ANTH 210 Lecture 1 Outline of Current Lecture 1 Anthropology Study of Humanity A Fields of Anthropology 2 Cultural Universals Definition and example 3 Anthropology vocabulary Ethnography Ethnology Holistic 4 Physical Biological Anthropology A Human Evolution B Primateology C Biological Variation 5 Introduction to Race A Evolution of Dark Skin B Evolution of Light Skin 6 Archaeology Anthropology Introduction 7 Applied Anthology Introduction Current Lecture The notes introduce anthropology and the various fields of anthropology As well as discussing important chapter 1 vocabulary Anthropology Study of humanity 4 Fields of Anthropology 1 Biological and Physical Studying the aspects of being human Requires specialized training and is used in a formative context 2 Archaeology Study of the past ways of life or life ways and the analysis of material remains 3 Linguistic Study of the relationship between languages and culture 4 Cultural Study of what it means to be human in a global perspective Cultural Universals When there s a connection between individuals and cultures An example is marriage because every individual or culture has some form of marriage or commitment to another human being but the ideals behind marriage varies by culture A cultural universal is something that connects people from all over the world regardless of their personal views or beliefs Additional examples are food religion government and education Ethnography Description of a culture obtained through field work Ethnology Study of culture in its entirety Holistic Anthropologists believe you must understand the whole way of life of a person Physical Biological Anthropology Physical biology anthropology is studying the aspects of being human and has 3 subspecialization categories 1 Human Evolution This category describes the evolution of man throughout time The word bipedalism is introduced which means having two feet Also this category highlights the components of a family unit Regardless of culture or ideals a family is an example of a cultural universal because it highlights the importance of a family unit regardless of how a culture might view the family structure 2 Primatology This category discusses the ideal of human s evolution from primates This category also ties into Human Evolution because just as humans understand the importance of family units the same ideals are represented through the primate family Where the mother father and offspring are a clan or close groups of individuals 3 Biological Variation This category highlights the introduction of race to the world This category discusses the biological differences between individuals rather it be genetics or habitations These three categories cover everything from physical to biological differences that shape the world we live in today Race Race is an academic concept developed based on perceived physical differences between human subgroups attempting to determine genotype from phenotype Genotype is an individual s DNA where as phenotype is physical characteristics that categorize an individual or group of people For example if I was to say Jack Lumber had long blonde hair and was the son of Sandy Adam Long an individual would be able to recognize a phenotype and genotype The phenotype would be Jack Long having long hair and a genotype would be him being the son of Sandy Adam Long Where the phenotype is a visual characteristic while the genotype is the genetic makeup of Sandy Adam Long to produce Jack as their offspring These physical differences are now thought up without significant meaning and this can be defined as stereotype A stereotype can be defined by categorizing an individual or group of people based off of personal cultural ideals and beliefs or physical characteristics For example Indian descendants might be known for having small religious markings dots on their face African American s might be known for having large lips or Caucasians as blonde hair and blue eyes These are simple stereotypes that individuals use on a daily basis Humans are like pound or mutt puppies meaning there is so much genetic variation to categorize individuals by skin color or a stereotype is genetically impossible to conclude Race isn t a valid or useful biological concept Evolution of Dark Skin Dark skinned individuals are found all over the world but they have an adaptive advantage in regions closer to the equator For example in Tanzia severe sunburn individuals can lead to infections and affect one s ability to sweat The individuals with dark skin protect people from high Ultraviolet UV radiation Evolution of Light Skin Light skinned individuals evolved in regions in the North where there are areas of low UV radiation which means they are commonly inhabitants of regions farther away from the equator than dark skinned individuals to decrease their risk of skin cancer Many scientists and individuals believe that light skinned people evolution is related to the synthesis of vitamin D from the sun and stimulation of chemical compounds caused by UV radiation We still mistake skin color for other things African Americans regardless of their habitation are commonly represented by African natives who are negatively affected by malaria and sickle cell disease Other common connections we make between race and people are lactose intolerance Archaeology Anthropology Study of the past ways of life or life ways and the analysis of material remains Anthropologists feel that Archaeology is the study of garbage because they are studying material remains of past individuals and cultures Archaeology anthropologists seek to understand what makes humans human Ethnography is the study of specific cultures and the goal is to compare cultures in an attempt to devise theories about humanity and their overall culture Applied Anthropology Applied Anthropology is using academic skills of anthropology