Anthropology Study Guide

Anthropology: Examaning the Past, Present & Future Anthropology: “Is the study of humans, past and present.” American Anthropological Association Holistic, comparative, field-based, evolutionary What is Holism? Broadest possible perspective Integrative Four-field approach Biological anthropology Archaeology Cultural(social) anthropology Linguistics What do we mean by comparative? Similarities and differences… Across societies & time(enthographies, archeology) Across species(primatology, paleotanthropology) Anthropology is usually field-based Direct contact with people and sites… and across all parts of the world Field sites can be urban, rural, virtual, in the U.S. or abroad, “Participant observation” “Cultural Relativism” Evolutionary Biological & cultural change in humans over time: Paleoanthropology Archaeology Culture: Central to explanations in anthropology Consists of: beliefs, traditions, customs learned through enculturation Humans adapt to and transform the world around us using culture The four traditional subfields of North American anthropology… Biological Anthropology: Biological anthropology is a scientific discipline concerned with the biological, behavioral, bio cultural and evolutionary aspects of human beings, their relatives the non-human primates, and their extinct hominid ancestors Cultural Anthropology: Focus on cultural aspects of existing societies Similar to Sociolgy= “sister” science disciplines; but how are they different? Anthro: all human societies Research foci more often on a smaller scale, less than of an institutional-level focus Involves intense long-term fieldwork & in cross-cultural comparisons for frameworks/theory/data analysis Linguistic Anthropology:The Study of Language & Culture Linguistic anthropology explores how language shapes communication, forms social identity and group membership, organizes large-scale cultural representation of natural and social worlds Archaeology: Archaeology is the study of past human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture(not digging up dinosaurs) The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, and cultural landscapes Prehistoric &historic archaeology Cahokia:Chiefdom Society One of 24 UNESCO World Heritage sites in the U.S Largest/earliest pre-Colombian settlement north of Mexico! Population around 20,000+ at peak(AD 1050–1150) Occupied AD 800–1400 120 earthen mounds; ~6miles 2 Anthropology— a Holistic discipline(Applied anthropology) Why Study Anthropology? You get to find out about… Cool human fossils & ancient artifacts Nonhuman primates! Customs of people around the world! The wonderful cultural diversity that makes humans so amazing, and a greater appreciation of that diversity!