Learning Goal: I can demonstrate an understanding of the main concepts and theories within APS – foundations

What is Anthropology?• Greek word meaning: “The

Study of People”

• Anthropology is the broad study of humankind around the world and throughout time.

• It is concerned with both the biological and the cultural aspects of humans. 

Why do we need Anthropologists?

• Don’t they tell us what we already know to be true?

• Intuition is believing something to be true because a person’s emotions and logic support it

• Intuition is not proof of fact – this is why we need anthropologists – they prove or disprove what we BELIEVE to be true

Branches of Anthropology

There 2 main subdivisions (areas) in the study of Anthropology:• Physical Anthropology• Cultural Anthropology

Physical Anthropology – Main Concepts

• How the human species has changed physically over time (hundreds of millions of years) – called Biological Evolution

• Study of Primatology – primates (apes, chimps as ancestors of humans)

• Why we have certain physical characteristics from our ancestors (i.e. skin colour…) - called Genetic Inheritance

Physical Anthropology – Main Concepts

• Evolution refers to change or transformation over time - how have humans changed and adapted over time – called Adaptation.

• Archeology - Techniques for finding, excavating, dating, and analyzing material remains of past societies

http://www.youtube.com

/watch?v=ZsHgv2UnFdc&list=PL5B24BAB69625D8AFhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cogeHybySI

Forensic Anthropology: Forensic Archaeology:

• Can determine: gender, age, stature, racial affiliation, time since death, cause of death from markings on bones, identify illnesses and wounds

• The systematic archaeological recovery of buried remains and artifacts.

• Osteology: bones• Dentition: teeth• Ethnobotony: plant remains and pollen

Careers in Physical Anthropology - Forensics

What is Culture?• Culture and traditions of a group of people

(language, kinship, beliefs, food rituals…)

• The term was first used in this way by the pioneer English Anthropologist Edward B. Tylor in his book, Primitive Culture, published in 1871.

Culture - Edward B. Tylor

• Tylor said that culture is "that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, law, morals, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society.”

• For anthropologists and other behavioral scientists, culture is the full range of learned human behavior patterns

Kinship – Main Concept in

Anthropology• Kinship is a family relationship based on what is a

culture considers a family to be• The family unit can vary depending on the culture

in which the family lives• Anthropologists have concluded that human

cultures define the concept of kinship in three ways: mating (marriage), birth (descent) and nurturance (adoption)

Cultural Anthropology – Main Concepts

• Linguistic Anthropology - The structure, function, and history of languages - Verbal and nonverbal communication

‘Ain’t Nothing' but a Slang Thang Baby’• Even those of us who speak English also use some kind of

slang in certain circumstances. Slang is a kind of language that Merriam-Webster describes as "peculiar to a particular group. An informal nonstandard vocabulary composed typically of coinages, arbitrarily changed words, and extravagant, forced, or facetious figures of speech." This lesson explores different "slang languages," and how they developed

Discuss what you think this means:• "That ossified big six over there with the cheaters on thinks he'll get a

bearcat because he rides a gravy train!"

And this:• "But that's baloney! He may think he's a big cheese, but a razzle dazzle dame

will fly the coop once she realizes he orders some plonk."

Translation

• http://www.alphadictionary.com/index.shtml

Modern Day Change in Language

Early Communication

• Communication was an essential skill for our ancestorso Co-operation during the hunto Warning of potential danger

• Anatomical structures for oral language existed in our early ancestors, but their speech was most likely restricted to grunts and other noiseso Included body gestures & facial expressions

• Communication allows us to express feelings, describe tasks, argue or discuss a position or ideas

Physical Attributes Enabling Speech are:

• Larger brain• Brain organized to allow abstract thoughts• Development of the Broca’s area that controls

speech • Lowered voice box and strategically

positioned hyoid bone

Communication Process

• Includes: (a)verbal communication

– language – writing

– speech– sign language

(b) non-verbal communication - body language- tone & character of voice- interaction distance- outward appearance

Language - verbal• A sophisticated communication system that

includes vocabulary and lexicon as well as a set of grammar rules outlining its proper use

• Characteristics of human language:o Open - evolves to include new terms and conceptso Discrete – distinct messages can be sento Arbitrary assignment of words to concepts or objectso Conveys information about events in time

Non-Verbal Communication

• Have you ever made an instant judgment about a person, without ever speaking to him or her? Can you tell when people are worried, afraid, or angry? Research suggests that very little of our communication is actually verbal. About 93% of the information we give and receive is actually nonverbal.

Non-Verbal Activities• Activity 1: Non-Verbal Acting

• Activity 2: We Have to Move Now!

• Activity 3: Stack the Deck

Body Language• The means of communicating information and

attitudes in a non-verbal manner • i.e. facial expressions and gestures

• May be used consciously or sub-consciously• Compliments verbal language and reinforces

the oral message• Cross-cultural communication awareness to

prevent misunderstandings

Skills and Methods used by Anthropologists

• Participation-observation • Collection of statistics • Field interviews • Rigorous compilation of detailed notes • Fieldwork on anthropologists is know as

“ethnography”: the scientific study of human races and cultures

Participation-Observation

• Anthropologists have learned that the best way to really get to know another society and its culture is to live in it as an active participant rather than simply an observer

• By physically and emotionally participating in the social interaction of the host society it is possible to become accepted as a member.

• Example: Jane Goodall 

Jane Goodall's quest to work with live animals in the wild began more than forty years ago. After hiring Jane as an assistant on a fossil-hunting dig at Olduvai Gorge in Africa, noted paleontologist and anthropologist Dr. Louis Leakey arranged for Jane to travel to Gombe to study the behavior of the chimpanzees that make their home there. Jane's relationship with Gombe's chimpanzees goes beyond a mere scientific interest - it has evolved into a genuine affection and commitment to their survival. Fascinated by the twenty-square-mile park and its charismatic inhabitants, Goodall established what has become the longest continuously running study of animals in the wild.

Jane Goodallhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5Q6-hh49mU

• Jane Goodall's Wild Chimpanzees invites viewers to be among the few humans who have ventured into the realm of the wild chimpanzee to see them at close range.

• Research has proven that chimpanzees and humans share nearly 99% of the same DNA, making chimps the closest relative to humans.

• Dr. Goodall's discoveries in forty years of research at Gombe in Africa - including her groundbreaking observations of chimpanzees making and using tools - have not only revolutionized our understanding of chimps, but ultimately of human behavior itself.

The LeakeysAnthropolgists

Big Discoveries• East Africa has been where

the Leakeys found exciting fossils that provide evidence of human origins.

• Mary and Louis Leakey (married couple) found the remains of a skull of a human ancestor dated to be 1.75 million years old.

• They named it “The Nutcracker Boy” due to the huge cheek teeth.

• Significance: more proof that all humans originated in Africa and that humans had a complicated and long evolution process

Footprints in Volcanic Ash• Mary also discovered the

footprints of human ancestors preserved in volcanic ash

• Significance: human ancestors walked upright before they used tools; evolution took longer than once thought/originated in Africa

Anthropological Theories

• Anthropology Schools of Thought1. Functionalism2. Structuralism3. Culturalism –

• (Materialism, Determinism, Relativism)

Great Thinker: Bronislaw Malinowski

(1884-1942)

• Founder of the “functional” school of anthropology, which maintains that human institutions should be examined in the context of the culture as a whole

• Belief that all components of society interlock to form a well-balanced system.

• Emphasized characteristics of beliefs, ceremonies, customs, institutions, religion, ritual and

sexual taboos.

Functionalism:• The Functionalists examined how a particular

cultural phase is interrelated with other aspects of the culture and how it affects the whole system of the society.

• The method of functionalism was based on fieldwork and direct observations of societies.

• Societies must have a set standard of laws and practices to provide stability. These are referred to as social institutions.

Functionalism:• Society is based upon the basic needs (both

physical and psychological) that must function in the best interest by the needs of the majorityo Examples include food for hunger, and a feeling of

safety for society’s members.

• In order to understand a society, you must understand/comprehend the culture and their actions.

• The role of anthropologists is to explain not judge

• The belief is that all society’s actions make up their culture and that they all serve a purpose.

Structuralism:• Aspects of culture are based on common

properties/ties within a society.

• The goal of Structuralism is to discover universal principles of the human mind underlying each cultural trait and custom.

Structuralism:• Cultural aspects:• language and communication, • subsistence and other economic patterns, • kinship (family), sex and marriage, • socialization, • social control, • political organization, • class, ethnicity, gender, religion, • culture change

Structuralism:• Theory of binary opposites - everything in society is

divided between two ends of the spectrum: good vs. evil, male vs. female, etc.

• Binary opposites differ from society to society and are defined in a particular culture in a way that is logical to its members

• The divisions within society are not always considered just right or wrong, it depends on the context in which they are used.o i.e.) shoes are “good” when you wear them outside but “bad” if

you put them on the tableo Question: How does this theory apply to alcohol use?

Cultural Materialism:• The most important factors in molding a

society are technology and economics/$$$.

• This is known as materialism• There are different structures to society:

o Infrastructure (material goods)o Structure (class system)o Superstructure (arts, sports, etc.)

• Question: How does this apply to our culture?

Cultural Determinism:• Determinism –the types of technology and

economic methods that are adopted determine the type of society that developso i.e. Amish Society vs. Western Societyo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcmESjcmrzM&feature=related

• The culture in which we are raised determines who we are at emotional and behavioral levels - environmental influences dominate who we are instead of biologically inherited traits

Cultural Relativism:• Cultural relativism means that the function

and meaning of a trait are relative to its cultural setting.

• A trait is neither good nor bad in itself. • It is good or bad only with reference to the

culture in which it is to function.

Great Thinker:Franz Boas (1858-1942)

• Pioneer of modern Anthropology• World is full of distinct cultures

rather than of societies whose evolution could be measured by how much or how little "civilization" they had

• Coined “cultural relativism” -- the principle that an individual human's beliefs and activities should be understood by others in terms of that individual's own culture (promotes understanding instead of judgment)

Cultural Relativism - Ethnocentrism:

• Different societies or cultures are analyzed without using the values of one culture to judge the worth of another.

• Cannot understand actions of other groups if they are analyzed in terms of our motives and values.

• Must interpret their behavior in the light of their motives, habits and values if we are to understand them.