Anthro 101: General Anthropology
(Introduction to Anthropology s 4 subfields)
Dr. Nicole Hess
Fall 2014
Syllabus details, etc.
What happened to this person?
Researchers in the first
two subfields of
anthropology that we
will be covering can often
answer questions about
these odd-seeming
finds…
Biological
Anthropology
and
Archaeology…
Biological Anthropology
•
•
•
Lucy Australopithecus afarensis
Also called Physical Anthropology
It is the study of the biology and
evolution of the morphological and
behavioral traits of humans and
their close relatives, such as nonhuman primates and fossil
hominins.
There are several subfields in
Biological Anthropology.
Biological Anthropology
•  Evolution, with an
emphasis on natural
selection (the type of
evolution that produced
the adaptations that all
organisms, including
humans, have)
•  A small amount of
molecular biology
overview (DNA, protein
synthesis, genes)
•
•
For fun: Pinker on genes:
http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbertreport-videos/81914/february-07-2007/
steven-pinker
•  Synthesis of the principles
Biological Anthropology
•  Evolution of
divergent life
forms (how
humans differ and
share similarities
with other living
things)
Biological Anthropology
•  Primates
–
–
–
–
–
Primates of the past? (not as much evidence as
would be nice)
Non-human primates of the present
Primate behavior
Jane Goodall chimpanzee films
Biological Anthropology
•  Fossil hominins
Biological Anthropology
•  Evolution and human behavior
Biological Anthropology
•  The Hadza film
•  How do modern huntergatherers get food, and does it
tell us about how our hominin
ancestors got food?
•  Does it tell us anything about
how our bodies evolved to get
food, and should that impact
our diets?...
•  http://www.colbertnation.com/
the-colbert-report-videos/
263270/february-03-2010/johndurant
Biological Anthropology
•  Human variation
(biological variation
within the human
species)
Archaeology
•  The study of the material
culture and ecological
context of historic and
prehistoric human societies
•  Overview
–  History
–  CRM (cultural resource
management)
–  Terms
–  Methods
–  Dating
–  Ethical issues
–  Archaeology subfields
What happened to this person?
Researchers in the first
two subfields of
anthropology that we
will be covering can often
answer questions about
these odd-seeming
finds…
Biological
Anthropology
and
Archaeology…
Archaeology
Bioarchaeology: a synthesis between the fields of Biological Anthropology
and Archaeoology
Trepanation
Bart Hughes
Archaeology
•  Africa: A History Denied film
Great Zimbabwe
Archaeology
•  The Inca
cloth of an Incan tunic
Inca architecture
Archaeology
•  The Perfect Corpse film
Sociocultural and Linguistic Anthropology
•  Concepts, e.g., cultural relativism, ethnocentrism
•  Brief discussion of the Nacirema
•  World map depictions
Sociocultural and Linguistic Anthropology
•  Terms
•  Ways of grouping
cultures by their traits
–  Band-Tribe-ChiefdomState
–  Kinship
–  Etc.
•  Yanomamö films
emphasizing various
anthropological topics
Sociocultural and Linguistic Anthropology
•  Dead Birds film
Sociocultural and Linguistic Anthropology
•  Linguistics, emphasizing themes in
Pinker s text The Language Instinct
–  Pinker on Colbert, 1st episode:
–  http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/
81914/february-07-2007/steven-pinker
•  Final Yanomamö films emphasizing
missionaries and culture change: My Town
is Ocamo and New Tribes Mission
Roots of Anthropology in Colonialism
•  First Contact film
(Papua New Guinea)
•  Ethnocentrism
•  Cultural Relativism