Anthropology And Human Diversity PDF

Chapter 1 Anthropology and Human Diversity Goals of Anthropology  Describe, analyze, and explain different cultures.  Understand the similarities and differences among human cultures.  Show how diverse human experiences contribute to our survival as a species. ...

Chapter 1 Anthropology and Human Diversity Goals of Anthropology  Describe, analyze, and explain different cultures.  Understand the similarities and differences among human cultures.  Show how diverse human experiences contribute to our survival as a species.  Understand origins and evolutionary history of humans as a species. Holistic Approach  Considers cultures, history, language, and biology essential to a complete understanding of society.  Separates anthropology from other disciplines, which focus on one factor: biology, psychology, physiology, or society, to explain human behavior.  Anthropology seeks to understand human beings as whole organisms who adapt to their environments through a complex interaction of biology and culture.  Views cultures as complex systems that cannot be fully understood without attention to their different components; emphasizes the interconnection among multiple dimensions of social life. Comparative  Anthropologists consider similarities and differences in as wide a range of human societies as possible before making generalizations about what it means to be human. Requires a continual awareness of the range of variation among human groups across space and time. Evolutionary  Anthropologists are interested in how humans got to be the way we are today, i.e. human origins, and the genetic variety in living human populations. Anthropologists are also interested in cultural evolution, or patterns of change over time in socially acquired behavior that is not carried in the genes. Areas of Specialization  Cultural Anthropology  Linguistic Anthropology  Archaeology  Physical Anthropology  Applied Anthropology Cultural Anthropology  The study of human thought, meaning, and behavior that is learned rather than genetically transmitted, and that is typical of groups of people.  Society a group of people who interact and cooperate with one another to achieve certain ends.  Culture is the learned behaviors and symbols that allow people to live in groups. Aspects of Cultural Anthropology  Ethnography – a description of society or culture.  Ethnology – attempt to find general laws or principles that govern cultural phenomena. Emic and Etic Perspectives  Emic: Describes the organization and meaning a culture’s practices have for its members.  Etic: Tries to determine the causes of particular cultural patterns that may be beyond the awareness of the culture being studied. Linguistic Anthropology  Focus on understanding language and its relation to culture. – Development of language. – Variation of languages. – Relationship of language to culture. – How languages are learned.  Historical linguists study how languages are related to each other. Archaeology  Study of past cultures through their material remains.  Prehistoric societies are those with no usable written records. – Artifact - A human-made material remain of a past culture. Archaeologists interpret an artifact’s function by precise position in which it was found. Question  Examples of artifacts include all of the following except: a) holiday wreath b) stone axe c) rock painting d) wild raspberries e) tortilla Answer: d  Examples of artifacts includes holiday wreaths, stone axes, rock paintings and tortillas. Wild raspberries are not artifacts. Archaeology: Specialties  Urban archaeology Archaeological investigation of current-day cities.  Cultural resource management Protection and management of archeological, archival, and architectural resources. Physical Anthropology Study of humans from a biological perspective.  Paleoanthropology: evolution of humankind in the fossil record.  Human variation: Physiological differences among modern humans.  Primatology: Study of non-human primates for clues about the human species. Applied Anthropology  Develop solutions to present-day social, political, and economic problems in a wide variety of cultural contexts.  Examples: – Cultural anthropologists have been instrumental in promoting the welfare of tribal and indigenous peoples. – Archaeologists have helped native populations gain access to land and resources that historically belonged to them.  Indigenous Peoples  Groups of people who have occupied a region for a long time and are recognized by other groups as original (or very ancient) inhabitants. – They are often minorities with little influence in the government of the nation- state that controls their land. Medical Anthropology  A subfield of Cultural Anthropology.  It is concerned with the experience of disease as well as its distribution, prevention, and treatment. Forensic Anthropology  An applied specialty of Biological Anthropology.  Study and identification of skeletalized or badly decomposed human remains. Question  A developer excavating land to build a new business hits the foundation of a very ancient building. The anthropologists most likely to be consulted are: a) linguistic anthropologists. b) archaeologists. c) cultural anthropologists and archaeologists. d) forensic anthropologists and cultural anthropologists. e) biological anthropologists. Answer: b  The foundation of a very ancient building is an example of an artifact, which is the focus of archaeology. Ethnocentrism  Belief that one’s culture is superior to all other cultures.  Measures other cultures by using one’s own culture as the standard by which all others are judged. Ethnocentrism  Can help hold societies together by perpetuating cultural values.  When a culture loses value for its people, they may experience anomie, a condition where social and moral norms are absent or confused. Racism  The belief that some human populations are superior to others because of inherited, genetically transmitted characteristics.  Racism can result from the transformation of ethnocentrism. Cultural Relativism  Understanding values and customs in terms of the culture of which they are a part.  Culture should not be judged or evaluated according to the values of another culture. Question  Some positive aspects of the tendency for members of societies to be ethnocentric would include which one of the following? a) Ethnocentrism often supports existing social inequality, especially in multicultural societies. b) Ethnocentrism may reinforce group solidarity and help perpetuate cultural values. c) Ethnocentrism is often associated with racism. d) Ethnocentrism in technologically-advanced societies reinforces people's ideas about their own superiority and often, military strength. Answer: b  Some positive aspects of the tendency for members of societies to be ethnocentric would include: Ethnocentrism may reinforce group solidarity and help perpetuate cultural values. Biological Diversity  Wide diversity in human shapes and colors, low levels of skeletal and blood type diversity.  People from the same region tend to share more traits than they do with people from distant lands.  Biopsychological equality - The fact that all human groups have the same biological and mental capabilities. Racial Classification  Race is socially constructed; it reflects history and social hierarchy.  No group of humans has ever been sufficiently isolated genetically to separate it from another group.  Differences between individuals is greater than the sum of differences between groups.  Humans have an equal capacity for culture. Quick Quiz 1. Which of the following does not characterize the anthropological approach to the study of human societies and their cultural traditions? a) culturally relativistic b) holistic c) ethnocentric d) comparative e) consideration of evolutionary and historical context Answer: c The ethnocentric approach does not characterize the anthropological approach to the study of human societies and their cultural traditions. 2. Which of the following is not a topic with which present-day biological (physical) anthropologists are engaged? a) primate physiology, morphology, and behavior b) human variation c) interaction between biological and cultural factors in evolution d) establishing fixed categories of "race" e) human origins Answer: d Establishing fixed categories of "race” is not a topic with which present-day biological (physical) anthropologists are engaged. 3. The study of how people explain the causes of ill health, along with the meanings they attach to it, is an important part of the subspecialty known as: a) biological anthropology. b) medical anthropology. c) paleoanthropology. d) forensic anthropology. e) Cultural Resource Management (CRM). Answer: b  The study of how people explain the causes of ill health, along with the meanings they attach to it, is an important part of the subspecialty known as medical anthropology. 4. The belief that some human populations are superior to others because of inherited, genetically transmitted characteristics is called: a) ethnocentrism. b) cultural relativism. c) biopsychological equality. d) anomie. e) racism. Answer: e  The belief that some human populations are superior to others because of inherited, genetically transmitted characteristics is called racism.