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Main
Characteristics of
Anthropology
The Fields of General Anthropology
–archaeology
–physical or biological anthropology(bioanthropology)
–socio / cultural anthropology
–linguistic anthropology
http://www.tamu.edu/anthropology/news.html
Texas A & M
http://www.tamu.edu/anthropology/news.html
12
3
4
Main Characteristics
• culture as a primary concept
• comparative methods as major approaches to the study of human behavior development and structure
• holism or the study of "humankind" as a whole, as a primary goal of anthropology
Main Characteristics
• culture as a primary concept
• comparative methods as major approaches to the study of human behavior development and structure
• holism or the study of "humankind" as a whole, as a primary goal of anthropology
Main Characteristics
• “culture”
– learned– shared– transmitted from generation to
generation– based on symbols– integrated
Main Characteristics
•“cultures”– are integrated– interact and change
Main Characteristics
• “culture”
• is not inherited
(i.e., is not biological)
• is not “instinct”
Main Characteristics
• culture as a primary concept
• comparative methods as major approaches to the study of human behavior development and structure
• holism or the study of "humankind" as a whole, as a primary goal of anthropology
Main Characteristics
• comparative method
– as a major approach to the study of human behavior
– the comparative method compares things
Main Characteristics
• comparative method– One form of comparative method was pioneered by Fred Eggan
(University of Chicago)
“Social anthropology and the method of controlled comparison”
American Anthropologist, 56:743-61 (1954)
Main Characteristics
• comparative method– One form of comparative method was pioneered by Fred Eggan
(University of Chicago)
“Social anthropology and the method of controlled comparison”
American Anthropologist, 56:743-61 (1954)
Main Characteristics
• comparative method– Other methods . . .
compare things regionally
in an attempt to understand process
Main Characteristics
• comparative method– Other methods . . .
compare things regionally
in an attempt to understand process
Main Characteristics
• the comparative method compares things, for e.g., process of domestication / civilization
– wheat – Turkey
– rice – China
– maize – Mexico
– manioc – Brazil
– millet – Africa
• the comparative method compares things, for e.g., process of domestication / civilization
– wheat – Turkey
– rice – China
– maize – Mexico
– manioc – Brazil
– millet – Africa
Main Characteristics
Understanding Physical Anthropology and Archaeology, 9th Ed., p. 333.
Time line for Ch. 14 Food Production.
Neolithic
Chapter 14 Food Production
Origin of Domestication for Selected Plants
Understanding Physical Anthropology and Archaeology, 9th Ed., p. 342.
rice
7,000 ybp
manioc
4,200 ybp
maize
4,200 ybp
wheat
10,500 ybp
millet
4,000 ybp
Main Characteristics
• culture as a primary concept
• comparative methods as major approaches to the study of human behavior development and structure
• holism or the study of "humankind" as a whole, as a primary goal of anthropology
The Fields of General Anthropology
–archaeology
–physical or biological anthropology(bioanthropology)
–socio / cultural anthropology
–linguistic anthropology
http://www.tamu.edu/anthropology/news.html
12
3
4
holism
holism
difficult terms
Glossary
• ethnography
– scientific description of cultures
(“a portrait of a people”)
Glossary
• ethno – graphy
– graph from the Greek, meaning
something “written” or “drawn”
Glossary
• ethnology
– comparative study of cultures
Glossary
• ethology
–scientific study of the social behavior of animals,
especially in their natural environments
–note that there is no n in ethology
Glossary
• primatology
– scientific study of the social behavior of primates, especially
(non-human primates) apes and monkeys
Glossary
• “primates”
• prosimians (“pre-monkeys”)
• monkeys
• apes
• and also humans
http://www.d.umn.edu/cla/faculty/troufs/anth1602/pcprim.html
Glossary
• “non-human primates”
– prosimians (“pre-monkeys”)
– monkeys
– apes
Glossary
• “primatologist”
– usually refers to one who studies
the behavior and social lives of
chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans,
monkeys, etc.
– e.g., Jane Goodall, Diane Fossy,
Birute Galdikas-Brindamour
Glossary
ethnocentrism
– judging other cultures by the standards
of one’s own culture rather than by the
standards of that particular culture
Glossary
cultural relativism
– the perspective that each culture must be
understood in terms of the values and
ideas of that culture and should not be
judged by the standards of another
Glossary
absolute cultural relativism
– the perspective that says a person from
one culture should not question the
rightness or wrongness of behavior or
ideas in other cultures because that
would be ethnocentric
Glossary
critical cultural relativism
– offers an alternative view that poses
questions about cultural practices and
ideas in terms of who accepts them and
why, and who they might be harming or
helping
Multiple Cultural Worlds
people live in
multiple cultural worlds
multiple cultural worlds
• class
• race
• ethnicity
• gender
• age
• institutions
the three major contemporary debates
• Biological Determinism vs. Cultural Constructionism
(“nature vs. nurture”)(“learned vs. inherited”)
• Ideationism vs. Cultural Materialism
• Individual Agency vs. Structuralism(“free will” vs. “power structures”)
