Anthro 2050 1st Edition Lecture 1 Outline of Last Lecture I No class the first week of school Outline of Current Lecture II About the Professor III Syllabus Information IV Introduction to Anthropology Current Lecture About the Professor Dr Libby Cowgill Paleoanthropologist graduated with her Ph D in 2008 She researches Neanderthals and early humans Her office is at 213C Swallow Hall and office hours are made by appointment Syllabus and Class Information The lecture and the lab are not connected and will not always evenly overlap Students taking the lab should not ask the professor about lab information as she is not involved with the lab section There will be three exams based on the lectures There will be an in class review discussion during the class before the exam While attendance will not be taken attending classes is highly recommended as there are several studies which show the correlation between attending class and getting a good grade There will be no questions asked directly from the text book but it is recommended to read the text book for additional information on lecture topics Introduction to Anthropology Anthropology The study of humans and our primate relatives and ancestors There are four major divisions of Anthropology Biological Anthropology Cultural Anthropology Linguistic Anthropology and Archaeology These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute Biological Anthropology Studies the physical developments of the human species Where humans came from who our ancestors were why we look different why we act differently or similarly For example learning about characteristics of a person from their corps in forensic investigations Cultural Anthropology The study of humans and culture Understanding humans by studying cultural and social norms religions rituals kinship music art food and every cultural aspect Cultural Anthropology can study either a specific aspect of a specific culture a specific aspect of multiple cultures a specific culture as a whole or broad cultural aspects of multiple cultures For example Studying marriage taboos and rituals in tribal cultures in the Amazon Linguistic Anthropology The smallest unit of Anthropology The study of how language influences and shapes social life and culture both in the present and throughout history Linguistic Anthropologists may study how language forms over time and spread creating language groups of multiple languages all rooted in one language for example Latin based European languages Linguistic Anthropologists may also study how language influences social life in various cultures for example the levels of politeness in some East Asian languages where the status and relationship of the people talking influences how they speak to each other Archaeology The study of past humans through physical remains Archaeologists use things such as bones architecture clothes pottery and other artifacts to learn about how a group of people once lived Archaeologists may study either prehistoric or historic Archaeology Prehistoric Archaeology studies human civilization before writing systems were invented Historic Archaeology studies human from the time writing was invented up to the present For example studying the mummies found at the Great Pyramids in Egypt or studying an inner city neighborhood in Detroit based on the residents trash and waste The four units of Anthropology all together make up the overall study of humans our past and present and our primate relatives and ancestors The class on Biological Anthropology will focus on the evolution of humans and humanness