Chapter 2 Flashcards
anthropology
the study of all aspects of humankind–biological, cultural, and linguistic; extant and extinct–employing a holistic, comparative approach and the concept of culture
biological anthropology
a subdiscipline of anthropology that views humans as biological organism; also known as physical anthropology
cultural anthropology
a subdiscipline of anthropology that emphasizes nonbiological aspects; the learned social, linguistic, technological, and familial behaviors of humans
linguistic anthropology
a subdiscipline of anthropology that focuses on human language; its diversity in grammar, syntax, and lexicon; its historical development; and its relation to a culture’s perception of the world
archaeology
the study of the past through the systematic recovery and analysis of material remains
culture
an integrated system of beliefs, traditions, and customs that govern or influence a person’s behavior. Culture is learned, shared by members of a group, and based on the ability to think in terms of symbols
ideational perspective
the research perspective that defines ideas, symbols, and mental structures as driving forces in shaping human behavior
adaptive perspective
a research perspective that emphasizes technology, ecology, demography, and economics in the definition of human behaviro
science
the search for universals by means of established scientific methods of inquiry
scientific method
accepted principles and procedures for the systematic pursuit of secure knowledge. Established scientific procedures involve the following steps:
(1) define a relevant problem
(2) establish one or more hypotheses
(3) determine the empirical implications of the hypotheses
(4) collect appropriate data through observation and/or experimentation
(5) compare these data with the expected implications
(6) revise and/or retest hypotheses as necessary
hypothesis
a proposition proposed as an explanation of some phenomenon
inductive reasoning
working from specific observations to more general hypothesis
deductive reasoning
reasoning from theory to account for specific observational or experimental results
testability
the degree to which one’s observations and experiments can be reproduced
theory
an explanation for observed, empirical phenomena. It seeks to explain the relationships between variable; it is an answer to “why” question
low-level theory
the observations and interpretations that emerge from hands-on archaeological field and lab work
data
relevant observations made on objects that then serve as the basis for study and discussion
rockshelter
a common type of archaeological site, consisting of rock overhand that is deep enough to provide shelter but not deep enough to be called a cave (a cave must have an area of perpetual darkness)
ecofact
plant or animal remains found at an archaeological site
feature
the nonportable evidence of technology, such as fire hearths, architectural elements, clusters, garbage pits, and soil stains
middle-level theory
hypothesis that links archaeological observations with the human behavior or natural processes that produced them
high-level theory
theory that seeks to answer large “why” questions
paradigm
the overarching framework, often unstated for understanding a research problem. It is the researcher’s “culture”
processual paradigm
the paradigm that explains social, economic, and cultural change as primarily the result of adaptation to material conditions. External conditions (ex: the environment) are assumed to take casual priority over ideational factors in explaining change
general systems theory
an effort to describe the properties by which all systems, including human societies, allegedly operate. Popular in processual archaeology of the late 1960s and 1970s
postprocessual paradigm
a paradigm that focuses on humanistic approaches and rejects scientific objectivity. It sees archaeology as inherently political and is more concerned with interpreting the past than with testing hypotheses. It sees change as arising largely from interactions between individuals operating within a symbolic and/or competitive system
deconstruction
efforts to expose the assumptions behind the allegedly objective and systematic search for knowledge
stelae
stone monuments erected by Maya rulers to record their history in rich images and hieroglyphic symbols. These symbols can be read and dated
