1. Intro to Anthropology
The purpose of Anthropology is to make the world safe for human differences.
Ruth Benedict ( )

2. Digging for Meaning? Not Always.. 
A common misconception is that anthropologists only deal with digging into the past (this is actually archaeology). 
Each type studies different aspects of people and their respective cultures.

3. Four Areas of Anthropology
Linguistic
Deals with language and communication similarities and variation, including ‘doomed’ or extinct languages.
*Cultural .
Archaeology
Explores ancient cultures by discovering, recovering, and examining architecture, documents, remains, and other pertinent findings
Biological/
*Physical

4. In addition, anthropology explores social phenomena, but from a cultural perspective (as opposed to an individual one, like psychology and sometimes sociology).  
Because of this perspective, anthropologists often research how cultures begin, develop, survive, and thrive. 

5. What do Anthropologists ask?
Anthropologists pose important questions concerning the continuation of poverty, racism, violence, and social inequality around the world; anthropologists also ask questions such as:
why do humans have such different ways of living, thinking, and acting? ?
what is the impact of our ever-expanding global village? 

6. For example…
rapidly increasing availability and rapidly decreasing costs in communication technology (internet, , cell phones, etc) has increased exponentially idea and culture transmissions across vast distances. 
Beneficially, this has allowed for the sharing of diverse cultural beliefs.  Negatively, this has lead to the loss (via assimilation and/or flooding) of some cultures’ beliefs.

7. Culture Shock
You can’t really understand anthropology unless you first understand what is meant by culture (after all, that’s what anthropology studies!). 
The Latin translation of culture (cultura) is “to cultivate”, whereas the dictionary.com definition for culture is “the sum total of ways of living built up by a group of human beings and transmitted from one generation to another.” (Dictionary.com) 
you can see that culture necessarily needs certain aspects.

8. Necessary aspects culture must have in order to me the definition:
More than one individual
Multiple generations
Change
Shared information
Commonalities
Cohesive
Successful
Amoral

9. Did you know? _______________is an actual social sciences term.
Have you ever experienced it? While traveling?
How did it make you feel? Anxious, confused, disorientated, abandoned or upset?
Anthropologist Kalevro Oberg coined the term to describe those feelings that often occur when people go to different cultural or social environments (like travelling to a foreign country).

10. Culture Shock continued…
Stemmed from the difficulties in adapting to an environment different from the one you grew up in, as well as the unlikelihood that you would ever become fully assimilated into said culture.  .

11. Myth Making 101 Myths are another important part of anthropology.
stories that explain how and why the world (including humans) was created, how and why things exist as they are and how and what things might become
Long before writing existed, myths were told orally as a means of ensuring cultural continuance; _________________________________________ _________________________________________ _________________________________________

12. Myths continued…
Although myths could be changed, it is more likely they were added to as new values and lessons were learned.  Ancient peoples recognized the danger in being too fluid with their mythology –after all, it was sometimes there only link to their ancestors. 
Some anthropologists believe that the reason myths exist in story form is because they are easier to share and learn, whereas other anthropologists state the opposite: that the reason we respond so well to stories is because it has been used for thousands of generations.