Terms You Should Know
achieved status Individuals receive a status based on meeting certain criteria through personal efforts or the efforts of others (Kottak, 2012). They can be positive or negative.
ascribed status A status an individual has no choice or control over (Kottak, 2012). You are born into it or grow into it, such as family prestige or status attained at a certain age.
band The smallest unit of political organization, consisting of only a few families and no formal leadership positions. Typically, they have a population of less than 100, are a nomadic society, are hunter-gathers, and have an egalitarian social system.
burial analysis The process of studying human remains, burial practices, and grave goods to establish a possible rank and status of the individual.
cache Collection of tools and/or materials stored for future use.
chiefdom Large political units involving multiple communities in which a permanent chief, who usually is determined by heredity, holds a formal position of authority. Typically, they are a sedentary, ranked society with large populations and practice horticulture or agriculture.
class Social groups with unequal access to wealth, power, and prestige.
closed-class society The division of society into hierarchical levels; one’s position is determined by birth and remains fixed for life. A characteristic of a caste system.
egalitarian society Societies in which there is no great difference in status or power between individuals. Foragers, horticulturalists, and pastoralists are typically egalitarian societies.
ethnicity The degree to which a person identifies with and feels an attachment to a particular group based on shared cultural characteristics and ancestry
gender roles The set of expectations about tasks, attitudes, and behaviors that are culturally assigned based on biological sex and gender.
khipu Knotted strings used for collecting data, record keeping, and government management. Also spelled quipu.
open class society The division of society into hierarchical levels in which individuals have social ability and can move between classes, either into a higher or lower class.
potlatch A gift-giving ceremony of the Northwest Pacific Coast Native Americans in which distribution of gifts affirms or reaffirms an individual's status in the community.
power the ability to exercise one's will over others; often making others do things they do not want to do, such as slave labor.
prestige Particular honor or respect; approval for acts, deeds, or qualities considered exemplary.
ranked society Societies in which there is unequal access to prestige but little difference in wealth and power; prestige was gained through a demonstration of generosity. Typically, ranked societies practice horticulture or agriculture.
seasonal round Patterns of movement from one resource to another in an annual cycle.
settlement analysis The study of settlement patterns and the use of the landscape.
social leveling mechanisms Practices that ensure an individual does not gain more power than others such as ridiculing, teasing, and shunning.
social stratification Individuals have unequal access to resources, positions of power, and/or prestige. Associated with state-level societies.
state The most complex form of political organization characterized by a central government that has formal power and authority. They are autonomous units that link and govern many communities in a territory. They are typically stratified societies that rely on intensive agriculture.
tribe Political units organized around family ties that have fluid or shifting systems of temporary or part-time leadership and living in semi-permanent or permanent settlements with a population in the hundreds. Typically, they are an egalitarian society that practices horticulture and/or pastoralism.
wealth Things that are considered valuable in a culture, such as land, tools, money, goods, and wealth; a person's material assets.
A derivative work from
"Digging into Archaeology:A Brief OER Introduction to Archaeology with Activities" by Amanda Wolcott Paskey and AnnMarie Beasley Cisneros, Faculty (Anthropology) at Cosumnes River College & American River College, ASCCC Open Educational Resources Initiative (OERI), 2020, under CC BY-NC 4.0.
