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Mizzou ANTHRO 2050 - Biological Anthropology and the Scientific Method

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Anthro2050 1st Edition Lecture 2Outline of Last Lecture I. About the ProfessorII. Syllabus InformationIII. Introduction to AnthropologyOutline of Current Lecture IV. Biological Anthropology V. The Scientific Method in Biological AnthropologyCurrent LectureBiological Anthropology:-The study of human biology within the specific framework of evolution-Sub-disciplines of Biological Anthropology include bioarchaeology, population genetics, primatology, and paleoanthropology.- Bioarchaeology: The study of relatively recent (post invention of agriculture) skeletal remains to learn about trauma, disease rates, nutrition, and past lifestyles- Population Genetics: Studies the change of the genetic composition of populations through time, and how these changes occured- Primatology: The study of modern primate biological and behavioral adaptations and diversity. Large focus on apes as they are our closest animal relatives.- Paleoanthropology: Interdisciplinary study of human ancestors (hominids) and evolution, particularly via the fossil recordAnthropology's purpose in the greater world is to act as a mediator between things that may seem to be complete opposites, and to help find the similarities between them as well as gain an understanding and appreciation for the differences. Examples include individuals & groups, colonial societies & indigenous societies, past & present, humans & animals, science & folk 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.knowledge, and the sciences & the humanities. Anthropology is commonly thought of as the most scientific of the humanities and the most humanistic of the sciences.The Scientific Method in Biological AnthropologyScience is about sorting ontological questions (questions that can be asked) into epistemologicalquestions (questions that can be answered). Not all questions about the world or universe can be answered definitely. Such questions involving religious and superstitious believes cannot be answered with definite certainty by science because many of them are un-testable. People make two huge assumptions about science, that are not exactly true, which causes themto misunderstand a lot of scientific research and theories.1: Things are always as they seem. The reality is, perspective can change how things seem and sometimes there are filters that do not allow us to see things as they are.2: Scientists know everything and are one-hundred percent certain on whatever they say. The reality is, scientific knowledge is always changing and expanding. If this were true, there would be no need for scientists.Normative science: a step-by-step process of how science should be conducted. However this process is not flawless as scientific research can be very complicated.-hypothesis: an educated and observed statement about some phenomena in the world or of reality that is testable and falsifiable. Meaning the statement can be tested and scrutinized and there is a possibility of something existing that could challenge the statementThere is a misconception that science is about proving things. Actually, science is about observation and questioning the world around us.-theory: a broad statement of scientific relationships which has not been falsified and has more complication and complexity than a hypothesis. ex- the theory of gravityA good explanation of scientific research explains how, not why, the results were as they were. The simpler the explanation, the better. Parsimonious explanations: all things held equal, the simplest explanations are generally the best. For example, a tree has fallen. There are two explanations given:1. The tree fell because the strong wind blew it over2. The tree fell due to aliens hitting it with their ship as they were on their way to abductJimmy because he had information they needed.Scientifically, we would go with the first, simplest


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Mizzou ANTHRO 2050 - Biological Anthropology and the Scientific Method

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