Pre-Coded Variables

 

for the

 

Standard

Cross-Cultural Sample

 

 

Volume I

 

from World Cultures

 

 

 

Prepared by

 

William Divale

Divalebill@aol.com

 

York College, CUNY

Jamaica, NY  11451

 

 

www.york.cuny.edu

718-262-2982

Spring 2000

Contents

 

Volume I                                                                     SCCS Variable #s                 Page No

Introduction                                                                                                                                                          3

Standard Cross-Cultural Sample: Introduction                                                                                          4             

Subsistence Economy and Supportive Practices                                Variables  1 to 22                                7

Infancy and Early Childhood                                                             Variables  23 to 60                              11

Settlement Patterns and Community Organization                         Variables  61 to 80                              18

Political Organization                                                                         Variables  81 to 98                              22

Division of Labor                                                                                 Variables  99 to 148                            25

Cultural Complexity                                                                            Variables  149 to 158                          28

Sexual Attitudes and Practices                                                        Variables  159 to 178                          30

Climate Data from Weather Stations                                 Variables  179 to 199                          33

Ethnographic Atlas                                                                      Variables  200 to 292                          36

Traits Inculcated in Childhood                                                         Variables  293 to 336                          50

Agents and Techniques of Child Training                                       Variables  337 to 480                          55

Parental Acceptance-Rejection and Parental Control                   Variables  481 to 528                          67

Adolescent Initiation Ceremonies                                                           Variables  529 to 560                          70

Reproductive Rituals                                                                    Variables  561 to 575                          74

The Relative Status of Women                                                 Variables  576 to 636                          77

Kin Term Patterns                                                                                Variables  637 to 644                          86

Cultural Theories of Illness                                                                Variables  645 to 656                          89

Female Power and Male Dominance                                  Variables  657 to 679                          91

Female Status:  Independent Variables                                                Variables  680 to 738                          95

Husband-Wife Relationships                                                        Variables  739 to 755                          104

Political Decision Making and Conflict                                  Variables  756 to 797                          109

Data Quality Control Variables for Child Training                 Variables  798 to 813                          116

Sexual Division of Labor Revisited                                                    Variables  814 to 826                          120

Adolescent Sexual Behavior                                                    Variables  827 to 832                          122

Standard Cross-Cultural Sample                                                    Variables  833 to 850                          124

Language Phylum and Family Membership                                          Variables  851 to 853                          127

Climate and Subsistence                                                                          Variables  854  to 859.1                      132

Polygyny:  Form and Frequency                                                     Variables  860  to 879                         137

Magico-Religious Practitioners                                                          Variables  879  to 884                         141

Female Contribution to Subsistence                                          Variables  885  to 890                         142

The Nature of Warfare                                                                  Variables  891  to 916                         143

Slavery and Social Death                                                                          Variables  917  to 920                         148

Agricultural Potentials                                                                              Variables  921  to 930                         151

Varieties of Sexual Experience                                                 Variables  931 to 985                          154

Enculturative Continuity and Importance of Caretakers                Variables  986 to 1005                        172

Historical Analysis of Subsistence Change                                  Variables  1006 to 1114                      175

Population Codes                                                                                                Variable   1122                                       190

Type of Agriculture                                                                            Variables  1123 to 1131                      192

State Organization                                                                         Variable   1132                                        195

Despotism and Harem Size                                                             Variables  1133 to 1135                      196

Divorce                                                                                                  Variables  1136 to 1178                      197

Rape                                                                                                       Variables  1179 to 1187                      199

Evil Eye                                                                                                  Variables  1188 to 1189                      202

Kin Avoidance                                                                                     Variables  1190 to 1225                      203

Marriage Transactions                                                                         Variables  1238 to 1240                      205

Female Beauty and Adolescent Sexuality Codes                    Variables  1248 to 1252                      206

Pathogen Stress Cross-Culturally: Codes                                     Variables  1253 to 1260                      208

Starvation and Famine Among SCCS Societies: Codes                Variables  1261 to 1270                      210

 

 

Volume II                                                                   SCCS Variable #s                 Page No

Introduction                                                                                                                                                          214

Standard Cross-Cultural Sample: Introduction                                                                                          215

Household Division Of Work                I                                               Variables  1271 to 1305                      218

Household Division Of Work                II                                             Variables  1306 to 1341                      226

Household Division Of Work                III                                            Variables  1342 to 1366                      231

Household Division Of Work                IV                                            Variables  1367 to 1401                      236

Household Division Of Work                V                                             Variables  1402 to 1437                      244

Household Division Of Work                VI.1                                         Variables  1438 to 1462                      249

Household Division Of Work                VI.2                                         Variables  1463 to 1490                      254

Household Division Of Work                VII                                           Variables  1491 to 1521                      259

Household Division Of Work                X                                             Variables  1522 to 1557                      264

Household Division Of Work                X                                             Variables  1558 to 1591                      270

Household Division Of Work                XI                                            Variables  1592 to 1614                      276

Household Division Of Work                XII                                          Variables  1615 to 1647                      280

Warfare, Aggression, and Resource Problems                                Variables  1648 to 1691                      286

Scarification, Pathogen Load and Biome                                             Variables  1692 to 1709                      302

Sleeping Arrangements of Children & Adolescents                         Variables  1710 to 1713                      304

CONAN: Code-Text Data-Base, Part I                                       Variables  1714 to 1747                      305

CONAN: Code-Text Data-Base, Part II                                     Variables  1748 to 1780                      313

Codes on Gossip                Topics                                                                    Variables  1781 to 1805                      321

Gossip Factor Scales                                                                     Factors      1 to 8                                      325

Modernization Codes                                                                     Variables  1806 to 1849                      327

 

 
Introduction
 

 

The Standard Cross-Cultural Sample (Murdock and White, 1969, Ethnology) is currently the most widely used sample in cross-cultural research.  At present 1,805 variables have been measured for this sample and published in the journal World Cultures (as of volume 11, number 1 [Spring 2000]).

 

I have found from my own research and from teaching students to use the cross-cultural method that a description of these variables is useful, especially if collected in one place.  For a recent discussion of the cross-cultural method see Ember and Ember (1998).  Often one has a hypothesis that requires the measurement of the independent or dependent variable.  The remaining variables sometimes need to be measured as well, but sometimes they already were coded by another researcher.  More often a similar variable exists or one exists that can be used as an indirect measure.  The use of pre-existing variables can facilitate research, especially in preliminary or pilot studies.

 

The present volumes collect the codebooks for these 1,805 variables in one location.  In the accompanying CD-ROM disk the 1,805 variables are presented in two formats:

 

 

 

 

The codebooks indicate which data files correspond to the codebook.  For example, the first codebook refers to Subsistence Economy and Supportive Practices (Murdock and Morrow 1970).  These are variables number 1-22 and can be found in SPSS format in data file STDS01.SAV, or in ASCCI format in ST01.DAT.

 

Using the Data, Merge option in SPSS one can easily add, delete, or combine variables from different data files to make a file for your use.

 

In addition, in separate files on the CD are also included the ethnographic bibliography for the societies in the SCCS sample.

 

William Divale
 

 

References

 

Ember, Carol. R. and Melvin Ember.  1998.  Cross-Cultural Research.  In H.R. Bernard (ed.), Handbook of methods in cultural anthropology, pp. 647-687. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira.

 

Murdock, George P., and Diana O. Morrow. 1970. Subsistence Economy and Supportive Practices. Ethnology 9:302-330.

 

Murdock, George P., and Douglas White. 1969.  The Standard Cross-Cultural Sample. Ethnology 8:329-369.

 

 
 
The Standard Sample: Introduction

 

The  Standard Cross-Cultural Sample (Murdock and White 1969) consists of 186 societies,  each of which is pinpointed to a  particular  time  and place for purposes  of  coding.  By society,  we  mean  a  specific  local population  which  reproduces a way of life,  the description of which may vary depending on which of many possible foci is chosen for study,  within some  larger  unit.  No  attempt is made to generalize the descriptions of these  individualized  ways of life to an entire "society" in terms of the largest groups that  might  be  included  under  the  ethnic  or  national designations  of  the  particular  units. 

                                                   

FILE:       STDSAMPL.FOC

 

This   sample  is  designed  for  testing  propositions  about  human societies, cultures,  and behaviors.  The order in which the societies are listed below corresponds to the order of the records in the datafiles with descriptive  variables  on these societies.  The numbers running from 1 to 186 traverse the societies from the southern  tip  of  Africa  up  through Europe,  on  through Asia and the Pacific,  into North America and down to the tip of South America.  The dates are the focal date,  which  is  often the earliest reliable ethnographic description. 

 

 

                          

 No. Societal Name   Date           No. Societal Name   Date

 

   1 Nama Hottentot  1860

   2 Kung Bushmen    1950

   3 Thonga          1865

   4 Lozi            1900

   5 Mbundu          1890

   6 Suku            1920

   7 Bemba           1897

   8 Nyakyusa        1934

   9 Hadza           1930

  10 Luguru          1925

  11 Kikuyu          1920

  12 Ganda           1875

  13 Mbuti           1950

  14 Nkundo Mongo    1930

  15 Banen           1935

  16 Tiv             1920

  17 Ibo             1935

  18 Fon             1890

  19 Ashanti         1895

  20 Mende           1945

  21 Wolof           1950

  22 Bambara         1902

  23 Tallensi        1934

  24 Songhai         1940

  25 Pastoral Fulani 1951

  26 Hausa           1900

  27 Massa (Masa)    1910

  28 Azande          1905

  29 Fur (Darfur)    1880

  30 Otoro Nuba      1930

  31 Shilluk         1910

  32 Mao             1939

  33 Kaffa (Kafa)    1905

  34 Masai           1900

  35 Konso           1935

  36 Somali          1900

  37 Amhara          1953

  38 Bogo            1855

  39 Kenuzi Nubians  1900

  40 Teda            1950

  41 Tuareg          1900

  42 Riffians        1926

  43 Egyptians       1950

  44 Hebrews        - 621

  45 Babylonians    -1750

  46 Rwala Bedouin   1913

  47 Turks           1950

  48 Gheg Albanians  1910

  49 Romans           110

  50 Basques         1934

  51 Irish           1932

  52 Lapps           1950

  53 Yurak Samoyed   1894

  54 Russians        1955

  55 Abkhaz          1880

  56 Armenians       1843

  57 Kurd            1951

  58 Basseri         1958

  59 Punjabi (West)  1950

  60 Gond            1938

  61 Toda            1900

  62 Santal          1940

  63 Uttar Pradesh   1945

  64 Burusho         1934

  65 Kazak           1885

  66 Khalka Mongols  1920

  67 Lolo            1910

  68 Lepcha          1937

  69 Garo            1955

  70 Lakher          1930

  71 Burmese         1965

  72 Lamet           1940

  73 Vietnamese      1930

  74 Rhade           1962

  75 Khmer           1292

  76 Siamese         1955

  77 Semang          1925

  78 Nicobarese      1870

  79 Andamanese      1860

  80 Vedda           1860

  81 Tanala          1925

  82 Negri Sembilan  1958

  83 Javanese        1954

  84 Balinese        1958

  85 Iban            1950

  86 Badjau          1963

  87 Toradja         1910

  88 Tobelorese      1900

  89 Alorese         1938

  90 Tiwi            1929

  91 Aranda          1896