The Organization of Chipped-Stone Economies at Piedras Negras ...

ethnophilosophy, cosmology, and religion (cf. world view), to ideas used by the ruling
class as a means to mask and perpetuate social inequality from the masses (cf.
hegemony).
Differences in categorical meaning and definition originate from long held
debates concerning the relative importance of idea versus material in determining the
structure of past and present societies. A practice theory perspective emphasizes the role
of ideology and world view as sets of commonly held views produced and maintained
through everyday activity. Socio-cultural reproduction is brought down to the level of the
individual, but also groups, fields, and classes of individuals struggling for success in
their own society. In these frameworks ideology is often freed from a purely functional
role as an instrument of the ruling class, and calls into question the utility of the world
view concept. The role of power and rational action in world view and ideology is central
to the reconsideration of these concepts.
2.2.1: World View
According to Geertz (1973:89), world view is the “picture a people have of the
way things in actuality are, their most comprehensive ideas of order.” It can extend to the
general structure of the universe, how the world was created, and how society is
structured. Geertz (1973:89) contrasted world view with the idea of ethos, which he
described as “the tone, character and quality [of a people’s] life, its moral aesthetic style
and mood.” For Geertz, these are the norms and ethic considerations of a people, while
world view encompasses more metaphysical concerns. However, ethos and world view
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