Anthropology 2229F/G Lecture Notes - Ascribed Status, Kinship
18 Jul 2012
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Lecture 26 part 3 sociological organization: ranked/chiefdoms. Ranked/chiefdoms: transegalitarian: shift from egalitarian to non-egalitarian. More recent term: hunter-gatherers (rare) and horticulturalists/agriculturalists. Some remain hunter-gatherers if there are dense resources. 1,000 or more, up to 30,000: not fluid. Membership determined by kinship: fictive kinship (clans), marriage and sodalities. Ties of descent as well as marriage ties. Sodalities to serve a specific purpose: non-egalitarian. More complex: more people, more organization requires centralized decision making. Some have more rights and privileges that others. At birth, some get more rights and privileges than others; ascribed status. Some people more important than others; get access to better things, etc. Leaders come from the highest ranking descent group. More than one person could have claim to have the authority to be the decision-maker. Based on the abilities of the individual. Leadership a combination of achieved and ascribed status. Authority of the leader/chief may be small; can be easily deposed: lead more by example, simple chiefdoms.
