Download Anthropology PPT

Three Behavioural and
Social Sciences
By: Ms. McFadden
Definitions
Sociology -focuses on people in groups, the
relationships between people and the
social structures developed by
people.
Psychology –focuses on individuals, studying
their mental processes and
behaviours.
Anthropology – concerns itself with human
beings as a species and as
members of different cultures.
Two divisions of Anthropology

Cultural - different ways humans think and
act in cultures around the world

Physical – humans as a biological species
and how the interact with the
environment; origins and changes
Anthropology:
How did we get here?
Until the mid 1850’s , most people believed that
humans had always been how they were and
had lived on Earth for more 6000 years.
 1859 – British biologist Charles Darwin published
“On the Origin of Species” which argued that all
live slowly evolved.
 1871 – he published “The Descent of Man”
which focused on man’s relationship to other
creatures.

DARWIN’S THEORY:
“Survival of the Fittest”
All plants and animals evolve from a lower order to a
more complex form.
 Only the strongest of the offspring will survive,
reproduce and pass on their characteristics to the next
generation
 Any characteristic which is not necessary to survival will
gradually disappear.
 Basically, all life on earth began over a billion years ago
as single one-celled organisms and evolved to more
complex species.
 Therefore, humans evolved from the lower order of
species, otherwise known as PRIMATES!

Survival of living things will depend
on:
Predators
 Disease
 Environmental
conditions

RESULT:
Controversy!!!
Contradicted the theory of Creation in the
Bible
 Humans were related to a lower order of
animals! NO WAY!!!
 Upsetting and insulting to believe that our
ancestors were apes!

Why is evolution Controversial Anyway?
The Hornet, 1871
Britain’s Punch magazine, 1871
Do you believe in
Evolution?
Just in case you weren’t convinced …..
Sherman's Lagoon copyright © 1996 by J. P. Toomey.
What makes Humans so special?
If Darwin’s theory is true, then humans evolved
very slowly from the lower order of species
called PRIMATES (Chimpanzee, baboon, gorilla,
gibbon and monkeys)
 Difficulty of determining when primate ended
and humans began in the evolutionary line
 As such, many anthropologists study these
primates to finds links between them and
humans.

Connections with other species:
Jane Goodall
 Studied the behaviour of chimps in Nigeria
starting in 1960 for over 10 years.
 She began to recognize personality and social
characteristics
 Discovered that primates use tools(until then
only humans)
 Very social creatures
 They show emotions
Dian Fossey
 Studied the mountain gorilla in Rwanda, Africa