anthropology of society

8/13/2019 Anthropology of Society

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Evolution of societyAdaptive strategy

Yehudi Cohen coined the term Adaptive strategyin 1974.

Adaptive strategy

The way people in a particular environment usecultural means to survive in that environment.


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Stages for Adaptive strategyHunting and Gathering Horticulture

Pastoralism

Agriculture

Industrialism


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Hunting And GatheringSocietiesThe First Human Societal Existence on Earth

The appearance of the humans is about 2.5 million years

200,000 years of anatomically human form.


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H G Societies A hunter-gatherer or foragersociety

is one in which most or all food is obtainedfrom wild plants and animals.

Hunting and Gathering is their main and singlesource of food.

Pal eolithic age.


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H G Societies

Before H & G the Scavenging techniquewas used to collect food not hunting

Rather than killing large animals themselves formeat, they used carcasses of large animals killedby other predators or carcasses from animals thatdied by natural causes.


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H G Societies For about 2 million years, this type of society was

the dominant form of social organization.

Only 10,000 to 12,000 years ago did other types ofsocieties start to appear

for 99.75% of hominid history, humans have beenhunters and gatherers


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H G Societies

Out of 150 billion people ever 60% H&G

There are today only about 250,000 people living

in such societies, that is, 0.001% of the worlds

population.


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H G Societies

Era population percentage

--10,000 YA 10 million 100 H&G

0 AD 200 million 50 H&G

1500 AD 350 million 1 H&G

2000 AD 6,070 million .001 H&G(300,000)


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H G Societies Subsistence Technology:

the main mode of subsistence of such societies isthrough the

hunting of animals(or fishing, for societies livingnear coastal or Arctic areas)

The gathering of naturally growing plants, fruits,

and vegetables.


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H G SocietiesTypes of H G societies:

Pedestrian H & G.Initial and simplest form of H & G.

Gender Division of labor.

Probability of men finding food is less than 25%;women 100%

1 hr. Hunting 100 cal

1 hr. Gather 240 CAL

40% (young & old) dont contribute, depend on rest

Leisure time

(compared to industrial society)


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H G SocietiesPedestrian H G.


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Equestrian H & G.

Use animals for riding.

Larger groups, more mobile

More likely to develop a social & political hierarchy

They came into conflict with other tribes as theycompeted for hunting grounds.

10 bands form tribe.


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Aquatic H & G.

Little advance form of H & G

Even larger groups, greater socialstratification, more elaborate materialculture

Elaborate fishing technology (boats).

Every group tribe each with its ownautonomous village.

Lifeway similar to agriculturalists

Large settled communities


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Aquatic H & G.


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H G SocietiesHow the H & G came to end?

The Neolithic Revolution: 10,000 years ago

(The term Neolithic Revolutionwas coined in 1923 by VereGordon Childe)

when people first discover how to cultivate crops and todomesticate animals

Fade up of limited set of food-producing techniques.

Climate change

Increasingly sedentary population.


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The Neolithic Revolution


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H G SocietiesCommon Characteristics of Huntingand Gathering Societies.


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H G SocietiesHabitat:

Nomadic way of settlement pattern

Hunter-gatherer societies tend to be relativelymobile,

In form of band and tribal.


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H G Societies Such Mobile communities typically

construct shelters

Using impermanent building materials

they may use natural rock shelters


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H G SocietiesPopulation

An individual band tend to be small in number (10-50individuals).

these may gather together seasonally to temporarilyform a larger group (100 or more).

Types of Communities:General Communities.(Bands & Tribes)

Complex Communities.(Chiefdoms & states)


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H G SocietiesWhy variance in Population:

when resources are abundant.

In a few places where the environment isespecially productive.

They set up seasonal camps wherever theanimals and resources were plentiful.


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Bands migratedwhen food (plants or

animals) becamescarce in onelocation.

Were outta

here!

Yaba-daba-doo!

H G Societies


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H G SocietiesCauses of Migration.

Couldnt find enough food

Growing number of bands

Changing climate (desertification)

Follow animals on the move (hunting)


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H G Societies

Social Structure:Family system is strong.

Non-hierarchical

Egalitarian social structures.

Grouped together based onkinship and band (or tribe)

membership.


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H G SocietiesViolence and wage war in hunter-

gatherer societies is usually rare.

Sexual division of Labor.

Man did hunting

Women did gathering


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H G Societies

At the 1966 "Man the Hunter" conference,anthropologists Richard Borshay Lee and IrvenDeVore.

Flux in territorial boundaries as well as indemographic composition


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H G SocietiesMarshall Sahlins view of H & G

societies: ethnographic data indicated that hunter-

gatherers worked far fewer hours andenjoyed more leisure than typical

members of industrial society, and theystill ate well.

Against Thomas Hobbes had put it in 1651.


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H G SocietiesPrimitive tools

Spears

Bows and arrows

Nets and trapsDigging sticks

Needles, pins awls

Antler hammers

Axes


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Comparative View of Evolutional Societies:Type ofSociety

H Period ProductiveTechnology

Population

sizeSettlement

PatternSocialOrganization

H & G Fromcreation to12000 Y ago

Primitiveweapons

25-40 Nomadic Familycentered

Pastoralism From12000 to

3000 BCE

Domestication

of Animals

Severalhundreds

Nomadic Religioussystem

Developed

Horticulture same Hand orsimple tools

Severalthousands

SemiPermanent

Socialstratifications

Agriculture From 5000years ago

Animalsdrawn plow

Millions ofpeople

Permanent Politicaleconomicreligeoussystemsemerged

Industrialism

From 1750years ago

Machines same Permanent High level of SStratifications


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HIMB PEOPLE OFN MIBI


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ENIVIRONMENT

Himba people live in KEUNEN regionof NORTHERN NAMIBIA.

Its located just above the tropic ofCAPRICORN which runs through the

middle of NAMIBIA.Their position on EARTH gives them

opposite seasons of the year

compared to ours.Winter -JUNE to AUGUST-dry

Summer NOV to FEB-Rainy


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Inconsistent rain patterns causesfrequent droughts and no much

diversity in vegetation.


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Scarcity of resources bound themto stay as NOMADS and they are

always on move.


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LANGUAGEOTIHIMBA,,a dialect of HERERO language is

spoken in Himba region.

Herero language spoken by about 250,000 peoplein NAMIBIA.

The language is written using LATIN alphabets.

HERERO is taught throughout the country inschools and universities.


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GENDER ROLESStrong separation in men &

women roles.

Typically the men are warriorsand bring food to table.


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Marital status defined bycertain dress patterns.


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Women of HIMBA usually referred asREDWOMEN as they use red paste on their

body to protect them from sun as well ascosmetics.


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MARRIAGE

Always want to reproduce to enhance thetribe.

Polygamy is common practice.

While husbands are away with goats,wives have affairs with other tribesmen.Number of sexual partners result in thedanger of AIDS facing ZIMBA people.


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KINSHIPKinship ties might be closer as

women have offspring fromdifferent men.

Incest is mentioned by givingdown cattle from a man to hissistersoffspring.


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RELIGION Zimba are very spirtual people.

Worship by lighting fire every morning calledHOLYFIRE.

FIRE represents their ancestors.


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Because of the importance of the fire ,only the chiefs homeentrance can face the light

the rest of the homes must face away.


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ARTWORKHimba people constantly decorating their bodieswith shells and jewellery made by HIMBA people.


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CONCLUSION

Himba people preserved their culturereally well despite frequent visits bywestern people.

Himba represents a living TIMECAPSULE for this particular region inAfrica.


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anthropology of society

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