Chapter One What Is Anthropology? Key Terms

physical anthropology The study of humans from a biological perspective. paleoanthropology Area of physical anthropology interested in reconstructing the evolutionary record of the human species.

primatology The study of our nearest living relatives (apes, monkeys, and prosimians) in their natural habitat. Genetics The study of inherited physical traits

population biology The study of the relationship between population characteristics and environment epidemiology The study of differential clusters of disease in populations over time.

archaeology The study of the lifeways of people from the past through excavating and analyzing the material culture they leave behind. artifacts Objects that have been made or modified by humans and that can be removed from the site and taken to the laboratory for further analysis. (Ex. tools, arrowheads,and fragments of pottery).

features Objects made or modified by people that cannot be readily carried away. (Ex. house foundations, fireplaces, and postholes.) ecofacts Objects found in the natural environment (such as bones, seeds, and wood) that were not made or altered by humans but were used by them.

anthropological linguistics Branch of anthropology that studies human speech and language. historical linguistics Deals with the emergence of language in general and how specific languages have diverged over time.

descriptive linguistics The study of sound systems, grammatical systems, and the meanings attached to words in specific languages. ethnolinguistics Branch of anthropological linguistics that examines the relationship between language and culture.

sociolinguistics Examines the relationship between language and social relations. cultural anthropology The branch of anthropology that deals with the study of specific contemporary cultures and the more general underlying patterns of human culture derived through cultural comparisons.

ethnography Detailed descriptions of the features of specific cultures, the result of extensive field studies in which the anthropologist observes, talks to, and lives with the people he or she is studying. ethnology The comparative study of contemporary cultures, wherever they may be found.

paleopathology The analysis of disease in ancient populations. holism Covering as many aspects of a culture as possible in the total cultural context.

ethnocentrism The belief that one’s own culture is superior to all others. cultural relativism The notion that any part of a culture (such as an idea, a thing, or a behavior pattern) must be viewed in its proper cultural context rather than from the viewpoint of the observer’s culture.

emic approach Refers to the insider view, which seeks to describe another culture in terms of the categories, concepts, and perceptions of the people being studied. etic approach Refers to the outsider view, whereby observing anthropologists use their own categories and concepts to describe the culture under analysis.