Transcript Anthropology 104 Traditional Cultures of the World

Anthropology 315
Third World Cultures
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Dr. Siemens
Office-Sierra Hall 240M
Office Telephone (818) 677-4931
Office Hours
– Tuesday and Thursday 8:20-9:20AM 3:304PM
– and by appointment
• Email [email protected]
3x5 Card
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Name
Reason for Class
Previous Anthropology
Email Address
Is there a particular Third World
Culture of interest to you?
• Anything else you want Dr. Siemens
to know about you and your interests.
THE SCOPE OF
ANTHROPOLOGY
What anthropologists have you
heard of?
What did they study?
Harrison Ford as fictional Indiana Jones
Mary
Leakey
Discovered Oldest
Footprints
Louis Leakey
found fossil
humans
Jane Goodall was first to study chimpanzees in the wild.
Jane Goodall still works for Chimpanzee conservation.
Dian Fossey was first to study gorillas in the wild.
Sigourney Weaver as Dian Fossey
Margaret Mead with Samoan Girls
Deborah Tannen
David Maybury-Lewis(right) Host of PBS series Millenium”
Also founder of the human rights group “Cultural Survival”
Sam Dunn used
anthropological
training in heavy
metal
documentary
• Takes holistic view: religion, gender,
social, global and historical
perspectives.
• Main obstacle was convincing artists
he was sympathetic.
– Metal artists gave thoughtful
responses.
– Some appeared hostile on camera but
friendly off camera.
• Anthropological approach was not
first choice.
Chicago Tribune 4-14-06
Anthropologists You may have Heard of
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Indiana Jones*
Mary Leakey
Louis Leakey
Jane Goodall
Dian Fossey
Margaret Mead
Deborah Tannen
David Maybury-Lewis
Sam Dunn
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Explore Ruins (fictional)
Fossil Hunter
Fossil Hunter
Chimpanzees
Gorillas
Samoan Girls
American Women and Men Talking
Xavante Rights
Heavy Metal Music
*Fictitious
anthropologist
Anthropologists in the News
Anthropologists contribute to
American society as well as to the
international community of scholars
Maira
Martinez
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Forensic Anthropologist
Identifying victims of political massacres
Families accompany her sometimes
LA Times August 4 A7
Jane MacLaren
Walsh
• Studied Crystal Skull donated
to Smithsonian
• Skull was made with modern tools
• Skull lacks prehistoric style features
• LA Times June 8, 2008
• Studied Japanese consumer culture
– Worked in Tokyo convenience
stores
Gavin Whitelaw
• Japanese buy exotic Colombian
Giant beetles.
– Heads resemble samurai headgear
– $350/Giant beetle
• LA Times 5-21-08 A4
• Biodiversity valuable to Colombian, German Viasus,
left
• Colombia plans to market more biodiversity
Diana Fullwiley
Harvard
• Analyses genetic markers to connect
African-Americans to ancestral populations
and African-American kin.
– "At most, you're getting 1% of your ancestry…”
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Raymond A. Winbush
– “paternal DNA linked him to the Bubi, a people indigenous
to Equatorial Guinea on Central Africa's Atlantic coast, and
his maternal DNA linked him to the Tikar people of
adjoining Cameroon. He also carried markers common in
people of Dutch, French, British and German origin.”
– "The discovery helped me to locate myself more
psychologically," he said. "It's all kind of wrapped up in the
idea of locating oneself in history."
• LA Times 5-4-08 A6
Richard Applegate
• Wrote Samala
dictionary from John
P. Harrington’s notes
– Samala is a Chumash
Language
• Chumash are native
people of Los
Angeles
• Santa Barbara
Independent 4-24-08
J.P. Harrington
• Chumash financed dictionary
• Chumash are relearning language
– Last native speaker of Samala died 1965
Anthropologists in the News
• Maira Martinez
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• Identifying Colombian Political
Victims
Jane MacLauren • Crystal Skulls
Walsch
Gavin Whitelaw • Japanese Consumerism
Diana Fullwiley • African Genetic Markers
Richard Applegate • Chumash Language
Anthropologists for Our Readings
Turnbull-Mbuti, Weiner-Trobriands, Flint & de Waal -Darfur
Evans-Pritchard and Siemens-Azande
Trobriands
(Weiner)
Darfur
Flint&deWaal
Mbuti
(Turnbull)
Colin
Turnbull
Mbuti (Sua)
Mitsuo Ichikawa
Mbuti (Sua)
Robert BaileyJustin Kendrick- Mbuti
Mbuti (Efe)
Bronislaw Malinowski
Trobriand Fieldwork and Functionalism
Annette
Weiner
Trobriands
Darfur, Sudan
• Julie Flint and Alex de Waal used research on Dor village
by anthropologist Adam Abdul-Jalil Musa
Edward
EvansPritchard
Azande
Siemens Observes Azande Magic
Anthropologists for Our
Readings
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Colin Turnbull
Mitsuo Ichikawa
Robert Bailey
Justin Kendrick
Annette Weiner
Bronislaw Malinowski
Adam Abdul-Jalil Musa
Julie Flint and Alex de Waal
Edward Evans-Pritchard
Stephen Siemens
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Mbuti Pygmies
Mbuti Pygmies
Mbuti Pygmies
Mbuti Pygmies
Trobriand Islanders
Trobriand Islanders
Darfur
Darfur
Azande
Azande
Why are all of these called
anthropologists?
Anthropology Defined
• Anthropology is the study of human beings
in a holistic manner.
– Holism means appreciating totalities as more
than mere combinations of parts.
– There are two ways anthropology is holistic.
• 1) Comprehensiveness. Because anthropology is
holistic its study includes all humans of all places
and all times.
• 2) Interrelatedness. Because anthropology is holistic
any human group should be studied in its entirety,
finding connections among economics, politics,
religion, language, etc.
Nature and Nurture
• A hundred years ago anthropology was the
same as “racial” studies.
– Biological determinism was the prevailing
view.
– Eugenics was popular.
• Eugenics seeks to “improve” a population by
identifying those with “good” genes and promoting
their reproduction. Those with “bad” genes are
prevented from reproducing.
– Nazi extermination of Jews was eugenics.
• Eugenics is inhumane and mistaken about genetics.
Cultural Determinism
• Franz Boas argued that the important
sources of human variation were learned
rather than inherited.
– Boas changed the prevailing view to cultural
determinism.
• Boas decreased the importance of biology
to anthropology and increased the
importance of learned culture.
Anthropological Subfields
First four subfields are results of
differences in methods.
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Physical (or Biological) Anthropology
Archeology
Linguistic Anthropology
Cultural Anthropology
Applied Anthropology intersects the first four.
– Has practical as well as intellectual goals.
Physical Anthropology
• Physical Anthropology
uses biological methods.
Physical anthropology
studies human origin,
related species & variation.
Archeology
• Archeology uses excavation
methods and sampling.
– Archeology studies artifacts.
• Artifacts are objects made by humans.
Linguistic
Anthropology
• Linguistic Anthropology uses linguistic
methods.
• Linguistic
anthropology studies
language in use.
Cultural Anthropology
• Cultural
Anthropology
uses participant
observation.
– Cultural
anthropology
studies cultures
of living people.
• This class is
about cultural
anthropology.
Applied Anthropology
• Intersects cultural, physical, linguistic and archeological
anthropology.
• Works with organizations to solve problems using
anthropology: business, government, non-governmental
organizations.
– Creates commonality among practitioners
• Marietta L. Baba (right) as worked with major
corporations such as Motorola.
• Current interest is in
globally distributed work
groups.
• Network analysis reveals
rifts that hinder
productivity.