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My vocabs [2]

Word List with 52 words
By Dictionary.com

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Words in This List

culture pattern

a group of interrelated culture traits of some continuity.

culture trait

any trait of human activity acquired in social life and transmitted by communication.

rite of passage

a ceremony performed to facilitate or mark a person's change of status upon any of several highly important occasions, as at the onset of puberty or upon entry into marriage or into a clan.

Caucasian

characteristic of one of the traditional racial divisions of humans, originally inhabiting Europe, North Africa, west Asia or India: no longer in technical use

clan

principal social unit of tribal organization, in which descent is reckoned exclusively in either the paternal or the maternal line

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moiety

one of two units into which a tribe or community is divided on the basis of unilineal descent

survival

the persistence of a cultural trait, practice, or the like long after it has lost its original meaning or usefulness: no longer in technical use

hominid

any of the modern or extinct bipedal primates of the family Hominidae, including all species of the genera Homo and Australopithecus

liminality

the transitional period or phase of a rite of passage, during which the participant lacks social status or rank, and follows prescribed forms of conduct, dress, etc.

sib

a unilateral descent group; sibling

matrilocal

pertaining to residence with the wife's family or tribe; uxorilocal

gens

a group tracing common descent in the male line; a clan

neolocal

living or located away from both the husband's and the wife's relatives

hominoid

a member of the biological superfamily Hominoidea, including all modern great apes and humans and a number of their extinct ancestors and relatives

anthropometer

an instrument of a calibrated, vertical rods attached two horizontal arms, one fixed and one movable, for measuring the human trunk and limbs

communitas

the sense of sharing and intimacy that develops among persons who experience liminality as a group

preliterate

lacking a written language; nonliterate; occurring before the development or use of writing

ramage

a descent group composed of individuals descended from one ancestor through any combination of male and female links

hunter-gatherer

a member of a group of people who subsist by hunting, fishing, or foraging in the wild

vision quest

among North American Indians, the ritual seeking of personal communication with the spirit world through visions induced by fasting and prayer

filiopietistic

pertaining to reverence of forebears or tradition, especially if carried to excess

ancestor worship

the veneration of ancestors whose spirits are frequently held to possess the power to influence the affairs of the living

virilocal

living with or located near the husband's father's group; patrilocal

avunculate

a close social relationship between a maternal uncle and his nephew

stirp

a line of descendants from a common ancestor

ethnobiology

the scientific study of the way plants and animals are treated or used by different human cultures

rite of intensification

a ritual or ceremony performed by a community in a time of crisis that affects all members, as a rain dance during a drought

amitate

a close social relationship between a paternal aunt and her niece

protolithic

pertaining to stone implements selected according to suitability of the form to a particular purpose without definite shaping on the part of the user

culture area

a region having a distinct pattern of culture

diffusionism

the theory or principle that diffusion is the main force in cultural innovation and change

Australoid

a descriptive category including principally the Australian Aborigines and sometimes including Papuans, Melanesians, various small-statured peoples

culture center

the part of a culture area in which the most distinctive traits of the area are concentrated

Mousterian

Middle Paleolithic culture of Neanderthal man, consisting of more than five stone traditions in Europe with characteristic tools

platyrrhine

having a broad, flat-bridged nose

matripotestal

pertaining to the authority exercised by a mother or a mother's blood relatives

patripotestal

pertaining to the authority exercised by a father or a father's blood relatives

neanthropic

pertaining to modern forms of humans as compared with extinct species of the genus Homo

spear-thrower

a flexible device for launching a spear, usually a short cord wound around the spear so that when thrown the weapon will rotate in the air

mesognathous

having medium, slightly protruding jaws

mesorrhine

having a moderately broad and high-bridged nose

Neanderthaloid

resembling or characteristic of the physical type of Neanderthal man

culture

the sum total of ways of living built up by a group of human beings and transmitted from one generation to another

Mesolithic

transitional period of the Stone Age characterized by adaptation to a hunting, collecting, and fishing economies

Mongoloid

characteristic of a traditional racial division of humans marked by prominent cheekbones, eye shape and straight black hair: no longer in technical use

Neolithic

the last phase of the Stone Age, marked by the domestication of animals, the development of agriculture, and the manufacture of pottery and textiles

primitive

pertaining to a preliterate or tribal people having cultural or physical similarities with their early ancestors: no longer in technical use

Pygmy

a member of a small-statured people native to equatorial Africa, southeastern Asia, or of the Andaman or Philippine islands

race

any of the traditional divisions of humankind, characterized by supposedly distinctive, universal physical characteristics: no longer in technical use

sept

a group believing itself derived from a common ancestor

procure

to obtain or get by care, effort, or the use of special means

ardent

intensely devoted, eager, or enthusiastic; zealous