Page Number In Haviland

Anthropological Term

Anthropological Definition

150

adaptation

a process by which organisms achieve a beneficial adjustment to an available environment, and the results of that process; the characteristics of organisms that fit them to the particular set of conditions of the environment in which they are generally found

150

horticulture

cultivation of crops using hand tools such as digging sticks or hoes

152

ecosystem

a system, or a functioning whole, composed of both the physical environment and the organisms living within it

154

convergent evolution

in cultural evolution, the development of similar adaptations to similar environmental conditions by people whose ancestral cultures were quite different

154

parallel evolution

in cultural evolution, the development of similar adaptations to similar environmental conditions by people whose ancestral cultures were similar

154

culture area

a geographic region in which a number of different societies follow similar patterns of life

155

*cultural type

the concept of viewing a culture in terms of the relation of its particular technology to the environment that technology exploits

156

cultural ecology

the study of the interaction of specific human cultures with their environment

156

culture core

the features of a culture that play a part in matters relating to the society's way of making a living

157

ethnoscientists

anthropologists who seek to understand the principles behind folk ideologies and the way these ideologies inform people about their environment and help people survive

160

carrying capacity

the number of people the available resources can support at a given technological level

160

density of social relations

roughly, the number and intensity of interactions among the members of a camp or other residential unit

167

swidden farming

an extensive form of horticulture in which the natural form of vegetation is cut, the slash is subsequently burned, and crops then planted amongst the ashes [also known as "slash-and-burn" agriculture]

170

pastoralist

member of a society that regards animal husbandry as the ideal way of making a living and considers movement of all or part of the society a normal and natural way of life

171

transhumance

pattern of strict seasonal human movement between different environmental zones

177

pre industrial cities

the kids of urban settlements characteristic of non industrial civilizations