Introduction to Anthro

							Introduction to
 Anthropology
  Ms. Hernandez
     Period 2
    Human Evolution Timeline
• 2.5 million years ago
  – First man (Homohabilis) used stone tools
• 2 million years ago
  – Humans control fire
• 1.7 million years ago
  – Appearing in Asia and South East Asia (1st
    major migration) (Homoerectus- 5 feet tall)
• .5 million years ago
  – Entering Europe (adapting to colder weather)
    Human Evolution Timeline
• 200,00 years ago
  – Homo sapiens in Europe adapt to “modern man”
• 100,000
  – Homo sapiens spread overtaking Homo erectus
• 50,000
  – Homo sapiens in Europe start having cultural
    changes overtake physical. (complex use of symbols/
    language)
• 15,000
  – Homo sapiens in North America
   Human Evolution Timeline
• 10,000
  – earliest records of farming changing from
   scavengers to producers (settlements begin)
• 6,000
  – writing/ city-states/ pyramids & kings
• 3,000
  – iron resources used, nation like
• 2,000
  – Roman and Chinese Empire
What is Anthropology?
             Anthropology
• Systematic way of understanding the
  human experience and human diversity
• Comprehensive study of past and present
  human population and origin
• Cross cultural comparison of all societies
  – Ancient vs. Modern
  – Small vs. Large
  – Simple vs. Complex
          Basic Definition
• Study of humankind over time and space
     What makes Anthropology
           distinctive?
• Study all varieties of people
• Study humankind at all time periods
• Study all aspects of humanity (religion,
  economics, food preferences, art, ecology,
  gender, race, etc.)
• Accept the unity of humanity. We are ALL
  similar somehow.
Characteristics of Anthropology
• Holistic: assumption that any aspect of a
  culture is integrated with other aspects, so
  that no dimension of culture can be
  understood in isolation
• Bio-cultural: try to understand humans
  from a biological and cultural existence-
  the PHYSICAL and the SOCIAL
Ethnocentrism versus
 Cultural Relativism
 Perception of reality socially and
  psychologically conditioned by
             culture
             Ethnocentrism

• Ethnocentrism: attitude or opinion that
  the morals, values, and customs of one’s
  own culture are superior to those of other
  people
• Attitude that a society’s customs and ideas
  can be judged within the context of one’s
  own culture
         Cultural Relativism
• Cultural Relativism: the attitude that a
  society’s customs and ideas should be
  viewed within the context of that society’s
  ideals and values
 So much to cover!
What to do? What to
        do?
   Subfields of Anthropology
     Two Broad Classifications
 Biological/ Physical Anthropology:
  study of human biological variation and the
  emergence and evolution of the human
  species
 Cultural Anthropology: study of recent
  and past societies
Biological/ Physical
   Anthropology
           Biological/ Physical
              Anthropology
   Human
    paleontology:
    study of fossils and
    human evolution
      Biological/ Physical
         Anthropology
Primatology: study
of primates
(primarily for
purpose of
clarifying
evolutionary
relationships)
         Biological/ Physical
            Anthropology
Population Genetics:
 study of DNA
 structure and the
 flow of genes
 amongst
 civilizations across
 time and space
Cultural Anthropology
         Cultural Anthropology
   Archaeology:
    investigation of
    past cultures
    through excavation
    of material remains
          Cultural Anthropology
   Anthropological Linguistics: focus on
    the interrelationships between language
    and other aspects of a people’s culture
   Study of language
     How are languages different and/or similar?
     How has language evolved?

     How language is used socially?
         Cultural Anthropology
   Ethnology: study
    of human cultures
    from a comparative
    perspective (study
    of how and why
    recent cultures
    differ and are
    similar)
       Applied Anthropology
• Concerned with applying information
  collected/ perspectives/ theories/ methods
  to contemporary social problems and
  conditions (i.e., Public Health, Family
  Planning, World Bank)
       Medical Anthropology
• Falls under BOTH biological and cultural
  anthropological domains
  – Biological: study of disease variation across
    populations
  – Cultural: study of cultural interpretation of
    disease (How humans react to their own
    sickness)
What is Culture?
           What is Culture?
• Culture: set of learned behaviors, beliefs,
  attitudes, values, and ideals that are
  shared by a particular society
Major Cultural
Characteristics
    Learned
     Shared
    Symbolic
           Culture is Learned
• Learned: culture is learned through other
  members of group
  – Socialization process: internalizing meanings
    and symbols used to interact and express
    thought
     • Learned by language, objects, reactions, etc.
          Culture is Shared
• Shared: through social interactions of
  groups- learn from each other
  – Cooperative enterprise
         Culture is Symbolic
• Symbolic: meaning given to objects,
  events, and concepts
  – Holidays (Halloween)
  – Rituals (Sweet Sixteen)
  – Behaviors (Sporting events)
  – Objects (Computer)
  – Food (Birthday cake)
What is Cultural
Anthropology?
       Cultural Anthropology
• Study of recent/ contemporary societies
  and cultures in order to understand
  cultural diversity
• Explain behavioral variation within a
  culture and across cultures