Chapter 1 Flashcards
Anthropology
The study of humanity
4 subfields of anthropology?
Cultural anthropology
Archaeology
Biological anthropology
Linguistic anthropology
Cultural anthropology
Similarities and differences among living societies and cultural groups.
Culture
A set of beliefs, practices, and symbols that are learned or shared.
Enculturation
Process in which we learn to become members of our group/culture. (direct and indirect)
Ethnocentrism
Belief that one’s culture is better than others.
Participant-observation
Method of long term immersive research used today.
Cultural relativism
Idea that no culture is better than another
Biological anthropology
Study of human origins, evolution, and variation.
Paleoanthropology
Study of ancient human relatives.
Nina Jablonski
Discovered why human skin color changed over time.
Archaeology
Focuses on material past left behind by people.
Kathleen Kenyon
Argued that Jericho is the oldest city in the world.
Linguistic anthropology
Focuses on the history and evolution of language.
Applied anthropology
Application of anthropological theories, methods, and findings to solve practical problems.
5 Anthropological perspectives
Holism
Cultural relativism
Comparison
Fieldwork
Ethnography
Holism
Interest in the whole of humanity, not just one aspect.
Comparison
Used to learn what humans have in common, how we differ, and how we change.
Fieldwork
Research conducted in the field of study
Ethnography
Fieldwork specific to cultural anthropology
Monogenism
Humans are a single species with a single origin
Polygenism
The idea that humans have multiple origins
Louis Agassiz
Contributed to the idea of Polygenism
Charles Lyell
Contributed principles of Geology. Earth gets older as you dig deeper.
Herbert Spencer
Created Social Darwinism.
Social Darwinism
Applies survival of the fittest to cultures.
Scientific racism
People coming up with ways to rank countries. (Craniometrics)
Craniometrics
The measuring of people’s head sizes to determine intelligence.
