ANT 304 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Readwrite, Social Stratification
Document Summary
Not everything that is recorded when things are written down. At individual level it can inform how we define ourselves and how we behave and act - identity. Agency - ability of individuals to make decisions and act upon them. Habitus - structuring principles and dispositions that frame, inform and restrict decision making. Social dimensions - gender, age, race, sexuality, kinship, social status. Framed on economic wealth, political/religious/ideological authority and kinship. Present in non-egalitarian society, where there is internal differentiation. Defines access to resources - food, water, art. Or facilities - temples, palaces, governing structures. Creates disparities between different groups of people in same society. Material record used to study social ranking. Structures - high status has larger/more elaborate houses and are built by other people. Also may be restricted or hard to get to. Burials - distribution of goods, type of burial, human remains. Not always binary - more than 3 in some societies.
