NATR 2050: Environmental Anthropology

Anthropology

studying human impact & evolutionary history of humans.

culture

a system of mutually reinforcing practices backed by a set of common attitude & values

physical/biological anthropology

study of biology/evolution of humanity

archaeology

method of investigation of prehistoric cultures based on physical remnants

linguistic anthropology

study of communication & speech

social/cultural anthropology

study of culture systems that distinguish human societies from one another

cognitive anthropology

study of relationship btwn thought, mental models, & society

environmental anthropology

the study of relationships btwn human societies & actual environments over space & time

Ecological anthropology

environmental anthropology examples

physical/biological:

archaeology:

linguistic:

social/cultural:

cognitive:

Environmental archaeology

sub-field of archaeology & is the science of reconstructing the relationships btwn past societies & environments they lived in.

Traditional ecological knowledge (TEK)

historic information passed down from gen to gen & from culture to culture that is important about the environment they lived in

Jared Diamond (environmental anthropologist)

wrote a book called Guns, Germs & Steel; Collapse. ideas on how physical environemnt controls our human behavior. & how some cultures are more advanced than other bc of their environmental knowledge, & how other cultures collapse due to lack of knowledge

Wade Davis (environmental anthropologist)

book Dreams of Endangered Cultures

how passing down stories can help save the world

chris fisher (environmental anthropologist)

he focuses on LiDAR

thinks we should scan the whole planet with LiDAR

Environmental determinism

the environment directs culture

environmental possibilism

culture adapting to demands of their immediate environment

Ex: hunting & gathering examples: cooperation vs competition