definition I gave above. The !Kung people of the Kalahari desert in southwestern Africa are a good example of an egalitarian society.9 Political life revolves around water holes that are controlled by a group of siblings, but in practice no one is denied access to water. Those who control the water hole are seen as leaders of a sort, but they have no real political power. What leadership does exist (and it is minimal) is based solely on perceived wisdom and charisma. Like leadership, prestige is minimal and comes from abil- ity, usually in hunting. Sharing characterizes social relations, and when scarce resources (particularly meat) come into the group, they are distributed to all. Significant “leveling-mechanisms” are in place in !Kung society to ensure that no individuals are able to gain eco- nomic or political advantage over others.10 For example, boasting is met with active ridicule and, in extreme cases, aggression. These lev- eling mechanisms prevent individuals from gaining differential access to prestige, power, or resources in egalitarian societies.11 Rank societies have some institutionalized means of allowing particular individuals more access to prestige. However, individuals given a position of social prestige in rank societies must generally earn political power, and even individuals with great prestige or political power (or both) have to make a living for themselves; they have no special access to resources.12 On the island of Tikopia in east- ern Melanesia, for example, being the first born son conveys a spe- cial prestige to an individual, but does not convey any particular political power or access to resources.13 This simple system of primo- geniture creates a complex system of social ranking among the Tikopians, for not only are individuals ranked based on birth, but so are the island’s four primary lineages.14 Members of the oldest and hence highest ranking lineage have greater prestige than members of younger lineages. Elder males of each lineage are given a special rank of chief, and the chief of the eldest lineage is the highest rank- ing individual on the island.15 Again, this position conveys only prestige, and no special political power or access to resources. It does, however, convey a special status that makes the chief the cen- ter of ritual life on the island and the focus of a complex set of taboos.16 The chief’s body is sacred and cannot be touched; he may not do heavy work; he must not use an oven or cook food; above all, he must be treated with extreme deference and respect.17 However, the chief must still plant his own garden, build his own house, make his own utensils, and basically function as others in terms of making VARIATION IN STRATIFICATION 5 a living. Thus he does not differ from others in basic access to resources. He is like others in terms of his political power as well, for he cannot force or coerce others into doing things, beyond threaten- ing to make a behavior (or lack of it) taboo. If people want to violate the taboo and do not fear supernatural punishment for their trans- gression, the chief has no power to stop them. Stratified societies have some institutionalized means of allow- ing particular individuals more access to prestige, power, and, most important, special access to or control of resources (although ability often plays a role in the degree to which they actually maintain access to these).18 Usually there are well-defined strata (or classes) of differential access in these societies, which is why they are called stratified. The United States, even though it maintains the ideal that “all men are created equal,” is a stratified society.19 A child born into a poor, urban, minority family is likely to have very little access to resources, prestige, or power, even though he or she might have out- standing abilities. On the other hand, a child born into a wealthy, white, suburban family has better resources at hand (particularly educational, recreational, and medical) than the other child, is born with more social prestige, and will likely have more political power, regardless of his or her abilities. Of course, it is possible (although unlikely) for a poor urban child in the United States to acquire resources, prestige, and power. There are rare individuals who do move between classes in most stratified societies. Societies with castes represent stratification where movement between social classes is virtually impossible.20 Castes are often based upon an occupation or a group of occupations. Individuals in the caste are trained in that occupation and are prevented from learning another one, essentially freezing them into a particular place in society. If their occupation does not convey prestige, if it conveys no political power, if resources available to a person in that occupation are limited, then the person will never have access to them, for their occupation will never change. In addition, most castes are endogamous, that is, people marry within them exclu- sively. This means that marriage out of a caste is not an option for one to change social position. M. N. Srinivas describes the caste sys- tem in the south Indian village of Rampura as containing three pri- mary levels (Brahman, “Tradesman” and Untouchable) and eighteen specific castes.21 While each caste has a traditional occupation associ- ated with it, in practice there is quite a bit of variety in the occupa- tions of specific caste members, and virtually all castes have some members who are priests (at least serving the other caste members) 6 CROSS-CULTURAL RESEARCH and agricultural workers. However, caste endogamy is strict. Familial interaction with lower-ranking castes is repressed, and interaction with the Untouchable castes (who carry out “unclean” tasks such as sweeping streets) by Tradesman or Brahman caste members is virtually prohibited. These restrictions make movement between castes almost impossible. In many cases, societies with slavery also represent stratifica- tion where movement between classes is impossible, for slaves are frequently unable to release themselves from their position without being released by their owner (known as manumission).22 There are, however, some situations in which slaves are released after serving a particular period of time or in which freedom can be pur- chased or won. In either case stratification is clearly present, for the slave’s position conveys with it a particular access to resources, a particular prestige in society, and a particular set of powers. These are not always low, and there are some societies in which slaves have a wealth of resources, high status, and extensive political power. In early imperial Rome, for example, slaves of the Emperor held some of the most vital positions of power, including secretary of state and secretary of the treasury.23 Perhaps a more extreme example are the janissaries of the Ottoman empire, slaves who became the direct representatives of the Sultan and second in power only to him.24 But even in these cases it is clear that slaves have a social existence only through their owners, that it is because of their owners that slaves have any resources, prestige, or power.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Facing Politics and Power in Anthropology
    PART ONE: POWER AND POLITICS FROM STATELESS SOCIETIES TO GLOBAL CAPITALISM FACINGFACING POLITICSPOLITICS ANDAND POWERPOWER ININ ANTHROPOLOGYANTHROPOLOGY Early Anthropological Perspectives on Power Power and social stratification Power and “complex societies” Politics is the process by which power is distributed and decisions are made Weber: power—coercion & authority Early Anthropological Perspectives on Power AUTHORITY: 1. Legal-Rational Authority 2. Traditional Authority 3. Charismatic Authority Typologies of Power and Political Systems Evolutionary typologies Kinship to State --Maine (1861): Status vs. Contract --Morgan (1877): Descent group vs. Property --Engels (1884): Kinship vs. Territory --Durkheim (1893): Mechanical vs. Organic Solidarity --Mauss (1925): Gift exchange vs. Commodity exchange Typologies of Power and Political Systems Service (1962) Sahlins (1963) Childe (1936) Fried (1967) Johnson and Earle (1987) Earle (1978) Hunter- Band (family level) Head man Egalitarian society gatherers Farmers Tribe (local group) Big man Ranked society Civilization Chiefdom Simple Stratified Society Complex Stratified society State State State State Typologies of Power and Political Systems Structural-Functionalist correspondences: Meyer Fortes & E. E. Evans-Pritchard (1940:5-6) sub-Saharan Africa, two forms of polity: “primitive states”—kingship & office “stateless societies”—descent Typologies of Power and Political Systems --evolution of social complexity as a political process --control over labour of non-kin --Elman Service (1962): Band,
    [Show full text]
  • People Without Government
    People Without Government Brian Morris 2007 Contents 1. Two Images of Humans ..................................... 3 2. What is Politics? ......................................... 3 3. Societies without Government ................................. 7 4. Three Contexts of Politics .................................... 7 5. Matriliny and Mother Goddess Religion ............................ 12 2 1. Two Images of Humans Western social science and eco-philosophy are perennially torn between two contradictory images of the human species. One, associated with Thomas Hobbes (1651), sees human social life as a“war against all,” and human nature as essentially possessive, individualistic, egotistic and aggressive, it is a basic tenet of the “possessive individualism” of liberal political theory (MacPherson 1962).The other, associated with Rousseau, depicts human nature in terms of the “noble savage” — of the hu- man species as good, rational, and angelic, requiring only a good and rational society in order to develop their essential nature (Lukes 1967: 144–45). Both these ideas are still current and have their contemporary exemplars. In the writing of many ecofeminists and Afrocentric scholars, a past Golden Age is portrayed — in which peaceful social relations, gender equality, and a harmony with nature were the rule — before the rise respectively of bronze age culture and colonialism (Eisler 1987, Diop 1989). Both these images share a similar theoretical paradigm which sees human relations as solely “determined by some natural state of human beings” (Robarchek 1989: 31). The contributors of the volume Societies at Peace (Howell and Willis 1989) all eschew, along with Robarchek, this biological determinism, and emphasise an approach that dispenses with “universalistic definitions,” suggesting that human behaviour is never culturally neutral, but always embedded in a shared set of meanings.
    [Show full text]
  • Social Anthropology and Two Contrasting Uses of Tribalism in Africa Author(S): Peter P
    Society for Comparative Studies in Society and History Social Anthropology and Two Contrasting Uses of Tribalism in Africa Author(s): Peter P. Ekeh Reviewed work(s): Source: Comparative Studies in Society and History, Vol. 32, No. 4 (Oct., 1990), pp. 660-700 Published by: Cambridge University Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/178957 . Accessed: 23/01/2012 10:57 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Cambridge University Press and Society for Comparative Studies in Society and History are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Comparative Studies in Society and History. http://www.jstor.org Social Anthropology and Two ContrastingUses of Tribalismin Africa PETER P. EKEH State University of New Yorkat Buffalo A remarkablefeature of African studies has been the sharpdiscontinuities in the characterizationof transitionsin African history and society from one era to another. Thus, for an important example, colonialism has rarely been related to the previous era of the slave trade in the analysis of any dominant socioeconomic themes in Africa. Such discontinuity is significant in one importantstrand of modem African studies: The transitionfrom the lore and scholarshipof colonial social anthropologyto postcolonial forms of African studies has been stalled into a brittle break because its central focus on the "tribe" has been under attack.
    [Show full text]
  • Concept of Tribal Society1 Edited by Georg Pfeffer2 and Deepak Kumar Behera3
    Contemporary Society: Tribal Studies. Volume Five, Concept of Tribal Society1 Edited by Georg Pfeffer2 and Deepak Kumar Behera3 Reviewed by Peter W. Van Arsdale 4 For those of us who cut our teeth on tribal studies, fortunately, was rectified as I worked toward this book, edited by Georg Pfeffer and Deepak Kumar completion of my Ph.D. at the University of Colorado, Behera, can serve both as a welcome theoretical although Southeast Asian societies received more refresher and an innovative pragmatic compilation. It attention than did South Asian societies. contains a well-written introductory chapter which lays out the history of tribal studies from interactive – and For this review I have selected two chapters from at times contradictory – Euroamerican and Indian the first (South Asian) section of the book and two professional perspectives. The introduction reminds from the second (non-South Asian) section to us of the classic work of anthropologists such as E.E. emphasize. They stand out not only as being well- Evans-Pritchard, Marshall Sahlins, and Edmund Leach. researched and well-written but as exemplars of the It also reminds us that “tribe” is by no means a unitary diversity of material Pfeffer and Behera have included. or unifying term. Each in its own way strongly reinforces the notion that cultural – perhaps even culturological – analyses have What is a tribe? This is the central conceptual merit as researchers attempt to understand tribal question asked by the book. More than any other society in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Each recent book of its type, Concept of Tribal Society also reinforces the notion that to understand successfully addresses the diversity of tribal societies contemporary tribes you must understand their found in the world.
    [Show full text]
  • The Papers, Diaries, Notes, and Tapes of Anthropological Research
    Journal of East Asian Libraries Volume 1991 Number 92 Article 5 2-1-1991 Life in the Field: The Papers, Diaries, Notes, and Tapes of Anthropological Research Conducted by Morton Fried in China (1947-48) and Taiwan (1960s) Available in the Columbia University Libraries Frances LaFleur Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/jeal BYU ScholarsArchive Citation LaFleur, Frances (1991) "Life in the Field: The Papers, Diaries, Notes, and Tapes of Anthropological Research Conducted by Morton Fried in China (1947-48) and Taiwan (1960s) Available in the Columbia University Libraries," Journal of East Asian Libraries: Vol. 1991 : No. 92 , Article 5. Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/jeal/vol1991/iss92/5 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of East Asian Libraries by an authorized editor of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. LIFE IN THE FIELD: THE PAPERS, DIARIES, NOTES, AND TAPES OF ANTHROPOLOGICAL RESEARCH CONDUCTED BY MORTON FRIED IN CHINA (1947-48) AND TAIWAN (1960S) AVAILABLE IN THE COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES* Frances LaFleur Columbia University Columbia University's C. V. Starr East Asian Library was founded in 1901 and presently holds over 500,000 volumes in the Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Manchu, and Mongol languages as well as western-language books and periodicals relating to the study of East Asia. Vernacular and western materials cataloged since 1981 are housed in open stacks in the library's headquarters in Kent Hall; some of the older Chinese and Japanese materials are housed in stacks in the Library Annex, open to Columbia affiliates and to outside scholars and researchers with an introduction to Starr Library.
    [Show full text]
  • 9564.Ch01.Pdf
    one · Gender and the Problem of Prehistory IMAGINING PREHISTORY To examine the contested issue of gender in ancient Near Eastern prehistory, I be- gin with a definition of the period. Prehistory is the time before the invention of writing (which took place around 3500 bce in the ancient Near East). This period is divided into several major eras of human development in eastern Europe and the ancient Near East: late Paleolithic (c. 30,000–9000 bce), proto-Neolithic and Neo- lithic (c. 9000–5600 bce), and Calcolithic (5600–3500 bce). In the European late Paleolithic, we begin to have some evidence of human creative consciousness in the form of cave paintings, figurines, and tools decorated with designs or with figures of animals or humans. The Neolithic is divided from the Paleolithic by the move- ment from food gathering (hunting and collecting fruits, nuts, and plants) to food growing and domestication of animals. The Calcolithic describes a time of more developed agriculture (including the use of the plow and irrigation) as well as trade and early urbanization. The Neolithic revolution took place gradually in the ancient Near East between 9000 and 7000 bce. At first, herds of wild animals or areas of wild grains were cor- doned oª and controlled by more settled human groups; later, with full domestica- tion, animals were bred for food, milk, or skins, and seeds were conserved for plant- ing grains. These innovations developed along parallel lines in several places in the ancient Near East and spread to other nearby areas. There was not a uniform, straightforward pattern of development.
    [Show full text]
  • The Evolution of Variability in Magic, Divination and Religion
    THE EVOLUTION OF VARIABILITY IN MAGIC, DIVINATION AND RELIGION: A MULTI-LEVEL SELECTION ANALYSIS A Dissertation by CATHARINA LAPORTE Submitted to the Office of Graduate and Professional Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Chair of Committee, Michael S. Alvard Committee Members, Jeffrey Winking D. Bruce Dickson Jane Sell Head of Department, Cynthia A. Werner December 2013 Major Subject: Anthropology Copyright 2013 Catharina Laporte ABSTRACT Religious behavior varies greatly both with-in cultures and cross-culturally. Throughout history, scientific scholars of religion have debated the definition, function, or lack of function for religious behavior. The question remains: why doesn’t one set of beliefs suit everybody and every culture? Using mixed methods, the theoretical logic of Multi-Level Selection hypothesis (MLS) which has foundations in neo-evolutionary theory, and data collected during nearly two years of field work in Macaé Brazil, this study asserts that religious variability exists because of the historic and dynamic relationship between the individual, the family, the (religious) group and other groups. By re-representing a nuanced version of Elman Service’s sociopolitical typologies together with theorized categories of religion proposed by J.G. Frazer, Anthony C. Wallace and Max Weber, in a multi-level nested hierarchy, I argue that variability in religious behavior sustains because it provides adaptive advantages and solutions to group living on multiple levels. These adaptive strategies may be more important or less important depending on the time, place, individual or group. MLS potentially serves to unify the various functional theories of religion and can be used to analyze why some religions, at different points in history, may attract and retain more adherents by reacting to the environment and providing a dynamic balance between what the individual needs and what the group needs.
    [Show full text]
  • Kinship As an Assertion of Sovereign Native Nationhood Christina Gish Hill Iowa State University, [email protected]
    World Languages and Cultures Publications World Languages and Cultures 5-2013 Kinship as an Assertion of Sovereign Native Nationhood Christina Gish Hill Iowa State University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/language_pubs Part of the American Literature Commons, Language Interpretation and Translation Commons, and the Other Languages, Societies, and Cultures Commons The ompc lete bibliographic information for this item can be found at https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/ language_pubs/152. For information on how to cite this item, please visit http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/ howtocite.html. This Book Chapter is brought to you for free and open access by the World Languages and Cultures at Iowa State University Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in World Languages and Cultures Publications by an authorized administrator of Iowa State University Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Kinship as an Assertion of Sovereign Native Nationhood Abstract As a concept, the nation is maddeningly difficult to define. Like “spirit” or “health”, the term “nation” encompasses a multiplicity of meanings that shift depending on the context. John Carlos Rowe has argued that the “...use of the word national ...refers to a complex and irreducible array of discourses, institutions, policies, and practices which, even if they are in flux or in competition with other structures and allegiances, [i] cannot be easily wished away.” Despite its fluid nda constructed nature, the nation is nevertheless quite real [ii] and has had, since its inception, power to order the world. Because the word has such a multiplicity of meanings, I use the term in a broad sense, to refer to a collectivity with political autonomy recognized by others outside of the scope of its influence.
    [Show full text]
  • Leslie White (1900-1975)
    Neoevolutionism Leslie White Julian Steward Neoevolutionism • 20th century evolutionists proposed a series of explicit, scientific laws liking cultural change to different spheres of material existence. • Although clearly drawing upon ideas of Marx and Engels, American anthropologists could not emphasize Marxist ideas due to reactionary politics. • Instead they emphasized connections to Tylor and Morgan. Neoevolutionism • Resurgence of evolutionism was much more apparent in U.S. than in Britain. • Idea of looking for systematic cultural changes through time fit in better with American anthropology because of its inclusion of archaeology. • Most important contribution was concern with the causes of change rather than mere historical reconstructions. • Changes in modes of production have consequences for other arenas of culture. • Material factors given causal priority Leslie White (1900-1975) • Personality and Culture 1925 • A Problem in Kinship Terminology 1939 • The Pueblo of Santa Ana 1942 • Energy and the Evolution of Culture 1943 • Diffusion Versus Evolution: An Anti- evolutionist Fallacy 1945 • The Expansion of the Scope of Science 1947 • Evolutionism in Cultural Anthropology: A Rejoinder 1947 • The Science of Culture 1949 • The Evolution of Culture 1959 • The Ethnology and Ethnography of Franz Boas 1963 • The Concept of Culture 1973 Leslie White • Ph.D. dissertation in 1927 on Medicine Societies of the Southwest from University of Chicago. • Taught by Edward Sapir. • Taught at University of Buffalo & University of Michigan. • Students included Marshall Sahlins and Elman Service. • A converted Boasian who went back to Morgan’s ideas of evolutionism after reading League of the Iroquois. • Culture is based upon symbols and uniquely human ability to symbolize. • White calls science of culture "culturology" • Claims that "culture grows out of culture" • For White, culture cannot be explained biologically or psychologically, but only in terms of itself.
    [Show full text]
  • Development Team
    Paper No. : 02 Social Cultural Anthropology Module : 24 Introduction to Political Anthropology Development Team Principal Investigator Prof. Anup Kumar Kapoor Department of Anthropology, University of Delhi Paper Coordinator Prof. Sabita Acharya, Department of Anthropology, Utkal University,Bhubaneshwar Indelha Khan Content Writer Department of Anthropology, University of Delhi Prof. A.K. Sinha, Department of Anthropology, Content Reviewer Panjab University, Chandigarh 1 Social Cultural Anthropology Anthropology Development of Political Anthropology Description of Module Subject Name Anthropology Paper Name 02 Social Cultural Anthropology Module Name/Title Development of Political Anthropology Module Id 24 2 Social Cultural Anthropology Anthropology Development of Political Anthropology Table of contents: Introduction 1. Development of political anthropology 1.1 The Nineteenth-Century Evolutionists 1.2 The Reaction 1.3 The British Functionalists 1.4 The Neo-Evolutionists 2. Evolution of political societies 2.1 Uncentralized Systems 2.1.1 Band Societies 2.1.2 Tribal Level Political System 2.2 Centralized Systems 2.2.1 Chiefdom 2.2.2 State 3. Religion and politics 4. Tradition and modernity Summary Learning objectives: To familiarize with the concept of power, leadership and politics. To understand the concept of political anthropology. To understand the link between religion and politics. 3 Social Cultural Anthropology Anthropology Development of Political Anthropology Introduction: In several occasions, it has been observed that colonial powers or resilient societies have levied political rule on the native people, where previously no such system prevailed. The initiation of elementary form of political system had varying impact in particular societies. Such differences probably originated as a result of functionally relatedness to the cultures and social system of the colliding societies.
    [Show full text]
  • Situating Gender in European Archaeologies
    SITUATING GENDER IN EUROPEAN ARCHAEOLOGIES Edited by Liv Helga Dommasnes, Tove Hjørungdal, Sandra Montón-Subías, Margarita Sánchez Romero, and Nancy L. Wicker BUDAPEST 2010 Front Cover Illustration Gold foil from Rogaland in western Norway showing a man and a woman, often interpreted as the Nordic Vanir god Freyr and his wife Gerd from the family of Giants. 7th–8th century AD. (Photo: Svein Skare. © Bergen Museum, University of Bergen, Norway.) Back Cover Illustration Dama Elche (Museo Arqueológico Nacional, Madrid) ISBN 978-963-9911-15-4 HU-ISSN 1216-6847 © ARCHAEOLINGUA Foundation All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, digitised, photo copying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher. 2010 ARCHAEOLINGUA ALAPÍTVÁNY H-1250 Budapest, Úri u. 49 Copyediting by Nancy L. Wicker Desktop editing and layout by Rita Kovács Printed by Prime Rate Kft Gender, Individualization, and Affi ne/Consanguineal Relationships in “Egalitarian Societies”: The Awá-Guajá Case ALMUDENA HERNANDO Seeing other cultures through the conceptual structures of our own is a basic problem encountered when dealing with gender issues in societies temporally or spatially remote from ours. Even though the issues involved in equating the concept of gender with its particular incarnation in a given social and historical context have not gone unnoticed by many scholars, gender is nevertheless regarded as “a primary way of signifying relationships of power” (SCOTT 1986, 1067). The theoretical defi nition of the concept of “gender” is not problematic when a study refers to societies characterized by task specialization or power institutions.
    [Show full text]
  • POLITICAL ANTHROPOLOGY: an Introduction, Third Edition
    POLITICAL ANTHROPOLOGY: An Introduction, Third Edition Ted C. Lewellen PRAEGER Political Anthropology POLITICAL ANTHROPOLOGY An Introduction Third Edition Ted C. Lewellen Foreword by Victor Turner, Written for the First Edition Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Lewellen, Ted C., 1940– Political anthropology : an introduction / Ted C. Lewellen ; foreword to the first edition by Victor Turner.—3rd ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0–89789–890–7 (alk. paper)—ISBN 0–89789–891–5 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Political anthropology. I. Title. GN492.L48 2003 306.2—dc21 2003052889 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available. Copyright ᭧ 2003 by Ted C. Lewellen All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, by any process or technique, without the express written consent of the publisher. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2003052889 ISBN: 0–89789–890–7 0–89789–891–5 (pbk.) First published in 2003 Praeger Publishers, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881 An imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. www.praeger.com Printed in the United States of America The paper used in this book complies with the Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National Information Standards Organization (Z39.48–1984). 10987654321 CONTENTS Foreword, Written for the First Edition vii Victor Turner Preface ix 1. The Development of Political Anthropology 1 2. Types of Preindustrial Political Systems 15 3. The Evolution of the State 43 4. Religion in Politics: Sacred Legitimacy, Divine Resistance 65 5. Structure and Process 81 6. The Individual in the Political Arena: Action Theory and Game Theory 95 7.
    [Show full text]