Anthropology
What is Anthropology?
 Anthropology is the board study of
humankind around the world and
throughout time.
 It is concerned with both the biological
and the cultural aspects of humans.
Four Main Subdivisions
1. Physical Anthropology:
 Mechanisms of biological evolution, genetic
inheritance, human adaptability and variation,
primatology, and the fossil record of human
evolution.
2. Cultural Anthropology:
 Culture, ethnocentrism, cultural aspects of
language and communication, subsistence and
other economic patters, kinship, sex and
marriage, socialization, social control, political
organization, class, ethnicity, gender, religion,
and culture change.
3. Archaeology:
 Prehistory and early history of cultures around
the world; major trends in cultural evolution; and
techniques for finding, excavating, dating, and
analyzing material remains of past societies.
4. Linguistic Anthropology:
 The human communication process focusing on
the importance of socio-cultural influences;
nonverbal communication; and the structure,
function, and history of languages, dialects.
Methods used by
Anthropologists
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Participant - observation
Collection of statistics
Field of view
Rigorous collections of detailed notes
Fieldwork on anthropologists is known
as “ethnography”
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.
Dian Fossey
 Believed that in
order to study
gorillas effectively
she had to
immerse herself
with them in an
effort to get them
to accept her
presence
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decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
Jane Goodall
 Active in the study of social
learning, primate cognition,
thinking and culture in wild
chimpanzees, their separation
from the baboon and the
inclusion of both species, along
with the gorilla, as Hominids.
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decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
 Major contributions to the field of primatology was the
discovery of tool-making in chimpanzees. Only humans
were thought to make tools, and tool-making was
considered the defining difference between humans and
other animals. This discovery convinced several
scientists to reconsider their definition of being human.
 She set herself apart from the traditional
conventions of the time in her study of
primates by naming the animals she studied,
instead of assigning them a number. The
numbering was nearly a universal practice at
the time and thought to be important in the
removal of one’s self from the potential for
emotional attachment to the subject being
studied.
Why do we need
Anthropologists?
 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 anthropologist - they prove or
disprove what we believe to be true.
Kinship
 Kinship is a family relationship based on
what a culture considers a family to be
 The family unit can vary depending on
the culture in which the family lives
Anthropological School of
Thought

There are 3 schools of thought in
Anthropology
1. Functionalism
2. Structuralism
3. Cultural Materialism
Functionalism
 The theoretical school of functionalism
considers a culture as an interrelated whole,
not a collection of isolated traits
 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.
Functionalism - con’t
 Every custom or practice in a culture serves a
purpose in providing stability
 To understand a culture, it is necessary to
investigate the social functions of the
institution (established laws, practices &
customs)
 At the core is a belief that society is itself a
logical institution that functions in the best
interests of the majority
 Role of anthropologist is to explain, not judge
Structuralism
 The human mind functions on the principle of
binary opposites
 This means that humans tend to see things in
terms of 2 forces that are opposite to each
other - eg. Night and day
 All cultures develop complex rules about what
is good and what is bad
 The rules are different in each culture.
Structuralism - con’t
 Structuralism believe that
anthropologists must seek out and
explain these rules
 With a full understanding of the human
mind, anthropologists will see that
human cultures are logical structures
trying to meet human needs.
Cultural Materialism
 Technological and economical factors are the
most important ones in molding a society known as materialism
 Determinism - states that the types of
technology and economic methods that are
adopted always determine the type of society
that develops
Cultural Materialism - Con’t
 Material factors are the starting point to
understanding a culture
 the ways in which goods are produce helps us
understand social classes, distribution of wealth
 Also examining free time,music, recreation, and the
arts
 Anthropologists will examine behaviour by
analyzing decisions regarding technology &
economic production to understand society
Criticism of the 3 schools
 Functionalists present cultures and societies as being
more stable than they are
 Since they also believe that every practice serves a
purpose, critics accuse them of downplaying negative
results of some practices
 Structuralists: State that if these cultures rules create
stability why do some cultures die?
 Cultural materialists: have laws apply to all cultures
 Critics also say that they view cultures through
biased eyes (they try to find ways that the cultures
reflect the laws of cultural materialism rather than
letting the cultures explain themselves.)