Download Power Point Chapter 1 Human Condition

Evolution and Prehistory
The Human Challenge
13th edition
Chapter 1
The Essence of Anthropology
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What is Anthropology?
How Do Anthropologists Do What They Do?
How Does Anthropology Compare to Other
Disciplines?
Making Sense of Being Human
• Where did we come from?
• Why are we so radically different from some
animals and so surprisingly similar to others?
• Why do our bodies look the way they do?
• How do we explain so many different beliefs,
languages, and customs?
• Why do we act in certain ways?
What Is Anthropology?
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The study of the biological and cultural evolution
and diversity of human beings, past and present.
Anthropology is a comparative discipline which
seeks to understand what makes people different
and what they all have in common.
What Do Anthropologists Do?
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Anthropologists are concerned with the description
and explanation of reality.
They formulate and test hypotheses concerning
humankind so they can develop theories about our
species.
The Development of Anthropology
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Anthropology as a distinct field of study developed
relatively recently.
The encounter with other peoples began 500 years
ago as Europeans sought to extend their trade and
political domination to all parts of the world
focused attention on human differences.
Europeans gradually came to recognize that
despite all the differences, they might share a basic
humanity with people everywhere.
Anthropological Perspectives
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A fundamental principle of anthropology, that the
various parts of culture must be viewed in the
broadest possible context in order to understand
their interconnections and interdependence.
Anthropological Perspectives
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Theories about the world and reality based on the
assumptions and values of one’s own culture.
Visual Counterpoint: Class Discussion
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American infant sleeping arrangements (left) differ from those of
the Nenet, a reindeer-herding culture from Siberia (right)
Visual Counterpoint: Class Discussion
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Infants in the United States typically sleep apart from their
parents, but cross-cultural research shows that co-sleeping is the
rule.
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What cultural reasons do we have for having infants sleep apart
from parents?
What impacts on health might be associated with these
contrasting sleeping patterns?
Four Sub-Fields of Anthropology
Four Sub-Fields of Anthropology
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Physical Anthropology
Archaeology
Linguistic Anthropology
Cultural Anthropology
Applied Anthropology
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Often seen as the fifth sub-field of anthropology.
Uses anthropological knowledge and methods from
the four sub-fields to solve practical problems, often
for a specific client.
Medical Anthropology
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The use of insights from cultural anthropology and
physical anthropology to understand the
relationship between human health and cultural
behaviors.
Physical Anthropology
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Also called biological anthropology.
Focuses on humans as biological organisms,
evolution, and human variation.
Analyze fossils and observe living primates to
reconstruct the ancestry of the human species.
The biocultural perspective focuses on the
interaction of biology and culture.
Physical Anthropology
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Also called biological anthropology.
Focuses on humans as biological organisms,
evolution, and human variation.
Analyze fossils and observe living primates to
reconstruct the ancestry of the human species.
The biocultural perspective focuses on the
interaction of biology and culture.
The Biocultural Perspective: Class
Discussion
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Classic period (AD 600) Mayan maxilla or upper jaw
demonstrating dental surgery (inlaid jade) – from the National
Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Guatemala City
The Biocultural Perspective: Class
Discussion
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Many cultures alter their bodies through surgical techniques for
aesthetic, political, and economic reasons.
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Why do you think the Mayans altered their teeth?
Do people in the United States alter their bodies? If so, how and
why?
Physical Anthropology
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Paleoanthropology
 The
study of the origins of the human species.
Physical Anthropology
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Forensic anthropology
 Specializes
in the identification of human skeletal
remains for legal purposes.
Physical Anthropology
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Primatology
 The
study of living and fossil primates.
Mandrill
Ring-Tailed Lemur
Physical Anthropology
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Human Growth, Adaptation, and Diversity
 The
study of the ways in which the natural and cultural
environment impacts human growth and biological
diversity
Cultural Anthropology
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The study of different patterns in human behavior,
thought, and feelings.
Focuses on humans as culture-producing and culturereproducing creatures.
Two main components: ethnography and ethnology.
Culture
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A society’s shared and learned ideas, values, and
perceptions, which are used to make sense of
experience and which generate behavior and are
reflected in that behavior.
Studying Culture: Fieldwork
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The term anthropologists use for on-location
research.
Participant observation - The technique of
learning a people’s culture through direct
participation in their everyday life over an
extended period of time.
Studying Culture: Ethnography
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The systematic description of a particular culture
based on firsthand observation.
Studying Culture: Ethnology
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The study and analysis of different cultures from a
comparative or historical point of view, utilizing
ethnographic accounts and developing
anthropological theories that help explain why
certain important differences or similarities occur
among groups.
Linguistic Anthropology
Studies human languages:
 Description of a language - the way a sentence is
formed or a verb conjugated.
 History of languages - the way languages change
over time.
 The study of language in its social setting, such as
discourse – an extended speech act on a particular
topic.
Linguistic Anthropology
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Kallawaya language-speakers from Bolivia
Archaeology
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Studies material remains in order to describe and
explain human behavior.
Study tools, pottery, and other features such as
hearths and enclosures that remain as the testimony
of earlier cultures.
Rapa Nui
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A tiny volcanic island in the middle of the southern Pacific Ocean, also
known as Easter Island. The landscape is punctuated by nearly 900
stone “heads,” some towering to 65 feet, called moai by the islanders.
Teotihuacan
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One of the largest Pre-Columbian cities in Mexico (AD 300-650). In
addition to impressive stepped-pyramids, the city boasts many palaces
decorated with painted murals which provide clues about the
worldview of these ancient people.
Bioarchaeology
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The study of human remains
as a record of cultural
processes.
For example, this Mayan
woman was buried in a
hocker position with two
fetuses. What does this tell
you about how she died?
Cultural Resource Management
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A branch of archaeology tied to government
policies for the protection of cultural resources and
involving surveying and/or excavating
archaeological and historical remains threatened by
construction or development.
Cultural Resource Management
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A Pre-Columbian rock carving from Tecaltzingo in Puebla, Mexico.
Notice the damage caused by modern graffiti.
Cultural Resource Management
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CRM is also about stewardship of archaeological sites for the
benefit of all.
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Why should we be concerned about preserving archaeological
sites?
How Do Anthropologists Do What They Do?
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Anthropology as one of the Humanities
Anthropology as a Science
The Comparative Method
Anthropology as one of the Humanities
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The holistic and comparative perspective of
Anthropology has led to many insights on human
failures and successes, weaknesses and greatness
Helps us think about the shared experience of being
human.
Anthropology as a Science
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Anthropology is empirical - based on observations
of the world rather than on intuition or faith.
Theory
 An
explanation of natural phenomena, supported by a
reliable body of data.
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Hypothesis
A
tentative explanation of the relation between certain
phenomena.
Anthropology’s Comparative Method
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Uses the methods of other scientists by developing
hypotheses and arriving at theories.
Anthropologists make comparisons between peoples
and cultures past and present, related species, and
fossil groups.
Questions Of Ethics
Anthropologists have obligations to:
 Those whom they study.
 Those who fund the research.
 Those in the profession who expect a study to be
published so they can further the research in the
field.
How Does Anthropology Compare to Other
Disciplines?
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Anthropologists focus on the interconnections and
interdependence of all aspects of the human
experience, past and present.
This holistic and integrative perspective equips
anthropologists to grapple with the issue of
globalization.
Anthropology and Globalization
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Globalization refers to worldwide interconnectedness,
evidenced in global movements of natural resources, human
labor, finance capital, information,infectious diseases, and
trade goods.
The forces driving globalization are technological
innovations, lower transportation and communication costs,
faster knowledge transfers, and increased trade and
financial integration among countries.