Transcript Cultural Anthropology by Nancy Bonvillain

Cultural Anthropology, 2E
by Nancy Bonvillain
Chapter 1
What is Anthropology?
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Key Distinguishing Features

A focus on the concept of culture

A comparative perspective

A holistic perspective
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The Concept of Culture
The learned values, beliefs, and rules
of conduct shared to some extent by the
members of a society that govern
their behavior with one another
Symbolic Culture
Material Culture
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The Concept of Culture
Symbolic culture: People’s ideas and
means of communicating those
ideas.
 Material culture: The tools, utensils,
clothing, housing, and other objects
that people make or use.

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A Holistic Perspective
A perspective that views culture as an
integrated whole, no part of which
can be completely understood without
considering the whole.
Considers the interconnections among factors
that contribute to people’s behavior.
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A Comparative Perspective

Universals vs. Diversity
Anthropologists collect data in many societies to document the
diversity of human culture and to understand common patterns.

Culture Change
Cultures are not static: they change in response to internal and
external pressures.

Globalization
Globalization concerns the spread of economic, political, and
cultural influences across a large geographic area or many
different societies.
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The Four Subfields of
Anthropology

Cultural Anthropology

Linguistic Anthropology

Archaeology

Biological Anthropology
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Figure 1.1 (p. 6)
Subfields of Anthropology
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Cultural Anthropology
The Study of Human Culture
 Ethnography
 Ethnology
 Cultural Relativity/Ethnocentrism

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Linguistic Anthropology
Interconnection of Language,
Culture, and Society
 Indigenous Languages
 Historical Linguistics

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Archaeology
The Study of Material Culture
 Historic
 Prehistoric
 Applied

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Biological Anthropology
The Study of Human Origins and
Contemporary Biological Diversity
 Paleoanthropology

– Evolution
– Primatology
– Human variation

Medical Anthropology
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Applied Anthropology
The application of the techniques
and theories of anthropology to
solving real-world problems.
 Includes the fields of:

– Forensic anthropology
– Cultural resource management (CRM)
– Contract Archaeology
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Forensic Anthropology

Employs biological anthropologists
who analyze human remains in the
service of:
– Criminal justice
– Families of disaster victims
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Cultural Resource Management
(CRM)

The application of archaeology to
preserve and protect historic
structures and prehistoric sites.
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Contract Archaeology

The application of archaeology to:
– Assess the potential impact of construction
on archaeological sites
– Salvage archaeological evidence
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Table 1.1a (p. 7)
Career Opportunities in the Four Subfields of Anthropology
(continued on next slide)
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Table 1.1b (p. 7)
Career Opportunities in the Four Subfields of Anthropology
(continued from the previous slide)
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rights reserved.