Anthro Exam 1 Study Guide PDF

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ANTHROPOLOGY EXAM 1 ANTHROPOLOGY a. Understand what anthropology does and what the focus of research is ● Anthropology- the study of human species and its immediate ancestors o The exploration of human diversity in time and space o Falls under both social sciences and humanities o Studies human nature, society, and past ● Focus of Research: culture, evolution, environment o Culture: shared human behavior ▪ Culture- traditions/customs, transmitted through learning, that form/guide the beliefs/behaviors of the people exposed to them ▪ Transmitted ideas, values, perceptions ▪ Present (modern) and past (historic) o Evolution: human biological change ▪ Species arise through a long, gradual process of genetic transformation ▪ Present (modern biological variation) and past (changing species) o Environment: ecological interconnectedness ▪ Shaped by the environments we live in ▪ Present (modern biological/cultural diversity) and past (biological/cultural origins) b. Know the four subfields as well as academic versus applied research ● Four Subfields 1. Biological Anthropology- why humans have different traits/adaptations ▪ Hired by NGO’s, state/federal gov 2. Archaeology- what humans did before us and how that affects the modern day ▪ Reconstructs, describes, and interprets human behavior/cultural patterns through material remains ▪ Study Paleoecology (ecosystems of the past) ▪ Hired by CRM firm, corporations, gov 3. Linguistic Anthropology- smallest subfield, understanding language ▪ Hired by corporations, state gov 4. Cultural Anthropology- largest subfield, doing research on modern humanity/culture, how world works and why people do things ▪ Describes, analyzes, interprets, and explains social and cultural similarities/differences ▪ Hired by corporations, NGO’s, gov (largest employer) ▪ Microsoft hires hundreds of anthropologists ● Academic vs. Applied Research o Academic Anthropology- grant/university research ▪ Create questions you have and answer them ▪ Minority of anthropologists ▪ Grew after WWII bc there were huge amounts of money flowing into universities allowing funding for research (helped by GI Bill) o Applied Anthropology- practical application of anthropological research ▪ Works for an entity (gov, non-profit, etc.) that has a question for them ▪ More common ▪ Broad spectrum of organization need anthropologists ▪ Uses anthropology to better everyday life and situations c. Understand what anthropological fieldwork is, the techniques, the role in research ● Cultural Anthropology Fieldwork

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a. Ethnography- provides an account of a particular group, community, society or culture ▪ Gathers data to build and present that account in the form of a book, article, or film ▪ Participant: learning a culture through participation/personal observation over a long period of time ▪ Interviews: conversations that maintain rapport and provide knowledge ▪ Genealogical Methods: procedures to understand kinship, descent, and marriage ▪ Key Consultants: experts on particular aspects of local life ▪ Life Histories: a personal/cultural portrait of existence/change in culture ▪ Emic vs. Etic: comparison of local beliefs/perceptions to the ethnographer’s etic ➢ Emic is from the insider accounts (someone inside a society) ➢ Etic is from outside accounts (someone outside a society looking in) ➢ Neither is better or worse b. Ethnology- examines, interprets, and analyzes the result of ethnography (data gathered) ▪ Uses such data to compare/contrast and to generalize about society/culture ▪ Explain cultural differences/similarities, test hypotheses, and build theory to enhance our understanding of how social/cultural systems work Archaeological Fieldwork a. Systematic Survey- provides a regional perspective by gathering info on settlement patterns over a large area ▪ Site Identification: survey large areas → find/locate sites ( for future excavation) → use this info to answer some research questions and protect/describe cultural resources ▪ Survey Research Design: sampling, impersonal data collection, and statistical analysis b. Excavation- systematic removal of soil/other material ▪ Documents changes in economic, social, and political activities ▪ Cannot get chronology ▪ Artifacts, features (ex. Floors, walls) Fieldwork o Problem-oriented: specific research questions o Longitudinal: long-term study based on repeated visits o Team research: coordinated research by multiple researchers ▪ Work on their own most of the time, but also collaborate with others doing similar research Methods o Personal involvement: no disconnect while working o On research location for an extended period: collect primary research o Source of information: data-collecting interpretation o Code of Ethics 1. Do no harm 2. Be open and honest 3. Obtain informed consent and necessary permissions ➢ Informed Consent- People’s agreement to take part in research after they have been fully informed about its purpose, nature, funding, procedures, and potential impact on them 4. Weigh competing ethical obligations 5. Make results accessible → publication 6. Protect your records 7. Maintain professional relationships (hardest to abide by, but most flexible) Role in Research: bc anthropologists study societies firsthand, it has created new fields of study o Education o Urban/rural areas o Medical fields o Business/politics

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Developmental fields

CULTURE a. Know how we define and understand what culture is in anthropology ● Culture- the set of learned, shared behavior, and ideas that humans acquire as members of societies o Abstract values, beliefs, and perceptions of the world o Includes knowledge, belief, arts, morals, laws, customs, traditions, and any other capabilities/habits acquired by man as a member of society ● Cultures- the different sets of learned human behaviors b/w societies o Obey natural laws → can be studied scientifically ● Enculturation- the process by which culture is transmitted across generations o Unifies people by providing us w/ common experiences ● Non-anthropological use: referring to a specific behavior as in “cultured” (Ex. College culture) b. Identify and describe the different attributes of culture 1. Learned: passed b/w generations o Cultural Learning depends on the uniquely developed human capacity to use symbols (signs that have no necessary/natural connection to the things they stand for) o Gradually internalize a previously established system of meanings/symbols → helps us define our world, express our feelings, and make judgements o Conscious/unconscious learning, experience, observation 2. Shared: located in groups o Observing, listening, talking, and interacting w/ many other people 3. Symbolic: something that comes to stand for something else o Verbal/nonverbal 4. Culture and Nature: converts natural urges/acts into cultural customs o Molds human nature in many directions o Cultural changes affect the ways in which we perceive nature, human nature, and “the natural” o Science, invention, and discovery has allowed cultural advances to overcome natural limitations 5. All-Encompassing: includes all aspects of human behavior o Idea that all people are “cultured” o The most interesting/significant cultural forces are those that affect people everyday 6. Integrated: patterned systems of customs that are related o If one part of the system changes, other parts change too (ex. Economic changes have social repercussions) o Cultures train their individual members to share certain personality traits o Core values- key, basic, or central values that integrate a culture and help distinguish it from others 7. Levels o International: extends across national borders ▪ We identify w/ our ancestors o National: stays w/in our nation ▪ Our societies have boundaries ▪ Ex. Political boundaries → national boundaries → social boundaries) o Subcultures: cultures exist w/in other cultures ▪ Different cultural traditions associated w/ subgroups in the same complex society ▪ Ex. Bulldawg Nation 8. Adaptive/Maladaptive o Adaptive: help individuals cope w/ environmental stresses ▪ Fulfill biological, psychological, and emotional needs ▪ Ex. Food, drink, shelter, comfort, reproduction, friendship, approval

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Maladaptive: not successful for the human race as a whole ▪ Behavior that is more harmful than helpful ▪ Ex. Warfare, environmental degradation o Not distinctly tied w/ evolution o May or may not be beneficial 9. Individual Practice: humans have the ability to avoid, manipulate, subvert, and change c. Understand the different aspects of cultural behavior and how societies share or do not share culture ● Aspects o Universals- behaviors shared by all humans ▪ Something that exists in every culture ▪ Infant dependency, year-round sexuality (rather than seasonal), live in social groups, have families, have a complex brain, have incest taboos?? o Generalities- behaviors shared in most cultures ▪ Culture pattern/trait that exists in some, but not all societies ▪ Life-cycle events: birth, puberty, marriage, parenthood, death → occasions may be the same/universal but the patterns of ceremonial observance may be drastically different ▪ Ex. Nuclear families o Particulars- specific, “exotic” behaviors that often identify a culture ▪ Distinctive/unique culture traits, pattern, or integration ▪ Exotic meaning very different ● Sharing Culture 1. Boundaries b/w cultures are usually unclear 2. Beliefs can be contradictory 3. We still understand specific cultures as… a. Coherent wholes to explain the world b. Shaping individual/societal behavior d. Be able to explain the different forms of culture change ● Independent Invention- the creative innovation of solutions to old/new problems o People in different societies innovate bc they are face w/ similar problems/challenges ● Diffusion- the spread of culture traits from one culture to another o Occurs bc no one culture has ever been truly isolated a. Direct: trade, intermarry, waging war b. Forced: one culture subjugates another, imposing customs c. Indirect: trade w/o firsthand contact merchants, geographic location ● Acculturation- the exchange of feature when groups come into continuous firsthand contact o Parts of the cultures change, but each group remains distinct ● Globalization- expansive global culture change resulting from connectedness of production, communication, and technologies o Due to international commerce, finance, travel/tourism, transnational migration, media e. Understand what cultural relativism is and its use in anthropology ● Cultural Relativism o Cultural Relativism- a technique used to understand the incomprehensible, counteracting ethnocentrism o Ethnocentrism- the opinion that one’s own way of life is natural/correct/superior ▪ Inhibits cross-cultural understandings ▪ The only true way of being fully human or using one’s own cultural values to judge another ● Its Use a. Should be explained independently ▪ Comprehend why behaviors appear meaningful ▪ Cultural behavior can be classified in different ways (emphasizes local context/meanings)

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b. Does not mean making justifications ▪ Whether Cultural atrocities or idiosyncrasies ▪ Not a moral system but a methodical position (to explain behavior that seems unexplainable) ▪ In order to understand another culture fully, we must try to understand how the people in that culture see things Think about the different ways anthropologists theorize about culture (specifically look at textbook readings for this one) ● Using a comparative perspective, anthropology examines biological, psychological, social, and cultural universals and generalities ● Use objectivity, sensitivity, and a cross-cultural perspective ● Practice Theory- recognizes that individuals within a society/culture have diverse motives/intentions and different degrees of power/influence o How varied individuals manage to influence, create, and transform the world they live in o Recognizes reciprocal relation b/ w culture (the system) and the individual ▪ System shapes the way individuals experience/respond to external events ▪ Individuals play an active role on the way society functions/changes

LANGUAGE AND CULTURE a. How do we think about defining what human language is? ● Language- sounds w/ gestures put together in meaningful ways o Primary way that culture is learned/shared o Anthropology studies language in this social/cultural context of sharing o Always changing ● Non-human Communication: o Call systems: instinctive sounds/gestures, simple use of language symbolism ▪ Inherent biological communication ▪ Basic form of communication o Sign Language: shows mental capacity for language, successful in experiment to non-human primates ● Human Communication: creative/complex manipulation of sounds/gestures 1. Productivity- ability to use language rules to create new expressions by combining others 2. Displacement- ability to speak of things/events that are not present 3. Culturally Transmitted- communication is learned, shared, and taught to new generations ● Nonverbal Human Communication o Body Language a. Kinesics (Gestures)- facial expressions, bodily postures/motions that convey messages ➢ Cultural Differences: some motions people express have cultural meaning ➢ Ex. Japan: bowing is a sign f status/respect ➢ Ex. Middle East: close male friends hold hands b. Proxemics- the examination of personal space ➢ Space- the interpretation of personal distance o Odor ▪ Holds specific cultural meaning ▪ Ec. Hunter-gatherers find it odd when they can’t smell BO b. What is the relationship of language and culture? ● Based in biology: universally translatable ● Determined by culture: Sapir-Whorf c. Think about what focal vocabularies are and what they mean for a culture ● Focal Vocabularies- sets of words that describe a culture’s activities

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Shows how societies categorize their experiences that reflect how they feel about the world around them o Culture influences language which influences thought o Frame how people experience life o Does not address changing language o Do not confuse w/ regional terms/dialects d. What does the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis say? ● Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis- theory that different languages produce different ways of thinking o Language shapes the way people see the world o Language influences culture which influences thought o Ex. English: gender-distinguished pronouns → we pay more attention to differences b/w males vs. females e. How does change impact the language and culture relationship? ● Reciprocal relationship: culture and language are interrelated o iCulture ⟷ language: language changes culture and vice versa f. Think about how a language reflects cultural beliefs and social organization ● Sociolinguistics o Investigates relationships b/w social and linguistic variation o Focuses on features that vary systematically w/ social position and situation o Language/society is about cultural understanding o When new ways of speaking are associated w/ social factors, they are imitated and spread → language changes o Principles of Linguistic Relativity- all dialects and languages are equally effective ● Gender o There are differences in phonology, grammar, vocabulary, and body stances/movements that accompany speech when comparing men and women o Men may adopt working-class speech bc they associate it w/ masculinity o Women pay more attention to the media, where standard dialects are employed ● Social Status o How speech patterns reflect social status o Code (Style) Switching- we change the way we speak in order to conform to the social context a. Honorifics- terms of respect used to honor people b. Social Role Differences: imply a status difference b/w the speaker and the person being addressed c. Cultural Perceptions/Categories: creates hierarchical systems of inequity

MODERN THEORY OF EVOLUTION a. What does the theory of evolution assert? ● Theory of Evolution- scientific explanation for biological change o Asserts how species change/emerge o New species arise from old ones through a long/gradual process of transformation, or descent w/ modification over the generations o Central organizing principle of modern biology and anthropology b. Understand the evolution and intelligent design controversy from both sides. ● Intelligent Design- belief that a so-called irreducible complexity of living forms is too great to be explained by evolution o Matches many religious viewpoints/worldviews of a single, omnipotent deity o As a Pennsylvania district judge ruled in a 2005 case, ID violates the ground rules of science by invoking supernatural causation and making assertions that cannot be tested or falsified, and thus does not belong in a public school’s science curriculum. ● Problems

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Irreducibly complex structures can evolve from nonirreducible complexity if a structure evolves with one function and is then co-opted for another o Species do not evolve in a vacuum, but co-evolve alongside other species that are also evolving o Fail to show clear scientific merit in method or true scholarship c. Think about the development of the theory of evolution a. It is a scientific theory o Scientific Theory- a testable, correctable explanation of observable phenomena that yields new info o Not the same thing as personal theory as in common vernacular usage b. Observed/tested evidence o Fossil record o Living species: physical traits, genetic code (DNA) c. Origins: explaining the existence of things 1. Essentialism 2. Great Chain of Beings- we can group similarities together 3. Creationism- biological similarities/differences originated at the creation ▪ Characteristics of life forms were immutable 4. Catastrophism- fires, floods, and other catastrophes had destroyed ancient species. God created again after each destructive event, leading to contemporary species ▪ Cuvier ▪ Didn’t explain why creatures of the present day looked like fossils from the past 5. Transformism- description that things changed overtime ▪ Erasmus Darwin ▪ Claims that all species have one common ancestor 6. Uniformitarianism- the earth’s structure has been transformed gradually through natural forces operating for millions of years ▪ Charles Lyell ▪ How the earth changes today explains how things were in the past ▪ The forces at work all around us (rainfall, soil disposition, earthquakes, etc.) can produce major changes → account for thins that changed in the past 7. Natural Selection- selection of favored forms through reproductive success ▪ Charles Darwin ▪ Connects Transformism and Uniformitarianism d. Know what Darwinian Evolution is, particularly by understanding the Principle of Natural Selection ● Principle of Natural Selection- those forms most successful at reproducing in specific environment are selected o Variation- no two individuals are identical o Heredity- offspring resemble their parents ● How it Works a. Superior Fitness: competition among members of a population for strategic resources ▪ Differential reproductive success → you can win the competition for food/space, but without a mate, you have no impact on the future of the species ▪ Offspring inherit useful traits b. Environmental Changes: fitness must to change when the environment changes ▪ Results in Genetic Shifts in species ▪ A trait that may have made a species the fittest a century ago may make it the weakest now c. Adaption ▪ Adaptive Radiation- a series of beneficial genetic adjustments to the environments ● How it Does NOT Work o Use/disuse: Ex. Giraffes stretched their necks to reach the tallest branches

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Inheritance of Acquired Characteristics: Ex. If you work out a lot and gain a shit ton of muscle, your babies will be strong too o We did not evolve from monkeys/apes o Does not mean progressive change: does not require increased complexity ● Darwin’s Loopholes o How inheritance worked: how siblings varied o Where variation came from: how new traits appeared o How population change: it's more than just natural selection e. Understand what Mendelian Genetics added to the Theory of Evolution 1. Discovered Genes o Heredity is determined by discrete particles/units ▪ Reason why recessive traits appear in later generations o Occur in pairs ▪ Although a domi...