FIRST HUMAN ORGANIZATIONSFIRST HUMAN ORGANIZATIONSTYPES OF HUMAN ORGANIZATIONS: FAMILY, TYPES OF HUMAN ORGANIZATIONS: FAMILY,

CLAN, TRIBE.CLAN, TRIBE.

People lived day to day in family groups.

CLASS ACTIVITY TYPE II CONCEPT MAP

CLASS GOAL: To learn about CLASS GOAL: To learn about the 1st human organizations: the 1st human organizations: characteristics, culture, characteristics, culture, activities, etc. activities, etc.

FAMILY.-FAMILY.- A) Nuclear Family - a group consisting of parents and dependent children.

B) B) Expanded Family - households with nonnuclear family members. There are two basic types: -Extended Family :include at least three generations (such as grandparents, mother and father, sisters and brothers, perhaps an aunt and uncle, and maybe a distant relative or two). -Collateral household - expanded family that includes siblings and their spouses and children

Extended Family

Nuclear Family

Collateral household

MOST FREQUENTLY, CLAN MEMBERSHIP IS DISPERSED, USUALLY DOES NOT HOLD TANGIBLE PROPERTY CORPORATELY, AND TENDS TO BE MORE A UNIT FOR CEREMONIAL MATTERS. EXAMPLES OF FIRST NATIONS WITH MATRICLANS ARE THE MANDAN AND HIDATSA, AMONG OTHERS.

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Clan - A noncorporate descent group whose members claim descent from a common ancestor (real or mythical) but are unable to name the actual genealogical connecting links back to the common ancestor. Like membership in lineages, clans membership is assigned at birth and is established either through the female (matriclan) or male (patriclan) line.

Tribes or "nations". Tribes or "nations". TribesTribes are really "language groups", made up of people sharing the same language, customs, and general laws. The people of a tribe share a common connection and in their own language, their word for "man" is often the word used for the name of the tribe. Because a tribe is like a small country with its own language, some tribal groups also use the term "nation" to describe themselves, such as the Larrakeyah tribe around Darwin calling itself the"Larrakeyah Nation".

TribesTribes were generally not a war- making group, they were not led by a chief, and people generally use their moiety or clan name to describe themselves individually, rather than their tribal name.

Clans. Clans. The clan is an important unit in Aboriginal society, having its own name and territory, and is the land-owning unit. A clan is a group of about 40-50 people with a common territory and totems, and having their own group name. It consists of groups of extended families. Generally, men born into the clan remain in the clan territory. This is called a patrilineal group.Not all members of a clan live on the clan territory. The sisters and daughters of one clan go to live on their husbands' clan territory, if that is the tradition for that tribe.  Although a clan has its own territory, members of one clan will live with another, for the wives of the clansmen have come from clans of the opposite moiety. One can think of this in European terms as if a woman marries a man, but does not change her surname to his. If her surname were her clan name, then despite marrying a man from another clan, her clan name remains and she still belongs to the clan of her father.

Families. A family group can be quite large, consisting of a man and his wives, the children from each wife, and sometimes his parents or in-laws.

Tribe A tribe is a group of nominally independent communities occupying a specific region, sharing a common language and culture, which are integrated by some unifying factor.

Separate bands or villages are integrated by pantribal factors (e.g., lineages and or clans)

Some degree of household autononmy is sacrificed to some larger order group in return for greater security against attacks by enemies or starvation

Typically, though not invariably, has an economy based on some form of farming or herding

Population densities almost always exceed one person per square mile, and may be as high as 250 per square mile

Each tribe consists on one or more small autonomous local communities, which may then form alliances with one another for various purposes

Political organization is informal and of a temporary nature Leadership is informal and not vested in a central authority In many tribal societies the organizing unit and seat of political authority is

the clan, an association of people who believe themselves to share a common ancestry; or in age-grades; or in common-interest groups

BAND TRIBE CHIEFDOM STATETotal Numbers Less than 100 Up to a few thousand 5,000 - 20,000+ Generally 20,000+

Social Organization

Egalitarian Informal leadership

Segmentary societyPan-tribal associationsRaids by small groups

Kinship-based ranking under hereditary leaderHigh-ranking warriors

Class-based hierarchy under king or emperorArmies

Economic Organization

Mobile gatherers-hunters Settled farmers Pastoralist herders

Central accumulation and redistribution Some craft specialization

Centralized bureaucracy Tribute-based Taxation Laws

Settlement Pattern

Temporary camps Permanent villages Fortified centers Ritual centers

Urban; cities, towns Frontier defenses Roads

Religious Organization

Shamans Religious elders Calendrical rituals

Hereditary chief with religous duties

Priestly class Pantheistic or monotheistic religion

Architecture Temporary shelters Permanent structures Burial mounds Shrines

Large-scale monuments Palaces, temples, and other public buildings

Archaeological examples

Paleo-Indians Archaic peoples Formative societies Urban Mesoamerican civilizations

Modern examples

Inuit Pueblos Northwest Coast All modern states

Most recent update: 1 December 1999