Chapter 1 What is Anthropology Anthropology offers a distinctive comparative cross cultural perspective a comparative science that examines all societies ancient and modern simple and complex ethnography the first hand personal study of local settings I Human Adaptability anthropology study of human species and its immediate ancestors it s a holistic science study of the whole of the human condition past present and future biology society language and culture people share society organized life in groups shared with other animals cultures traditions and customs transmitted through learning that form and guide the beliefs and behavior of the people exposed to them children learn such a tradition through enculturation cultural traditions include customs and opinions developed over generations about proper and improper behavior traditions answer these questions how should we do things how do we make sense of the world how do we tell right from wrong what is right and what is wrong most critical element of cultural traditions is their transmission through learning rather Adaptation Variation and Change than through biological inheritance adaptation processes by which organisms cope with environmental forces and stresses humans use biological and cultural means of adaptation to fit their environments our drive to reproduce is biological how and who and why we reproduce is cultural types of adaptation 1 technology cultural bc we know when we go up in the airplane the solution have acquired pressure drops and need oxygen think through a problem and find 2 genetic adaptation native populations of high altitude areas genetic advantages for life at high altitudes 3 long term physiological adaptation people who grow up at high altitude become physiologically more efficient than those at sea level 4 short term physiological adaptation arrive at highlands immediately increase breathing and heart rate rate of cultural adaptation and change has accelerated during the past 10 000 years food production took over foraging led to jobs and trade in society first civilizations developed 6000 5000 before present II General Anthropology academic discipline of anthro including four main subfields sociocultural archaeological biological and linguistic anthropology cultural anthropology aka sociocultural has the largest membership Early anthropologists Origin 19th century were concerned with the history and cultures of the native peoples of North America interest in the origins and diversity of Native American brought together studies of customs social life language and physical traits a unified four field anthropology did not develop in Europe where the subfields tend to each subfield considers variation in time and space different geographic areas general anthro explores the basics of human biology society and culture and considers exist separately their interrelations cannot create sound conclusions about human nature from studying just a single population nation society or cultural tradition A comparative cross cultural Cultural Forces Shape Human Biology approach is necessary biocultural perspective recognizes that cultural forces constantly mold human biology culture is a key environmental force in determining how humans grow and develop cultural standards of attractiveness and propriety influence participation and achievement in sports physical activities which are influenced by culture help build the body for example swimmers develop hard bodies but Brazilian culture says women should be soft with big hips and butts not big shoulders therefore brazil doesn t send many women into the Olympics for swimming culture is an environmental force that affects our development and guides our emotional and cognitive growth III The Subdisciplines of Anthropology Cultural Anthropology interact politics and religion study of human society and culture changes in social life and customs the subfield that describes analyzes interprets and explains social and cultural similarities and differences cultural anthropologists engage in two kinds of activity ethnography based on field work and ethnology based on cross cultural comparison field work is longitudinal can sit down and learn a lot about people by talking to them but don t really know until sitting and watching how they ethnography provides an account of a particular community society or culture participant observations traditionally ethnographers have lived in small communities and studied local behavior beliefs customs social life economic activities and ethnocentric putting your culture before other cultural bias groups that they study have been relatively poor ad powerless cultures are not isolated human populations construct their cultures in interaction with one another and not in isolation ethnology examines interprets analyzes and compares the results of ethnography the data gathered in different societies uses data to compare contrast to make generalizations about society and culture attempt to identify and explain cultural differences and similarities to test hypotheses and to build theory to enhance our understanding of and cultural systems work how social Archaeological Anthropology reconstructs describes and interprets human behavior and cultural patterns through material remains plant and animal remains tell stories about consumption and activities achaeologists find artifacts where people live or have lived tools weapons etc many archaeologists examine paleoecology ecology study of interrelatios among living things in an environment organisms and environment together constitute an ecosystem a patterned arrangement of energy flows and exchanges paleoecology look at the ecosystems of the past reconstruct ecological patterns archaeologists may infer cultural transformations by observing changes in the size and type of sites and the distance between them they also reconstruct behavior patterns and lifestyles of the past by excavating this involves digging through a succession of levels at a particular site excavation can document changes in economic social and political activities archaeologists are best known for studying the period before the invention of writing prehistory they also study the cultures of historic and living ppl garbology studying modern garbage What people report may actually contrast strongly with their real behavior as revealed by garbology Biological or physical Anthropology human biological diversity in time and space