Cultural Anthropology

by Bates, Daniel G.; Fratkin, Elliot M.

• ISBN13: 9780205280629
• ISBN10: 0205280625
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-02-01
• Publisher: Prentice Hall

Summary

The objective of this book remains to introduce cultural anthropology to readers with little background in the subject and to present the material in a unified framework rather than as an encyclopedia of anthropological concepts and findings. Traditionally, cultural anthropology texts have treated the many topics which constitute the field as a series of loosely interrelated subjects unified by the concept of culture. The concept of culture, the myriad facets of human life which are rooted in learning and communication, is the hallmark of American anthropology. This book makes much use of this important tool for understanding unity and diversity in human social life. A central theme of Cultural Anthropology is that individuals are active decision makers, continually involved in creating and using their culture. Faced with new problems and new situations in their environment, people will often attempt to find solutions that go beyond traditional customs and cultural prescriptions. In other words, behavioral variation constantly exists within as well as between societies. Those variations that prove useful are passed on to new generations; they become part of culture. With this revision, the authors hope to convey some of the excitement and controversy that are part of the ongoing, developing science of anthropology.

Table of Contents

Part I The Realm of Anthropology	2	(124)
Chapter 1 The Anthropological Perspective	2	(30)
Chapter 2 Anthropological Theory	32	(28)
Chapter 3 Culture and Language	60	(30)
Chapter 4 Decisions, Adaptation, and Ecology	90	(36)
Part II Adaptive Patterns	126	(120)
Chapter 5 Foraging	126	(30)
Chapter 6 Subsistence Agriculture	156	(30)
Chapter 7 Pastoralism	186	(30)
Chapter 8 Intensive and Industrial Agriculture	216	(30)
Part III Cultural Diversity	246	(209)
Chapter 9 Kinship, Marriage, and the Household	246	(40)
Chapter 10 Identity and Inequality: Gender, Ethnicity, and Nation	286	(34)
Chapter 11 Economics: Resources, Production, and Exchange	320	(32)
Chapter 12 Politics, Social Control, and Political Organization	352	(34)
Chapter 13 Religious Belief and Ritual	386	(32)
Chapter 14 Anthropology for the Twenty-First Century	418	(37)
Glossary	455	(8)
References	463	(18)
Index	481