Cultural Anthropology: Tribes, States, and the Global System

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Rowman Altamira, Apr 16, 2011 - Social Science - 631 pages
This introductory text introduces basic concepts in cultural anthropology by comparing cultures of increasing scale and focusing on specific universal issues throughout human history. Cultural materials are presented in integrated ethnographic case studies organized by cultural and geographic areas to show how ideological, social organization, and material features fit together in specific sociocultural systems. Bodley explicitly seeks a balance between ecological-materialist and cultural-ideological explanations of sociocultural systems, while stressing the importance of individual power-seeking and human agency. Part One examines domestic-scale, autonomous tribal cultures. Part Two presents politically organized, class-based civilizations and ancient empires in the imperial world. Part Three surveys global, industrial, market-based civilizations in the contemporary commercial world. Cultural Anthropology uniquely challenges students to consider the big questions about the nature of cultural systems.
 

Contents

THE WORLD BEFORE THE STATE
1
A Scale and Power Perspective
3
Villagers of the Rain Forest
25
Mobile Foragers for 50000 Years
67
Tribal Pastoralists
99
Ch05 CrossCultural Perspectives on the Tribal World
129
THE END OF EQUALITY
179
From Leaders to Rulers
181
Ch10 The Capitalist World System
333
An American Plutocracy
381
Ch12 An Unsustainable Global System
419
LOCAL TO GLOBAL
461
Progress of the Victims
463
Ch14 Small Nations Solving Global Problems
503
Ch15 Envisioning a Sustainable World
543
Glossary
567

Mesopotamia and the Andes
217
Ch08The Chinese Great Tradition
263
Ch09 Hinduism and Islam in South Asia
293
GLOBAL CAPITALISM
331
Bibliography
575
Index
609
About the Author
631
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About the author (2011)

John H. Bodley is Regents Professor in the Department of Anthropology at Washington State University.

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