Explain the practical effects of the culture’s family size and discuss how family size influences political alliance formation.

Cultural Anthropologist

Read & Review Ethnographic Studies

  • The Akan of West Africa
  • The Igbo of Nigeria
  • The Ancient Hebrews
  • A Turkish Peasant Village
  • The Yanomamo of the Amazon Forest
  • The Ju/’hoansi of the Kalihari

-Choose a Cultural Group
Investigate one of the cultural groups listed above or in our textbook reading.

Answer Focus Questions
Answer the following questions as if you are a Cultural Anthropologist conducting an Ethnographic Research Study about your culture:

1. Explain why it is important for you, as an Anthropologist, to understand the kinship, descent, and family relationships that exist in the culture you study.

2. Define the position of people or one person within the family, including their status, role, and expected behavior to perform in the family and/or in that community. If the role has changed over time, please explain. Make sure you are applying this example to your culture under study as if you a Cultural Anthropologist conducting an ethnographic research study.

3. Describe the pattern of family organization of the culture, such as nuclear families, extended families, or joint families.

4. Explain the practical effects of the culture’s family size and discuss how family size influences political alliance formation.