Class 1.2: Humans, Anthropology, and Culture PDF

Class 1.2: Humans, Anthropology, and Culture ANTH 2: THURS, Jan 9, 2025 ANNOUNCEMENTS Crash/ switch: See canvas and follow procedure; still open spots Syllabus quiz is up and running– due by next Friday Office hours: Weds 1- 2pm and Thurs, 2-3pm @ HSSB 2073 Extra Credit Opportunit...

Class 1.2: Humans, Anthropology, and Culture ANTH 2: THURS, Jan 9, 2025 ANNOUNCEMENTS Crash/ switch: See canvas and follow procedure; still open spots Syllabus quiz is up and running– due by next Friday Office hours: Weds 1- 2pm and Thurs, 2-3pm @ HSSB 2073 Extra Credit Opportunities ► Attend an event and write a short report. You may do only 1 event/ report. Up to 5 opportunities this quarter updated as events become available. See Canvas for guidelines and events. (up to +1 on final grade) ► EC Opp #1: “Um Pasto bem Limpinho”: Settler perspectives on Amazonian landscapes Professor Jeffrey Hoelle, UC Santa Santa Barbara Monday, January 13. 11am-12pm Henley Board Room at the Mosher Alumni House Today Today Humans in a broader context Across time and space The Study of Humans- fields of anthropology What is Culture? Readings: AQ 1 A GALACTIC PERSPECTIVE POWERS OF TEN (1977)  OUR SOLAR SYSTEM ◼ https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cb/Pl anets2013.svg/2000px-Planets2013.svg.png LIFE ON EARTH OVER TIME The “March of Progress” Time-Life Books for the Early Man volume (1965) of the Life Nature Library, by F. Clark Howell. Illustration by udolph Zallinger Shows 25 millions years of human evolution Full version of the image Key events and population growth ► Life detected! ► What are the human universals? ► What differences are there? What accounts for these? ► Environment, biological, cultural factors ► But what is culture? HOW DO WE STUDY HUMANS/ OURSELVES? DIFFERENT DISCIPLINES FOCUS ON DIFFERENT ASPECTS Natural Physiology, Genetics, Sciences Biology, Medicine Literature, Film & Media Humanities Studies, History, Art Social Psychology, Economics, Science Sociology, Anthropology  TO STUDY SUCH A HUGE TOPIC ◼Anthropology has four fields or areas of specialization 1. Biological anthropology 2. Archaeology 3. Cultural anthropology 4. Linguistic anthropology *Applied Anthropology ◼ Each subfield asks different questions and uses different kinds of evidence to answer their question. ◼ Collectively the sub-fields can provide a more holistic understanding of humanity  BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY ◼ Study of humans from a biological perspective: as physical and biological organisms ◼ Evolutionary perspective: ▪ Human behaviors and adaptations make sense to ensure survival and carrying on of genes ▪ Biological measures (and behavioral) ▪ DNA, blood, cortisol levels, body size ▪ …to explain variation in human behavior as adaptive solutions to the demands that all humans must balance, such as ▪ parental care, mate selection, food acquisition Tsimane Life History Project, run by UCSB’s Michael Gurven “…the most productive research site in anthropology today” NY Times. September 24, 2012  SUBFIELDS OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY Primatology ▪ research on behavior of our closest animal relatives (primates) to better understand human behaviors, such as cooperation, competition, mate selection UCSB Anthropologist Michelle Brown at her research site in Uganda  SUBFIELDS BLENDING BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY and ARCHEOLOGY studies of HUMAN REMAINS in the PAST AND PRESENT ◼ Human Paleontology; bio-archeology ▪ analyze biological or chemical data from ancient human remains (fossils) ◼ Forensic anthropology ▪ analyze and identify recent human remains  FOUR FIELDS OF ANTHROPOLOGY 2. ARCHAEOLOGY ◼ The study of human cultures of the past ◼ Attempts to understand and reconstruct the cultures of people who have only left behind material culture– ▪ Stone buildings, tools, graves, trash piles, fragments of seeds ▪ UCSB’s Amber VanDerwarkar and Stuart Smith  CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY Study of human thought, behavior, and life ways that are learned, shared and transmitted Focus on the present or recent history Regional and topical specializations UCSB’s Elana Resnick, Raquel Pacheco, Mohamad Jarada  ANTHROPOLOGICAL SUBFIELDS ◼Different sub-fields take on different aspects of human experience at different times ◼Using different methods and evidence ◼They have a shared objective of learning more about people as cultural and biological beings ◼Put them together to have a holistic perspective of human cultural life  II. WHAT IS CULTURE? ◼Taken for granted rules, moralities and behaviors that feel natural or normal ▪ “like the water to fish” ▪ Shared meanings and behaviors that are learned and passed on ◼Within a social group ◼A tool that humans have to make sense of the world and satisfy biological and environmental needs  *WHAT SOUND DOES A ROOSTER MAKE IN YOUR LANGUAGE? ◼ USA: COCK-A-DOODLE-DOO ◼ Nepal - FROOTTI -TOOTTI –TU ◼ Spanish: quiquiriquí ▪ Cross-linguistic onomatopoeias What is going on? Roosters don’t speak different languages! ◼For the most part, Humans perceive the same stimuli: sounds, colors, smells ◼BUT We interpret this information differently because of features of our culture, in this case language ◼A shared system of meaning comprised on small chunks (sounds) that can be combined to produce infinite meaning- words, sentences, books, conversations ◼Teaches us how to make sense of the world  WHAT DID THE HORSE SAY? In Czech, íí-hahá In Danish, vrinsk In Dutch, niiii, hiiii In English, neigh In Finnish, ii-ha-haa In French, hiii hiii In German, wiehiehie In Hungarian, nyihaha In Italian, hiii hiii In Norwegian, vrisnk In Polish, iiii-haaa In Portuguese, hi hi In Romanian, ni-ha-ha In Russian, i-go-go и-го-го In Spanish, ji ji In Swedish', gnägg In Turkish, ih-hi-i-i  WHY DO WE CLASSIFY THE SAME COLOR IN DIFFERENT WAYS? ◼ The ability to identify different colors is related to several factors that are expressed in groups and sub-groups with specific experiences ◼ Environments have different colors ▪ Rainforest, Desert, Artic ▪ What colors does one see and label? ▪ What colors matter for daily life? ◼ Socialization/ Enculturation, or teaching ▪ Inter-cultural variation: Ngabe/ American ▪ Intra-cultural variation: American Male/female ◼ Experience, Importance and Refined perception ▪ Art majors vs. computer science 1 Mauve ▪ Bomb diffusers from any culture 2 Fuschia 3 Magenta  HUMANS ARE CULTURAL AND BIOLOGICAL; INTERPLAY OF NATURE AND CULTURE ◼Humans must complete four essential functions in order to survive ▪ Eating ▪ Drinking ▪ Sleeping ▪ Elimination of waste ▪ Humans fulfill these needs in different ways WHY? ▪ Culture ▪ Humans are not born with culture, but we have the capacity to acquire it. ▪ Raising a baby is a process of enculturation– teaching them what is culturally appropriate, for 4 functions and other biological processes  EATING: INTERPLAY OF BIOLOGY AND CULTURE ◼Three meals a day? Which is the big meal? ▪ You feel hungry at these times ▪ Thought of certain foods may produce physical response ▪ repulsion- gagging / craving- salivation ▪ Eating foods believed to produce physical effects ▪ Oysters or celery? Passionfruit ◼What is Edible or not food is culturally defined ▪ Acorns? Grub worms? ▪ Chicken legs? Feet? Chicken McNuggets? ▪ Guavas, natal plums, strawberry fruit picked on campus? ◼Examples of culture producing physical effects Summary ► The study of humans as biological and cultural organisms from a broad perspective- what are basic needs? What are the patterns? What accounts for variation? ► How do sub-fields of anthropology study humans to have a holistic view? ► Culture is an important factor in what makes humans unique from other animals and for understanding human diversity and variation ► But culture is invisible- like the water for the fish- and it is hard to understand how it structures our lives ► Cultural anthropologist seek to understand culture and cultural differences