Test 1 Short Answer Flashcards
What is the ‘fifth field’ of anthropology and where does its focus lie? What is the connection of this ‘fifth field’ to the traditional four fields of anthropology?
a. Applied Anthropology (the 5th sub-discipline)
b. Application of anthropological data, perspectives, theory, and methods to identify, assess, and solve contemporary social problems.
Describe how anthropology is a “comparative” discipline?
Anthropology draws and builds upon knowledge from both the social and biological sciences as well as the humanities and physical science.
What is the connection between culture and biology? Discuss how biological needs are ‘channeled’ by culture, providing at least two examples of the implications of such cultural differences.
- ) culture shapes how we mark events in the biological life cycle- birth, puberty, marriage/mating, death
- ) Food/ waste management
What is cultural relativism? Why is it important in the study of culture? In your answer, compare cultural relativism to ethnocentrism.
Cultural relativism is the principle that all behavior should be evaluated in the context of the culture in which it occurs.an internal prospective It is important in the study of culture because every culture is different and some behaviors are viewed as good in one culture but bad in a different culture. Ethnocentrism is judging other cultures using one’s own cultural standards; the error of viewing one’s own culture as superior. The two words are opposites in anthropology.
List and describe the three major ways in which cultural change occurs.
- ) Diffusion: borrowing of cultural traits between cultures
- ) Accumulation: exchange of cultural features through continuous contact
- ) Independent innovation: process by which humans innovate, or find creative solutions to problems
What is “popular culture” and how does it relate to other types or levels of culture?
Ideas, perspectives, and phenomenon of the 20th century mainstream culture
Ethnocentrism- judging others cultures using one’s own cultural standards; the error of viewing one’s own culture as superior
non exclusive and cultures can overlap.
Why is it that the artwork of Western civilizations as well as that of dynastic China, Japan, and Egypt is often found in fine art museums while artwork from tribal-level societies is found in natural history museums? What is the connection between this divide and the origins of early anthropology?
a. ) During the age of exploration western Europeans compared their culture to other cultures and aligned the study with natural history. People were studied and treated as if they were barbaric and specimens. This age was the origin of anthropology.
b. ) early conceptions of what civilization was.
c. ) prime example of ethnocentrism
When and why did anthropology become an academic discipline?
When: early 19th century
Why: particularly with the history and cultures of the native peoples of North America. and because colonization of european colonies were going on at this time. They wanted to understand them in a different way so the good benefit economically. it was a cabinet of curiosities.
Name two major contributions of Franz Boas, the “Father of Modern Anthropology,” to the development of the field as a scientific and academic discipline?
> Advocated for the “four field approach” reconceiving anthropology through the integration of different fields of study into one
Advocated using the Scientific method to develop and test theories about human behavior based on empirical observations
What is anthropological archaeology and what are some of the materials that archaeologists analyze to interpret the past?
> The study of material remains and cultural features in order to describe and explain past human behavior
Explain past human behavior
Recovery and analysis of materials left behind by humans
Goal is to establish a broad picture of human cultures and societies
How do ethnography and ethnology differ? How are they similar?
ethnography is an in depth understanding of a single culture. ethnology is the study of multiple cultures. They are both a study of culture and both directly interact with the culture being studied.
Explain the differences between development anthropology and business anthropology.
business anthropology focuses on what’s going on now with business. ???
List the four fields of anthropology and describe the major focuses of each as well as what links them.
they all study humanity as a variation through space and time.
- Cultural Anthropology
i. Describes, analyzes, interprets, and explains social and cultural similarities and differences
• Biological Anthropology
The study of human biological variation, past and present
• Linguistic Anthropology
i. Explores how language shapes…
1. • communication
2. • social identity and group membership
3. • cultural beliefs and ideologies
4. • cultural representations of natural and social worlds
• Anthropological Archaeology
i. The study of human culture through
ii. •Reconstructing past human societies using the “stuff” they left behind
> Artifacts (potsherds, tools, ornaments) – Refuse (garbage) – Burials – Remains of structures – Entire settlements and their distribution on the landscape
Explain how a bone and a fossil are different.
??
List and briefly describe the two major methods shared by paleoanthropology and anthropological archaeology.
Systematic Survey and excavation
How is the Garbage Project an example of applied archaeology?
> Gathered data from household consumption and waste. Advised cities and waste management firms. Led to modern recycling movement.
lead to better ways of waste management.
Name and describe three cultures you are a part of and give an example of a symbol or practice particular to each.
??
Name and describe work (NOT academic) that could be done by a development anthropologist, a forensic anthropologist, a cultural resource management specialist, and a business anthropologist.
- ) to help people who are in development be more effective with being careful without affecting other cultures.
- ) work on contract with development. federal group going through and making sure they land can be excavated without destroying anything important.
- ) improve relations with clients in the business to help the efficiency of a company..
Forensic anthro- how the bodies looked like during life. height, sex, heritage.
In the Wade Davis film, what does he mean by the “ethnosphere” and what is the defining element of the ethnosphere that is dying out?
languages
a. The ethnosphere is the sum total of the world’s cultures. It incorporates, among other cultural facets, “. . . all thoughts, dreams, ideas, beliefs, myths, intuitions, and inspirations brought into being by the human imagination since the dawn of consciousness”. Ethnosphere refers to both the accumulation of living cultures and the ancient lineages from which they evolved. Languages are dying.
List and briefly describe three areas of study in biological anthropology.
primatology- study of primates and human ancestors, paleoanthropology, biological plastically. ???
Name and describe the process by which children learn their culture. In your answer, give an example of a practice that you learned was appropriate as a child that would be inappropriate in another culture.
Enculturation…???
What are the defining characteristics of culture and describe how culture is transmitted and learned indirectly and directly.
Learned, shared, and integrated, and dynamic. ??
Why is the context important when anthropological archaeologists seek to interpret an artifact?
interpreting artifacts is a major key and when it is moved it is harder to interpret it. its the things it’s with, where, and when it is that gives us the context about the artifact.
In your own words, what does it mean that anthropology is the scientific study of humanity?
we study all aspects of humanity and see how the relate to each other.
