anthrcul 101 exam 1

5 key primate qualities

dexterity, visual acuity, infant dependance, big brains, social

two aspects of visual acuity in primates

stereoscopic (3d and depth) and color

where do primates live

new world: americas

old world: africa and asia

apes: africa and southeast asia

where do apes live

chimps and bonobos in africa

humans everywhere

old world monkeys (where, di/noc, size, arb/ter, special feature)

africa and asia, diurnal, larger, sometimes terrestrial, patches to sit on

new world monkeys (where, size, arb/ter, special feature)

americas, smaller, arboreal, prehensile (tail=limb)

strepsirrhines (who, size, brain-body ratio, sense, arb/ter, di/noc)

lemurs and lorises, smaller, smaller, smell, arboreal, nocturnal)

haplorrhines (who, brain-body ratio, sense, arb/ter)

new world old world and tarsiers, larger, vision, arboreal and terrestrial

homologies

similar because of shared ancestry

analogies

result of convergent evolution

chimpanzee (group structure, attitude towards conflict, who is in power, important study)

internal hierarchy, violent and territorial, males in power, mitani (conquest)

bonobos (who is in power, attitude towards conflict)

females in power, nonreproductive sex to avoid conflict, generally helpful to outsiders

who is our closest living relative in animal kingdom

bonobos

similarities between chimpanzee and bonobos

can display empathy and kindness

tools

live in subgroups

brachiation (who, what)

gibbon, swinging from branches by arms

knuckle walking (who, what)

gorillas chimpanzee and bonobos, on all 4s

bipedalism (what, why is it rare)

walking upright using rear limbs, need to defy gravity

greek words that make up anthropology and their meanings

anthropos: humankind

logos: word, study

what 2 things is anthropology?

holistic and comparative

holistic as meant in anthropological terms

past, present, future, and global

comparative as meant in athropological terms

familiarization, question of why, different cultural contexts=different functions

familiarization

making the strange familiar

defamiliarization

making the familiar strange, helps us see what we may take for granted as a given

what artist is used to discuss familiarization/defamiliarization

juane quick to see smith

juane quick to see smiths painting

state names: united states with native american tribe names, smeared lines, borders unclear, defamiliarization

juxtaposition (what concept does this have to do with and what is it)

defamiliarization: looking for differences among common themes

example of juxtaposition

mother and child art

4 subfields of anthropology

archeological, biological, linguistic, sociocultural

archeological anthropology

past cultures

artifacts

reconstructing sites

biological anthropology

biological variation

human evolution, genetics, anatomy, growth/development, nonhuman primates

linguistic anthropology (what does language use shape, what does it study)

only humans have a language - it’s different from communication

how language use shapes group diversity

social/cultural contexts of language

history and deviation of language

sociocultural anthropology

living communities

power structures, institutions, beliefs and principles, identities, comparisons of cultural contexts

what three things make humans unique?

language (meaning beyond communication)

abstract thought and representation (eg art/writing)

technological innovations (eg mesopotamian tablets → computers for writing)

cosmopolitan distribution

animals found on all 7 continents

sarah blaffer hrdy

airplane example, ultrasocial behavior, lines in sand

hrdy’s airplane example significance (key word and general)

intersubjectivity (innate and eager)

cultural conditions in place promoting self control

ultrasocial behavior

being able to abstractly identify with another human, not just coexist

beyond empathy - culture controlling

two examples of ultrasocial behavior

basketball game rituals, shrek rave (humor assignment)

lines in sand meaning

human difference shifting, new discoveries of what actually makes us unique from other animals

zhang qian

2nd century bce

han dynasty

traveled asia (development of silk road)

made travel reports

herodotus

400s bce

greek traveler

descriptions of events - described cultural backgrounds, conflicts, history, and customs among persian empire

ibn battuta

1300s ce

traveled north africa, middle east, central/east asia

made travel narratives

what do qian, herodotus, and battuta have in common

early ethnography

when does anthropology start as a discipline in europe

age of enlightenment, 18th century

three things that contributed to early anthropology and the process that came with it

1. industrialization

2. evolutionary theories

3. colonialism

process of extraction

19th century vs contemporary anthropology

19th: ethnocentrism and extraction (rarely based on direct research and engagement)

contemporary: collaboration, ethical engagement, not just extraction, cultural relativism

immutable laws

rules we have defined for ourselves as right or wrong - more so seen in 19th century anthropology

7 basic elements of culture

learned, symbols, dynamic, integrated with daily experience, shapes lives, shared, “right” way of doing things

vampire example

has to do with 7 elements of culture: varies based on culture (common theme but particulars vary)

culture enables and constrains the ways we understand and assign meaning to things

senora de cao example

culture is integrated: weapons and burial tell us about gender and power in the society

culture shapes everyone’s lives: burial practices and moche culture

culture has symbols: nose rings and weapons give information about royalty and power

term having to do with culture is learned (and what is it)

enculturation: constant process of learning social rules/cultural logic of a society

how is it possible to break shared cultural rules

only possible because these rules are held in common

are symbols arbitrary

yes, no direct relationship to what they represent

culture is dynamic: is culture law or law-like

law like (can be made into law but those change too)

two examples of laws changing

1. loving vs virginia: interracial marriage

2. legalization of gay marriage

culture shapes everybody’s lives takeaway

there is no high/low culture, it also includes the mundane

term associated with culture gives people a way of doing things “right”

ethnocentrism

example having to do with culture is integrated with daily experience

spider web, if one aspect of culture changes, others change too - culture is interconnected

do cultural universals exist

a few, but not many

example of cultural universal

long infant dependency

cultural generalities

cultural patterns or traits that exist in some, but not all societies

example of cultural generality

celebrating a birthday

cultural particularities connection to ethnocentrism

assuming a particularity is universal is ethnocentrism

example of cultural particularity

gender reveal party

ethnocentrism and cultural relativism with example of burial practices

would not be ethnocentric to prefer one, would be ethnocentric to say that the one you prefer is the only right way

burial/tomb examples from lecture relating to ethnocentrism/cul.relativism

burial reserved for cage is above ground with a large marker, 21st century, while paul revere is underground with an american flag, 19th century

george washingtons tomb in comparison to napoleon Is tomb is less fancy

how does culture change (three things)

war, trade, independent innovation

example of culture changing through war and trade

war chariot changes in function and form

geertz

finding your feet: trying to find your place in a new environment when conducting anthropological methods

dubois

culture shock: panic and confusion from rapid disorientation

goal of qualitative fieldwork

depth over broadness, more detail

what is fieldwork and what makes anthropological fieldwork different (2 things)

longterm immersion in a community, gathering data and qualitative research

1. participant observation and participation

2. semi-structured interviews

participant observation - key term that has to do with this

rapport, public behavior and participation

rapport and how to build it

friendly working relationship based on firsthand contact, joining in, taking notes, and not letting research questions cloud observations

semi-structured interviews

open ended and subjective

prewritten questions

opportunity for follow up questions

looking for the mundane

emic

focusing research on local explanations/meanings

etic

focusing research on ahtropological explanations, categories, and analysis (objectivity)

thick description (who)

geertz and ryle

three components of thick description

relevant detail, cultural context, scholarly analysis

thick description

looking for meaning and giving it as much detail as possible

geertz/ryle example for thick description

wink/twitch: wink has meaning and gives us a why aspect

why are ethics important in anthropology

working with people experiencing marginalization, want to do no harm and take responsibility

two examples of where ethics were flawed

tuskegee syphilis study and stanford prison experiment

tuskegee syphilis study

1932: recruited black men under false pretenses, no informed consent or knowledge of risks

stanford prison experiment

1971: simulation of prison, caused psychological damage, no oversight

collaborative partnership

participants can give feedback, accurate representation of observation, and access to results

what makes a species

able to interbreed and produce offspring that can also interbreed and are viable

population

within a single species, share common geographical area

great chain of being, term associated with it

all forms of life have a hierarchical order, fixity (species are created in a certain way and don’t change)

what is fixity associated with

great chain of being

how does great chain of being connect to ideas of race

people started ranking humans as well

evolution

adaptations in populations across many generations, both factual evidence and theory

darwin and wallace

bot posit that natural selection is the means by which evolution occurs

refuted great chain of being - change does happen as descent with modification

why did darwin not like the title of evolution at first

he believed that it implied it was directional, but believed it was non-directional

adaptation

development of a trait that plays a functional role in ability to survive and reproduce

genetics

how variety is achieved

modern synthesis

4 genetically based processes of evolution

mutation

natural selection

gene flow

genetic drift

how did modern synthesis change understandings of evolution

evolution could only be observed over generations, helps explain how variety is achieved

gene

segment of dna that codes for specific trait

allele

variant of a gene (dominant v. recessive)