Anthropology unit 2 Flashcards
what is anthropology?
the study of humans including their origins, behaviour, and physical social and cultural development
what are two branches of anthro?
cultrual
physical
cultural anthropology
• religion
• race
• beliefs
• traditions
• clothes
physical anthropology
the study of the past and present evolution
job: examining human skeletal remains to determine various factors
what are the 5 schools of thought
cultural relativism
functional theory
cultural materialism
feminist anthropology
postmodernism
cultural relativism
-belief that we can’t compare two cultures
-believes each culture is entitled to their own rules that are valid and acceptable
-the way people view the worlds depends on their culture
cultural relativism key thinker
Franz Boas
Functional Theory
-the idea that every belief, action, or relationship in a culture functions to meet the needs of individuals
functional theory key thinker
Bronislaw Malinowski
cultural Materialism
•materials or conditions within the environment ex. climate
•believe that society develops on a trial and error basis
cultural materialism key thinker
Marvin Harris
feminist anthropology
•aimed to compare cultures around the world to see how many were dominated by men
•looks at gender roles and myths in cultures and how it is effected
feminist anthropology key thinker
Ernestine Friedi
postmodernism
•impossible to have any “true” knowledge about the world
• try to deconstruct what a society believes to be true
•believes that anthropologists cannot study their subjects in a detached way
structered observation
a qualitative research method
unstructured observation
when observation is to take place without the pre defined plan and characteristics in advance
participant observation
the researcher is immersed in the day to day activities of the participants
7 aspects of culture
social organization
language
customs and traditions
art
religon
forms of government
economic system
social organization
-the way a culture organizes its members into smaller groups
ex. families, jobs, emos
language
-core of all culture
-specific set of symbols and meaning
-not all have developed writing
customs and traditions
-laws and social norms
-expectations
-rules of behaviour
Art
creative output to one generation to the next
religion
-basic questions about the meaning of life that cannot be answered
-beliefs
-some cultures have multiple religions
economic system
limited resources to satisfy wants and needs
what is a rite of passage?
ceremonial event or ritual that marks the passage from one social or religion status to another
three phases of rites of passage
- separation- punishment
- transition- loosing name
3.reincorpation- gifts, coming together
linguistic anthropology
studies the nature of human languages in the context of those cultures that developed them
3 areas of linguistic anthropology
historical linguistics
descriptive linguistics
sociolinguistics
what are primates?
mammals that usually have grasping hands, large brains and flat faces that set them apart from other mammals
what is an example of a primate?
humans, and gorillas
Margaret Mead
studied the people of Oceania
Louis and Mary Leakey
-discovered the first fossilized skull
-promoter of the study of human origins
Jane Goodall
-expert on chimpanzees
-corrected a number of misunderstandings about chimpanzees
Dian Fossey
-extensive study of the mountain gorilla
- American primatologist
Birate Galdikas
-discovered the long orangutang birth interval
studied orangutan’s
Charles Darwin
-naturalist, geologist and biologist
-architect of the theory of evolution by natural selection
natural selection
-theorized by Charles Darwin
- mechanism of evolution
-pass on genes that aide their success
Evolution
the process of gradual change that takes place over many generations
creationism
the belief that the creation story of Genesis is the literal truth about how the world came into being
human variation
the range of differences among humans
ethnology
the study of characteristics of various people and the differences and relationships between them
ethnocentrism
judging someone based on their food preferences or clothing style
culture
belief, art, law, morals, traditions
archaeology
the study of human history and prehistory through excavation of sites and the analysis of artifacts and other physical remains
bipedalism
the ability to move about on two legs instead of four
primatology
the study of the behaviour, biology, evolution and taxonomy of nonhuman primates
paleoanthropology
the study of human evolution through the fossil and archaeological records
