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What Is Anthropology? ANTH 221: Peoples and Cultures of Mexico Kimberly Martin, Ph.D. What is Anthropology? DEFINITION Anthropology is the holistic, synthetic, multidisciplinary study of human beings. 1. 2. 3. 4. KEY COMPONENTS Anthropology seeks and uses all information about both individual humans and groups of humans regardless of time, geographic location, culture or types of evidence. Anthropology studies the biological, psychological, social and cultural aspects of being human in the present and in the past. Anthropology draws knowledge and methods from any discipline that can help understand humanness Anthropology attempts to integrate information from many disciplines into a single whole picture of what it means to be humans What are the Four Sub-disciplines of Anthropology? 1. Physical Anthropology 2. Archaeology 3. Linguistic Anthropology 4. Cultural Anthropology What is Physical Anthropology? DEFINITION Physical Anthropology, also called Biological Anthropology, is the study of the genetic, anatomical and physiological aspects of humanness, including our relationship to other kinds of animals in the past and present. KEY COMPONENTS 1. 2. 3. Physical anthro studies human evolution to understand when humans first existed and how the human body has changed through time Physical anthro studies how and why human individuals and groups differ from one another biologically in the past and present Physical anthro studies how humans are alike and different from other animals, especially those most like us, the nonhuman primates What Kinds of Physical Anthropologists Are There? Six Kinds of Biological Anthropologists Paleoanthropologists study human fossil remains Human Variation Specialists study how human anatomy and physiology are adapted to particular environments Human Geneticists study patterns of gene distribution in human populations, as well as the consequences of particular genes to individuals Forensic Anthropologists apply anthropological knowledge about the human body to solve crimes Human Epidemiologists study how human biology and cultural practices affect health and disease patterns Primatologists study similarities and differences between humans and our closest relatives, the non-human primates What is Archaeology? DEFINITION Archaeology is the study of the material remains of human cultures from the past and in the present. KEY COMPONENTS 1. Archaeology studies things that people make (artifacts like pottery or tools) and leave behind 2. Archaeology studies things that people alter (features like roads and buildings) and leave behind 3. Archaeology studies environmental clues that show the circumstances in which people live or lived (ecofacts) 4. Archaeologists are interested in material culture from the past as well as from the present What Kinds of Archaeologists Are There? Five of Kinds of Archaeologists Classical Archaeologists Contract Study the remains from the foundational societies for Western Civilization Ethnoarchaeologists Study how living societies make and use tools and other material objects to draw analogies with ancient materials Historical Archaeologists Study the remains of historically documented societies to provide additional data on how people lived. Archaeologists Identifying, evaluating, and managing sites threatened by development. Experimental Archaeologists Attempt to reconstruct how material culture and cultural features were constructed and used in the past. What is Linguistic Anthropology? DEFINITION Linguistic Anthropology is the study of language and communication. KEY COMPONENTS 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Linguistic anthropologists describe how languages are produced and used Linguistic anthropologists study how language changes through time Linguistic anthropologists study how language usage varies in different social contexts Linguistic anthropologists study how knowing a particular language influences how people think Linguistic anthropologists study how people communicate nonverbally through gestures, body language and the use of space. Language is a central part of culture What kinds of Linguistic Anthropologists Are There? Eight Kinds of Linguistic Anthropologists Descriptive Linguists Developmental Linguists Historical Linguists Paralanguage Experts Ethnolinguists Proxemics Experts study how languages are produced and organized study how languages change over time study how knowing a particular language affects the way people think Sociolinguists study how language use changes in differing social situations study how children acquire language study pitch, tone and rhythm in language study the use of space to communicate Kinesics Experts study body language and gestures What is Cultural Anthropology? DEFINITION Cultural Anthropology, also called Socio-cultural Anthropology, is the study of contemporary and historic human societies through their cultures. KEY COMPONENTS 1. 2. 3. 4. Cultural anthropology studies living societies and descriptions of living societies Cultural anthropology uses fieldwork and participantobservation to understand other ways of life Cultural anthropology attempts to take a cultural relativist perspective on other cultures Cultural anthropology is interested in all aspects of life in a society and how they fit together What Kinds of Cultural Anthropologists Are There? Seven Kinds of Cultural Anthropologists Cultural Ecologists study how culture interacts with the environment Social Anthropologists study the rules for forming kin and non-kin social groups in society Economic Anthropologists study how people produce and distribute the things they need to survive Political Anthropologists study how power and authority are delegated and rules enforced in society Medical Anthropologists study how culture and human biology interact to create disease and illness in societies Aesthetic study Psychological Anthropologists Anthropologists what is considered beautiful and study how individuals grow and function in different cultural contexts how beauty is created in different societies Cultural Anthropology Terms • Culture = the abstract, learned, shared rules and standards used to interpret experiences and generate behavior • Society = a group of people living according to a shared culture. • Ethnocentrism = judging another culture using your own culture’s rules and standards • Cultural Relativism = judging another society using their cultural rules and standards. Key Terms • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Anthropology Holistic Synthetic Multidisciplinary Physical Anthropology Paleoanthropology Forensic Anthropology Primatology Archaeology Classical Archaeology Ethnoarchaeology Contract Archaeology Historical Archaeology Experimental Archaeology • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Linguistic Anthropology Descriptive Linguistics Historical Linguistics Ethnolinguistics Sociolinguistics Cultural Anthropology Culture Society Ethnocentrism Cultural Relativism Cultural Ecologist Social Anthropology Economic Anthropologists Medical Anthropologists