Cultural anthropology

Cultural anthropology

Of or pertaining to the branch of anthropology that examines culture as a scientifically meaningful concept.

Industry: Anthropology

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Cultural anthropology

Phenotype

Anthropology; Cultural anthropology

An organism's evident traits, its "manifest biology"-anatomy and physiology.

Levelling mechanisms

Anthropology; Cultural anthropology

Customs and social actions that operate to reduce differences in wealth and thus to bring standouts in line with community norms.

Biological determinists

Anthropology; Cultural anthropology

Those who argue that human behaviour and social organisation are biologically determined.

Indigenous peoples

Anthropology; Cultural anthropology

The original inhabitants of particular territories; often descendants of tribespeople who live on as culturally distinct colonised peoples, many of whom aspire to autonomy.

Genealogical method

Anthropology; Cultural anthropology

Procedures by which ethnographers discover and record connexions of kinship, descent, and marriage, using diagrams and symbols.

Generalised reciprocity

Anthropology; Cultural anthropology

Principle that characterises exchanges between closely related individuals. As social distance increases, reciprocity becomes balanced and finally negative.

Market principle

Anthropology; Cultural anthropology

Profit-oriented principle of exchange that dominates in states, particularly industrial states. Goods and services are bought and sold, and values are determined by supply and demand.