Chapter 1
What is Anthropology?
Learning Objectives
After reading and studying Chapter 1, students should be able to:
1.
Define anthropology; understand its breadth, especially its interest in global diversity.
2.
Describe the four-field approach to anthropology and how the fields are interrelated.
3.
Identify two broad areas of interest to physical anthropologists.
4.
Understand why archaeologists analyze material remains of historic and prehistoric cultures.
5.
Describe the three types of material remains of interest to archaeologists.
6.
Describe the four distinct branches of linguistic anthropology.
7.
Explain the difference between ethnography and ethnology.
8.
Identify five areas of specialization within cultural anthropology.
9.
Understand the guiding principles of holism, ethnocentrism, and cultural relativism.
10.
Understand the nature and limitations of ethnocentric reactions and give several examples of
ethnocentrism.
11.
Present a clear explanation of cultural relativism and its importance to anthropology.
12.
List four contributions of the holistic, cross-cultural perspective of anthropology to the scientific
understanding of humanity.
13.
Understand the difference between basic and applied research in anthropology.
14.
Distinguish between the emic and the etic approaches to anthropology
15.
Understand how the study of anthropology develops skills and competencies necessary for
success in the 21st century.
Appreciate the wide range of non-academic career opportunities for anthropology majors.
16.
17.
Begin to appreciate how the study of cultural anthropology is intimately relevant to our everyday
lives.
Chapter Outline
I.
WHAT IS ANTHROPOLOGY?
A.
The study of the origins, development, and contemporary variations of all humans who
have existed anywhere on earth
B.
A discipline that spans the gap between the humanities, the social sciences, and the
natural sciences
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CHAPTER 1 // WHAT IS ANTHROPOLOGY?
C.
D.
E.
An attempt to understand the human condition
A very diverse four-field study comprised of physical anthropology, archaeology,
anthropological linguistics, and cultural anthropology
While most departments have been organized around the four field concept, a growing
number of anthropologists would like to divide the discipline into four distinct subdisciplines.
II.
FOUR FIELD APPROACH
A.
Physical Anthropology
1.
Paleoanthropology: examining the biological evolutionary record
2.
Applied Physical Anthropology: forensic anthropology
3.
Primatology: the study of humans’ nearest living relatives
4.
Human Physical Variation: racial categories
B.
Archaeology: the study of past cultures by analyzing artifacts left behind
1.
Prehistoric: before written history
2.
Historic: includes written sources
3.
Applied archaeology: Cultural resource management
C.
Anthropological Linguistics
1.
Historical linguistics
2.
Descriptive linguistics
3.
Cultural linguistics
4.
Sociolinguistics
5.
Applied Linguistics
D.
Cultural Anthropology
1.
Ethnology
2.
Ethnography
3.
Areas of Specialization
a.
Urban anthropology
b.
Medical anthropology
c.
Development anthropology
d.
Environmental anthropology
e.
Psychological anthropology
III.
GUIDING PRINCIPLES
A.
Holism
1.
Anthropology is comprehensive and includes the study of:
a.
biological and sociocultural diversity
b.
a time frame of several million years
c.
a global perspective
2.
More specialized today and less holistic than in the past, but anthropologists
continue to analyze their findings within a wider context
B.
Ethnocentrism
1.
The belief that one’s own culture is most desirable and superior to all others
2.
No society has a monopoly on ethnocentrism.
3.
Most people are raised in a single culture and never learn another, so their ways
of life seems to be the most natural.
4.
Becoming aware of our own ethnocentrism allows us to temporarily set aside our
own value judgments in order to learn how other cultures operate.
C.
Cultural Relativism
1.
Early anthropologists recognized a need for dispassionate and objective
descriptions of the people they were studying.
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CHAPTER 1 // WHAT IS ANTHROPOLOGY?
2.
D.
Cultural relativism is the notion that any part of a culture must be viewed in its
proper cultural context rather than from the viewpoint of the observer’s culture.
3.
Rejects the notion that any culture, including our own, possesses a set of absolute
standards by which all other cultures can be judged
4.
There are both methodological and ethical limitations to cultural relativism.
The Emic (insider view) and Etic (outsider view) Approaches
IV.
CONTRIBUTIONS OF ANTHROPOLOGY
A.
Examines all aspects of humanity during all periods of time in all parts of the world
B.
Integrates the various disciplines dealing with human physiology and culture
C.
Enhances international/cross-cultural understanding
D.
Corrective to deterministic thinking
E
Provides a unique perspective on the study of globalization
F.
Allows us to learn about human nature based on cross-cultural analysis
G.
Helps us to better understand ourselves
H.
Gives a fuller understanding of other cultures
I.
Serves as a bridge to personal development
V.
APPLICATIONS
A.
Basic research
1.
Gains scientific understanding for its own sake
B.
Applied research
1.
Gains scientific understanding for the sake of solving particular social problems
2.
Interest has increased over the past decade with a noticeable increase in
anthropologists working outside universities and museums.
3.
Graduate and undergraduate courses in applied anthropology have increased over
the past decade.
4.
The applied research of Susan Squires in the area of new product design has lead
to the development of a new breakfast food for the entire family.
VI.
BUILDING SKILLS FOR THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY
A.
The process of studying cultural anthropology is valuable because of the skills and
competencies that it develops, including:
1.
Developing a broad perspective
2.
Appreciating other perspectives
3.
Balancing contradictions
4.
Emphasizing global teamwork
5.
Developing cognitive complexity
a.
Differentiation
b.
Integration
6.
Developing perceptual acuity
VII.
THE BOTTOM LINE: UNDERSTANDING OTHER CULTURES
A.
Acquiring accurate data about other cultures
B.
Cultural Self Awareness
C.
Knowing how people from other cultures view our culture
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CHAPTER 1 // WHAT IS ANTHROPOLOGY?
Key Terms
These are the anthropological terms introduced in Chapter 1. You may want to ask your students to write
definitions of one or more of these terms during class to see how well they understood the reading. Even
if you choose not to grade the assignment, the students will take it more seriously if you collect their
answers.
anthropological linguistics
archaeology
artifact
cultural anthropology
cultural relativism
cultural resource management
descriptive linguistics
ecofacts
emic approach
epidemiology
ethnocentrism
ethnography
ethnolinguistics
ethnology
etic approach
features
genetics
glottochronology
historical linguistics
holism
paleoanthropology
paleopathology
physical anthropology
population biology
primatology
race
sociolinguistics
Critical Thinking Questions
1.
How does anthropology as a discipline differ from other academic disciplines such as history,
biology, political science, sociology, or psychology?
2.
If anthropology “spans the gap between the humanities, social sciences, and the natural sciences,”
what is the nature of this gap?
3.
What does it mean to say that the global scope of anthropological studies has actually increased in
recent years? Why have we begun to study industrialized societies as well as less technologically
complex ones? How could anthropologists improve understanding of tension between urban
populations in the United States or religious consciousness in the Middle East?
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4.
What kinds of data are used by each of the subfields of anthropology?
5.
How do paleoanthropologists’ concerns with adaptation to environment and human evolution
influence our understanding of what it means to be human?
6.
What is the relationship between language and culture? Why do you think it is important to study
language as part of our understanding of humans?
7.
How is ethnology dependent upon ethnography?
8.
How does the holism of anthropology distinguish it from other disciplines that study human
nature?
9.
Think of instances where you have engaged in ethnocentrism. What was the situation? What
cultural trait or practice were you judging? How might you now make a more culturally relative
assessment of the situation?
10.
Why can we expect applied anthropological research to become increasingly important in the
future?
11.
Think of the skills necessary for a degree in your major. How will this course in cultural
anthropology help you build those skills?
12.
Consider the primary anthropological concept of cultural relativism. How difficult do you think it
would be to apply this concept in a situation that is unusual or uncomfortable for you? Provide
some examples.
13.
Define globalization. Will globalization eventually wipe out all cultural difference?
14.
Provide some specific areas of cultural knowledge that doctors and medical professionals need to
know about their culturally different patients.
Class Activities
1.
Divide the class into small groups and hand out back issues of Fortune Magazine, National
Geographic, Natural History, and/or the local newspaper. Assign each group the task of finding
three research projects for anthropologists of the various subfields and have the students identify
what would interest an archaeologist, a linguistic, a physical, or a cultural anthropologist.
2.
According to the text, anthropology has the task of examining all aspects of humanity through all
periods of time and in all parts of the world. Ask the students to examine how culture has
changed from the time that their grandparents were young until today (from the 1920s forward).
Use their examples to discuss how comparing their grandparents’ time to today is important for
understanding our own culture. Topics such as changes in food, music, or clothing stimulate good
discussions).
3.
Talk about the limits of cultural relativism using such contemporary practices in the world as
infanticide, female circumcision, warfare, “ethnic cleansing,” and suicide bombings.
4.
In order to get a better idea of the scope of research interests in anthropology, have students do a
content analysis of three randomly selected issues of the American Anthropologist over the past
five years. Have them classify articles into cultural anthropology, archaeology, physical
anthropology, and linguistics. Does one subfield predominate? How many are based on
quantitative data and how many on qualitative data? How many examine contemporary aspects of
humans versus more diachronic (through time) studies? How many deal with U.S. society as
compared to other parts of the world?
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CHAPTER 1 // WHAT IS ANTHROPOLOGY?
5.
Choose some examples of popular culture in the U.S. (such as pop music, TV shows, movies,
dress fashions, youtube videos, etc.) and ask students to critically analyze this material by asking
what it reveals about U.S. culture. Consider cultural sub-groups (sub-cultures).
6.
Prepare a “deck” of class Anthropology cards. Ask students to prepare a basic biography of a
well-known anthropologist (you could divide this work by sub-field and assign students to a
particular subfield): they should include a brief bio, a list of major contributions and theories,
geographical and topical areas of research, and a list of outstanding works.
Internet Exercises
Each chapter in this textbook is followed by at least one Internet exercise. These exercises are designed to
accomplish two separate objectives. First, they provide students with a chance to practice their computer
and internet skills. Second, the exercises are designed to reinforce some of the substantive concepts and
insights found in each chapter.
A word of caution is in order before beginning.
Internet addresses have the bad habit of changing. All of the web links listed in the Internet exercises at
the end of each chapter were correct at the time of publication. If the site no longer exists, a suitable
substitute can often be found by conducting a subject search on one of the search engines.
1.
The American Anthropological Association (AAA) is the major professional organization for
anthropologists in the Americas and in fact is the largest such organization for anthropologists in
the world. If you want information on what anthropology is and what anthropologists do, go to
the web site of the AAA:
http://www.aaanet.org
a.
Click on the section “About AAA.” Next click on “What is anthropology?” Then, in
several sentences for each, answer the following questions: (1) what are the four major
subfields of anthropology? (2) What is meant by the term comparative method? (3) What
is meant by the statement “Language - hallmark of the human species”? (4) What types
of evidence do archaeologists rely on when reconstructing prehistoric cultures?
b.
While you are in the section of the AAA home page titled “About AAA,” click on the
latest annual “Survey of Anthropology PhDs.” According to the latest data, what
percentage of anthropologists represent the four traditional fields (and the fifth field of
applied anthropology)? Have there been any noticeable changes in the ethnic/racial
composition of American anthropologists over the decades? Have there been any
significant changes in gender composition over the decades? Roughly what percentage of
anthropologists are employed in academic institutions (colleges and universities), and
what percentage are employed in nonacademic jobs?
c.
Now go back to “About AAA” and click on the section titles “Sections and Interest
Groups.” Browse the more than 30 specialized sections and interest groups that are
officially recognized by the AAA. Select one such interest group and write a paragraph
summary of what you think this group is all about.
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CHAPTER 1 // WHAT IS ANTHROPOLOGY?
2.
Go to the web site for the Society for Applied Anthropology, the professional organization
supporting the work of applied and practicing anthropologists in the United States and around the
world.
http://www.sfaanet.org
a. What are the differences between the SfAA and AAA? Are there units or interest groups in
this organization? What can you tell about the kinds of research and the fields of
anthropology from the publications or employment notices?
b. Imagine doing anthropological fieldwork – would you prefer to be involved in a researchonly project or an applied project? Why?
Infotrac Exercises
1.
2.
Students will need to access InfoTrac College Edition at http://www.cengagebrain.com to
answer the following questions. Once logged on, type “Ethnocentrism” in the Search field. Next
click on “Periodicals.” Once the results appear, scroll down to the article “Student Perceptions of
the Developing World: Minimizing Stereotypes of the ‘Other’” or use the Limit Search function
to find the article. Read the selection and answer the following:
a.
How can cultural relativism be taught to students in the classroom?
b.
After this exercise, do you think that your reactions would be similar to the students in
the article?
In the Search field, type in “Cultural Relativism.” Click on “Periodicals.” Use the Limit Search
function to find the article “Helping Students Deal With Cultural Differences.”
a.
Why would an anthropological perspective be helpful for a person’s view of another
group of people?
b.
How is spatial distance culturally patterned?
Suggested Films
A Man Called Bee: Studying the Yanomamo. Documentary Educational Resources, 1975, 42 minutes. One of a number of films by filmmaker Tim Asch and anthropologist Napoleon Chagnon depicting the
promises and pitfalls of conducting ethnographic research among the Yanomamo of Northern Brazil and
Southern Venezuela.
Who Owns the Past? University of California Extension, 2002, 56 minutes. - An outstanding
documentary on Native Americans’ struggle for control of their ancestral remains.
The Trail of the Neanderthal. Insight Media, 1998, 30 minutes. - Examines the basic questions asked by
physical anthropologists about Neanderthals, including what was their relationship to humans.
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