Introduction to Physical
Anthropology
Ninth Edition
Robert Jurmain
Harry Nelson
Lynn Kilgore
Wenda Trevathan
Chapter 1, Introduction
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What is Anthropology?
Cultural Anthropology
Archaeology
Linguistic Anthropology
Physical Anthropology
Physical Anthropology and Scientific Method
The Anthropological Perspective
What is Anthropology?
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The study of humankind.
The study of all aspects of the human species
including our biology (from an evolutionary
perspective).
Subfields of Anthropology
Cultural Anthropology
 Archaeology
 Physical Anthropology
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Cultural Anthropology
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Study of all aspects of human behavior.
Subfields:
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Urban - deals with issues of inner cities.
Medical - explores relationship between culture and
health.
Economic - concerned with the distribution of goods
and resources.
Archaeology
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Study of early cultures and lifeways to answer
questions of human behavior.
Artifacts and material culture left behind by
civilizations provide information about the
nature of the society.
Linguistic Anthropology
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Study of the origin of language and human
speech.
Acquisition and use of language is a unique
human characteristic.
Relationship between culture and language:
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How do members of a society perceive
phenomena?
How does the use of language shape perceptions?
Physical Anthropology
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Study of human biology within framework of
evolution.
Two principal areas of interest:
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How modern species came to exist
Physical variation
Subfields of Physical Anthropology
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Paleoanthropology - study of human evolution.
Anthropometry - measurement of human body parts.
Primatology - study of nonhuman primates.
Osteology - study of skeletons.
Scientific Method
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State the research problem.
Develop a hypothesis.
Test the hypothesis through data
collection and analysis of the data.
If the hypothesis is verified it becomes a
theory.