Chapter 1.ppt

What is Anthropology? Human Diversity Adaptation, Variation, and Change General Anthropology The Subdisciplines of Anthropology Anthropology and Other Academic Fields Applied Anthropology Anthropology and the Scientific Method What is Anthropology? How do anthropologists study human diversity in time and space? Why is anthropology both humanistic and scientific? What distinguishes anthropology from other fields that study human beings? What is Anthropology? Uniquely comparative and holistic: temporal (over time) and spatial (different places) study of whole of human condition Anthropology: study of human species and its immediate ancestors Anthropology?s Foremost Concept Culture: Traditions, customs, ideas, transmitted through learning that form and guide beliefs and behavior of people that are exposed to them Not Biological but dependent upon human (homo sapien) biology Adaptation, Variation, and Change Adaptation: process by which organisms cope with environmental changes and hazards Foraging sole basis of human subsistence for millions of years Only took a few thousand years for food production: cultivation of plants and domestication (stockbreeding) of animals Native populations of high-altitude areas acquired genetic advantages for high altitude Adaptation, Variation, and Change Rate of change accelerated during past 10,000 years Spread of industrial production profoundly affected human life Today?s global economy and communications link contemporary people in modern world system Adaptation, Variation, and Change First civilizations arose between 6,000 and 5,000 B.P. (Before Present) Recap 1.1: Forms of Cultural and Biological Adaptation (to High Altitude) General Anthropology Sociocultural (cultural anthropology) Archaeological Biological Linguistic General anthropology: U. S. academic discipline of anthropology, also know as ?four-field? anthropology, includes: General Anthropology Developed as a scientific field in U.S. Early American anthropologists studying native peoples of North America combined studies of customs, social life, language, and physical traits Europe does not have four-field approach Archeology is a free standing discipline General Anthropology Influence each other Sound conclusions about ?human nature? cannot be derived from studying a single nation, society, or cultural tradition Subdisciplines explore variation in time and space Cultural Forces Shape Human Biology Culture key environmental aspect in determining how human bodies grow and develop Cultural standards of attractiveness and propriety influence participation and achievement in sports Biocultural: inclusion and combination of biological and cultural perspectives and approaches (to solve a particular issue or problem) Cultural Anthropology Ethnography: Fieldwork in a particular culture; provides account of that community, society, or culture Ethnology: cross-cultural comparison; the comparative study of ethnographic data, society and culture Describes, analyzes, interprets, and explains social and cultural similarities and differences Recap 1.2: Ethnography and Ethnology?Two Dimensions of Cultural Anthropology Archeological Anthropology Artifacts (e.g., potsherds, jewelry, and tools) Garbage Burials Remains of structures Archeological anthropology: study of human behavior and cultural patterns and process through the culture?s material remains Archeological Anthropology Archaeological record provides unique opportunity to look at changes in social complexity over time, beyond the time depth of ethnographers Archaeologists use paleoecological studies to establish ecological and subsistence parameters within which given prehistoric groups lived Archeological Anthropology Historical archaeology combines archaeological data and textual data to reconstruct historically known groups Settings vary, sunken slave ships Rathje?s garbology shows what people report may contrast with real behavior Archaeologists also study the cultures of historical and living people Biological, or Physical, Anthropology Biological anthropology: study of human biological variation in time and space Biological Anthropology Human genetics Human growth and development Human biological plasticity Biology, evolution, behavior, and social life of monkeys, apes, and other nonhuman primates (primatology) Human evolution (paleoanthropology) Biological Anthropology Multi-disciplinary: Biology Zoology Geology Anatomy Physiology Medicine Public Health Osteology Archeology Historical linguists: reconstruct ancient languages and study linguistic variation through time Cognitive linguists: examine relationships between language and patterns of thought in different cultures Sociolinguistics: investigates relationships between social and linguistic variation Linguistic Anthropology Linguistic anthropology: study of language in its social and cultural context across space and time Anthropology and Other Academic Fields Anthropology is unique blend of biological, social, cultural, linguistic, prehistorical, historical, and contemporary perspectives Anthropology and Other Academic Fields Science: systematic field of study or body of knowledge that aims, through experiment, observation, and deduction, to produce reliable explanations of phenomena with reference to the material and physical world Anthropology also linked to humanities Writing culture, Cultural Studies? Anthropology is a science Anthropology and Other Academic Fields Share an interest in social relations, organization, and behavior Sociologists focused on industrial West; anthropologists comparative study of nonindustrial societies Different methods of data collection and analysis emerged Sociology quantitative, Anthropology qualitative In many areas, methods, and topics, anthropology and sociology converging Cultural Anthropology and Sociology Anthropology and Other Academic Fields Psychological anthropology studies cross-cultural variation in psychological traits Malinowski studied Trobriand Islanders of the South Pacific Suggested modification in Freud's Oedipus complex Concluded authority structure did more to influence father-son relationship than did sexual jealousy Anthropology and Psychology Applied Anthropology Come from all four subfields of Anthropology Applied anthropology: application of anthropological data, perspectives, theory, and methods to identify, assess, and solve contemporary social problems Applied Anthropology Cultural resource management (CRM): decide what needs saving, and to preserve significant information about past when sites cannot be saved Includes cultural resource management, contract archaeology, public educational programs, and historic preservation The Scientific Method Theory: set of ideas formulated to explain something Association: observed relationship between two or more measured variables Hypotheses: suggested but as yet unverified explanations In social sciences, associations usually stated in form of probability Theories, Associations, and Explanations The Scientific Method Theories suggest patterns, connections, and relationships that may be confirmed by new research In social sciences, associations usually stated in form of probability The Scientific Method How has variable exposure to television affected Brazilians? Current viewing level and length of home TV exposure Strong correlation between liberal social views and current viewing hours Stronger correlation between years of home viewing by individuals and liberal social views When Multiple Variables Predict Recap 1.3: Steps in the Scientific Method