Anthropology: Key Theorists Flashcards
Who is Ruth Benedict?
Part of the Cultural Relativism school of thought.
Who is Franz Boas?
He is known for being the “father of modern anthropology”. He also was the main developer of the Cultural Relativism school of thought.
Who is Napoleon Chagnon?
He studied the Yanomamo people and was criticized for manipulating the results to his favour and liking.
Who is Marvin Harris?
He constructed the Cultural Materialism school of thought.
Who is Diamond Janness?
Studied oral history of the nomadic Innuinait.
Who is Richard Lee?
He is an ethnographer who lived and worked with the Dobe Ju/’honsai people.
Who is Bronislaw Malinowski?
Followed the Functionalist school of thought and was known for the Trobriand Island necklace exchange.
Who is Margaret Mead?
Most known for her work with Samoan adolescent girls. She is mixed between the Feminist Anthropology and the Cultural Relativism school of thought.
Who is Noam Chomsky?
He is known as the “father of modern Structural Linguistics”. Known for his study on how to put sounds together to convey meaning but is mostly known for his theory on Universal Grammar.
Who is Edward Sapir?
Recorded and studied Aboriginal people’s language.
Who is Charles Darwin?
Most famous for his excellent theory on Natural Selection.
Who is Raymond Dart?
Was given a skull by workers in a quarry at Taung, South Africa. He determined it to be an early form of human.
Who is Donald Johanson?
Most famous for finding a 40% complete skeleton he nicknamed “Lucy”. She was said to be one of the first bipedal humans and walked the Earth around 3.2 million years ago.
Who are the Leakeys?
Further proved humans to originate from Africa as they found a skull that was 1.5 million years old which they nicknamed “Dear Boy”.
Who is Dian Fossey?
Studied Gorillas.
