Anthropology Glossary of Terms

Anthropology is the study of humans. It is a broad and complex field that covers everything from the physical characteristics of humans to their cultural, social, and linguistic practices.

Anthropology has many subfields, including archaeology, biological anthropology, cultural anthropology, and linguistic anthropology. Each of these subfields has its own specialized vocabulary.

This anthropology glossary of terms provides definitions for some of the most commonly used terms in anthropological research.

Glossary Terms starting with A

• Acculturation – a process of cultural change and adaptation
• Action Theory – How Humans Interact with their Environment
• Adaptive Strategy – Behaviours that enable a community to Survive in its Environment
• Alliance Theory – Understanding the Formation and Maintenance of Social Ties between Groups
• Amoral Familism – Prioritising the Family’s Interest over that of the Community
• Animism – The Belief that all Things have a Spirit
• Anomie – A State of Social Chaos or Normlessness
• Anthropology of the Body – The Study of the Human Body
• Anthropology of the City – The Study of Urban Spaces and Culture
• Apartheid – Racial Segregation based on Institutionalised Racism
• Archaic – The Earliest Stages of Human Development
• Asiatic Mode of Production – How Marx described self-sufficient villages found in Asia
• Assimilation – How Minority Groups become part of the Dominant Culture
• Asymmetric / Symmetric Alliance – A Marriage Alliance Theory
• Auto-Ethnography – Using Personal Experience to Explore Cultural Phenomena
• Avunculate – Special Kinship Bond between a Maternal Uncle and his Nephews
• Avunculocal – system of residence where a married couple settle with or near the maternal uncle

Glossary Terms starting with B

• Behaviourism – A Psychological Perspective of Learning through Conditioning
• Benedict, Ruth: The anthropologist who believed that cultures have personalities
• Big Man / Big Woman – A Person with Prestige and Influence in Melanesian Society
• Bilateral Kinship – Tracing Descent through both the Maternal and Paternal Line
• Biological Anthropology – The relationship between Biology and Sociocultural Systems
• Black Economy – Goods and Services Traded Outside the Formal Financial System
• Black Power – A Political Movement to empower black Americans in the US in the 1960s
• Blood Feud – A Prolonged Series of Retaliatory Attacks between Two Kinship Groups
• Boas, Franz: The Father of American Anthropology
• Body, Anthropology of the – a new field of study that focuses on the human body
• Bourgeoisie – The Capitalists Who Own the Means of Production
• Bride Capture – The Abduction of Women leading to Forced Marriage
• Brideprice, Bridewealth and Brideservice

Glossary Terms starting with C

• Capital – The Physical or Financial Resources required for Production
• Capitalism – An Economic System in which the Means of Production are Privately Owned
• Cargo Cult – Religious Movements claiming to obtain material goods (cargo) for indigenous people
• Cash Crops – Crops grown for Sale
• Caste – Social Groups Ranked Hierarchically by Birth, Marriage or Occupation
• Caudillismo – A Form of Dictatorship commonly associated with Latin America
• City, Anthropology of the – The Study of Urban Spaces and Culture
• Class Consciousness – When a Class recognises its Common Interests
• Cline – The Study of the Gradual Change in a Population over Time
• Cognatic Kinship – Tracing Descent through both the Maternal and Paternal line
• Cognitive Anthropology – The Study of How Culture impacts Human Cognition
• Colonialism – Acquiring and Maintaining Control over another Country or Territory
• Commensality – The Social Practice of Eating Together
• Concubinage – A Formalised Sexual Relationship between a Man and Women which is not equal to Marriage
• Consanguinity – The State of being related to someone by descent from a common ancestor
• Conscience Collective – The Shared Beliefs and Values of a Group or Society
• Conspicuous Consumption – Spending Money on Luxury Goods to Display Wealth and Status
• Contagious Magic – Items that have been in contact remain connected
• Creole Language – An Amalgam of the Colonial Language and Indigenous Language
• Cultural Baseline – The State of a Culture Before it Comes into Contact with Another Culture

Glossary Terms starting with D

• Debt Slavery – Entrapping Workers in a Cycle of Unpayable Debt
• Democracy – When all Citizens have an Equal Vote
• Demography – A Branch of Sociology that studies Human Populations
• Despotism – A Single Ruler who has Absolute Power
• Development – The process of Economic, Social and Cultural change
• Developmental Cycle of the Domestic Group – How Groups Change and Adapt Over Time
• Dialect – A Variety of a Language that has its own unique features
• Dialectic Reasoning – A Debate that Leads to a Conclusion
• Discrimination – Treating People Differently based on their Race, Gender or Other Characteristics
• Divination – Gaining Information through Supernatural Means
• Division of Labour – Assigning Tasks in such a way as to Enable Specialisation
• Domestic Mode of Production – Producing Goods for the Family
• Duolocal Residence – When Husband and Wife Live Separately
• Durkheim, Émile: The Father of Sociology and His Contributions to Anthropology
• Dowry – A Form of Marriage Payment
• Dynasty – A Line of Hereditary Rulers

Glossary Terms starting with E

• Endogamy – The Practice of Marrying within One’s Social Group
• Ethnogenesis – The Formation of New Ethnic Groups
• Ethnography 
• Exogamy – the practice of marrying outside of one’s social group
• Evans-Pritchard, Edward
• Evil Eye – The Power to Curse Others by Looking at Them

Glossary Terms starting with F

• Fascism – Its Origins, Evolution, and its misuse of Anthropology

Anthropology Glossary of Terms – Posts