Module 1 UCI Anthro 2B - Egan

Anthropology

Study of the origins and development of people and their societies

Culture

Beliefs, customs, and traditions of a specific group of people.

Sociocultural Anthropology

the study of human societies in a cross-cultural perspective

Linguistic Anthropology

The study of human language in the past and present.

Archelogy

Study of human developement and culture, the things that were dug up from a logn time ago

Biological Anthropology

the study of human biological variation in time and space

Paleoanthropology

the study of the history of human evolution through the fossil record

Primatology

the study of living nonhuman primates as well as primate fossils to better understand human evolution and early human behavior

Human Biology

subfield of biological anthropology dealing with human growth and development, adaptation to environmental extremes, and human genetics

Epistemology

study of knowledge

Science

An organized way of gathering and analyzing evidence about the natural world.

How vs. Why

Science wants us to ask How the world works, not Why the world works. Understanding this is the basis for understanding research.

Parsimony (Occam's Razor)

the simplest explanation is the best

Provisionality

Life and meaning is constantly changing

Theoretical Paradigms

sets of assumptions that guide thinking and research

Hypothesis

A testable prediction, often implied by a theory. Scientists attempt to dissprove of it.

Oxymoron of Creation Science

2 words or phrases put together that are contradictory

science is also a faith; religion not so different from science. Creation and science are both antonyms and synonyms.