Ch. 1 Introduction to Cultural Diversity

Question 1

Two Assumptions of Anthropology

Answer 1

1) To truly understand human nature, you must COMPARE behavior and attitudes ACROSS CULTURES. 2) People are best understood HOLISTICALLY, looking at all aspects of life, including biological and cultural influences.

Question 2

Anthropology

Answer 2

Study of the Human Species and it’s immediate ancestors.

Question 3

Holistic

Answer 3

Referring to the WHOLE of the human condition, past, present, and future – biology, society, language, and culture.

Question 4

Society

Answer 4

ORGANIZED LIFE in GROUPS – different societies are different groups of organized life with their own culture, rules, traditions, etc.

Question 5

Cultures

Answer 5

A society’s TRADITIONS and CUSTOMS that govern behavior and beliefs – distinctly human and transmitted through learning.

Question 6

Enculturation

Answer 6

This is when CHILDREN learn their CULTURE over time. The gradual acquisition of the characteristics and norms of a culture by a person (or group of people) – the ADAPTATION of people to ANOTHER CULTURE.

Question 7

What are the Biological Capacities on which Culture Depends

Answer 7

The abilities to learn, THINK SYMBOLICALLY, use language, employ tools, organize their lives, and adapt to their environments.

Question 8

Adaptation

Answer 8

The process by which organisms cope with environmental stresses.

Question 9

Topography

Answer 9

The SHAPE and features of LAND surfaces. Mountains, lakes, plains, rivers, valleys, deserts, jungles – all help define the topography of an area. TOPOGRAPHY is critically important in the creation of the CULTURES that live in a particular topographical area.

Question 10

Cultural Adaptation vs. Biological Adaptation

Answer 10

CULTURAL ADAPTATION refers to the process of coping with environmental forces and stresses – like adapting to dry climates or mountain altitudes. * A form of cultural adaptation is Technological advancement. People adapted to colder climates by protecting themselves with built shelters and animal skins as well as learning how to create and maintain fires. BIOLOGICAL ADAPTATION refers to changes in the body either GENETICALLY (like developing larger lung capacities over generations for those who live at high altitudes) or temporarily adapting with AVAILABLE BIOLOGICAL ABILITIES (Increased heart rate and heavier breathing when someone unaccustomed to high altitudes climbs to the top of a mountain).

Question 11

Foraging vs. Food Production

Answer 11

The move from foraging (finding food in the wild) to producing food (FARMING) CREATED the FOUNDATION for humans to settle in one place and for COMPLEX SOCIETIES.

Question 12

4 Types of Adaptation

Answer 12

1) Cultural (Changes in technology and attitude) 2) Genetic – Biological (Occurs over generations) 3) Short-Term Physiological – Biological (increased heart rate, sweating, hyperventilation) 4) Long-Term Physiological – Biological (More efficient respiratory system for people growing up at high altitudes)

Question 13

Four-Fields of Anthropology

Answer 13

1) Sociocultural (Culture) 2) Archaeological (Artifacts) 3) Biological (Evolution) 4) Linguistic (Languages)

Question 14

Biocultural

Answer 14

Refers to the COMBINATION of both BIOLOGICAL and CULTURAL perspectives to address a particular issue. Culture is a key environmental force in determining how human bodies grow and develop. (cultural ideas of beauty and athletic pursuit)

Question 15

Why is ‘race’ a discredited concept in human biology?

Answer 15

RACE is NOT a BIOLOGICAL CONCEPT. It is a CULTURAL CONCEPT designed long ago to differentiate people who looked different, largely so it was easier to treat other ‘races’ without respect or dignity.

Question 16

Why do some humans still produce the enzyme Lactase?

Answer 16

LACTASE is the enzyme needed to break down milk. If you don’t have this enzyme, then you will have problems (lactose intolerance) if you try to drink milk. Not all populations can produce this. Only a few populations—those who have a long history of use of domesticated mammals for milk—have LACTASE PERSISTENCE. LACTASE PERSISTENCE is the CONTINUED production of Lactase beyond childhood. Why is this significant? Long ago, only babies would need lactase in order to break down Mother’s milk. As they aged, they would stop consuming breast milk and eat foods from external sources. However, when humans began drinking the milk of other mammals (goats, cows), those who produced more Lactase were able to get greater nutrition than those who could not. Over generations, this healthier (Lactase Producer) thrived and survived at a rate that allowed them to dominate populations that drank nonhuman milk. So Humans in certain populations developed the ability to produce Lactase throughout the Lifespan. This is a clear example of Natural Selection” as described by Charles Darwin and since refined many times. Natural Selection is responsible for innumerable physical changes to biology of members of certain populations depending on the Environmental Stresses that they have had to ensure over many generations.

Question 17

Ethnology vs. Ethnography

Answer 17

Keywords: OLOGY = COMPARES, OGRAPHY = SINGLE CULTURE

ETHNOLOGY is the COMPARATIVE study of cultures and how they are DIFFERENT and the SAME as other CULTURES.

• Gives GENERAL VIEWS ACROSS CULTURES
• Uses the direct fieldwork data compiled by ETHNOGRAPHERS
• Also studies the RELATIONSHIP of MEMBERS to their cultures.

ETHNOGRAPHY is the DIRECT FIELDWORK on a SINGLE CULTURE

• It is DESCRIPTIVE (where Ethnology is comparative)
• focuses on a SINGLE CULTURE or specific structures within one culture