Lecture 4 Flashcards
physical anthropology
- Examination of human biology
- Contribute information on the life and death of an individual
- Genetics
- Relationships between Clovis-period (~12,000BP) human remains and those found in Siberia (Solutrian hypothesis)
What is linguistics
- Study of human communication
- Culture area concept
- Relationships between languages
- Preservation and expansion of Indigenous languages
- Language is representative of worldview, belief systems, and cultural value
What is archaeology
Study of physical history of a culture, past and/or present
Examines: objects/artifacts, features, spatial organization
can examine human behaviour on different scales
Limitations of what can be examined (natural factors, cultural factors, not everything makes it into archaeological record)
- Landscapes are not stable (influenced by natural erosion and human factors)
What is cultural anthropology
Examines the current and recent past of a cultural groups
Two methods: ethnographic and ethnohistoric research
Utilize data sources and methods
Ethnographic vs ethnohistoric history
Ethnographic: conducted among living populations, participant observation, examines customs, practices, and daily life firsthand
Ethnohistoric: researching behaviour of the recent past, conducted using a variety of resources
What is an ethnography
Complete work of cultural anthropology
What is indigenous science rooted in
rooted in their own traditions
Five tenets of indigenous science
- Space/land
- Constant motion/flux
- All things animate and imbued with spirit
- Relationship
- Renewal
Describe the space/land aspect of indigenous science
- Land is central to Indigenous identity
- Connection has led to an extensive and intimate knowledge of
Creation, its beings, and its processes - Knowledge is relayed through oral accounts of how Creation was
created, how it functions, and human history within it - Acts as an intellectual reference for history and as a guide for
future behaviour and responding to new circumstances
Describe the constant motion/flux of indigenous science
- Relationship with Creation and its natural rhythms support the
development of acute observation skills and increased knowledge
of the environment and environmental change - Communities could detect what natural rhythms existed within
their environments and developed cultural practices to mitigate
their impact on communities - World is constant flux and change that can be addressed through
accessing the knowledge associated with landscapes
Describe the animation and spirit aspect of indigenous science
- Everything is alive
- Observations over long periods of time have shown that close
relationships exist between all living things - All things are connected
- Therefore, all things, including humans, must be alike
- All things are related to each other as equals
- As a part of this interrelations, humans have a responsibility to
everything, as they have responsibilities towards us
describe the relationship aspect of indigenous science
- Reciprocal relationships central tenet to the whole of Creation
- Even if not immediately part of one’s life knowledge of and
relationships with all other being must be maintained* Relationships must be proactively renewed
How are relationships related to dreams
- Relationships can be accessed through dreaming
- Visitors that act to guide, warn, inform, and entertain the dreamer
- Dreams are non-linear
- Direct connection with a landscape and all the beings in it
- Must be interpreted within the specific landscape that it originates
from
What is the renewal aspect tot indigenous science
- All beings must maintain relationships with each other
- Requires that regular ceremony takes place to affirm these
relationships - Cannot assume that life will continue as it is now as it is in constant flux
and undergoing change - Failure to renew relationship can lead to disruption of the normal
interactions between humans and that being - Cannot assume that past actions will continue to happen unless
an individual becomes involved in what they are observing
Kwädąy Dän Ts’inchį
long ago person found whos remians were found in a glacier in northern BC
Found the items in his possession
Autopsy was conducted and the age of the remains were established, then talked with the firt nation people of that region to talk about what research should take place
Research goals and protocols were established
remains were repatriatted to the first nations for traditional cremation adn reburial
Male aged between 18 and 20, lived 200 years ago
