Anthropolgy: Exam

What is anthropology?

The study of humankind, holistic (interconnected) discipline

Holistic

how anthro tries to integrate all that is known about human beings and their activities

What are the 4 subfields of anthropology?

1. Biological anthro
2. Cultural anthro
3. Linguistic anthro
4. Archaeology

Biological anthropology? an example of what they study?

- What makes humans similar or different to other species, what characteristics do humans share with other species
- Primatology, paleoanthropology are included in biological anthro
- An example of what Biological anthropologists study: capuchin monkeys in Costa Rica

Cultural anthropolgy? an example of what they study?

- Variation in beliefs and behaviours of members of different human groups is shaped by sets of learned behaviours and ideas that humans acquire as members of societies
- They collect their data during fieldwork (an extended period of close involvement with the subjects)
Comparing varieties of human social life around the globe
- An example of what Cultural anthropologists study: ethnic identity in small-town festivals in Quebec

What is the closest discipline to sociology?

Cultural anthropology

Linguistic anthropology, an example of what they study?

- Studies language, as symbolic communication and carrier of important cultural information
- Construction and use of language (past/present)
- An example of what Linguistic anthropologists study: learning an unwritten language in the rainforest of Colombia

Archaeology, an example of what they study?

- Archaeologists reconstruct ancient ways of life from traces left behind in the earth that are hundreds/thousands of years old
- The cultural anthropology of the human past
- Try to reconstruct buildings, skeletons etc
- Work alongside paeloanthropologists, studying burial sites and human remains
- An example of what Archaeologists study: excavating a site in the Canadian Arctic

Medical anthropology

anthropology that concerns itself with human health, factors that contribute to disease or illness and the ways human populations deal with disease and illness

enculturation

acquisition of characteristics/norms of a culture eg. food, clothing

Humans are ________________

biocultural, human biology makes culture possible

what is field work?

how anthropologists gather data. Fieldwork is the process of immersing oneself in as many aspects of the daily cultural lives

What is important for anthropologists to build up to get more information

Trust

Who is Jane Goodhall, what did her findings show?

a British primatologist, ethnologist, and anthropologist, famous for her work with chimpanzees in Tanzania, \*\*\*\*\*found that primate species are declining

Birute Galdikas

a Canadian anthropologist, primatologist, ethnologist and conservationist, famous for her work with orangutans

Owen Beattie

a physical anthropologist specializing in forensic anthropology, conducts investigations in the Arctic, most famous for his excavation and analysis of the remains of the members of the Franklin expedition

Tina Moffat

a physical anthropologist specializing in medical anthropology at McMaster, specializing in child health. Her research is focused on the links between economic and environmental factors and poor health status, did her fieldwork in Kathmandu, Nepal

In the Tulsi Menon TED talk, what are the 3 points why anthropology is effective in consumer behaviour?

1. You become a trusted insider
- research method, need to understand what the consumer wants
- Uncovers people's subconscious motivations, personal experiences have big impact
- Participant observation, a friend seeing the world from their perspective
2. Different starting point, identify and address the human need
- Inconsistencies, why these occur
3. Find the deeper meaning

In the Tulsi Menon TED talk, what can build from the 3 reasons why anthropology is effective in consumer behaviour?

all help build an understanding of the individuals, which then helps build strategy

What are 2 things anthropologists work against?

1. Ethnocentrism (one’s culture is right or superior to another)
2. Biological determinism (most things physical and mental, are passed from parents to offspring)

Ethnocentrism

ones culture is right/superior to another

What are tenets (beliefs) of anthropology?

1. Cultural relativism (understanding another culture in its own terms)
2. Biocultural approach (cultural upbringing and biology determine who we are, nature AND nurture)

What is ethnography? and what subfield does it fall under?

systematic study and description of a particular human culture
- cultural anthro

What is ethnology? how is it different from ethnography?

comparative study of 2 or more cultural groups
- ethnography is not comparitive

Sociolinguistics

relationship between language and social, eg, accents/slang

Applied anthropology

- using anthro to solve real world problems
applying anthropology theories and methods outside of academics
- global tech ethnography: humans have multiple elastic identities (how we act differently according to everything)

Taxonomy

categorical classification of organisms

Anthropomorphism

attributing human characteristics to non-human animals

Humans belong to the order:

primates

What is primatology?

- study of the primates order
- Non-human primates, anatomy and behaviour
- Group or order of mammals that share a common ancestor
- Humans, apes, monkeys, lemurs

What are some distinguishing traits of primates? (7)

1. Reliance on vision, coloured vision, binocular + stereoscopic (3D)
2. Reduced olfaction (smell), no rhinarium aka wet nose
3. Heterodontic, 4 types of teeth
4. Arboreal adaption (hands and feet)
5. Dietary plasticity (varied diet)
6. Extended parental investment, one offspring at a time, time between births
7. Complex social structures (dom male, hierarchy)

What are characteristics of arboreal adaption? (5)

- Pentadactyl (5 fingers)
- Mobile joints
- Opposable thumbs
- Power (tight grip) and precision grip (using thumb and one finger)
- Nails instead of claws

What are hominoids?

-Apes and humans,
-More complex behaviour
-Larger bodies
-No tail

What genus are orangutangs? They are the largest ______ ______

pongo
arboreal primate

Gorillas are the _______ ________. What is their mating dynamic?

largest primate
1 male to multiple females

What genus are chimpanzees in? What significance do they have to humans?

Pan troglodytes
closest living relatives to humans

Distinguishing features of homo sapiens (4)

1. large brain
2. bipedal locomotion
3. reduced detention and olfaction
4. tool use

Paleoanthropology

- Human ancestry
- Fossil record, identifies early human and human similar species
- Can see chronological sequence of their relationships

Evolution

change in genetic structure of a species over the course of multiple generations, facilitated by natural selection

6 Steps of Hominin evolution

1. Bipedalism
2. Non-Honing chewing (upper canines are non-projecting)
3. Material culture and tools
4. speech
5. hunting
6. domestication

4 major trends in hominin evolution

1. bipedalism
2. small front teeth, big cheek teeth
3. expanded brain
4. culture

What is significant about the Laetoli footprints?

- Tanzinia
- fossilized hominin footprints
- provides evidence of bipedal walking

Australopithecus Afarensis

- ethiopia
- Lucy (adult female, 40% complete)
- Skeleton similar to humans in some respects, but also similar to chimps
- Spine connection beneath skull (bipedal)

Characteristics in the genus homo (5)

1. larger brain and body
2. smaller and flatter face with smaller teeth
3. longer legs than arms
4. decreased sexual dimorphism
5. Material culture (tools)

Homo habilis are the ______ in the genus. They are found in _______ and they use _______ tools

oldest
Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia
Oldowan tools (flake and chopper, for animal butchering)

Homo erectus are found in ______, are _______ in the genus, and use _______ tools

Africa, (and were first to leave)
middle
acheulean, stone tools

Homo _______ were the first to be introduced to fire, evidence? could explain....

habilis, wood ashes found in caves where trees don't grow. Could explain smaller teeth to eat cooked food

Homo neanderthalensis were found in _______, are the _______ of the genus, and made _______ and _______ _________.

Western Europe and Asia
most recent (other than homosapiens)
shelter and wore clothing

T or F, neanderthals are direct common ancestors of homo sapiens

F, they are a subspecies

What kind of adaptions did neanderthals have to adapt to cold climate

- short and stocky build
- high bridged noses to warm cold air

what are Mousterian tools? which genus are they associated with?

- stone age, flaked sharp rock
- neanderthals

7 million years of human evolution video main points

- Closest living relatives are chimps (share a common ancestor that lived 7 MYA)
- Hominins, who are no longer living are much closer relatives
- First known hominin (Sahelanthropus tchadensis) emerged from africa 7 MYA

primatology

the theoretically and methodologically interdisciplinary study of the multiple interactions and interfaces between humans and other primates

What are the big points in Jane Goodalls TED talk?

- Chimpanzees do things that were thought of as only “human things”
- We are harming ourselves, animals and nature around the world
- Roots and shoots program, the message of hope, shows that young people can break through and make this a better world (every individual can make a difference)
- Problems the children in roots and shoots solve depend on where they live, they decide whether they want to join/make a difference

Difference between sex and gender?

Sex is biological
Gender is socio-cultural

Sex is determined.....

at birth, and by genetalia

What are primary and secondary sex characteristics? What controls them?

primary: reproductive organs
secondary: happens after puberty (production of sperm, pubic hair)
Hormones control them

What is the difference between left-brained tendencies in men and women?

Men: superior visual and spatial skills
Women: Superior verbal skills

Feminist anthropologists do:

challenge social inequalities by privileging voices of marginalized women whose perspectives are often ignored

What is castrado and why did it occur?

testicles were removed before puberty, causes inhibition of puberty and maintenance of high voice
done to keep a high voice for singing in Italy, or to punish male sex offenders (no effect)

What do Alessandro Moreschi and Gaspare Pacchierotti have in common?

Both were castrated for music purposes

Human sex is a _________ distribution. what does it look like and where do intersex people fall?

bimodal, looks like 2 humps (female THEN male)
intersex lies in between the two humps

How does the female skull differ from the male?

- non-protruding nuchal crest (back of head)
- smooth eyebrow to nose bridge
- narrow jaw

What is the Red Lady of Paviland?

- discovered 1892, oldest human remains in Britain, coated in red ochre. Found in Paviland cave, Whales. - -- - Perceived as female and a witch, but was later discovered to be a man, but a young male

Intersex means?

reproductive anatomy does not fit typical biological definition of male/female, formerly known as hermaphroditism

what is significant about sex assignment surgeries

“solve” intersex conditions, purely cultural norm based

What is Turners syndrome? What is Klinefelter's syndrome?

Turner: in females one x chromosome is missing or partially missing and leads to poor or non-development of ovaries
Klinefelter: in males extra x chromosome, no sperm production, small testicles

In the video what its like to be intersex, what are the main points Roshaante Anderson made? (2)

- Decision to be a male was affected by others and how they respected him
- Feels like an alien 24/7

Who was Margaret Mead and what did she do?

- Cultural anthropologist, First to study gender and sexuality in other societies
- She went to Papua New Guinea, worked with 3 tribes. Learned that each had their own distinct gender roles/expectations that differed with each tribe. This showed that gender was culturally constructed

Gender is ________, and can be __________. It is cultural ______ based on _____.

learned, performed
norms, sex

What are some gender markers?

clothes, hair, colours, occupation, body language

In Paris is burning, what does realness mean?

to be able to blend, not giving away the fact that you are gay, more real = look more like a real woman/real man (being heterosexual)

What is revealed about drag in Paris is Burning?

Drag is very gender fluid, and not male-dominated

in Paris is Burning, what is a ball?

the extravagant competition that gay men feel safe and everyone can be whoever they want to be

in Paris is Burning, what is a house?

a gay street gang

What are some third/alternate genders?

1. Hijras
2. Two-spirit
3. Transgender

Cisgender

gender matches sex

what is the meaning of two-spirit? what culture is this in? what do they do?

both male and female-spirited, it is a calling/feeling
native Americans, Turtle island,
can be healers

T or F, two-spirits usually have relations with other two-spirits and two spirit is associated with sexuality

F, F

What are the 4 genders of two-spirits? what is the significance of the order of words?

Masc-masc, masc-fem, fem-masc, fem-fem
1st word is what they act like, and the second is what body they have

what is Hijra? what classifies as hijra?

Legal recognized third gender in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal
- Usually born male, some intersex, wear women's clothing and do women things
- Impotent either naturally or through castration
- Neither male nor female, low social status

what kind of jobs do hijras have?

- Sex work with men, crude jokes and burlesque dancing are normal practices for them
- Bless babies, weddings and other rites of passage

T or F, hijras are not part of the LGBTQ+ community

T

Transvestites

cross-dressers

In the article What our skeletons say about the sex binary (Alexandra Kralick), what are some issues talked about?

- Spanish olympic hurdler, Maria Jose Martinez-Patino was ejected from the olympics after her chromosomes tested as XY
- Its not right that identification cards requre a sex to be put on the card, discriminatory

in the article What our skeletons say about the sex binary (Alexandra Kralick), what is happening to skeletons

they are becoming more intermediate for sex defining (meaning overlap of sex)

What is, and the purpose of a purity ball?

- Father-daughter formal dance
- Daughters make a purity pledge to remain virgins until marriage, Fathers pledge to protect their daughters from impurity

What is the difference between hunter-gatherer and agriculture societies?

the domestication of food

What is the idea of sex for the AKA?

- Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic
- Sex is work, and only for reproduction
- Unfamiliar with masturbation, and same-sex activities

The hunter-gatherer society is linked to _______ ________.

food storage

what culture practices ritualized homosexuality?

Sambia people, Papua New Guinea
- Rituals erase femininity from the boy and replace it with masculinity (jerungdu)

what happens during ritualized homosexuality?

-Engage in sexual acts with adult men, and ingest semen by performing oral sex to be a strong powerful warrior
- Not seen as erotic

In the article 'no gay gene (Jonathon lambert), what is concluded about sexuality?

- 5 places on the human genome that are linked to same-sex behaviour, BUT none of the markers are reliable enough to predict someones sexuality
- 25% of sexual behaviour can be explained by genetics, and the rest depends on environment and culture

In the article 'no gay gene (Jonathon lambert), what were problems with the studies?

- Study did not include intersex and transgender people
- Identical twins are more likely to share a sexuality than fraternal (not reliable study, due to tiny sample size)

Sustenance strategies, what do they impact?

how a society produces food for itself
- Impacts how people live, social complexity and nutritional/health status

What is agriculture?

process of food production, clear land, plant crops

Describe the food dynamics of the paleolithic era//old stone age

Gathering edible plants, seeds, fruits
Hunting small and large game, Opportunistic
Affected by climate and ecology, and availability
Small groups

Early evidence of agriculture and domestication

- Intensive use of wild cereals
- Harvesting and grinding
- Pottery and food storage which are hard to move, more permanent sites, increased social complexity (food controls power)

What is the natufian culture?

Evidence of status difference, masks showed class with quality
Treated differently in death, probably treated differently in life

* earliest evidence for transition to agriculture

T or F, Animal and wheat domestication happened simultaneously

T