Anthropology: Linguistics, Archaeology, Ethnology & Theory

What is linguistic anthropology?

It studies the relationship between language, culture, society, and human behaviour.

What does linguistic anthropology examine?

How people communicate; how language reflects cultural values; and how language influences social relationships and identity.

Give an example of linguistic anthropology.

Studying how words, expressions, accents, or politeness change when speaking to family, friends, teachers, or strangers.

How can Indigenous languages preserve culture?

They can preserve a community's history, traditional knowledge, and cultural identity.

What is archaeology?

The study of past human societies through physical remains such as artifacts, buildings, tools, bones, and other material evidence.

What can archaeologists reconstruct from material remains?

How people lived, worked, traded, organized communities, and understood their world.

Give an example of archaeological research.

Examining pottery, tools, and food remains to understand daily life in an ancient civilization.

What is ethnology?

The study and comparison of the origins and cultures of different peoples and societies.

What cultural topics might ethnologists study?

Marriage customs, political and economic systems, religion, art, music, and technology.

How do ethnologists gather information?

Through ethnographic research, sometimes immersing themselves in a group's natural environment.

Give an example of ethnology.

Comparing marriage customs or coming-of-age ceremonies across societies.

What is the main focus of linguistic anthropology?

Language and communication.

What is the main focus of archaeology?

Material remains, especially from past societies.

What is the main focus of ethnology?

Comparison and analysis of cultures.

Who was Margaret Mead?

An influential and controversial anthropologist who studied adolescence in Samoa.

What question did Margaret Mead investigate?

Whether stresses during adolescence were caused by adolescence itself or by society and culture.

What research method did Margaret Mead use?

Participant observation: carefully watching a group and sometimes living with and participating in its culture.

Why was Margaret Mead's work controversial?

Derek Freeman later challenged her conclusions, arguing that her findings relied on unreliable information and underestimated other influences on behaviour.

What was the significance of Margaret Mead's research?

It raised questions about research accuracy and how researchers interpret other cultures.

What did Ruth Benedict research during World War II?

He researched Japanese culture for the U.S. government to help Americans understand Japan and its army.

How did Ruth Benedict research Japan during World War II?

She used available cultural materials such as literature, newspapers, and films because she could not live in Japan during the war.

What did Ruth Benedict study?

Cultural patterns and how societies develop different values and behaviours.

What criticism was made of Ruth Benedict's work?

It was criticized for broad generalizations and limited or indirect evidence.

What is the significance of Ruth Benedict's research?

Cultural descriptions can be influenced by a researcher's perspective and available evidence.

What is a school of thought in anthropology?

A group of people who share common opinions or approaches.

What is cultural relativism?

Understanding a cultural practice in its own cultural context instead of immediately judging it by your own standards.

What is an example of cultural relativism?

Investigating why a ritual matters to a community rather than judging it by your own standards.

What is functional theory?

The idea that cultural practices and institutions help a society function and maintain social relationships.

Give an example of functional theory.

A community ceremony may strengthen belonging and cooperation.

Where did Malinowski observe ideas associated with functional theory?

The Trobriand Islands.

What is cultural materialism?

Marvin Harris's approach explaining cultural practices through material conditions such as resources, environment, technology, and economics.

• Materials or conditions within the environment(climate, food supply, geography) influence how a culture develops.

What does cultural materialism focus on?

Practical needs and material conditions rather than primarily thoughts or spiritual explanations.

Give an example of cultural materialism.

Studying how available food resources influence a community's diet.

What is feminist anthropology?

The study of how gender and power shape culture, social roles, and people's experiences.

Give an example of feminist anthropology.

Investigating whether women and men have equal access to leadership.

What is postmodernism in anthropology?

An approach that questions whether cultural descriptions are completely objective and emphasizes perspective, language, and power.

What does postmodernism say about truth and perspectives?

There may be no single universal truth; people's experiences, beliefs, and perspectives shape how they understand the world.

Give an example of postmodernism.

One person sees a university degree as the key to success, while another sees success as being happy without university.

What question might a postmodern anthropologist ask?

Whose voices are included in a study, and whose voices are left out?

What is structural linguistics?

The study of patterns and rules within a language, including sounds, grammar, and relationships between words.

What is historical linguistics?

The study of how languages change and how languages are related over time.

What is sociolinguistics?

The study of how language varies with social factors such as age, region, identity, and situation.

Who is Noam Chomsky?

A linguist associated with universal grammar and often described in the notes as the father of modern structural linguistics.

What is Chomsky's theory of universal grammar?

Humans have an inborn biological capacity that helps them learn language.

Why is universal grammar significant?

Children learn complex grammar quickly, suggesting language learning involves more than simply copying others; they still need language exposure.

What evidence is used to support universal grammar?

Linguists have identified shared rules and principles across the world's languages.

What is archaeology sometimes called in anthropology?

The cultural anthropology of the past; it helps make sense of past societies.

How do archaeologists study societies with no written records?

They excavate and examine physical remains from prehistory.

How can archaeology help study societies with written records?

Archaeologists study sites and physical remains to supplement their understanding of recorded history.

How can objects reveal daily life in the past?

Recovered objects provide evidence about how people lived and what they did.

What is stratigraphy?

An archaeological dating method based on layers of soil and deposits.

What is the Law of Superposition?

In undisturbed layers, the oldest layers are at the bottom and the youngest layers are at the top.

How does stratigraphy help date artifacts?

Artifacts are dated based on the layer in which they are found.

What is seriation?

A method that groups pottery and other artifacts by design and style to help determine their relative dates.

Who developed seriation in Egypt according to the notes?

Flinders Petrie.

How is seriation used with stratigraphy?

The methods can be combined to help determine more accurate dates.

What is the Wheeler-Kenyon method?

An excavation method in which archaeologists dig squares arranged in a larger grid.

What are balks in the Wheeler-Kenyon method?

Walls of earth left between excavation squares that show soil layers.

How do balks help archaeologists?

They reveal soil layers that help archaeologists date artifacts.

What is remote sensing in archaeology?

Using technologies such as satellites to detect features from above.

What do magnetometers do in archaeology?

Measure magnetic differences in soil to help locate buried structures such as walls.

What is physical anthropology?

The study of humans as biological organisms, including evolution, genetics, fossils, and biological variation.

Give an example of physical anthropology.

Examining fossils to understand how early humans evolved.

What is paleoanthropology?

The study of bone and stone remains of ancient human ancestors from millions of years ago.

What is primatology?

The study of primates.

What is human variation?

The study of physical similarities and differences among existing human populations.

What is Darwin's theory of natural selection?

Individuals with inherited traits that improve survival or reproduction are more likely to pass those traits to future generations.

Why is natural selection significant?

It explains how populations evolve over generations and places human evolution within the broader history of life.

Who discovered Lucy, when, and where?

Donald Johanson discovered Lucy in Ethiopia in 1974.

What species was Lucy?

Australopithecus afarensis.

How old is Lucy estimated to be?

About 3.2 million years old.

How complete was Lucy's fossil?

About 40 percent complete.

Why was Lucy given her name?

The discovery team named her after the Beatles song they were listening to.

How did scientists infer that Lucy was female?

Her relatively wide pelvis and other skeletal clues, including a smaller canine-tooth area, were associated with females.

How did scientists know Lucy was an adult?

Her wisdom teeth had erupted and showed wear, indicating she had reached adulthood.

What evidence shows that Lucy walked upright?

Her knee joint, leg bones, foot structure, and inward-slanting thighbone showed bipedal walking.

How tall was Lucy estimated to be?

About 1 metre tall, based on her femur length.

How much did Lucy weigh according to the notes?

About 27 kg, inferred from wear on her pelvis.

What was Lucy's estimated brain size?

About 380 cm³, similar to a modern chimpanzee and smaller than a modern human brain.

What did Lucy's skull look like?

She had an ape-like face and a receding forehead.

How was Lucy's skeleton reconstructed?

Scientists assembled many fossil pieces to reconstruct the skeleton.

Why is Lucy significant?

She showed that early human ancestors could walk upright even though their brains were relatively small.

What did Gregor Mendel study?

Inheritance using pea plants and patterns in how traits pass between generations.

Why is Gregor Mendel significant?

His work helped establish genetics and explain how inherited variation can contribute to evolution.

What fossil did Raymond Dart describe in 1924?

The Taung Child.

What name did Raymond Dart give the Taung Child?

Australopithecus africanus.

Why was Raymond Dart's discovery significant?

It supported the idea that early human ancestors lived in Africa, which was initially controversial.

What are the Laetoli footprints?

Footprints in Tanzania preserved in volcanic ash and dating to about 3.6 million years ago.

Who is associated with discovering the Laetoli footprints?

Mary Leakey.

Why are the Laetoli footprints significant?

They provide direct evidence that early hominins walked upright at least 3.6 million years ago.

Who was Selam?

A three-year-old female Australopithecus afarensis, also called the Dikika child.

When and where was Selam discovered?

In Ethiopia in 2000.

How old was Selam when she lived?

About 3.3 million years ago.

What did Selam's legs and feet suggest?

She could walk upright.

What did Selam's shoulder blades suggest?

She could also climb trees.

What did Selam's developing brain suggest?

Early hominins had an extended childhood and depended on their parents for longer.

What did Selam's hyoid bone suggest?

Its similarity to a chimpanzee's hyoid suggested her vocal abilities differed from modern humans.

What is the hyoid bone?

A bone that supports the tongue and throat muscles and provides clues about swallowing and possible speech abilities.

How did Selam help scientists understand development?

Her skeleton provided evidence about how early hominins looked and grew as children.

What does W-C-B-V help you remember about Selam?

Walked upright; climbed trees; brain still developing; voice bone similar to a chimpanzee's.