ANTH 1000 1st Edition Exam 1 Study Guide Lecture 1 January 21 Introduction to Anthropology What exactly is Anthropology The study of humankind in all times and places using a holistic approach What are the four subfields of Anthropology and describe each The four subfields of anthropology are linguistic anthropology biological physical anthropology cultural anthropology and archaeology Linguistic Anthropology I Description of history of and relationship between human languages 1 How a language is formed how it works the history and development of language and its relationship to other aspects of culture J Language structure and how words reflect perception of the world A Ethnolinguistics B Sociolinguistics Biological Physical Anthropology The study of humans as organisms Paleoanthropology Evolution Studies humans as biological beings both in the present and the past including biological adaptation to environment and genetic variation Primatology The study of living or fossil primates Jane Goodall Diane Fossey Forensic Anthropology Identification of human remains for legal purposes Cultural Anthropology Studies people in the present as culture producers Aims to understand diversity of human behavior thoughts and feelings i e cultural variation Researches cultural differences Overlap with other fields Culture is the central concept and is what sets us apart from other species Archaeology The systematic study of the remains of previous cultures as a means of reconstructing the life ways of people who lived in the past Spans ca 6 million years to present Examines artifacts ecofacts settlements settlement patterns lithics features Prehistoric archaeology Historic archaeology Cultural Resource Management CRM Emphasis on material culture Lecture 2 Jan 28 What are the four ways Anthropology is unique as a discipline Anthropology is specifically unique through Holism Fieldwork Comparative Method and Cultural Relativism Ethnocentrism Human Rights Holism A theory about culture Institutions and beliefs are integrated in a particular pattern Culture cannot be determined or explained by the sum of its component parts alone Culture is dynamic Fieldwork Collect primary data in natural field settings Make connection with culture outside of the laboratory Investigate analyze open up to understanding Each sub discipline has specific fieldwork techniques Comparative Method Look for connections between single aspects of culture Methodological approach of comparing data Not ranking cultures as better than or worse than but describing differences Cultural Relativism Ethnocentrism Cultural Relativism Any culture must be viewed within the context of that culture Ethnocentrism Making value judgments of a culture by comparing it your own culture Human rights Lecture 3 Feb 4 Describe and define Creationism Evolution Natural Selection and Genetics Creationism Most cultures have a story explaining the appearance of humans on earth Creationism Stories that depict the relationship between humans and the rest of the natural world Can reflect a deep connection among people other animals and the earth Evolution Evolutionism is based in the biological sciences and also accounts for the diversity of life Differs from Creationism in that evolution is based in scientific hypotheses that test organism variations First Steps to the Theory of Evolution With the Industrial Revolution came mobility and transportation Railways Colonialism Darwin mid 1800 s Observed species variation Influenced by Lyell geology and Malthus economics On the Origin of Species 1859 Natural Selection Natural Selection Process by which nature selects forms most fit to survive and reproduce in a given environment and those forms do so in greater numbers than others in the same population Genetics Mendel s experiments Gregor Mendel discovered heredity determined by discrete particles or units Two basic forms of traits dominant and recessive Dominant mask recessive forms in hybrid mixed individuals Recessive traits would appear in later generations Basic genetic units genes or alleles are located on chromosomes Humans 46 chromosomes 23 pairs one in each pair from father and other from mother Gene position on chromosome that wholly or partially determine biological traits Alleles alternate forms of a single gene biochemically different forms of a given gene Individuals may be homozygous or heterozygous with respect to a particular gene Homozygous possessing two identical alleles Heterozygous possessing different alleles Lecture 4 Feb11 Discuss and describe adaptation chronology and the early mammal and primates that inhabited the Earth Adaptation Different aspects of Evolution allow adaptation to occur Adaptation A series of beneficial adjustments to the environment Chronology History of vertebrate life divided into three main eras Paleozoic ancient life fishes amphibians and primitive reptiles Mesozoic middle life reptiles including dinosaurs Cenozoic recent life birds and mammals era of interest for anthropologists Miocene Hominids Earliest hominoid fossils date to the Miocene epoch 23 5 m y a Hominoid Members of the superfamily including humans and all apes Africa Most abundant and successful anthropoid group of the early Miocene Teeth with similarities to those of modern apes but skeleton below the neck more monkey like Probably included last common ancestor shared by Old World monkeys and the apes The Primates Later Miocene apes Middle Miocene 16 10 m y a more than 20 species of proto apes Gigantopithecus Probably largest primate ever At least two species One lived in northern India around 5 m y a Another coexisted with Homo erectus in China and Vietnam some 400 000 years ago Early Mammals Evidence indicates the first mammals appeared 200 million years ago as small nocturnal creatures The earliest primate like creatures came into being 65 million years ago when a mild climate favored the spread of forests over much of the earth Climate change and the extinction of dinosaurs favored mammal diversification including development of arboreal tree living mammals from which primates evolved Lecture 5 Feb 16 Define culture and list the three components of culture Culture Refers to an ordered system of beliefs expressive symbols values and knowledge in terms of which groups of individuals define their world express their feelings make their judgments and cope with their environment Culture is a learned shared behavior The three components of culture