Desde a década de 1960, a violência entre os Yanomami tem sido um dos mais polêmicos temas de pesquisa para etnologia americanista, inaugurando um debate que abrangeu discussões no âmbito da antropologia ecológica, da sociobiologia e da genética, passando pela arqueologia, os estudos de gênero e a filosofia política. Por meio da análise de dados coletados entre os Yanomami habitantes da Serra das Surucucus (RR/Brasil), pretendo mostrar como seu sistema de agressões relaciona-se às relações de parentesco, à ocupação do espaço e à definição de unidades sociais. As relações entre essas unidades, por sua vez, são enfocadas mediante sua interface com o com os funerais e o universo cosmológico, elementos fundamentais para a delimitação do fenômeno e para a compreensão da dinâmica de aproximação e distanciamento que caracteriza o sistema. / Since the 1960s, violence among the Yanomami has been one of the most polemical research topics in South American Ethnology, giving rise to a debate that has drawn contributions from the areas of ecological anthropology, sociobiology and genetics as well as archaeology, gender studies and political philosophy. Through an analysis of ethnographic data collected among the Yanomami of the Serra das Surucucus (Roraima, Brazil), this thesis demonstrates the ways in which the Yanomami’s system of aggressions relates to their kinship system, their settlement patterns and their definition of social units. The relations between these units, for their part, are analysed through their interface with Yanomami funeral practices and cosmology, fundamental elements in the investigation of the phenomenon of Yanomami aggression and for the understanding of the dynamic of approach and withdrawal that characterizes this system.

This research explores the changing nature of social organization associated with the growth and breakup of large nucleated hunter-gatherer winter settlements in the Mid-Fraser region of south-central British Columbia, ca. 2000-300 cal. B.P. It uses hierarchy and heterarchy as overarching conceptual frameworks for theorizing and evaluating structures of social and political organization. Regional radiocarbon data were used to examine issues of demography and to evaluate the role of scalar stress in producing social change in these burgeoning communities. In order to explore aspects of economic practice and wealth distribution over time artifacts, fauna, and features from sixteen different housepits from five different village sites near the present-day town of Lillooet, British Columbia were analyzed. Results suggest that the villages formed around 1800 cal. B.P. and attained peak population ca. 1200 cal. B.P. The onset of the Medieval Climatic Anomaly at that time altered resource conditions, resulting in greater reliance on mammalian rather than riverine resources. Increased pressure on these resources led to the incorporation of greater amounts of small bodied mammals after 1000 cal. B.P. Apparent declining numbers of houses within large villages after 1200 cal. B.P. suggest that village abandonment began at this time, with individual families likely settling in dispersed villages. The large villages were totally abandoned by 900-800 cal. B.P. Lack of evidence for wealth differentiation in these contexts suggest that social hierarchy based on control over access to resources never emerged in the large villages and that more egalitarian conditions prevailed. Heterarchical structures that allow for shifting balance of power between bands and individual families is argued to have characterized the shift between population aggregation and dispersal.

I examined fission-fusion sociality in dusky dolphins (Lagenorhynchus obscurus), and investigated aspects of social convergence between dolphins and great apes. I used boat-based group focal follows and photo-identification to collect data in Admiralty Bay, New Zealand during 2005-2006. I used generalized estimating equations to examine relationships between party (group) size, rate of party fission-fusion, activity, and location; and relationships between leaping frequency and behavior. Using photo-identification images from 2001-2006, I analyzed the strength and temporal patterning of associations, short- and long-term association patterns, preferred/avoided associations, and behaviorally-specific preferred associations. To analyze social convergence between dolphins and great apes, I compared female bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops spp.) and chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) social strategies through literature review. I conducted 171 group focal follows, totaling 157 observation hours. Mean party size was 7.0±6.0 individuals. Party size changed every 5±.47.6 min on average. The most frequent activity was resting (37%), followed by traveling (29%), foraging (18%), and socializing (15%). Foraging was positively related to party size and rate of fission-fusion. Near mussel farms, foraging increased, traveling decreased, and rate of party fusion increased. "Clean" leaps were the most frequent leap type (84%) and were positively related to party size and foraging. Noisy and coordinated leaps were positively related to party size; noisy leaps were negatively related to foraging. Associations during 2001-2006 (N = 228 individuals) were nonrandom for 125 days; associations within one field season were nonrandom for 60 days. Individuals formed preferred/avoided associations during most years. The strongest associations occurred during foraging and socializing; the weakest associations occurred during traveling. Individuals formed preferred associations during foraging, resting, and socializing. Review of female bottlenose dolphin and chimpanzee sociality revealed that: 1) females form weaker bonds and are less social than males, 2) females associate mostly with other females, 3) mothers are often alone with their offspring, 4) mothers (vs. non-mothers) and non-cycling (vs. cycling) females associate less with males, and 5) non-cycling (vs. cycling) females occur in smaller parties. Female dolphins may be more social than female chimpanzees due to decreased scramble competition, increased predation risk, and decreased cost of transport for dolphins vs. chimpanzees.

This dissertation offers a reformulation of social organization in eastern Sonora from the thirteenth to sixteenth centuries based on survey and excavation data collected in the Moctezuma Valley, Sonora, Mexico. Prior researchers, utilizing Spanish exploration era documents, argued for the presence of territorial polities that controlled large sections of river valleys with an elite class supported by the management of long distance trade. Previous archaeological research demonstrated hierarchy in settlement patterns, but differed in interpretations regarding the methods of "elite" ascendance. This dissertation addresses questions of both the scale of political organization and its likely underpinnings. Multiple data sets including artifact style boundaries, settlement pattern analysis, and consideration of ecological parameters demonstrate political organization rarely reached beyond local sections of river valleys. This suggests dozens of locally autonomous settlement communities were present in an area previously argued to contain less than ten political units. Additionally, application of a diverse set of provenance techniques facilitated testing previous hypothesis regarding exchange in the region. The character of regional exchange systems appears to be mostly through down-the-line acquisition, likely orchestrated by aspirant leaders at the level of local settlement communities. These interactions rarely reached beyond near neighbors and excluded some immediately adjacent settlement communities. In contrast, the exchange of mundane ceramics crossed these same boundaries, indicating different segments of society forged incongruous social networks. In summary, these data suggest the region would be a very poor conduit for long distance exchange, most aspirant leaders had only limited access to social valuables, and that the social landscape was sufficiently volatile that most households sought exterior ties as a means of risk reduction. Local warfare in conjunction with demographic and ecological factors are argued to play the predominant roles in generating the political landscape of eastern Sonora. Overall, small scales of political consolidation and minimal hierarchical control characterized the broader region.

How has for over 500 years the Calpolli system of social organization and governance survived? Why is it important for Mexica communities to organize themselves into Calpoltin? These are the central research questions that underpin my work. In the process of answering these questions I have developed a liberating (decolonizing) research framework rooted in the Tlamanalcayotl. Through this framework an analysis of Nican Tlacah resistance movements for liberation and autonomy is undertaken in order to understand that we've been fighting for our traditional social systems of organization and governance. These Nican Tlacah ways of being are rooted in principles of self-sufficiency and sustainability that engender human societies that take care of their ecology. The Calpolli families having formed a union (establishing relationships of responsibility with one another) create a living community that is continually developing a way of being that is functional, practical, self-sufficient, and sustainable.

This research explores the changing nature of social organization associated with the growth and breakup of large nucleated hunter-gatherer winter settlements in the Mid-Fraser region of south-central British Columbia, ca. 2000-300 cal. B.P. It uses hierarchy and heterarchy as overarching conceptual frameworks for theorizing and evaluating structures of social and political organization. Regional radiocarbon data were used to examine issues of demography and to evaluate the role of scalar stress in producing social change in these burgeoning communities. In order to explore aspects of economic practice and wealth distribution over time artifacts, fauna, and features from sixteen different housepits from five different village sites near the present-day town of Lillooet, British Columbia were analyzed. Results suggest that the villages formed around 1800 cal. B.P. and attained peak population ca. 1200 cal. B.P. The onset of the Medieval Climatic Anomaly at that time altered resource conditions, resulting in greater reliance on mammalian rather than riverine resources. Increased pressure on these resources led to the incorporation of greater amounts of small bodied mammals after 1000 cal. B.P. Apparent declining numbers of houses within large villages after 1200 cal. B.P. suggest that village abandonment began at this time, with individual families likely settling in dispersed villages. The large villages were totally abandoned by 900-800 cal. B.P. Lack of evidence for wealth differentiation in these contexts suggest that social hierarchy based on control over access to resources never emerged in the large villages and that more egalitarian conditions prevailed. Heterarchical structures that allow for shifting balance of power between bands and individual families is argued to have characterized the shift between population aggregation and dispersal.

Desde a década de 1960, a violência entre os Yanomami tem sido um dos mais polêmicos temas de pesquisa para etnologia americanista, inaugurando um debate que abrangeu discussões no âmbito da antropologia ecológica, da sociobiologia e da genética, passando pela arqueologia, os estudos de gênero e a filosofia política. Por meio da análise de dados coletados entre os Yanomami habitantes da Serra das Surucucus (RR/Brasil), pretendo mostrar como seu sistema de agressões relaciona-se às relações de parentesco, à ocupação do espaço e à definição de unidades sociais. As relações entre essas unidades, por sua vez, são enfocadas mediante sua interface com o com os funerais e o universo cosmológico, elementos fundamentais para a delimitação do fenômeno e para a compreensão da dinâmica de aproximação e distanciamento que caracteriza o sistema. / Since the 1960s, violence among the Yanomami has been one of the most polemical research topics in South American Ethnology, giving rise to a debate that has drawn contributions from the areas of ecological anthropology, sociobiology and genetics as well as archaeology, gender studies and political philosophy. Through an analysis of ethnographic data collected among the Yanomami of the Serra das Surucucus (Roraima, Brazil), this thesis demonstrates the ways in which the Yanomami’s system of aggressions relates to their kinship system, their settlement patterns and their definition of social units. The relations between these units, for their part, are analysed through their interface with Yanomami funeral practices and cosmology, fundamental elements in the investigation of the phenomenon of Yanomami aggression and for the understanding of the dynamic of approach and withdrawal that characterizes this system.

No description available.

The current study explored the contributions of the Salvation Army (TSA) to social organization in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Being one of the leading Church-based non-governmental organizations (NGOs), TSA plays a fundamental role in delivering social services to the DRC. To understand the organization's social activities in the African state, the researcher adopted a qualitative phenomenological research design to explore the lived experiences of the respondents on TSA's role as a social organization. A sample population of 10 participants (n=10) drawn from Kinshasa, DRC, was used, and in-depth interviews were adopted in collecting data. From the research, it was evident that the primary themes that emerged included shelter, disaster management, education, healthcare, and social growth and development. The research illustrated that TSA's services align with its principles and doctrines of helping humankind. TSA's goal is to alleviate the suffering of humanity by providing basic social services. Hence, TSA collaborates with other organizations, particularly the government, to address immediate social challenges affecting a particular community. The research concluded that TSA is a social organization driven by the desire to serve all people equally, whether believers or non-believers address social challenges impeding their well-being. TSA continues to play a pivotal role in alleviating the well-being of communities in impoverished Kinshasa, DRC.

Modern work has been proven to compartmentalize the life of the individual. One must look no further than semantics to realize the discontinuity between "work" and "home," for the segmented nature of these two states of being becomes apparent the moment that they are juxtaposed.  Historically, it has been argued that the tension between industrial/post-industrial labor and some kind of natural state of existence in which an individual can pursue her own destiny is both deeply rooted in the flowering of modernity and seems to be accepted as unavoidable. In this thesis, I present a case study where this tension is almost entirely put aside. In my analysis of Twin Oaks Community, an intentional community located in central Virginia, I show how modern labor organization can be deliberately cultivated to reconsider the relationship between a laborer and her work, and that a work/life balance is not necessary when all forms of work are valued. Results of a participant observation study performed at Twin Oaks, as well as reliance on theory and sociological studies indicate the ways in which Twin Oaks marries life and work in the pursuit of building community. This study will prove that Twin Oaks Community\'s labor organization, valuing of labor from all epochs (pre-industrial, industrial, and post-industrial), and overarching communitarian goals help to reunite the laborer with her natural life-activity. / Master of Public and International Affairs