Download What Is Anthropology? - Kimberly Martin, Ph.D.

What Is Anthropology?
ANTH 221: Peoples and Cultures of Mexico
Kimberly Martin, Ph.D.
What is Anthropology?
DEFINITION
Anthropology is
the holistic,
synthetic,
multidisciplinary
study of human
beings.
1.
2.
3.
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KEY COMPONENTS
Anthropology seeks and uses all
information about both individual
humans and groups of humans
regardless of time, geographic
location, culture or types of
evidence.
Anthropology studies the
biological, psychological, social and
cultural aspects of being human in
the present and in the past.
Anthropology draws knowledge and
methods from any discipline that
can help understand humanness
Anthropology attempts to
integrate information from many
disciplines into a single whole
picture of what it means to be
humans
What are the Four Sub-disciplines
of Anthropology?
1. Physical Anthropology
2. Archaeology
3. Linguistic Anthropology
4. Cultural Anthropology
What is Physical Anthropology?
DEFINITION
Physical Anthropology,
also called Biological
Anthropology, is the
study of the genetic,
anatomical and
physiological aspects of
humanness, including
our relationship to
other kinds of animals
in the past and present.
KEY COMPONENTS
1.
2.
3.
Physical anthro studies human
evolution to understand when
humans first existed and how
the human body has changed
through time
Physical anthro studies how and
why human individuals and groups
differ from one another
biologically in the past and
present
Physical anthro studies how
humans are alike and different
from other animals, especially
those most like us, the nonhuman primates
What Kinds of Physical
Anthropologists Are There?
Six Kinds of Biological Anthropologists
 Paleoanthropologists
study human fossil remains
 Human Variation
Specialists
study how human anatomy and
physiology are adapted to
particular environments
 Human Geneticists
study patterns of gene
distribution in human
populations, as well as the
consequences of particular
genes to individuals
 Forensic
Anthropologists
apply
anthropological knowledge about
the human body to solve crimes
 Human Epidemiologists
study how human biology and
cultural practices affect health
and disease patterns
 Primatologists
study similarities and
differences between humans
and our closest relatives, the
non-human primates
What is Archaeology?
DEFINITION
Archaeology is
the study of the
material remains
of human
cultures from
the past and in
the present.
KEY COMPONENTS
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Archaeology studies things that
people make (artifacts like
pottery or tools) and leave
behind
Archaeology studies things that
people alter (features like roads
and buildings) and leave behind
Archaeology studies
environmental clues that show
the circumstances in which
people live or lived (ecofacts)
Archaeologists are interested in
material culture from the past as
well as from the present
What Kinds of
Archaeologists Are There?
Five of Kinds of Archaeologists
 Classical Archaeologists Contract
 Study the remains from the
foundational societies for
Western Civilization
 Ethnoarchaeologists
 Study how living societies make
and use tools and other material
objects to draw analogies with
ancient materials
 Historical
Archaeologists
 Study the remains of historically
documented societies to provide
additional data on how people
lived.
Archaeologists
Identifying, evaluating, and managing
sites threatened by development.
Experimental
Archaeologists
Attempt to reconstruct how
material culture and cultural
features were constructed and
used in the past.
What is Linguistic Anthropology?
DEFINITION
Linguistic
Anthropology is the
study of language
and communication.
KEY COMPONENTS
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2.
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Linguistic anthropologists
describe how languages are
produced and used
Linguistic anthropologists study
how language changes through
time
Linguistic anthropologists study
how language usage varies in
different social contexts
Linguistic anthropologists study
how knowing a particular
language influences how people
think
Linguistic anthropologists study
how people communicate nonverbally through gestures, body
language and the use of space.
Language is a central part of
culture
What kinds of Linguistic
Anthropologists Are There?
Eight Kinds of Linguistic Anthropologists
 Descriptive Linguists
 Developmental Linguists
 Historical Linguists
 Paralanguage Experts
 Ethnolinguists
 Proxemics Experts
study how languages are produced
and organized
study how languages change over
time
study how knowing a particular
language affects the way people
think
 Sociolinguists
study how language use changes in
differing social situations
study how children acquire
language
study pitch, tone and rhythm in
language
study the use of space to
communicate
 Kinesics Experts
study body language and gestures
What is Cultural Anthropology?
DEFINITION
Cultural
Anthropology, also
called Socio-cultural
Anthropology, is the
study of
contemporary and
historic human
societies through
their cultures.
KEY COMPONENTS
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Cultural anthropology
studies living societies and
descriptions of living
societies
Cultural anthropology uses
fieldwork and participantobservation to understand
other ways of life
Cultural anthropology
attempts to take a cultural
relativist perspective on
other cultures
Cultural anthropology is
interested in all aspects of
life in a society and how
they fit together
What Kinds of Cultural
Anthropologists Are There?
Seven Kinds of Cultural Anthropologists
 Cultural Ecologists
study how culture interacts with the
environment
 Social Anthropologists
study the rules for forming kin and
non-kin social groups in society
 Economic Anthropologists
study how people produce and
distribute the things they need to
survive
 Political Anthropologists
study how power and authority
are delegated and rules enforced
in society
 Medical Anthropologists
study how culture and human
biology interact to create disease
and illness in societies
 Aesthetic
study
 Psychological Anthropologists Anthropologists
what is considered beautiful and
study how individuals grow and
function in different cultural
contexts
how beauty is created in different
societies
Cultural Anthropology Terms
• Culture = the
abstract, learned,
shared rules and
standards used to
interpret experiences
and generate behavior
• Society = a group of
people living according
to a shared culture.
• Ethnocentrism =
judging another
culture using your own
culture’s rules and
standards
• Cultural Relativism =
judging another
society using their
cultural rules and
standards.
Key Terms
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Anthropology
Holistic
Synthetic
Multidisciplinary
Physical Anthropology
Paleoanthropology
Forensic Anthropology
Primatology
Archaeology
Classical Archaeology
Ethnoarchaeology
Contract Archaeology
Historical Archaeology
Experimental Archaeology
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Linguistic Anthropology
Descriptive Linguistics
Historical Linguistics
Ethnolinguistics
Sociolinguistics
Cultural Anthropology
Culture
Society
Ethnocentrism
Cultural Relativism
Cultural Ecologist
Social Anthropology
Economic Anthropologists
Medical Anthropologists