Week 1-What is Anthropology

Question 1

What is Anthropology?

Answer 1

The integrated study of human life; of everything that is know about human beings and the things they do. (What it means to be human)

Question 2

What are the major subfields of Anthropology?

Answer 2

Biological, Cultural, Linguistic, Archaeology

Question 3

Biological Anthropology

Answer 3

The physical study of humans. Studying primates, human diseases, human ancestors, human health, and human osteology.

Question 4

Cultural Anthropology

Answer 4

The study of present human cultures.

The anthropologist goes out into the world and observes how their selected group interact.

Question 5

Linguistic Anthropology

Answer 5

The study of past and present human language.

Sometimes have to reconstruct lost languages.

Question 6

Archaeology

Answer 6

The study of past humans through their material remains.

Collect data through slow and careful excavation.

Question 7

Fieldwork

Answer 7

The way in which anthropologists collect data.

Varies from each branch of Archaeology.

Question 8

Artifacts

Answer 8

Physical objects modified by humans.

Question 9

Features

Answer 9

Non portable objects created/modified by past humans.

Roads, structures, etc.

Question 10

Evolution

Answer 10

Change over time.

Question 11

Cultural evolution

Answer 11

the development of one or more cultures from simpler to more complex forms.

Learned behaviors, beliefs, and ideas.

Question 12

Biological evolution

Answer 12

How our bodies evolved.

Question 13

Culture

Answer 13

The patterns of learned behaviors, ideas, and beliefs that humans acquire as members of society.
Combined with the material artifacts and structures that we create and use.

Question 14

What are the five characteristics of culture?

Answer 14

Shared, learned, adaptive, patterned, symbolic.

Question 15

Shared Culture

Answer 15

We share things like, ideas, values, and behavioral standards with members of our group.

Question 16

Learned Culture

Answer 16

We observe others to learn or are taught culture. (A lot is subconscious)

Question 17

Adaptive culture

Answer 17

A culture can change or adapt through the actions of its members and outside influences.

Question 18

Patterned Culture

Answer 18

Beliefs show up repeatedly through the actions of its members and outside influences.

Question 19

Symbolic Culture

Answer 19

We use symbols in culture. Can be vocal (language), gestures (hand motions), drawn (art), or made (traffic signs).

Question 20

Bio-cultural Organisms

Answer 20

Both cultural and biological factors influence how we as an organism are defined and how we act.

Question 21

Material Culture

Answer 21

How physical things define a culture.

We can learn a lot about studying what objects were important in a specific culture. (Religious artifacts, pottery, homes, schools, plants, tools, etc.)

Question 22

Cross-disciplinary

Answer 22

Different branches of Anthropology may need to communicate with each-other.

Question 23

Human Agency

Answer 23

Idea what we as humans can make our own decisions. We don’t have to follow all guidelines set out by our culture.

Question 24

Ethnocentrism

Answer 24

The opinion that one’s way of life is natural or correct and the only true way of being fully human.

Question 25

Cultural relativism

Answer 25

Understanding another culture in its own terms sympathetically enough so that their culture appears just as valid as our own.

Question 26

Who introduced the concept of cultural relativism?

Answer 26

Frank Boas

Question 27

Nacirema

Answer 27

An article written about Americans (America backwards) in unfamiliar terms to make them/us sound savage.