Anthropology Flashcards
What is anthropology?
It is the study of being human. “It is the study of humankind in all times and all places”
Anthropologists study both prehistoric and present human cultures.
What are the basic goals of anthropology?
To understand
1) how human cultures are the same (commonalities)
2) why and how human cultures differ (diversity)
3) how humans adapt to their environment
4) how humans imbue their life/existence with meaning
5) how to preserve diversity
What is physical anthropology (3)?
Physical anthropology is also called biological anthropology.
Physical anthropologists study the biological and physiological development of humans and non-human primates in an attempt to understand our evolutionary origins.
Physical anthropologists also study
1) how humans and non-human primates adapt to environmental stresses
2) how humans vary and the significance of such variations
3) how behavior is influenced by biology (i.e. biological basis of behavior).
What is cultural anthropology?
Cultural anthropology is the study of how human cultures vary in regards to beliefs, values, norms, technologies, economics, and behavior.
Cultural anthropologists study (1) how people from the same cultural system shape the physical and social world around them and (2) how these created physical and social structures shape the people in turn.
What is archaeology?
It is the study of ancient civilizations: the study of their history and culture using artifacts.
What is kinship?
Familial bonds (how we are linked to others). Familial bonds are formed through marriage (affinal), blood/descent (consanguine), or social arrangement (fictive)
Kinship tells a story of who you are related to and why.
Describe descent rule
Descent rule describes the descent lines that are emphasized when tracing ones ancestry. Some cultures, for various reasons, emphasize maternal lineage, paternal lineage, or both lineages (like in the U.S. and Europe).
Describe the two main family structures/types
Nuclear family: a family unit consisting of parents and their children. Common in affluent-industrialized countries.
Extended family: a family unit that goes beyond the nuclear family to include aunts, uncles, or grandparents. Common in agricultural countries and countries where the economy is difficult for a nuclear family to achieve self sufficiency on their own.
What need does kinship/family structure provide (1)?
The main purpose of kinship is to increase the rate of survival. In general, humans cannot survive on their own; we need to bond together in some kind of way to increase our odds of surviving.
Because survival is linked food, shelter, and protection which are in turn linked to resources, kinship and family structures are heavily tied to economics. Through kinship, people find a way to (1) concentrate resources and divide labor to better meet their needs and (2) transmit status and property from generation to generation to ensure a continuous means of survival.
What is culture?
Culture is the language, beliefs, values, norms, material objects, myths, stories, music, dance, etc. of a place. Culture is passed on through socialization.
There is nothing inherently natural or biological about culture.
Within a society, there is often a dominate culture, subcultures, and counter cultures.
What is the function of culture?
Culture serves as a design for living that helps societies run smoothly because everyone within each society knows what is to expect and is expected of them.
What is cultural diffusion (3)?
It is the spreading of cultural standards from one place to another. The disadvantage of diffusion is loss of diversity–places begin to resemble each other and cultural uniqueness is lost.
There are three types of diffusion: direct, forced, and indirect.
Direct: here diffusion occurs because the two places are geographically close. The diffusion occurs through intermarriage, trade, and warfare.
Indirect: here diffusion occurs through middle men such mass media, internet, and international travel.
Forced: plight of conquered people.
What are institutions?
They are social structures that create social order via supporting important societal values and via meeting the various needs of society. Without family, education, politics, religion, economy, healthcare, justice, clubs, ethnic communities, etc., there would be chaos and dysfunction in society.
Institutions provide the traditions, laws, symbols, procedures, goods, people, interactions, etc. that society needs to function.
What is society?
Society is a group of people that share a common culture and land.
