anth 1102 test one

anthropology

studies what it means to be a human across time and space, holistic and comparative discipline

culture

complex whole which includes knowledge, beliefs, arts, morals, laws, customs, and any other habits acquired by man as a member of society, is not stagnant and has levels- food, clothing, music, religion, language, etc.

the 6 facets of culture

it its learned, shared, symbolic, integrated, all encompassing, and adaptive/maladaptive

when was anthropology established as a discipline?

1904

franz boas

* seen as founder of american anthropology
* historical particularism

what are the subdisciplines of anthropology

cultural, archaeological, biological, and linguistic

overinnovation

too much change

underdifferentiation

seeing less developed countries as the same, ignoring cultural divesity

scientific medicine

technology, biology, neurology, surgery, applications, diagnositics

western medicine

practice of medicine in a particular modern western nation (culture)

public anthropology

efforts to extend anthropology’s visibility beyond academia to demonstrate its public policy relevance

cabinets of curiosities

owned by religious and political leaders in renaissance europe, objects kept by elite leaders as proof of the texts and historical accounts they were trying to justify

ethnography

provides an account of a community, society, or culture through research, collects data, is descriptive

ethnology

study of sociocultural differences and similarities; examines, interprets, and analyzes the results of ethnography, synthesizes the data and compares

biological anthropology

study of human biological variation through time as it exists today

5 specialities of biological anth

paleoanthrpology (skeltal remains and fossils), human genetics (forensics), human growth and development, human biological plasticity (adaptable traits), primatology (primates/human ancestery)

linguistic anthropology

study of language and linguistic diversity in time, space, and society

sociolinguistics

study of language in society, investigates relationships between social and lingusitic variations

archaeological anthropology

different from other subdisciplines because it uses/focuses on remains, study of human behavior and cultural patterns and processes through a culture’s material remains- artifacts, garbage, burials, food remains, stuctures

paleoecology

the study of ecosystems in the past

prehistoric vs historic

historic implies a written record, prehistoric has little to no written record and often focuses on the underrepresented (bc written records often are writen by the “elite”)

scientific process

observation→ question→ create hypothesis→ testing→ comparing results → conclusion→ new hypothesis

hypothesis

suggested but, as of yet, unverified explanation

association

observes relationship between two or more measured variables, a covariation of variables

theory

set of logically connected ideas formulated to explain not just one, but many associations

applied anthro focuses on 3 roles:

1. idenfity needs for change that local people perceive
2. collab w those people to design a culturally appropriate and socially sensitive change


1. work to protect local people from harmful polcies and projects that may threaten them

paleoanthropology

study of human evolution throuh skeletal materials and related material remains

steps to archaeology

1. find a site 2. excavate the site 3. analyze cultural material

non intrusive survey

surface survey (location, distribution, and organization of sites remains unharmed)

ground based physical sensing techniques- GPR (ground penetrating radar, like med

intrusive survey

shovel tests

4 principles of stratigraphy

1. artifacts in the same soil statum will most likely date to the same human occupation phase
2. a single deposit can only be as old as its youngest artifact
3. the law of superposition: artifacts found in deeper strata will be older than those found closer to the surface


1. any cut into a sediment or stratum must take place after that sediment or stratum has been deposited

2 types of excavation

1. horizontal- broad exposure of layer
2. vertical

archaeological record transforms

c transforms, n transforms, bioturbation

c transforms

changes in record due to human behavior

n transforms

changes in record due to nature

bioturbation

changes due to critters- insects, burrowing animals, etc.

floral turbation

changes due to plants- roots

typologies

classification of objects according to type, usually chronologically

defines artifacts by certain atributes- material, shape, decoration, function, etc.

relative dating

establishes a time frame in relation to other strata or materials rather than absolute numbers

absolute dating

establishes a specific time/time period

* radio carbon dating, argon dating, dendrochronology, etc.

dendrochronology

number of tree rings= number of years plant has been alive

thick ring= wet and hot climate

thin ring= cold and dry

molecular anthropology

dna comparisons used to determine evolutionary links

medical anthropology

examine how the health of individuals, larger social formations, and the environment are affected by interrelationships between humans

primatology

focuses on the behavior and social system of apes

paleopathology

stress and disease, infectious disease, stress and nutritional deprivation

what do bioarchealogists look at?

paleopathology (stress and disease), dietary behavior and interactions w the environment, trauma/violence/warfare, and demography and biological profiles, dental records (w paleopathology)

osteobiographies

some ones life history told by their skeleton

osteoblasts

create bone

osteoclasts

break down bone

osteocytes

mature bone cells

two types of skeletal lesions

lytic lesions and blastic lesions

lytic lesions

resorption, osteoclasts

blastic lesions

deposition, osteoblasts

isotope for mobility and population movement

strontium (and oxygen)

isotope for dietary reconstruction

carbon and nitrogen

isotope for weaning patterns

nitrogen

emergence of agriculture

\~10k years ago, increase in infectious disease, nutritional deprivation, arduous labor, social inequality, more dental carries

forensics anthropology

studies skeletons from crime scenes, war zones, and mass disasters to reveal the life hstory and to help to identify an individual, as well as a cuase of death

forensics anthropologists reconstruct:

biological profile, ancestry, cause of death, disease or illness

culture

set of learned and shared behavior, traditions, customs, and ideas that humans acquire as members of societies

has levels

cultures (plural)

groups with a shared set of behaviors, traditions, customs, and ideas

enculturation

verb, the process by which culture is learned and transmitted across generations

ethnographic techniques

* participant observation- learning a culture through social participation and personal observation over a long period of time
* interviews- conversations that maintain rapport and provide knowledge
* genealogical methods- procedures to understand kinship, decent, and marriage

emic perspective

local view of a culture in ethnography

* eMic, me- my culture

etic perspective

outsider view of a culture in ethnoographu

* ETic, et the alian, extraterrestrial

problem oriented ethnography

1. develops research problem/question


1. gathers information on variables- things like population, environment, and diet

longitudinal studies (ethnography)

often multi-timed and multi-sited studying of people through time in multiple places

ethics and cultural anthropology

* shld invlude host colleague in research
* establish collaborative relationships
* include host colleague in dissemination of research results
* ensure that somethin is “given back” to the host colleagues
* get informed consent!

What Ethnographic technique involves learning a culture through social participation and personal observation over a long period of time?

participant observation

What is the name for an agreement to take part in research after being fully informed about its purpose, nature, procedures, and potential impact

informed consent

symbols

signs that have no necessary or natural connection with things for which they stand

Universal aspects of culture

Behaviors shared by all humans

Generalities

Behaviors in most cultures

- Life-cycle events

\- Concepts of descent

Particularities

Specific behaviors that often identify a culture or subculture

international culture

cultural traditions that extend beyond national boundaries

national culture

cultural features shared by citizens of the same nation

subcultures

different cultural traditions associated with subgroups in the same complex society

independent invention

the creative innovation of solutions to old and new problems

diffusion

the spread of culture traits from one culture to another

* one culture replacing another

acculturation

the exchange of features when groups come into continuous contact

* blending of cultures

globalization

Expansive global culture change resulting from connectedness of production, communication, and technologies

cultural relativism

idea that behavior should be evaluated not by outside standards but in the context of the culture in which it occurs

ethnocentrism

tendency to view one’s own culture as superior and to use one’s own standards and values in judging outsiders

Unilinear Evolutionism

Single line or path of cultural development

Historical

need to understand present in terms of the past

particular

the history of every society and culture is unique

functionalism

An approach focusing on the role of sociocultural practices in social systems

Configurationalism

View of culture as integrated and patterned

* margaret mead (student of boas)

Zora Neale Hurston

woman in harlem renaissance, African Diaspora, African American Folklore (e.g., Haitian Voodoo)

general evolution, leslie white

over time and through the archaeological, historical, and ethnographic records, we can see the evolution of culture as a whole

technology and people (in the context of evolution)

• 1. Technology solves problems of survival

• 2. Technology captures energy and diverts it for humans • 3. Societies that capture more energy and use it more efficiently have an advantage over other societies.

• 4. Therefore, these different societies are more advanced in an evolutionary sense

cultural materialism

cultural infrastructure determines both structure and superstructure

Cultural determinism

Cultural forces were so powerful that individuals made little difference

symbolic anthropology

the study of symbols in their social and cultural context

interpretive anthropology

study of a culture as a system of meaning

structuralism

human minds have certain universal characteristics originating in common features of the Homo sapiens brain

agency

Actions that individuals take, both alone and in groups, in forming and transforming cultural identities

practice theory

Individuals in a society or culture have diverse motives and intentions and different degrees of power and influence

lewis henry morgan’s cultural evolution

savagery→ barbarianism→ civilization

* linear evolution (bad)

4 main mechanisms for cultural change

acculturation, diffusion, globalization, independent invention