ANT 2410 Exam 1 Ch 1 5 Ch 1 What is Anthropology i ii iii iv v vi Human Diversity General Anthropology The Subdisciplines of Anthropology Relating to other fields Applied Anthropology The Scientific Method Uniquely Comparative and Holistic study of whole human condition science a Anthropology the study of human species and it s immediate ancestors through time and space Study all aspects of a human being Past present future Biology society language and culture And is comparative because it studies all peoples and societies cross cultural perspective Culture Is the traditions and customs transmitted through learning shared among a group of people that form and guide their behavior and form their beliefs of what everything means Enculturation the process by which children learn such a tradition by growing up in a particular society b Adaption Variation and Change Adaptation process by which organisms cope with environmental forces and stresses How do organisms change to fit their environments such as dry climates or high mountain altitudes i Humans adapt using biological and cultural means Ex How we adapt to cold Theory of Evolution theory of change guides anthropological research Change rate of change accelerated during past 10 000 years i Hunting and Gathering foraging was sole basis of human subsistence for millions of years ii However it only took a few thousand years to develop food production economy based on plant cultivation and or animal production through domestication Industrialization today s global economy and communications link all contemporary people directly or indirectly in the modern world system iii c General Anthropology Includes 4 fields or subfields i Sociocultural ii Archeological iii Biological iv Linguistic Reasons for subfields i 19th century Anthropologists were concerned especially with the history and cultures of the native peoples of North America Interest in the relation between biology and culture ii 1 Anthropologist Ruth Benedict realized that in world history those who have helped to build one culture are not necessarily all one race and those of the same race have not necessarily participated in one culture Culture is not a function of race d Cultural Forces Shape Human Biology Bioculture Combining biological and cultural approaches to a given problem i Culture is a key environmental force determining how human bodies grow and develop ii Physical activities are shaped by culture iii Ex North American girls are encouraged to pursue competition sports such as gymnastics swimming figure skating track and field while Brazilian girls don t really practice individual sports such as swimming because they want to keep their hips and curves iv Cultural standards of attractiveness and propriety influence participation and achievement in sports Americans run or swim to compete but also to be fit e Cultural Anthropology The study of human society and culture cultural comparisons By doing i Ethnography Fieldwork provides an account of a particular group society culture community Studying one group of people Usually study rural areas with poverty 1 Franz Boas contact between neighboring tribes has always existed and has extended over enormous areas Culture is extended through external factors media etc ii Ethnology cross cultural comparison examines interprets and analyzes the results of ethnography Using data that was already collected to compare cultures Studies many cultures at a time f Archaeological Anthropology Study of human behavior and cultural patterns and processes through cultures material remains i Artifacts material items that human have made used or modified such as jewelry tools garbage burials and remain of structures tell stories about consumption and activities Ecology Study of interrelations among living things in an environment ecosystem patterned arrangement of energy flows and exchanges i Paleoecology Looks at the ecosystems of the past Makes it possible to infer cultural transformations past villages building s architecture like pyramids ii Also reconstruct behavior patterns and lifestyles of the past by excavating digging through a succession of levels at a particular site iii While Archaeologists study prehistory they also study the culture of historical and living people iv Garbology A 1973 project started in Arizona William Rathje learned about contemporary life by studying modern garbage Showed that what people report may contrast with their real behavior recycling g Biological or Physical Anthropology Study of human biological diversity in time and space Things studied are i Human evolution Paleoanthropology ii Human genetics iii Growth and development iv Human biological plasticity ability to change when faced with stresses such as high altitude v Primatology biology evolution behavior and social life of monkeys apes and other nonhuman primates h Linguistic Anthropology Study of language in its social and cultural context across space and time i Historical Linguists reconstruct ancient languages and study linguistic variations through time Consider variations over time such as the changes in sounds grammar and vocabulary between middle English and modern English ii Sociolinguists investigates relationships between social and linguistic variations How do linguistic features correlate with social factors like class and gender Tannen 1990 i Anthropology and Other Academic Fields Anthropology is a Holistic Science and this leads it to intertwine with other fields Study that seeks reliable explanations with reference to the material and physical world i Unique blend of biological social cultural linguistic historical and contemporary perspectives Also linked to humanities j Cultural Anthropology and Sociology Both share an interest in social relations organizations and behavior Differences between them arose from the kinds of societies each traditionally studied i Initially sociologists focused on industrial West while anthropologists on nonindustrial societies ii Different methods of data collection and analysis emerged More similar to each iii other more statistical in sociology In many areas and on many topics anthropology and sociology are converging Sociologists now do research in developing countries and other places that used to be within mainly the anthropologists orbit And many anthropologists work in industrial nations k Anthropology and Psychology Psychological Anthropology studies cross cultural variation in
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