Language and Communication Next New

7/29/2019 Language and Communication Next New

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When we hear the word economics many things

come to our mind, like money supply and demandcurves, lending and borrowing money at someagreed interest rate, factories with productionschedules, labour domestic products.

We found all these words in book but not in allcultures of the world e.g. in small scale societiesyou wont find standardized currency, stockexchange or factories.

But common challenges to cultures: limitedamount of vital resources like land, livestock, foodand labour


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Difference of Economics and Economic

Anthropology The science ofEconomics focuses on how

production, distribution and consumption occurmostly with in industrialized world whereas the

Economic Anthropologylooks at the system ofproduction, distribution and consumptioncomparatively in all societies of the worldindustrialized as well as non-industrialized.


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Cross Cultural Examination of Economic Systems

Despite the substantial differences of economic

systems found throughout the world--- it is possibleto examine economic systems cross culturally alongcertain key dimensions:

1) The regulation of resources: how land, water and naturalresources are controlled and allocated

2) Production: how material resources are converted in useable

commodities

3) Exchange: how the commodities, once produced aredistributed among the people of the society


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The Allocation of Natural Resources

Every society has access to certain resources in its

territorial environment, including land, animals,water, minerals and plants.

Even though the nature and amount of resourcesvary widely from one group to another, every

society has developed a set of rules governing theallocation of resources and how they can beused e.g. all societies have developed systematicways of allocating land among their members


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Food Collectors

In most food-collecting societies land is not ownedin the Western sense of the term, eitherindividually or collectively

There are number of reasons Must follow the migratory patterns of animals

Claiming and defending a particular piece of land requirestime, energy and technology which usually such societiesdo not have or not choose to expand.

Avoid conflicts who may violate territorial boundaries


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Pastoralists

For pastoralists, it is necessary that they access to twovital resources for the livestock: water and pasturage

Depending upon the natural environment theavailability of these two resources vary widely

In these are in a shortage the move in wider range ofarea and having lesser occupation of land

Whereas in areas where these are in greater amountpeople tend to own land more and control resources


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Horticulturists

Unlike food collectors and pastoralists,Horticulturalists tend to live on land that iscommunally controlled usually by an extendedkinship group.

Individual nuclear or polygamous families may begranted the use of land by the extended families forgrowing crops but rights are limited. (they can use theland as long as they stay there but cannot sell the land)

Horticulturalists may use the land according to thewill of larger group in some cases

As they are mostly shifting cultivators there will beno use of claiming the lands rights


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Intensive Agriculturists

In Pakistan and North America resources areallocated on the basis of principle of privateindividual ownership

When we say we own a piece of land we have the

absolute and exclusive rights to it. So we can sell, rent, give away, gift or trade etc.


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Production

The initial step in meeting the needs of any society

is to establish a system of allocating the right to useresources to certain people.

In rare situation however resources may be used inexactly yhe same way they are found in nature.

Animals must be butchered, grains must be groundand cooked, metal ores must be mined, smelted,combined with other elements and crafted before

use and stoned must be shaped before putting in towalls.


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The process of obtaining goods from the natural

environment and transforming them into useableobjects is called production

All humans must meet certain fundamentalmaterial needs (such as water, food and shelter) but

how theses needs are satisfied vary from society tosociety. Hunting and gathering (Siriono of eastern Bolivia)

Products of livestock (Maasai of east Africa)

Complex system engaging technology andindustrialization


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The factors determining the list of products any

society produces are Accessibility of certain resources

Technology available to process the resources

The abundance of energy supplies

The role culture plays influencing the production in asociety

India --- despite the plenty of supply of cows Hindus refuseto eat beef

Pakistan --- Muslims do not opt to eat ham despite it is full ofproteins


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Units of Production

The systems of production in all cultures is

systematic, organized and patterned unlike otherparts of the culture

Every society breaks up its members into some typeof productive unit comprising people with specific

tasks to perform In industrialized societies like USA, UK or semi

industrialized societies like us production unit isprivate company that produces goods & services.

These private firms range from small, individuallyowned operations to gigantic multinationalcorporations.


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Production in Household (HH)

In most non industrialized societies, the basic unit of

production is the HH In these small scale societies most if not all the goods

and services consumed are produced by the membersof HH

The household may be comprised of nuclear family ora more elaborate family structure containing marriedsiblings, multiple wives, and more than twogenerations HH may include non relatives some times

Some relatives may not live with HH but do contribute to itseconomic well being while living in other areas


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Difference between household and business firm

1. Business firm is primarily if not exclusively just a unit ofproduction but HH performs a number of overlapping

functions E.g. when two kinsmen who part of the same HH threshing

wheat, it is very likely that they play a number of other rolestogether like one man may be because of age a religious leader,

other may be political leader because of his leadership skill orthey may share their leisure time

2. Structural difference between household (HH) and businessfirm is that HH is far more self-sufficient

In most cases, the members of HH in small scale societiesmembers do not have to go outside the group to satisfy theirmaterial needs

People in business firm have to rely on people outside thebusiness firm e.g. butcher, barber, schoolteacher etc.


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3. Business firm concentrates exclusively on economicfunction thus is more productive

A family HH other than the economic well being of itsmembers also needs to consider the psychological,emotional, social requirements thus putting some of itsresources on non productive functions.


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Division of labour

The set rules found in all societies dictating how

day to day tasks are assigned to the variousmembers of societies

Every society large or small distinguishes to some degreebetween the work appropriate for men and women or

adults and children. All societies make such distinctions on the basis of

Age and

Gender


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Gender Specialization

Although some roles (jobs) found in the world are

performed by both men and women many other areassociated with one gender or other

E.g. women generally tend crops, gather wild foods, care forchildren, prepare food, cleans houses, fetch water etc

Men on the other hand are more found in hunt, build houses, clearland for cultivation, herd large animals, fish and serve as politicalfunctionaries.

We can find exceptions like in traditional Africa, for examplewomen are known to carry much havier loads than men, work longhours in the fields and even serve as warriors.


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Explanations regarding Gender Specialization

1. Men have greater body mass and strength they are better

equipped physically to engage in hunting warfare andland clearing

2.Women do the things they do because those tasks arecompatible with child care i.e. unlike many males taskssuch as hunting & warfare womens tasks are easily

interrupted and can be accomplished withoutjeopardizing the childs safety and without leaving home

3.Women have limited reproductive capacities than manthey are less likely to be required to be engaged indangerous situations

If men risk their lives in hunting buffalos ans whalesreproduction in the group will not be suffered providedwomen have access to men


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Age Specialization Societies also allocate tasks to its members on the basis of age

Because of their lack of knowledge and physical strength,children are often excluded from jobs

In Pakistan formal education lasts till late teen years so peoplestudying are not involved in much productive work mostly in urbanareas

While in non industrialized areas children get involved in productivework from considerably earlier age

In older age too certain hard and more strength demandingworks are refused in comparison to less energy requiring work

Tiwi of north Australia old men preferred to stay at home andproduced tools for hunting rather going out for hunting

Aged people also found in religious roles in societies like ours.


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Distribution of Goods and Services

Once produced, goods are needed to be in peoples hand to be

consumed. People consume goods they produce but often surpluses

remain.

Systems for exchange not only help people in disposing off their

surplus goods but also maximizes the diversity of goods andservices produced

Three major ways of distribution: Reciprocity

Redistribution Market exchange


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ReciprocityA mode of distribution characterized by the exchange of goods and

services of approximately equal value between parties

Generalized ReciprocityA practice usually played out among family members or close

friends, carries with highest level of moral obligation. Most of thetimes people do not expect favours in return in such cases e.g. parentchildren relationship

Balanced Reciprocity Is a form of exchange involving the expectation that goods & services

of equivalent value will be returned in a specified period of time.This involves more formal relationships, greater social distance andstronger obligation to repay the original gift

Silent trade: in the Semang of Malay Peninsula people avoid face toface interaction while exchanging their goods to avoid conflicts

Negative ReciprocityA form of economic exchange between individuals who try to take

advantage of each other e.g. cheating, theft Sense of altruism and social obligation at lowest and personal gains

at highest so such exchange is usually practices with strangers or

enemies.


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Redistribution A form of economic exchange in which goods and services are

given by members of a group to a central authority (such aschief) and then distributed back to the donors usually in formof feast

Chiefly redistribution (definition from notes)

Big Men/Feast Givers (definition from notes)

Bridewealth (definition from notes)


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Market ExchangeA form of distribution in which goods and services are

bought and sold and their value is determined by thebasis of principle of demand and supply

Standardized Currency A commonly found trait of market economies is the use of standardized

currency (money) for the exchange of goods and services

Moneycan be defined as the generally accepted medium of exchange thatalso measures the value of a particular item.

Flexible system more than directly exchanging of goods with one an other

Divisible money can be divided into multiple to any extent while we cant doo itwith goods or services

Easy to carryits easier to carry a bag of coins than herd of camels


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All societies if they are to remain viable over time mustmaintain social order.

Every society must develop a set of customs andprocedures for making and enforcing decisions,resolving conflicts, and regulating the behavior of itsmembers.

Every society must make collective decisions about itsenvironment and its relations with other societies andabout how to deal with disruptive or destructivebehavior on the part of its members

Political leaders Complex Bureaucracies Politicalparties

Law EnforcementBodies

Formal Judicial System


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These mechanisms are used in our society for making and

enforcing political decisions as well as coordinating andregulating peoples behaviors.

Many societies of the world have none of these systems but theyhave other formal mechanisms to deal with all these issues.


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Types of Political Organization

The term political organization refers to the way in which poweris distributed within a society so as to control peoples

behaviors and maintain social control.

Societies all over the world differ in their politicalorganization and based on the following three importantdimensions

The extent to which political institutions are distinct from otheraspects of the social structure i.e. for example in some societies,political structure is barely distinguishable from economic,kinship or religious structures

The extent to which the political authority(consult referencereading for definition)is concentrated into political roles

The level ofpolitical integration (consult reference reading fordefinition)i.e. the size of the territorial group that comes underthe control of the political structures


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Types of societies on the basis of

political basis

Band Societies

Tribal Societies

Cheifdoms

State Societies


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Band Societies It is least complex form of political organization

Such societies usually contain small and nomadic populations offood collectors

Although the size of a band can range anywhere from twenty toseveral hundred individuals, most band numbers between thirty tofifty people.

The actual size of a band is directly related to food gatheringmethods, i.e. the more food a band has at its disposal, the larger thenumber of people it can support.

The concept of ownership of resources is little and people tend toshare, cooperate and reciprocate

Little division of labour and highly egalitarian as there is not muchdifference of status and wealth is observed

It is thought to be the oldest form of political organization

Example of band socieities: Ju/hoansi of Kalahari desert


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Traits of Band Societies

1. Band societies are composed of relatively small number of

people who are related by blood or marriage; a high value isplaced on getting on with one an other

Whatever conflicts arise within the group are often settledinformally by direct negotiation.

In unlikely events, where a just resolution of a conflict can notbe reached, the dissatisfied party has the options to leave theband and join an other band where he has relatives.

2. Band societies have least amount of political integration;

various band are independent and ar not part of the largerpolitical structure.

The basis of integration is marriage and blood ties.


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Traits of Band Societies

3. In band societies political decisions are often embedded

in the larger social structure Because bands are composed of kin, it is difficult to

distinguish between purely political decisions and thosethat we recognize as economic family or religious ones.

Political life in other words is just a part of social life.

4. Informal Leadership role in band societies No specialized political roles or leaders with designated

authority.

Leaders are often older men respected for theirexperience, wisdom, good judgment and knowledge

Most decisions are made through discussion by old menbut headman cannot impose his decision

Wrong or un popular decision, band members look fornew headman


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Tribal Societies Unlike band societies, tribal societies are usually found among food

producers (horticulturists and pastoralists)

Due to animal and plant domestication, food is in surplus sopopulations are denser, larger and more sedentary in nature.

Similarities among tribal and band societies

Both are egalitarian as there are no marked difference in status, rank,power and wealth.

Local leaders but not centralized leadership.

A man is recognized as a leader by virtue of certain personality traits likewisdom, integrity, intelligence and concern for the welfare of others.

Leaders play a central role in decision making in tribal societies but theycannot force the decisions upon the group and decision come throughgroup consensus.


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Pan Tribal Mechanism Pan tribal mechanisms cut across and integrate all of the local segments

of the tribe into a larger whole.

They include tribal associations such as clans, age grades or secretsocieties

The purpose of these mechanisms is to unite the tribe against externalthreats but they are not a permanent political feature however.

Most of the time local units of tribe functions autonomously thesesystems only work when there is a external threat

When the external threat vanishes the tribes go back to theirautonomous state

Even though these pan tribal mechanisms may be transitory, they

nevertheless provide the wider political integration in certain situationsthan would never be possible in band societies.


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Clan The clan is group of kin who consider themselves to be descended from a

common ancestors, even though the individuals clan members cannot tracestep by step their connection to the clan founder.

Clan elders though not holding formal political offices usually manage theaffairs of their clans e.g. settling disputes between clan members orrepresenting their clans while dealing with other clans

Usually the term tribe carried the negative connotation with itin the past, mostly synonym of uncivilized

But this image was created in the time of colonialism, becauseof the warfare by tribal societies

The studies showed that the phenomenon of warfare mostlyabsent in pre-colonialism, was caused by the process of

colonialism Anthropologists do not relate anything negative with the term

tribe, rather they consider them a group of ethnicallyhomogenous people capable of coordinating political action,yet lacking the centralized leadership.


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Chiefdoms The societies which are complex, with larger and more specialized

populations, more sophisticated technology and growing surplusfood, need more formal and permanent political structures.

In such societies known as chiefdoms, political authority is likely toreside with a single individual, acting alone or in conjunction withan advisory council.

Chiefdom differs from band and tribal societies in a way that itintegrates a number of local communities in a more formal andpermanent way.

Chiefdoms are made of local communities which differ from eachother in rank and status.

Based on their genealogical proximity with the chief the nobles andthe commoners hold different level of prestige and power.

Chiefships are often hereditary and the chief and the close kin ofhis/her constitute a social and higher elite.


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Chiefs being the central and permanent official hold higher rank,power and authority than other in the society.

Chief usually make judgments, punish the wrongdoers, and settle

disputes to minimize the internal disruption. Also chiefs usually distributes land to loyal subjects, recruit people

in military and laborers for public work projects.

Chiefs are also related to the economic activities of their subjectsthrough redistributive system of economics

Subjects give surplus food to chief which is then redistributedamong subjects through communal feasts and doles.

This is serves not only the economic function of ensuring that nopeople in the society go hungry but also gives a chance to the

subjects of expressing their loyalty and support to the chief.

E l f Chi fd


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Example of Chiefdom

The pre-colonial Hawaiian political system of the 18th century

embodied the features of a typical chiefdom. Three strata in the society: at the apex; Alii, major chiefs perceived the

direct descendants of gods, their close relative served as advisors andbureaucrats under them.

Second echelons, known as konohiki,were less important cheifs who

were often distant relatives ofAlii

Finally great majority of people was commoners known asMakaainana.

The society was castelike due to little or no intermarriage among these

three strata But because the Alii had certain priestly functions due to their

connections with gods, Hawaiian society was theocracy as well

i i


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State Societies The most complex and most formal system of political organization.

State: can be defined as a hierarchical form of political organization thatgoverns many communities within a large geographical area.

States collect taxes, recruit labor for armies and civilian public workprojects and have a monopoly on the right to use force.

There are large bureaucratic organizations made up of permanent

institutions with legislative, administration and judiciary. Whereas band societies have political structures on the kinship basis,

state system of organization organize their power on a supra-kinship basisi.e. a persons membership in a state is based on his or her place of birthand citizenship rather than on kinship affiliation.

Over the past several thousands years state system of government hastaken several including Greek city-state, the far reaching Roman empire,African states like Bunyaro, Buganda, and the Swazi, theocratic states likeancient Egypt, modern nation states like Japan, Canada, United State andPakistan


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Important Foundations for States Authority

First, the state holds the exclusive right to use force and physicalcoercion. Any act of violence not expressly permitted by the state isillegal and consequently punishable by the state

Thus state governments make written laws, administer them throughvarious level of mechanism of bureaucracies and enforce themthrough agencies like police forces, armies and national guards. The

state needs to be continuously vigilant of the threats within andwithout to usurp its power through rebellions and revolutions.

Second the state maintains its authority by means of ideology.

For the state to maintain its power over the long run, there must be aphilosophical understanding among the citizenry that the state hasthe legitimate right to govern

In the absence of such an ideology, it is often difficult for the state tomaintain its authority by means of coercion alone.

S S i i d Ci ili i


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State Societies and Civilization State system first appeared about 5500 years ago are closely associated

with the rise of civilization, thus they are found in societies withcomplex socioeconomic characteristics

Such systems required intensive agriculture system in them tosupport a large umber of bureaucrats who are not producing.

This fully efficient food-production system gives rise to cities,

considerable labor specialization and a complex system of internaldistribution and foreign trade.

As food and resources are not distributed equally among the allsegments of society, so such societies are stratified i.e. land andcapital tend to be concentrated with elite, who in turn uses wealthand power to control the rest of the population.

Moreover the fairly complex laws and regulations needed to control alarge and heterogeneous population give rise to the need for some

writing, record keeping, and a system of weights and measures.


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Social Control

Mechanism found in all societies that function to encouragepeople not to violate social norms

Every society has to make sure that most of its members behavethemselves in appropriate ways most of the times.

State like societies like our own have a variety of formalized ways likewritten laws, judiciary, prisons, and police forces.

But not all societies maintain the social control among themselves inthe same ways.

In fact people deviate from acceptable behavior more in formalizedand complex societies than in simple societies.

Every society has defined what it considers normal, proper orexpected ways of behaving

These expectations known as social norms serve as behavioralguidelines that help the society work smoothly.

but the social norms are also not followed all the times by people


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Social scientists use the term deviance to refer the violation ofsocial norms

Deviance is a relative term as what is considered deviated in onesociety might completely normal in other society.

Example of sacrificing cows in Pakistan and India

All social norms are sanctioned either positive or negative

Positive sanctions range from a smile of approval to being awardedmedal of honor in public (rewards)

Negative sanctions include every thing from a frown of disapprovalto the death penalty (punishments)

Social sanctions are formal and informal E.g. telling a lie and breaking some law


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Informal means of social control Socialization Every society must pass on its social rules and norms from one generation

to another for it survival

It seems obvious that people can not confirm to the social norms unlessthey learn them. Thus all societies some systems ofsocialization,whichinvolves teaching the young what the norms are and they should not be

violated.

People learn the social norms with certain degree of moral compulsion

People internalize the social norms so effectively that people never considerviolating them e.g. wearing cloths.

Some societies tend to be very permissive in the process of socialization

while others use some form of corporal punishments as a child-trainingtechniques

f l f l l


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Informal means of social control Public opinion On of the most compelling reasons for not violating the social norms is

public opinion or social pressure

People wish to be appreciated by other members of society and fear ofbeing rejected and criticized by their friends and neighbors

Societies use social pressure (strategic embarrassment) very deliberately to

keep people in line. Indeed gossip, ostracism, rumors, sarcasm, and derision are powerful

corrective measures for reforming social behavior.

Publishing list of tax defaulters or exit control list

In some societies when some one strays too far from acceptable behavior

the group takes very explicit action to indelibly brand that person as deviante.g. military officers found guilty in a court martial are often ceremoniouslystripped off their insignia of rank in a public display of humiliation.

Harold Garfinkle (1956) has used the term degradation ceremonies to referto these formal societal mechanisms to publicly humiliate a deviant.

C t Li


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Corporate Lineage Corporate lineages mean kinship groups whose members

engage in daily activities together

Property is controlled by the lineage, people derive their primaryidentity from the group and even religion in some cases is a lineagematter

Acting like a small corporation, the lineage has a powerful impact on

the everyday lives of its members and can exert considerable pressureon people to confirm to the social norms

One of the means by which a corporate lineage exerts control over itsmembers is economic

All important property like live stock and land is controlled by theelders of the lineage.

Often the property is allocated on the basis of conformity of socialnorms

People following social norms get best part of land and live stocks but

other wise deviant may loose such valuable resources

Corporate lineage to some degree also act as mechanism of


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Corporate lineage to some degree also act as mechanism ofsocial control because of their scale.

Corporate lineage serve as localized communities numbering fromseveral hundreds to several thousands relatives.

Because of the intense and frequent interaction among these relativeit is virtually impossible to maintain anonymity for any wrong ordeviant deed

The nature of role structure in a corporate lineage is based on

diffused roles People may play a number of social roles simultaneously like kinship,

economic, political, ritual/religious, or recreational.

People in the corporate lineage societies (with diffuse or overlappingroles) have a built-in incentive not to violate the social norms, for todo so would have very serious consequences

if a man offends his elders, he is not only negatively affecting hiskinship domain but also affecting many other domains of social lifelike educational, economic, political, and religious


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Marriage also plays an important role in controlling thepeoples behavior socially.

As marriages are considered an alliance between familiesrather just two individuals

In many cases the marriage is legitimized by bridewealthwhich is from family of groom to brides family in form of live

stocks or land A man wants to marry and does not has control over

property, so if he has to provide 8 cows as bridewealth hemight has to convince 8 relatives.

Any person who has a fame as deviant, might not get thisopportunity, so people behave themselves according to socialnorms


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Supernatural Belief System Belief in supernatural forces like gods, witches and sorcerers may

help in people behavior

People will refrain from anti social behaviors if they believe that

some supernatural force will punish them for it. Believes like judgment day, angles, hell and heaven encourage

and discourage people to motivate and avoid from certainactions

A i i


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Age organization A type of social organization, found in East Africa and among Native

American groups, where in people of roughly same age pass throughdifferent levels of society together. Each ascending level, based onage carries with it increased social status and rigidly defined roles

Age set: a group roughly the same age who pass through various age

grades together Age grades: Permanent age categories in a society through which

people pass during the course of lifetime


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Formal Means of Social Control All societies use informal means of social control but in some

cases these informal mechanisms are not sufficient to keeppeople confirming the social norms as desired.

The violation of social norms often results in disputes amongsociety members

When these disputes become violent conflict e.g. theft,assault or homicide we call them crime

Although no society is crime free but the degree of crime indifferent societies varies

It appears that crime is more likely to appear in largeheterogeneous stratifies societies than in small scalesocieties


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Several logical arguments support these findings:

First as mentioned in corporate lineage it is hard for peopleto maintain their anonymity after wrong done but in a largecity it is easy

Second as in small scale societies mostly people know each

other they are most like to be concerned about the negativepublic opinion people around them

Third in a large heterogeneous society there will be more anddifferent groups often with conflicting interests

Fourth the fact that people in a large scale society are mostly

divided in to strata which might make them feel underprivileged and blocked towards upward moving, so they arelikely to violate the rights of those in the more privilegedstrata

Song Duels


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Song DuelsAs societies differ in the incidence of crime they also differ in handling the

disputes among people.

A unique example of solving disputes was found among Inuit of Canada, Alaskaand Greenland

Disputes among Inuit rarely arose due to the property rights violation due totheir nomadic way of life but the conflicts used to happen du to wife stealing.

A man would attempt to steal the wife of a more prominent man in order to

elevate his standing in that society A common way to resolve this conflict was to murder the wife stealer but therewere alternatives

Song duel is one of the alternative ways in which alleged wife stealer waschallenged to duel in which was fought through songs and lyrics rather weapons

The plaintiff and defendant appearing in the public setting would chide eachother with abusive songs especially composed for the occasion

The one who receives the loudest applause emerged as winner of this curse byverse song duel

Interestingly the resolution of the conflict was based not on a determination ofguilt or innocence but ones verbal dexterity

Intermediaries


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Intermediaries Some societies use intermediaries to help resolve the conflicts

The Nuer of the African Sudan are a case in point

Although the Nuer political system is informal but role of the LeopardSkinChief(LSC) to some degree is institutionalized

In absence of law courts, for serious crimes like murder, the Leopard SkinChief serves as a mediator between conflicting parties

The murderer takes refuge in the house of Chief, and the chief to avoid anall-out feud tries to settle the quarrel between families

The murderers family tries to compensate victims family with someproperty settlements likes camels or any other valuables

This is used as bridewealth to obtain a wife for one member of victims

family and the sons as result of such marriage will fill the void left bymurderer's family

The chief can threaten any unsatisfied party to curse but he does notdecide the case however. He acts as intermediary with authority todetermine the guilty and forces the decision. He some times uses his

personal and supernatural influence help the parties settle the disputes


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Moots: Informal Courts

Moots are the informal airings of the disputes involving kinsmen andfriends of the litigants

These adjudicating bodies are ad hoc and their composition varies fromcase to case

They generally deal the cases like mistreating the spouses, disagreement oninheritance and non payment of debts etc.

Punchaiyat andJirga system in our culture are examples of moots

Oaths and Ordeals

Another way of resolving conflicts when government systems are not verystrong is through religious sanctioned method known as oaths andordeals

An oath is a formal declaration to some supernatural power that what you

are saying is truthful or that you are innocent. The oaths often accompany with some ritual act like smoking the holy pipe,

singing the loyalty document or swearing the on the book of Bible orQuraan

As people believe that to swear a false oath could lead to supernatural

retribution, oaths can be effective in determining guilt or innocence.

An ordeal is a means of determining guilt by submitting the accused to


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An ordeal is a means of determining guilt by submitting the accused toa dangerous test

If the persons passes the test, it is believed that a higher supernaturalforce has determined the partys innocence; if he or she fails, the gods

have signaled the partys guilt. Putting hand in hot and cold water, walking on through the fire are

examples of ordeal

This may look mystical to people steeped into physical science but there

is often more information being gathered then meets the untrained eye During the explanation about the ordeals the body language and the

signs of excessive anxiety like muscle tension, perspiration or dilation ofthe pupils are examined

On the basis of the such assessment the authorities conducting theordeal may change the factors affecting the results of ordeal like lengthof time of ordeal

Ordeal may be found in societies where political leadership lacks theauthority to enforce the judicial decisions, so they rely on supernaturally

sanctioned mechanisms to make certain people will obey

Courts and Codified Law


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Courts and Codified LawA government in a state system posses the monopoly over the use of force

Through a system of codified law, state both forbids individuals from

using force and determines how it will use force to require citizen to dosome thing and not to do others

The usually written laws are established through legislative bodies,interpreted by judicial bodies and enforced by administrators

When laws are violated states have authority to fine, imprison and evenexecute the wrong doers through its courts and law enforcing agencies

States through courts and law enforcing agencies tries to punish thewrong doers and hey do not try to reintegrate them back into thecommunity.

Warfare


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Warfare As societies have ways to control behavior of its members internally,

they do have mechanisms to regulate behaviors of people outside thegroups, be they states, tribes, bands, clans, and lineages

One of such mechanisms of social control outside ones group or societyiswarfare

Warfare may be defined as a systematic, organized, andinstitutionalized fight between different groups

People might be less involved in anti social and aggressive behavior ifthey expect an attack by outside forces due to such behavior

The scale of use of warfare in different societies varies a lot.

It is thought that warfare in the history of mankind started with theinvention of food production

There are a number of reasons for foraging societies not to indulge inwarfare

First they had no centralized governments that could finance andcoordinate the large number of people needed for military campaigns

Second the absence of food surpluses precluded prolong combat

Third because foraging societies did not occupy land and resources one of


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Third, because foraging societies did not occupy land and resources one ofthe major motivation for warfare did not exist

Fourth because foraging societies are small in scale (usually composed ofexogamous bands), people are not likely to become hostile towards other

bands into which their own relatives have marriedCauses of warfare

Social Problem: Political leaders may turn the societys frustrations towardsanother group due to internal problems. The outsiders may be portrayed ashaving more than their shred of scarce resources or even causing socialproblems. It matters little if this type of blaming is justified, what is importantthe people are convinced that other group is cause of their problems.

Perceivedthreats: In some cases societies will go to war when they thinktheir security or well being is in jeopardy. (USA attack on Iraq and Afghanistan)

Politicalmotivation: sometimes governments will wage war for the purposefor furthering their own political objectives. The event of Lal Masjid andSouth Waziristan in Pakistan are the examples

Moralobjectives: all wars in the human history have been wages with somekind of moral urgency. Those who commit their soldiers to war justify their

action on some moral grounds. Islamic and European crusades


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Basic Concepts about Sex and Gender


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Basic Concepts about Sex and Gender

Sex (Sexual Dimorphism):

It refers to the physiological differences between men and women Gender:

The way members of the two sexes are perceived, evaluated andexpected to behave in a particular society

Masculinity: The social definition of maleness which varies from society to

society

Femininity:

The social definition of femaleness which varies from society tosociety

Gender Roles: Expected ways of behaving based on a societys definition of

masculinity and femininity

Gender Stratification:


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A division of society where all members are hierarchicallyranked according to gender

Gender Ideology:A system of thoughts and values that legitimizes sex roles,

status and customary behavior

Male Gender Bias

A preference found in sons societies for sons rather thandaughters

Female infanticide: The killing of female children

Nutritional deprivation:A form of child abuse involving withholding food; can

retard learning, physical development or socialadjustment


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Honor Killing

A tradition found in many countries of the worldincluding Middle eastern countries, India andPakistan. Women who are thought to dishonor theirfamilies by loosing their chastity are killed by themen of her family.

Dowry Death: The killing of women by her in-laws if the womans

parent fail to pay dowry according to the demandsof husbands family


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Dimensions of Social Inequality


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Dimensions of Social InequalityAccording to Max Webber (1946) the basic criteria for

measuring levels of social inequality is:Wealth Power

Prestige

Wealth People in a society may be differentiated on the basis of possession of

material or economic resources or wealth.

The definition of wealth may vary from society to society: for aMexican farmer wealth is land; in the Samburu of East Africa the

wealth man is determined on the basis of number of cows one has;and in Pakistan an individual would be wealthy if s/he has handsomebank balance, liquid cash, property, stocks and prize bonds etc.

Economic inequality also differs also differs in its prevalence from onesociety to another i.e. primitive societies seem to be equal withregards to distribution of wealth while complex societies more

unequal in relation to the distribution of wealth

Power


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Power may be defined as the ability to achieve ones goals andobjectives eve against the will of others. OR the capacity to produceintended effects on oneself, other people, social situations, or the

environment. Power is often closely correlated with wealth; in our society and

western world economic resources helps in gaining power.

But power and wealth do not necessarily overlap.

In certain parts of the world power may be based on factors other than

wealth like possession of specialized knowledge, eloquence as aspeaker.

According to democratic ideology power is in hand of people. Weexercise our power by voting for out political representative who see toit that our will is carried out.

This works in theory but in real life picture is different. Some social scientists (Hellinger and Judd, 1991) believe that power

lies with an unofficial power elite.

C. Wright Mills said in 1950s that power concentrates in the hands ofpower elite comprising government, military and corporate.

Prestige


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Prestige is social esteem, respect or admiration that a society conferson people.

Because favorable social evaluation is based on the norms and values

of a particular group, sources of prestige vary from culture to another. For example a cricketer in Pakistan or India, an old man in age graded

societies like Samburu of Kenya, and prestige is also attached withcertain professions in different societies.

The professions of physicians, corporate presidents, scientists ad top

ranking government officials enjoy high levels of occupationalprestige in the society of USA (research conducted by Hodge,Trieman, and Rossi 1966, Coleman and Rainwater 1978, Nakao andTreas 1990, and National Opinion Research Center 1996)

The ranking stands same for the last 50 years and surprisingly this

ranking also applies on other countries of the world. There are four factors separating the top ranked professions from

bottom ranked ones: higher level of salaries, requiring moreeducation, greater autonomy (less supervision), requiring moreabstract thinking and less physical labor

T f S i ti


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Types of Societies Most of the anthropologists distinguish societies on the basis of social

inequality.

Egalitarian Societies

In these societies no group or individual has appreciably more wealth,power or prestige than any other.

The difference in personal skills is acknowledged but individuals arenot able to transform these skills into wealth or prestige.

No matter how much or how little respect an individual in aegalitarian society may have but he or she is neither denied the right

to practice a certain profession nor subject to control of others. Particular examples of egalitarian societies are Ju /hoansi of the

Kalahari desert, the Inuit, and the Hadza of Tanzania

Egalitarian Societies Rank Societies Stratifies Societies

There are number of reasons, why unequal access to wealth, power


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and prestige is discouraged.

First the very nature of nomadic life inhibits the accumulation of largepossession

Foragers do not hold claims to territory, individuals may forage in whatever territory they wish, if some one holds the control over a certaingeographic area, the other may move to another areas

Finally food collectors tends to egalitarian because sharing tend tomaximize their chances of adaptation

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