Exam 10: Social Structure, The Family, Gender, and Age

Polygyny appears to be an ecologically and economically adaptive strategy for many tribal societies.

When two or more clans recognize that they share a common genealogical relationship, the more general grouping of these clans is known as a __________.

Evaluate the hypothesis that suggests that in societies where female contributions to the food supply are less critical or less valued than the male contribution, female status is lower.

A clan is a special kind of descent group whose members are defined by __________.

Slavery took on different forms depending on the political economies and demographic features of the agricultural state society. For example, in some African societies slavery corresponded to an "open system" in which slaves could be incorporated into domestic kin groups and even become upwardly mobile. In contrast, "closed systems" of slavery provided no opportunities for upward mobility or incorporation into kin groups. The open system of slavery occurred __________.

The most important belief underlying the practice of having a widow marry one of her brothers-in-law is that __________.

Small-scale societies tend to have more social stratification than large-scale societies because there are fewer people to occupy the statuses and play the roles.

As illustrated by the Natchez Indians of the Mississippi region, marriage in chiefdom societies often __________.

Since wealth and status determine the type of marriage patterns found in agricultural states, the primary form of marriage for all but the elite was __________.

A typical __________ family consists of two parents and their immediate biological offspring or adopted children.

Unilineal descent groups are lineage groups that do which of the following?

According to sociobiologists, patriarchy in tribal societies is a consequence of what?

Compare and contrast how the elderly are treated in foraging and industrial societies. What are the similarities and differences, and why do you think these are so? Support your answer with specific examples.

In a conical clan, all members of the clan trace their descent from __________.

Corporate groups of people of about the same age who share specific rights, obligations, duties, and privileges within a society and who progress through various stages of life together are called __________.

Discuss the relationships among gender, subsistence, and family structure in agricultural states.

Iroquois tribal society was organized around matrilineal descent groups, the members of which lived together in a longhouse, had collective rights over land and tools, and were influential in decision-making processes.

If a tribal society has norms that prescribe cross-cousin or parallel-cousin marriage and an individual does not have a cousin in the particular category, that individual must remain single for the rest of his or her life since no mates fit the norm.

It has been suggested that the status of women in tribal societies __________.

How does enculturation influence male and female gender roles? Is there a universal division of labor based on sex? Are gender roles static entities within each society? Are gender roles changing in the United States? If so, how?