Transcript Chapter 1: What is Anthropology?

• Anthropology is the study of mankind or human kind.
• The term Anthropology comes from the Greek word
Anthropos which means “man or human” and logos
which means “the study of.”
• Anthropologists study various aspects about humans
• Anthropology are interested in where, when, and how did humans
appear on earth.
• How and why they have changed since then.
• How and why modern human populations vary in certain physical
features.
• How and why societies in the past and present have varied in their
customary ideas and practices.
• Applied and practicing
anthropologists put anthropological
methods, information, and results to
use, in efforts to solve practical
problems.
• One different between
anthropology and
other disciplines
concerned with
humans is that
anthropologists travel
to study various
groups of people or do
archeological digs to
answer questions
about mankind.
• Anthropology is
concerned explicitly
and directly with all
varieties of people
throughout the world,
as well as people from
all periods. Beginning
with the immediate
ancestors of humans.
• Anthropologists trace the development of humans until
the present.
• In the past anthropologists only concentrated on nonwestern cultures, today Anthropologists focus on both.
• In addition to the worldwide and historical scope of
anthropology, another distinguished feature or its
discipline is its holistic, or multifaceted, approach to the
study of human beings.
• Anthropologists don’t only study all varieties of people
but many aspects of the human experience as well.
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the history of the area in which they live,
the physical environment,
the organization of family life,
the general features of their language,
their political and economic
systems,
• their religion,
• their diet, or
• their styles of art and dress.
• In the past, individual
anthropologists tried to
be holistic and cover all
aspects of a subject.
Today, so many
information has been
accumulated,
anthropologists start to
focus more on one
subject or areas.
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Physical Anthropology
Cultural Anthropology
Archeology
Anthropological Linguistics
• Physical (Biological) Anthropology seek the answers to
two set of questions:
• Questions about the emergence of humans and their evolution (the
focus is called human paleontology, or Paleoanthropology).
• How and why contemporary human populations vary biologically
(this focus called human variation).
• In order to reconstruct human evolution, human
paleontologists search for and study fossils of humans,
prehumans, and related animals.
• In addition to using fossil records anthropologists also
use geological information on the succession of climates,
environments, and plant and animal populations.
• When reconstructing the past of humans, paleontologists
are also interested in the behavior and evolution of our
closest relatives, other primates, such as apes, monkeys
and chimpanzees.
• Anthropologists, psychologists, and biologists who
specialize in the study of primates are called
Primatologists.
• One especially popular subject of study is the
chimpanzee, which bears a close resemblance to human
behavior and physical appearance, has a similar blood
chemistry, and is susceptible to many of the same
diseases.
• Koko the gorilla
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=480keuakN6c
• Koko gets new Kittens
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fffuQ6VIOyA
• From primates study anthropologists try to find
characteristics that are distinctly humans, as opposite to
those that might be part of the primate heritage. With
this information, they may be able to infer what our
prehistoric ancestors were like. The inference from
primates are checked against fossil records.
• Physical anthropologists piece together pieces bits of
information obtained from different sources. They
construct theories that explain the changes observed in
the fossil record and then attempt to evaluate their
theories by checking one kind of evidence against the
other.
• The second major focus of physical anthropology is the
study of human variation, investigating how and why
contemporary human populations differ in biological or
physical characteristics.
• All living people belong to one species, Homo sapiens,
for all can successfully interbreed. But there are much
variations among human population.
• Anthropologists ask questions
such as:
• Why are some peoples taller than
others?
• How have human populations
adapted physically to their
environmental conditions?
• Are some peoples, such as Inuit
(Eskimos), better equipped than
other peoples to endure cold?
• Does darker skin pigmentation
offer special protection against the
tropical sun?
• To better understand the biological variations observable
among contemporary human populations, biological
anthropologists use the principles, concepts, and
techniques of at least three other disciplines:
• Human genetics: the study of human traits, that are inherited.
• Population biology: the study
of environmental effects on, and
interaction with, population
characteristics.
• Epidemiology: the study of how
and why diseases affect different
populations in different ways.
• Cultural anthropology are interested in how population
or societies vary in their cultural features.
• To an anthropologist, the term culture refers to the
customary ways of thinking and behaving in a particular
population or society.
• Archeologists seek to
• Reconstruct the daily life and customs of peoples who lived in the
past.
• Trace cultural changes and to offer possible explanations of those
changes.
• The different between an archeologist and a historian is
that a historian deals only with societies that left written
records and limited to the last 5,000 years of human
history. Archeologists go much farther back in time.
• Archeologists try to reconstruct history from the remains
of human cultures.
• Most Archeologists deal with prehistory, the time
before written records.
• To understand how and why life has changed through
time in different parts of the world, archeologists collect
artifacts.
• Linguistics or the study of languages is an older discipline
than anthropology, but the earlier linguists concentrated
on the study of languages that existed for a long time.
• Anthropological linguistics concentrate on the study of
languages that has not yet been written.
• Because language must be heard in order to be studies, it
does not leave any traces once its speakers have died.
• Linguists interests in reconstructing the history of
unwritten languages must begin in the present, with
comparisons of contemporary languages. On the basis of
these comparisons, they draw inferences about the kinds
of change in language that may have occurred in the past
and may account for
similarities and
differences observed in
the present.
• The systematic description of a particular culture based
on firsthand observation.
• Anthropology has been
called “the most
humane of the
sciences and the most
scientific of the
humanities”
• Wide range of approaches
that span:
• Science (hypothesis, observation,
and testing)
• Humanities (more subjective,
based on feeling)
• Anthropology as a social science is empirical –
based on observations rather than on intuition or
faith
• Fieldwork (being on location and fully
immersed in another way of
life) is a core methodological
aspect of anthropology.
 ETHNOGRAPHY
• means “culture writing”
• provides a first-hand, detailed description of a living culture
• based on first-hand fieldwork and research of one culture
 ETHNOLOGY
• the study of one topic in
more than one culture
• marriage forms, economic
practices, religion, etc.
• comparative and crosscultural
• uses ethnographic material
collected by a number of
researchers
• Anthropology focus on cultural relativism rather than
ethnocentrism
• Cultural relativism is the belief that each culture must be
understood in terms of its own values and beliefs and not by
the standards of another culture
• Is the opposite of ethnocentrism
• The belief that no culture is better than any other culture
• Is gained by exposure to “other” ways with a sympathetic eye and
ear to appreciating differences
• Anthropology focus on cultural relativism rather than
ethnocentrism
• Ethnocentrism is judging other cultures by the standards of
one’s own culture rather than the standards of other cultures
• The belief that one’s own culture is the way of life and that other ways of
life are strange and inferior
• Absolute cultural relativism says that whatever goes
on in a particular culture must not be questioned or
change because it would be ethnocentric to question any
behavior or idea anywhere.
 Star Trek’s “Prime Directive”?
 No one shall interfere with
the culture/cultural evolution
of another planet under any
conditions
 What are some challenges
of absolute cultural
relativism?
• Critical cultural relativism is an alternative to
absolute cultural relativism
 Critical cultural relativism says that some of what goes on
in a particular culture can be questioned or changed because of
an idea of a set of universal human rights.
 What are some challenges of critical cultural relativism?
 Star Trek Prime Directive
 Prime Directive Debate http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mH-L6UCCAE
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008
• Anthropological studies often overlap with those of:
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
Sociology
Biology
Human genetics
Psychology
All of the above.
• Anthropological studies often overlap with those of:
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
Sociology
Biology
Human genetics
Psychology
All of the above.
• Anthropologist study all of the following except:
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
Monkey and apes
Technologically advanced societies
The way people use language
Dinosaur anatomy
Cultures of the past.
• Anthropologist study all of the following except:
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
Monkey and apes
Technologically advanced societies
The way people use language
Dinosaur anatomy
Cultures of the past.
• The chimpanzee is a popular subject of study by physical
anthropologists because
a) Chimpanzee mating customs are similar to those of humans.
b) Chimpanzees are the most abundant primate.
c) The evolutionary record suggests that humans evolved from
chimpanzees.
d) Studies of blood chemistry suggest that chimpanzees are
closely related to humans.
e) The chimpanzee diet is similar to
the diet of humans living in the
same habitat.
• The chimpanzee is a popular subject of study by physical
anthropologists because
a) Chimpanzee mating customs are similar to those of humans.
b) Chimpanzees are the most abundant primate.
c) The evolutionary record suggests that humans evolved from
chimpanzees.
d) Studies of blood chemistry suggest that chimpanzees are
closely related to humans.
e) The chimpanzee diet is similar to
the diet of humans living in the
same habitat.
• In using the term “culture,” anthropologists are referring
to a society’s:
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
Language
Religious beliefs
Food preferences
Sexual habits
All of the above
• In using the term “culture,” anthropologists are referring
to a society’s:
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
Language
Religious beliefs
Food preferences
Sexual habits
All of the above
• Compared to historians, archaeologists more often:
a)
b)
c)
d)
Studies societies’ religious beliefs and customs.
Study societies that date back more than 5000 years.
Study societies with written records.
Seek information in buried remains such as garbage heaps.
• Compared to historians, archaeologists more often:
a)
b)
c)
d)
Studies societies’ religious beliefs and customs.
Study societies that date back more than 5000 years.
Study societies with written records.
Seek information in buried remains such as garbage heaps.
• In order to reconstruct the history of an unwritten
language, historical linguists:
a) Rely heavily on those few moments in the past when people
left a pictorial record of their group.
b) Compare contemporary languages to learn what features may
have been ancestral to all of them.
c) Must rely on early records left by visitors (e.g., missionaries,
explorers) to a group.
d) Often use artwork and other “indirect” indicators of a group’s
language.
e) Historical linguists cannot reconstruct a past language
without a written record.
• In order to reconstruct the history of an unwritten
language, historical linguists:
a) Rely heavily on those few moments in the past when people
left a pictorial record of their group.
b) Compare contemporary languages to learn what features may
have been ancestral to all of them.
c) Must rely on early records left by visitors (e.g., missionaries,
explorers) to a group.
d) Often use artwork and other “indirect” indicators of a group’s
language.
e) Historical linguists cannot reconstruct a past language
without a written record.
• Compared to ethnologists, ethnographers:
a) Are more likely to study ethnic groups within a contemporary
society than faraway “primitive” culture.
b) Spend more time studying a particular culture in the field.
c) Are more likely to study societies with written languages.
d) Spend more time analyzing why societies in different parts of
the world vary in their customs.
e) Try harder to explain why societies change.
• Compared to ethnologists, ethnographers:
a) Are more likely to study ethnic groups within a contemporary
society than faraway “primitive” culture.
b) Spend more time studying a particular culture in the field.
c) Are more likely to study societies with written languages.
d) Spend more time analyzing why societies in different parts of
the world vary in their customs.
e) Try harder to explain why societies change.
• Primatology is the study of
a)
b)
c)
d)
The origin of life on earth.
The culture of early humans
The first tools used by humans.
The anatomy and social behavior of apes and monkeys.
• Primatology is the study of
a)
b)
c)
d)
The origin of life on earth.
The culture of early humans
The first tools used by humans.
The anatomy and social behavior of apes and monkeys.
• A holistic approach to the study of humans means that
anthropologists
a) Concentrate only on the social customs of the group under
study.
b) Study all varieties of people and all aspects of their existence.
c) Limit themselves to the study of religious leaders.
d) Only study literate societies.
• A holistic approach to the study of humans means that
anthropologists
a) Concentrate only on the social customs of the group under
study.
b) Study all varieties of people and all aspects of their existence.
c) Limit themselves to the study of religious leaders.
d) Only study literate societies.
• The anthropological attitude that society’s customs and
ideas should be viewed in the context of that society’s
culture is called
a)
b)
c)
d)
•
Cultural relativism
The etic approach
Ethnocentrism
Holism
• The anthropological attitude that society’s customs and
ideas should be viewed in the context of that society’s
culture is called
a)
b)
c)
d)
•
Cultural relativism
The etic approach
Ethnocentrism
Holism
• Because anthropology is holistic, research within the
discipline involves
a)
b)
c)
d)
•
only European populations.
all human populations, both living and dead
only prehistoric populations which developed state societies.
only prehistoric populations which did not develop state
societies.
• Because anthropology is holistic, research within the
discipline involves
a)
b)
c)
d)
•
only European populations.
all human populations, both living and dead
only prehistoric populations which developed state societies.
only prehistoric populations which did not develop state
societies.
• Ethnocentrism is the belief that
a)
b)
c)
d)
One’s culture is no better or no worse than any other.
Other cultures are inferior to one’s own.
Other cultures are superior to one’s own.
To understand another cultural feature, you must look at it
from within its proper cultural context.
• Ethnocentrism is the belief that
a)
b)
c)
d)
One’s culture is no better or no worse than any other.
Other cultures are inferior to one’s own.
Other cultures are superior to one’s own.
To understand another cultural feature, you must look at it
from within its proper cultural context.