AnthropologyLesson 1 of 1 in the course Work, Life, and Value: Economic Anthropology

Reciprocity, Redistribution, Markets, and Money

5 flashcards · 5 quiz questions · 5 match pairs · 5 fill-in sentences · English

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Summary

A subsistence strategy is a way of making a living through particular techniques of production, such as gathering, hunting, herding, farming, or horticulture. Production creates or obtains the things people need, including food, clothing, shelter, and medicines. Exchange concerns how those goods move among people and groups after they are produced or acquired.

All flashcards

Production
Making or obtaining the goods people need.
Generalized reciprocity
Sharing without calculating value or expecting immediate compensation.
Balanced reciprocity
Exchange that involves an expected return of broadly comparable value.
Redistribution
Resources flow to a center and are then allocated back to a community.
General-purpose money
Money that can be exchanged for a wide variety of goods and services.

Quiz questions

  1. In hxaro, what is a central purpose of exchanging gifts?Answer: To establish and maintain social ties over time.
  2. What did lavish gift-giving at a potlatch demonstrate and encourage?Answer: The host's power and a challenge for the guest to give more.
  3. How does redistribution generally move resources?Answer: Resources flow toward a center and are then allocated back to the community.
  4. Compared with reciprocal exchanges, what is a common feature of market exchange?Answer: It often allows a transaction without creating an ongoing personal obligation.
  5. Which set lists the three classical functions of money?Answer: Medium of exchange, unit of account, and store of value.

Based on Introduction to Anthropology by Jennifer Hasty, David G. Lewis, Marjorie M. Snipes (OpenStax), licensed CC BY 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.

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