Week 1-What is Anthropology Flashcards
What is Anthropology?
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)
What are the major subfields of Anthropology?
Biological, Cultural, Linguistic, Archaeology
Biological Anthropology
The physical study of humans. Studying primates, human diseases, human ancestors, human health, and human osteology.
Cultural Anthropology
The study of present human cultures.
The anthropologist goes out into the world and observes how their selected group interact.
Linguistic Anthropology
The study of past and present human language.
Sometimes have to reconstruct lost languages.
Archaeology
The study of past humans through their material remains.
Collect data through slow and careful excavation.
Fieldwork
The way in which anthropologists collect data.
Varies from each branch of Archaeology.
Artifacts
Physical objects modified by humans.
Features
Non portable objects created/modified by past humans.
Roads, structures, etc.
Evolution
Change over time.
Cultural evolution
the development of one or more cultures from simpler to more complex forms.
Learned behaviors, beliefs, and ideas.
Biological evolution
How our bodies evolved.
Culture
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.
What are the five characteristics of culture?
Shared, learned, adaptive, patterned, symbolic.
Shared Culture
We share things like, ideas, values, and behavioral standards with members of our group.
Learned Culture
We observe others to learn or are taught culture. (A lot is subconscious)
Adaptive culture
A culture can change or adapt through the actions of its members and outside influences.
Patterned Culture
Beliefs show up repeatedly through the actions of its members and outside influences.
Symbolic Culture
We use symbols in culture. Can be vocal (language), gestures (hand motions), drawn (art), or made (traffic signs).
Bio-cultural Organisms
Both cultural and biological factors influence how we as an organism are defined and how we act.
Material Culture
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.)
Cross-disciplinary
Different branches of Anthropology may need to communicate with each-other.
Human Agency
Idea what we as humans can make our own decisions. We don’t have to follow all guidelines set out by our culture.
Ethnocentrism
The opinion that one’s way of life is natural or correct and the only true way of being fully human.
Cultural relativism
Understanding another culture in its own terms sympathetically enough so that their culture appears just as valid as our own.
Who introduced the concept of cultural relativism?
Frank Boas
Nacirema
An article written about Americans (America backwards) in unfamiliar terms to make them/us sound savage.
