Anthropology Unit Test

Culture

System of ideas, values, behaviours and attitudes of a society.

hominin

Any member of the group consisting of all modern and extinct humans and their immediate ancestors. Hominins are bipedal and have larger brains.

Primatology

the branch of zoology that studies primates

Paleoanthropology

the scientific study of human fossils

Postmodernism

The idea that it is impossible to have true knowledge about the modern world due to ones beliefs and bias point of view.

Postmodernists study recent and active topics surrounding society trends.

bipedalism

The trait of walking upright, on two legs.

linguistics

the scientific study of language

Universal grammar

The theory that all humans are born with internal, universal rules for grammar.

archeology

the branch of anthropology that studies prehistoric people and their cultures

objective

Not influenced by personal feelings or opinions while considering and representing facts.

subjective

Based on or influenced by personal feelings, tastes, or opinions.

reflexivity

The examination of one's own beliefs, judgments and practices during the research process and how these may have influenced the research.

ethnology

Study of the origins and cultures of different races and peoples.

ethnocentric

Evaluating other peoples and cultures according to the standards of one's own culture. Biased.

participant observation

Part of ethnology. Study of cultures and people by immersing themselves in the culture for long periods of time and taking notes.

cultural relativism

Cultural relativism refers to not judging a culture to our own standards of what is right or wrong, strange or normal.

functional theory

The theory that all aspects of a society, institutions, roles, norms, serve a purpose and that all are indispensable for the long-term survival of the society

cultural materialism

Cultural materialism contends that the physical world impacts and sets constraints on human behaviour. They give priority to the material world over the world of the mind when they explain human societies.

ex. the protection of sacred cows in India

feminist anthropology

Seeks to reduce male bias, ensure female voices were being heard and included in research.

Study how cultures determine gender roles

Compare cultures to see which gender dominates

human variation

Study of how humans are genetically different. How genes are inherited.

Bronislaw Malinowski

Pioneered the idea of ethology, social anthropology and participant observation. He studied the people of the Trobriand Islands in 1915. Learned their language and participated in everyday life with the people.

Diamond Jenness

Studied the Copper Inuit in the Canadian Arctic in 1913. Became fluent in their language, documented songs, poems and legends on wax cylinders.

Charles Darwin

Theorized that all species share a common ancestry. He proposed that evolution occurs because of a phenomenon called natural selection (“survival of the fittest"), which means species that are more physically fit and reproduce better will pass their traits on to the next generation and evolve with environmental changes. Those that are not will die off.

Margaret Mead

Studied Samoan female youth in 1925. Discovered that their society put less stresses and expectations on teens, which led to less rebellious, free and comfortable with sexuality. She was challenged by Derek Freeman decades later.

Noam Chomsky

Invented the theory of universal grammar, that all humans are born with, internal, universal rules for grammar.

Franz Boas

Established the theory of cultural relativism. The idea that it is impossible to compare two cultures, because everyone sees cultures through the lens of their own. Therefore it has to be looked at form an unbiased point of view.

Richard Lee

Canadian anthropologist researching issues concerning the indigenous people of Botswana and Namibia, particularly their ecology and history.

Sam Dunn

Canadian Postmodernist studying the subculture of heavy metal music worldwide. His bias as a metal fan affects his research.

Lucy

•Australopithicus Afarensis
•40% complete
•1974 by Donald Johanson.
•Aprox. 3.2 million years old
•Ethiopia
•Adult Female

Selam

•Australopithicus Afarensis
•2006 by Zeresenay Alemseged
•Ethiopia
•3.3 million years old
•More ape-like than lucy
•Young, 3 years old
•Hyoid bone ( for speaking )

The Leakey's

Consists of Mary and Louis Leakey. They are best known for their discoveries of hominin and other fossil remains in eastern Africa.

Dian Fossey

Studied Gorillas in Rwanda, 1967. She protected the gorillas from local poachers and environmental collapse. She discovered gorillas showed very human-like social characteristics. They all had very distinct personalities and were dignified, social and curious.

Jane Goodall

Studied Chimpanzees in Tanzania, 1960. She discovered they had human-like emotions. They could be violent, happy, angry, cannibalistic and often could attack in groups. They made tools to help find food easier.

Biruté Galdikas

Studied Orangutans in Borneo, 1971. She holds the longest continuing study of an animal in the world. She learned their way of life, their diet, language, calls and held detailed journals. Galdikas founded an on going foundation for orangutans.