Cultural Anthropology Chapter 1

Anthropology

the scientific and humanistic study of human beings

society

group of people who depend on one another for survival or well-being

Culture

The way members of a society adapt to their environment and give meaning to their lives

Ethnocentric

Human consider their own behaviors both right and natural and feel troubled when others do not act in the same way

Cultural relativism 

The practices of attempting to understand cultures within their context

Holistic approach

Combining elements of human biology, history, cultures, and the environment together

Biological or Physical Anthropology 

The study of humankind from a biological or physical perspective

Linguistic Anthropology

Understanding language and its relation to culture

Archeology

Study of the reconstruction of past cultures through their material remains

Cultural Anthropology

The study of societies and practices in the current day and the recent past

Ethnography

The description of society or culture

Etic

Ethnography that describes and analyzes culture according to principles and theories drawn from Western scientific methods. Outsider view.

Emic

Ethnography that attempts to capture what ideas and practices mean to members of a culture. Insider view.

Ethnology

The attempt to find general principles or laws that govern cultural phenomena. Cross-cultural comparison

Applied anthropology

The use of cultural anthropology in other fields to solve practical problems