Concepts to Know 1 Anthropology a Understand what anthropology does and what the focus of research is Study of human species and human behavior Help solve problems among humans b Know the four subfields as well as academic versus applied research Biological linguistic archaeology cultural Academic grants and university research Applied practical use of anthropological work Aimed at influencing human behavior and social conditions c Understand what anthropological fieldwork is the techniques the role in research Working directly with the subject that you are studying Involves a longitudinal approach direct involvement data collection Site Identification collecting data over a large area to determine answers to certain research questions Excavation Complements site identification map and collect surface matter subdivide the area find artifacts Ethnographic Fieldwork directly studying a current group of people Must follow code of ethics Involves interviews participant observation emic vs etic genealogical studies life histories key consultants 2 Culture a Know how we define and understand what culture is in anthropology Culture is shared behavior among groups of people b Identify and describe the different traits of culture Learned shared uses symbols converts natural behaviors into traditional customs all encompassing includes all aspects of human behavior integrated adaptive and maladapted cultural aspects are learned from others and some of these are harmful individual practice humans have the ability to change the way they participate in cultural customs c Understand the different aspects of cultural behavior Universals generals particularities d Be able to explain the different forms of culture change Individual innovation acculturation globalization diffusion e Understand what cultural relativism is and its use in anthropology Helps compare different cultures and provides reasoning for the bizarre practices of other groups of people f Think about the different ways anthropologists theorize about culture 3 Language and culture a How do we think about defining what human language is Sounds and gestures that are used to communicate Can be used to create new words talk about things that aren t present and can be learned and taught to new generations b What is language and how is it structured A language is structured with grammar which includes the language s lexicon and syntax and morphology c What is the relationship of language and culture i Think about what focal vocabularies are and what they mean for a culture ii What does the Sapir Whorf hypothesis say iii How does change impact the language and culture relationship d Think about how a language reflects cultural beliefs and social organization i Gender and language ii Social status and language 4 Modern Theory of Evolution a What does the theory of evolution assert i Understand the evolution and creationism controversy ii Think about the development of the theory iii Know what Darwinian Evolution is particularly by understanding the principle of natural selection b Understand what Mendelian Genetics added to the Theory of Evolution i Understand the principles of segregation dominance and recessive as well as independent assortment and recombination c What does Biochemical Genetics add to the Theory of Evolution d Identify the different ways population genetic frequencies can change in terms of natural selection genetic drift and gene flow e How does evolution happen slowly quickly i What is punctuated equilibrium f What are the different concepts that together make up the modern synthesis of evolution 1 Primate Evolution and Primatology a Know how we place fossils into evolutionary chronology based on dating techniques that determine age and using homologies to define species Primate evolution begins 65 million years ago Cenozoic era begins Relative Dating doesn t give the exact date dates specimen relative to each other Stratigraphy branch of geology which studies rock layers strata and layering stratification o How earth sediments are deposited over time bottom is older and top is earlier rock Absolute Dating gives a number estimate of the age molecular mDNA dating Counting mutations problem is that it doesn t take into account radiation radiometric techniques measuring loss of unstable radioactive isotopes ex carbon 14 Species assigned by Homologies shared traits inherited from a common ancestor ex mammals o NOT analogies traits based on independent adaptations ex opposable thumbs b Understand the shared traits that define primates as an Order and the specific environments to which they evolved Early Adaptations Graspingo adapted for arboreal life flexible hands to encircle branches opposable thumbs thumb can touch other fingers grasping feet Smell to sighto Shift from smell to sight Inc depth of vision and color Stereoscopic Nose to hando Tactile organs to o provide information mostly by hands Brain complexityo Inc in portions of brain concerned with memory thought and association Inc in brain size and body ratio Parental investmento Single births more attention and learning behaviors Socialityo Live in social groups for longer more attentive care of offspring c Be knowledgeable of the evolutionary tree for primates particularly the branches leading to the human species Human Taxonomy Order Primates Suborder Anthropoids Infraorder Catarrhines Superfamily Hominoids Family Hominids Tribe Hominins Genus Humans Species Homo sapiens Recent Humans Subspecies Homo sapiens sapiens AMHs Pliocene 5 2 mya 1 First use of stone tools Oldowan tools Chopper Pebble tools Halocene what separates the different species d Think about why we study primatology in anthropology Primatology Primatology provides clues about human behavior and human origins Anthropological primatology emphasizes primate flexibility and diversity Primatologists have discovered a diverse repertoire of species group and individual behavior varying across and within primate groups There is no single model for primate behavior nor a single group which can stand in as definitively representing the most recent common ancestor of contemporary bonobos chimpanzees and humans e How do the living primates that are most closely inform us about human evolution The ecological similarities between primates living today help us understand how early humans may have evolved through similar traits and characteristics have a common ancestor f What are the behavioral similarities