Shared Flashcard Set

Details

BCC - Cultural Anthropology 102
Prof. Spears, Spring Semester
104
Anthropology
Undergraduate 1
01/29/2013

Additional Anthropology Flashcards

 


 

Cards

Term
Anthropology
Definition
Anthro (human beings/humankind) + logia (Knowledge or study of) = study of humankind, to include the subfields of physical anthropology, archeology, linguistic anthropology, and cultural anthropology or ethnology.
Term
Applied Anthropology
Definition
the use of anthropological data from the other subfields to address modern problem and concerns.
Term
Archeology
Definition
examines material traces of past societies and informs us about the culture of that society
Term
Artifacts
Definition
material produces of former societies that provide clues to the past
Term
Cultural Anthropology/Ethenology
Definition
A subfield of anthropology which examines various contemporary societies and cultures throughout the world. (p.7)
Term
Deductive Method
Definition
begins with a general theory from which scientists develop testable hypotheses. (p.13)
Term
Ethnoarcheology
Definition
study of material artifacts of the past along with the observations of modern peoples who have knowledge of the use and symbolic meaning of those artifacts. (p.6)
Term
Ethnocentrism
Definition
the practices of judging another society by the values and standards of one’s own society.
Term
Ethnography
Definition
a description of a culture within a society, including environment, economy, social organization, political system, and religious rituals – also called ethnographic data (p.8)
Term
Ethnologist
Definition
Anthropologists who focus on the cross-cultural aspects of the various ethnographic studies done by cultural anthropologists.
Term
Ethnomusicology
Definition
study of musical traditions in various societies worldwide
Term
Ethnopoetics
Definition
study of poetry and how it relates to the experiences of people in different societies
Term
First Contact
Definition
initial encounters between peoples of different societies
Term
Fossils
Definition
Fragmentary remains of bones and living materials preserved from earlier period
Term
Genetics
Definition
biological ‘blueprints’ that dictate the inheritance of physical characteristics.
Term
Global Perspective
Definition
the biological, environmental, psychological, economic, historical social, and cultural conditions of humans at all times in all places. (p.11)
Term
Historical Linguists
Definition
Comparison and classification of different languages to discern the historical links among languages.
Term
Holistic
Definition
A broad, comprehensive account that draws on all four subfields of anthropology (p.11)
Term
Human Osteology
Definition
Study of the human skeleton
Term
Hypothesis
Definition
a testable proposition concerning the relationship between particular sets of variables in the collected data. (p.13)
Term
Inductive Method
Definition
Scientist makes observations and collects data. (Makes observations, derives explanation to create general theory)
Term
2 ways to develop testable propositions
Definition
Inductive Method & Deductive Method
Term
Linguistic Anthropology
Definition
the relationship between language and culture, how language is used within a society, similarities and differences between languages of different cultures, and how the human brain acquires and uses language.
Term
Middens
Definition
Ancient trash piles (p.6)
Term
Paleoanthropology
Definition
(paleo – old/prehistoric) the study of human evolution through analysis of fossils. Use scientific techniques to date, classify, and compare fossil bones to determine the links between modern humans and their biological ancestors.
Term
Participant Observation
Definition
when cultural anthropologist learn the language and culture of the group being studied by participating in the groups daily activities. (p.6)
Term
Scientific Method
Definition
system of logic used to evaluate data derived from systematic observation.
Core traits: Testability and verifiability. Method is used through the inductive or deductive methods.
Term
Sociolinguists
Definition
a focus of linguist anthropologists that studies the connection between language and social behavior in different cultures.
Term
Structural Linguists
Definition
study of how language works by comparing grammatical patterns or other linguistic element to learn how contemporary languages mirror and differ from each other.
Term
Theories
Definition
statements that explain the hypothesis and observations about natural or social phenomena (p.13)
Term
Four subfields of anthropology
Definition
1. Physical anthropology
2. Cultural anthropology or ethnology
3. Archeology
4. Linguistic anthropology
Term
Details of Physical Anthropology
Definition
1. Physical anthropology
a. Humans as a biological species
b. Most closely related to the natural sciences
c. Two major areas: Human evolution & modern human variation
Term
Two major areas of Physical Anthropology
Definition
Human evolution & modern human variation
Term
How did the subfields of anthropology emerge?
Definition
Developed by western society in an attempt to understand non-western people.
Term
Two major goals of anthropology, which are accomplished by studying people living in particular locations in the past and present and using comparative techniques to assess the similarities and differences among the societies are...
Definition
1. Understand the uniqueness and diversity of human behavior and human societies around the world
2. Discover the fundamental similarities that link human beings throughout the world (both past and present)
Term
What are specializations of Physical Anthropology?
Definition
• Biological anthropology
• Forensic anthropology
• Paleoanthropology
• Human anatomy
• Human taxonomy
• Paleopathology
• Primatology
• Ethology
• Population Genetics
• Human Ecology
Term
What are specializations of Archeology?
Definition
• Prehistoric archeology
• Historical archeology
• Classical archeology
• Demographic archeology
• Biblical archeology
• Maritime archeology
• Underwater archeology
• Urban archeology
• Ethnoarchelogy
• Industrial archeology
• Cognitive archeology
• Cultural Resource Management
Term
What are specializations of Linguistic Archeology?
Definition
• Structural linguistics
• Historical linguistics
• Phonology
• Morphology
• Comparative Syntax
• Ethnosemantics
• Cognitive linguistics
• Pragmatics
• Sociolinguists
Term
What are specializations of Cultural Anthropology/Ethnology?
Definition
• Ecological anthropology
• Demographic anthropology
• Economic anthropology
• Social anthropology
• Political anthropology
• Legal anthropology
• Anthropology of Religion
• Psychooogica anthropology
• Medical anthropology
• Urban anthropology
• Applied anthropology
• Ethnomusicology
• Anthropology of Art
• Ethnopoetics
Term
What are specialization of Applied Archeology?
Definition
• Forensic anthropology
• Cultural Resource Management
• Applied Cultural Anthropology
Term
Who is John Hawks?
Definition
John Hawks is an anthropologist who works with paleoanthropology and genetics. He studies the relationships between the genes of living and ancient people in order to discover ways that natural selection has affected them (~40,000 years) His findings indicate that human evolution accelerated as larger populations and new agricultural subsistence exerted strong pressures on ancient people. He also studies the Neandertal genome, comparing them with humans and chimps. He is doing this to try to expand our knowledge of evolution beyond skeletal record.
Term
What does Walker's research show?
Definition
The world was a more violent place in prehistory times. However, they did not engage in child abuse.
Term
What does Tiffany A. Tung's research show?
Definition
That there was wide-spread violence throughout the Peruvian Anders between 650-1000CE, and the violence grew with the expansion of the Wari Empire
Term
What is the genographic project?
Definition
A project lead by Spencer Wells, who is studying DNA from populations throughout the world in order to trace human evolution.
Term
What data is collected by anthropologists?
Definition
Social, cultural, and biological data, including:
• How food is prepared
• What constitutes acceptable behavior
• Gender roles
• Religion
• Societal assumptions
Term
What are the steps of the Scientific Method?
Definition
1. Observe Your World (most critical step)
2. Ask questions
3. Speculating about the answers
4. Test it out
5. Analyze the results
6. Share the result
Term
Morphology
Definition
study of differences in physical form and structure
Term
Aspects of social and political life in Medieval Europe ~900 CE – ~1500CE
Definition
1. King would provide blocks of land (fief) for Elites, who would provide soldiers
2. Peasants would work the land for the Elites, who would provide protection and subsistence.
3. No mobility between castes / defined and unchangeable
4. No separation of church and state
5. Monarchy held their place by ‘divine right’
Term
When was the Magna Carta signed and what was it?
Definition
1. Signed in 1215
2. First time that the monarchy made broad concessions/promises to Elites and other castes; idea that no person is above the law
Term
What changes brought about the scientific method?
Definition
1. First chemical element (arsenic: ~1250)
2. Newton proposed theory of gravity (1660s)
3. Franklin – electricity/kite (~1750)
Term
How did long range travel affect the beginnings of the scientific method?
Definition
1. More trade & communication
2. More contact with other cultures
3. Rise of individualism (in conflict with powerful institutions – changing castes
4. Theme of Enlightenments: Logical reasoning can make society better.
a) Rene Descartes – I think therefore I am
Term
When did capitalism emerge?
Definition
During the age of enlightment (1700-1800s)
Term
What are aspects of capitalism?
Definition
a) Requires new resources and new markets for new goods
b) Wage based labor
c) Deeply changed economic relationships between members of society
Term
What are social and economic changes after the Age of Enlightments?
Definition
1. Decline of a fixed community
2. Fewer ascribed social responsibilities
a) Ability to move between castes
3. Labor is commoditized (things that can be bought and sold)
4. Development of a class system
a) Haves & have nots
5. Declining of social safety net (no longer safe, rigid standards to follow)
6. Confusion of one’s place in the world
Term
Age of Enlightenment?
Definition
1700-1800s; the period of economic, political, and social upheaval that gave rise to the social sciences (anthropology, sociology, psychology, economics).
Term
What are aspects of the Scientific Method?
Definition
A. Concerned with objectivity
B. Collaborative: Share successes and failures / Always a process, rarely an endpoint
C. Amoral (neither moral or immoral)
D. Not the only way of knowing something.
E. Not free from bias, in design or execution
F. A process of evaluating empirical (observable & measurable) evidence in order to build knowledge that is testable and replicable.
Term
Who argued against the geocentric view of the universe? (earth is the center)
Definition
Copernicus and Galileo Galilei
Term
When did DNA prove we are all one species?
Definition
1950-1970s
Term
What problems does science cause for anthropology?
Definition
A. Bias: Anthropologists are the things that they study. Very difficult to put aside preconceived notions.
B. Will come in contact with things that challenge the anthropologist’s cultural and societal norm.
C. Human predictability: What constitutes data?
1. When data is recreated, it may not be done exactly the same way, effecting in a different result
Term
Who are the founders of the theory of evolution?
Definition
Charles Darwin & Alfred Russell Wallace
Contemporaries - late 19th/early 20th century
Term
Did humans evolve from any modern primate?
Definition
No. However, humans share an evolutionary history with other primates.
Term
Descent with modification
Definition
Darwin's theory that is commonly attributed as 'evolution'. Modification through the generations
Term
Name ancestors of human beings, according to fossil records.
Definition
Ardipithecus ramidus (4.4M years ago)

Austrolipithecus africanus (3M years ago)

Homo erectus (1-2M years ago)

Homo neanderthalensis (100,000-200,000 years ago)
Term
What other than fossils tells the evolutionary story of life on earth?
Definition
Genes
Term
What 'shuffles' the genetic deck of cards?
Definition
Sex
Term
What makes genetic information change / 4 components of evolution?
Definition
1. Available mates (who is and is not available)
2. Genetic material randomly changes (random (mutation), environmental (radiation, sunlight))
3. Individuals or populations move around/relocate
4. Some changes are advantageous to the creature (natural selection)
Term
Genetic Drift
Definition
The change of the frequency of certain genetic traits within a society
Term
Niche Construction
Definition
The umbrella component of evolution; the change in one component of an ecosystem effects the other components.
Term
What is a basic timeline of human life on earth?
Definition
- Human life appears ~4B years ago

- Sexual reproduction appears ~1.2B years ago

- Vertebres appear ~500M years ago

- Mammals appear ~250M years ago

- Primates appear ~70M years ago

- Hominids appear ~15M years ago & differentiate ~7M years ago

- Homo (genus) appears ~2.5M years ago

- Homo sapiens (Mitochondrial Eve) appear ~150,000 years ago

- Migration out of Africa - 60,000 years ago

- Homo sapiens sapiens (modern humans) 50,000 years ago
Term
What is the only surviving species of the genus homo?
Definition
Homo sapiens sapiens (modern humans)
Term
What are the basic steps of human evolution?
Definition
- Bipedalism ~5-6M years ago; effected bone alignment and muscle structure

- Tool use/constructon ~2-3M years ago; effects: flake tools; environment manipulation; social interaction

- Brain capacity; effects: ability to store/pass on knowledge, form strong emotional bonds

- Language ~200,000 years ago; effects: changes in the physiology of the human throat, hardwired to speak language

- Ability for abstract conceptual thought (communication through symbols)

-
Term
What are flake tools?
Definition
Basic tools - using rocks and sticks to kill animals or scrap meat off the bone.
Term
How much more dense is a human brain than a chimpanzee brain?
Definition
250%
Term
Approximately how many living languages are there in modern times?
Definition
~7,000
Term
What is the defining aspect of a human being?
Definition
The ability to have abstract conceptual thought.
Term
When did Mitochondrial Eve show up?
When did Mitochondrial Ada show up?
From where?
Definition
Eve ~150,000 years ago
Adam ~70,000 years ago
Both: Afria
Term
Where & when did the social sciences arise?
Definition
Early-mid 1800s in Western Europe
Term
What are basic questions anthropologists ask?
Definition
How did we get here?
How are we unique?
How do we subsist?
How do we make meaning of our existence (NOT why do we exist)
Term
How did Edward Tyler define culture?
Definition
Knowlege, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities aquired by humans as members of society.
Term
Define culture
Definition
Culture is a network of symbols (schemas). It is Learned, Static & Dynamic, Universal & Variable, Shared & Contested, Conscious & Unconscious, and Comprehensive.
Term
Aspects of symbols
Definition
Symbols are arbitrary until humans give them meaning. That meaning can change with context over time.
Term
Is symbolic thinking hardwired into the human brain?
Definition
Yes, it is a defining characteristic of humans.
Term
Do other animals seem to try to teach others with intention?
Definition
No.
Term
Schemas
Definition
Networks of symbolic codes that individuals use to reflect, enhance, challange, disrupt, reject, and/or enforce values, beliefs, worldviews, norms, and ideologies within a society.
Term
Agency
Definition
Each individual within society are able to call upon ideas that they can use themeselves (self-will)
Term
Epigenetic
Definition
changes in gene expression that don't necessarily come from messing around with the DNA itself. For example, feeding pollen and nectar to honey bee larvae turns them into worker bees, but feeding royal jelly to honey bee larvae turns them into queen bees.
Term
When was the Upper Paleolithic period?
Definition
Late stone age, or 40,000BCE-10,000BCE
Term
Composite tool
Definition
Implement fashioned from several different materials. For example, a harpoon may be made of wood and stone.
Term
What was the social organization of the Upper Paleolithic era?
Definition
Hunters / Gatherers
Term
Best known people of the Upper Paleolithic era in Europe is...
Definition
Cro-Magnons from Dordogne, France (25,000 years ago). Hunted migrating herds. Ability to start fire with iron pyrite. Creation of art.
Term
cultural relativism
Definition
understanding and exploring the beliefs, values, and practices of another group from the group's perspective, without expecting or imposing our own worldview
Term
What is the different between biologically well adapted and culturally well adapted?
Definition
Biologically well adapted species blend into the surroundings by the way they naturally look. Culturally well adapted dress differently in order to blend into their surroundings.
Term
How do human beings learn culture?
Definition
Through direct experience called "situational learning"
Term
What are the stages of learning?
Definition
1. Sensorimotor - Babies experience the world through the 5 senses.
2. Preoperational - Toddlers experience the world through basic symbols
3. Concrete-Situational - Young children experience the world through logic and symbol manipulation
4. Formal Operational - Older children are capable of abstract and complicated thought.
Term
How did Piaget say that new schemas are formed?
Definition
Assimulaton -> Accomodation
Term
Define mode of production
Definition
how social groups within a society negotiate the task of survival (cultural)in two parts: Technology & Culture
Term
Define extraction
Definition
removal of raw materials from the earth
Term
Define manufacturing
Definition
turning raw materials into goods that can be bought and sold
Term
What are some Provision of services or tertiery sectors?
Definition
doctors, teachers, lawyers, singers, hospitality workers
Term
What sector is colonialism?
Definition
primary
Term
Where did Spain and Portugal colonize?
Definition
Central and South America
Term
What are the 7 seven important aspects of human life everywhere?
Definition
1.Subsistence & the physical environment (how do we keep ourselves alive?)

2.Demography (characteristics of and changes to population)

3.Technology (available tools & resources)

4.Economy (exchanges of goods and services)

5.Social structure (what are the "component parts" of a particular culture and how are they related?)

6.Political organization (how is power distributed within the society?)

7.Spirituality & creative expression
Term
What are the four major trends in anthropological theory?
Definition
1. Deep description of the cultures they are studying (how people are same/different)

2. Continuity and Change (how is solidarity created through culture; how is culture challenged by change?)

3. (In)Tangible (how does culture rely on material things in society?)

4. Objectivity & Subjectivity

4.
Term
Four trends of anthropology.
Definition
1. ~1850-early 1900s - Culture in comparison to idealized standard of Western culture. (unilineal revolution & diffusionism)

2.
Supporting users have an ad free experience!