ANTH 210 1st Edition Exam 1 Study Guide Weeks 1 5 Week 1 January 21 23 Our class opened with a TED talk by anthropologist Wade Davis who described the deterioration of what Davis made the argument that the ethnosphere a term for the sum total of all thoughts and dreams myths ideas inspirations intuitions brought into being by the human imagination since the dawn of consciousness is under severe threat and that as many as 50 of the world s cultures are in danger of disappearing Week 2 January 26 28 30 What is anthropology Anthropology is the study of human biological and cultural diversity through time and space It is a holistic field meaning that it studies the whole of human condition past present and future as well as biology society language and culture Anthropology is also a comparative science meaning it examines ancient and modern societies and simple and complex societies by using a cross cultural perspective What is society What is culture Society is simply organized life in groups Ants elephants and apes as well as humans are all animals that live in societies Culture differs from society in that it includes traditions and customs which guide the beliefs and behaviors of those exposed to them Culture can aid in adaption the way in which organisms cope with environmental forces and stresses For example wearing clothes building shelters and cooking food are all customs that humans use to adapt to their environment How is culture transmitted The process by which an individual learns his or her culture is called enculturation On a larger scale similarities in culture can be explained the one of three ways acculturation diffusion and independent invention Acculturation is the exchange of cultural features that results when groups come into continuous first hand contact For example acculturation along the US Mexican border has created Tex Mex food Span glish and other elements of hybrid culture Note Do not get acculturation confused with enculturation Diffusion is the borrowing of traits between cultures There are three forms of diffusion depending on the way the cultures in question interact o Direct diffusion occurs when two cultures trade with intermarry among or wage war on one another o Forced diffusion occurs when one group subjugates another and imposes its customs o Indirect diffusion occurs when one or more intervening cultures without firsthand contact An example would be if a European tourist came to America and saw a Native American headdress loved the style and recreated it in his home country The tourist never necessarily visited a Native American tribe but their culture was spread first through mainstream America then to his country Independent invention is the process by which humans innovate creatively finding solution to problems separately For example agriculture was developed separately in the Middle East and Mesoamerica without any interaction between cultures of the two regions What are the four subfields of anthropology Anthropology is made up of four subfields archaeology biological anthropology cultural anthropology and linguistics Archaeology is the investigation of the culture demography and history of past population through the study of their material artifacts and biological often bones remains Biological anthropology is the investigation of the evolution adaptations genetics and biological variation of humans and primates Cultural anthropology is the exploration of cultural variation and how culture influences meaning perception politics history and all other things human Linguistics is the exploration of the nature development and evolution of human languages as well as the cataloging and documenting of the thousands of languages spoken around the world What is applied anthropology Applied anthropology is the use of anthropological data perspectives theory and methods to identify assess and solve contemporary social problems One form of applied anthropology is Cultural Resource Management CRM which is the application of archaeology to preserve and protect historic structures and prehistoric sites Reading Summary Body Ritual Among the Nacirema by Horace Miner The appearance and health of their bodies is very important to the Nacirema people For this reason they employ a hierarchy of magical practitioners to perform different rituals and operations to their bodies in the belief that it will bring them health good fortune and popularity They have an almost pathological horror of and fascination with the mouth and employ holy mouth men once or twice a year to painfully enlarge any holes in the teeth cause by natural decay and fill the holes with magical materials Medicine men work at a temple called a latipso where they perform ceremonies that are so severe that they are almost as likely to kill their patients as to cure them Week 3 February 2 4 6 What is the difference between ideal culture and real culture Ideal culture is the system of beliefs values and norms that people in a society say they hold or follow This differs from real culture which is the system of beliefs values and norms that people actually follow The example often given by our professor is pre marital sex our culture is generally against it and people will say that it is morally wrong however the majority of the population still engages in pre marital sex Levels of Culture There are three levels of culture international national and subculture International culture is the system of beliefs learned behavior patterns values and institutions that extend beyond and across national boundaries For example McDonalds is present in dozens of countries and part of international culture National culture is the system of beliefs learned behavior patterns values and institutions shared by citizens of the same nation For example American football is a large part of American culture but not really found anywhere else is the world so it is not part of international culture Subculture is the cultural system associated with particular groups in the same complex society For example the Aggie Spirit and traditions of Texas A M is particular to the subculture of those who attend the university What is the difference between ethnocentrism and cultural relativism Ethnocentrism is the tendency to view one s own culture as superior and to apply one s own cultural values in judging the behavior and beliefs of people raised in other cultures Cultural relativism on the other hand is the principle that