Chapter 1

Question 1

Anthropology

Answer 1

The field of inquiry that studies human culture and evolutionary aspects of human biology; includes cultural anthropology, archaeology, linguistics, and physical (biological) anthropology.

Question 2

Cultural Anthropology

Answer 2

The branch of anthropology concerned with the study of human societies and cultures and their development

Question 3

Ethnographies

Answer 3

Detailed descriptive studies of human societies. In cultural anthropology, and ethnography is traditionally the study of non-western society.

Question 4

Linguistic Anthropology

Answer 4

Anthropological research based on studying the language of a particular group of people; the study of the role of languages in human society.
- Living languages
- Origins of language
- Uniquely human: syntax and grammar; arbitrary and open-ended; key developmental window; key brain structures; astonishing learning speed

Question 5

Archaeology

Answer 5

The study of earlier cultures by anthropologiust who specialize in the scientific recov ery, analysis, and interpretation of the matieral remains of past societies.

Question 6

Physical (biological) Anthropology

Answer 6

The study of human biology within the framework of evolution with an emphasis on the interaction bewteen biology and culture.,

Question 7

Biocultural Evolution

Answer 7

The mutual interactive evolution of human biology and culture; the concept that biology makes culture possible and that developing culture further influences the direction of biological evolution.

Question 8

Paleoanthropology

Answer 8

The interdisciplinary approach to the study of earlier hominins - their chronology, physical structure, archeological remains, habitats, and so on.
- Fossilized remains
- Functional anatomy
- Growth/development

Question 9

Osteology

Answer 9

The study of skeletal material. Human osteology focuses on the interpretation of skeletal remains from archeological sites, skeletal anatomy, bone physiology, and growth and development.

Question 10

Paleopathology

Answer 10

The branch of osteology that studies the evidence of disease and injury in human skeletal (or occasionally mummified) remains from archeologicla sites.

Question 11

Forensic Anthropology

Answer 11

An applied anthropoloigical approach focused on the application of osteology and archeology to legal matters. Forensic anthropologists work with coroners and others in identifying and analyzing human remains.

Question 12

Primatology

Answer 12

The study of the biology and behavior of nonhuman primates (lemurs, lorises, tarsiers, monkeys, and apes)

Question 13

Hypothesis Formation

Answer 13

1. Hypothesis: testable explanation for a set of data.
2. Testability: clear predictions that are potentially falsifiable (Karl Popper -> Falsificationism)
3. Null Hypothesis: predictions subject to disproof (skepticism)

Question 14

Inductive Reasoning

Answer 14

Generalization developed from specific data
1. Observation
2. Data
3. Model (hypothesis)
4. Law (principle)

Question 15

Deductive Reasoning

Answer 15

Predictions developed from generalizations
1. Law (principle)
2. Theory
3. Prediction

Question 16

Laws

Answer 16

Predict what will happen via repearted experimental observations

Question 17

Immature Laws

Answer 17

Based on GENERALIZED hypotheses - tentative, testable, and falsifiable statement that describes an observed patter in nature
- If observed patterns are consistently observed, it becomes a law

Question 18

Theory

Answer 18

• integrated bodies of knowledge developed and refined over time with rigourous testing and scrutiny.
• can’t be tested as a whole idea, but can be tested through series of hypotheses.
• cen be revised if certain apsects are shown to be reliable.

Question 19

Immature Theories

Answer 19

based on EXPLANATORY hypotheses - tentative, testable, and falsifiable statment that explains some observed phenomenon in nature
- If explanations survive rigourous tests, it becomes a theory

Question 20

Adequate (Adequacy)

Answer 20

Something is sufficient or good enough to meet a requirement or purpose; the state of being sufficient for a purpose

Question 21

Parsimony (“Occum’s Razor”)

Answer 21

the principle that when considering multiple explanations for a phenomenon, the simplest explanation that fits the evidence should be preffered.

Question 22

Reductionism

Answer 22

the idea that complex systems can be understood by breaking them down into simpler parts or by explaining them through the interactions of their parts