Anthropology: The Exploration of Human Diversity 1 What Is Anthropology? Anthropology: The Exploration of Human Diversity

Overview Anthropology confronts basic questions of human existence and survival How we originated How we have changed How we are changing still

Overview Anthropology is holistic Interested in the whole of the human conditions Past, present, and future Biology Society Language Culture

Overview Four subfields Cultural anthropology—study of human society and culture; describes, analyzes, interprets, and explains social and cultural similarities and differences Archaeology—reconstructs behavior by studying material remains

Overview Biological anthropology—study human fossils, genetics, and bodily growth and nonhuman primates Linguistic anthropology—descriptive, comparative, and historical study of language and of linguistic similarities and differences in time, space, and society; considers how speech varies with social factors and over time

Human Adaptability Humans among the world’s most adaptable animals Anthropology—study of human species and its immediate ancestors Constantly compares customs of one society with others

Human Adaptability Anthropology Society—organized life in groups Culture—traditions and customs that govern behavior and beliefs Distinctly human feature Transmitted through learning Not biological, but ability to use culture rests in hominid biology

General Anthropology Academic discipline of anthropology includes: Cultural anthropology Archaeological anthropology Biological or physical anthropology Linguistic anthropology

General Anthropology Four-field approach: Developed in U.S. Early American anthropologists studying native peoples of North America became interested in exploring origins and diversity of the groups Subdisciplines share similar goal of exploring variation in time and space to improve understanding of basics of human biology, society, and culture Subdisciplines influence each other

General Anthropology Sound conclusions about “human nature” cannot be derived from studying a single nation, society, or cultural tradition

General Anthropology Cultural Forces Shape Human Biology Culture key environmental force in determining how human bodies grow and develop Biocultural—inclusion and combination (to solve a common problem) of biological and cultural perspectives and approaches This is one of anthropology’s hallmarks

General Anthropology Cultural standards of attractiveness and propriety influence participation and achievement in sports Brazilian women avoid competitive swimming because of that sport’s effects on the body

The Subdisciplines of Anthropology Cultural Anthropology—describes, analyzes, interprets, and explains social and cultural similarities and differences Ethnography—Fieldwork in a particular culture; provides account of that community, society, or culture Cultures not isolated from local, regional, national, and global systems of politics, economics, and information that expose villagers to external influences

The Subdisciplines of Anthropology Ethnology—cross cultural comparison; the comparative study of ethnographic data, of society and of culture

The Subdisciplines of Anthropology Ethnography and Ethnology—Two Dimensions of Cultural Anthropology Insert Table 1.2

The Subdisciplines of Anthropology Archaeological Anthropology—study of human behavior and cultural patterns and process through the culture’s material remains Artifacts (e.g., potsherds, jewelry, and tools) Garbage Burials Remains of structures

The Subdisciplines of Anthropology Archaeological Anthropology Archaeologists use paleoecological studies to establish ecological and subsistence parameters within which given groups lived Archaeological record provides unique opportunity to look at changes in social complexity over thousands and tens of thousands of years

The Subdisciplines of Anthropology Archaeologists also study the cultures of historical and living people Historical archaeology combines archaeological data and textual data to reconstruct historically known groups William Rathje’s “garbology” project in Tucson, Arizona

The Subdisciplines of Anthropology Biological Anthropology—study of human biological variation in time and space Includes evolution, genetics, growth and development, and primatology

The Subdisciplines of Anthropology Special interests within biological anthropology: human evolution as revealed by the fossil record Paleoanthropology Human genetics Human growth and development Human biological plasticity Body’s ability to change as it copes with stresses such as heat, cold, and altitude study of biology, evolution, behavior, and social life of primates Primatology

The Subdisciplines of Anthropology Biological anthropology draws on biology, zoology, geology, anatomy, physiology, medicine, public health, osteology, and archaeology

The Subdisciplines of Anthropology Linguistic Anthropology—study of language in its social and cultural context across space and time Historical linguists—reconstruct ancient languages and study linguistic variation through time Sociolinguistics—investigates relationships between social and linguistic variation to discover varied perceptions and patterns of thought in different cultures

Applied Anthropology Applied Anthropology—application of anthropological data, perspectives, theory, and methods to identify, assess, and solve contemporary social problems

Applied Anthropology American Anthropological Association (AAA) recognizes two dimensions Theoretical/academic anthropology— includes cultural, archaeological, biological, and linguistic anthropology Directed at collecting data to test hypotheses and models created to advance anthropology

Applied Anthropology Practicing or applied anthropology— application of anthropological data, perspectives, theory, and techniques to identify, assess, and solve contemporary social problems Standard subdivisions include: Medical anthropology Environmental anthropology Forensic anthropology Development

Applied Anthropology Applied anthropologists generally employed by international development agencies World Bank United States Agency for International Development (USAID) World Health Organization (WHO) United Nations

Applied Anthropology Applied Anthropologists: Assess social and cultural dimensions of economic development Development projects often fail when planners ignore cultural dimensions of development Work with local communities to identify specific social conditions that influence the failure or success of a development project

Anthropology and Other Academic Fields Anthropology links to interdisciplinary collaboration Anthropology is a science Systematic field of study or body of knowledge that aims, through experiment, observation, and deduction, to produce reliable explanations of phenomena, with reference to the material and physical world

Anthropology and Other Academic Fields Anthropology also a humanity Encompasses study of and cross-cultural comparison of languages, texts, philosophies, arts, music, performances, and other forms of creative expression

Anthropology and Other Academic Fields Cultural Anthropology and Sociology Sociologist traditionally used quantitative research, while cultural anthropological used qualitative methodologies Anthropology and sociology converging

Anthropology and Other Academic Fields Anthropology and Psychology Statements about “human” psychology cannot be based solely on observations made in one society or in a single type of society Cultural anthropology (psychological anthropology) studies cross-cultural variation in psychological traits Anthropology helps us understand ourselves through its cross-cultural perspective