Prof. Lawrence H. LeClair University of Prince Edward Island
Text book companion website…
What is Anthropology?
What Do Anthropologists Do?
How Do Anthropologists Do What
They Do?
 …the study of humankind
in all times and places.
Anthropologists seek to
produce reliable
knowledge about people
and their behaviour, about
what makes them different
and what they all share in
common. (Text pg. 3)

Biological anthropologists
trace the evolutionary
development of humans
as biological organisms.
They also study the
physical and behavioural
nature of our closest
biological relatives:
nonhuman primates such
as monkeys and apes.

…seek to explain
human behaviour by
studying material
culture; by analyzing
what past human
societies have left
behind.

…study the way
language is used as a
resource for practising,
developing, and
transmitting culture.

…is the use of
anthropological
concepts and methods in
areas outside of the
academic world such as
government bureaus,
private corporations,
and international
development agencies.

Forensic Anthropology is
a good example. The
forensic anthropologist
uses his or her
knowledge of human
skeletal anatomy to help
identify human remains
which have been found
in unusual
circumstances.

…concerned with
contemporary human
cultures, as they have
been observed,
experienced, and
discussed with people
whose culture they
seek to understand.
Ethnography
Ethnology
Ethnohistory
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Biological Anthropology
Applied Anthropology
Sociocultural Anthropology
Archaeology
Linguistic Anthropology
Health and Disease in One Culture: The Ju/’hoansi
▪ Richard Lee, University of Toronto
▪ Indicators of health before and after exposure to outside cultural influences…
…general health has decreased with exposure to modern civilization.

Anthropology involves the careful and
systematic study of humankind using:
 Facts
 Hypotheses
 Theories

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“The anthropologist is a human instrument
studying other human beings and their
societies.”
Hortense Powdermaker, 1933
Potential problems with framing hypotheses that
are culture bound
 Restrictions upon replication of observations
 Ideally, theories are generated from worldwide
comparisons

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Dongria Kondh Survival International

Dongria Kondh story
“the most human of the sciences”
 Concern with other cultures’ languages, values, and
achievements in the arts and literature
 Commitment to experiencing other cultures
 Emphasis on qualitative research
Anthropology contributes to social sciences, as well
as history, geology, biology
 Urban anthropologists work in policy, planning and
development of urban settings
 Medical anthropologists work closely with health
specialists

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Anthropologists have
obligations to:

those studied

those funding research

those in the profession

Anthropology provides a framework for promoting
understanding, acceptance and appreciation of the
cultural diversity of our global community

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Anthropology is about the interactions of one
culture with another, or with the interactions
of an anthropologist with a culture which is
not their own. How can we learn about each
other? This clip shows us one way.
Meet the Natives...

Napoleon Chagnon: How Cultures are
Studied