question

Anthropological Lingusitics

answer

the anthropological study of languages

question

Anthropology

answer

a discipline that studies humans, focusing on the study of differences and similarities, both biological and cultural, in human populations. Concerned with typical biological and cultural characteristics of human populations in all parts of the world

question

Applied (practicing) Anthropology

answer

The branch of anthropology that concerns itself with applying anthropological knowledge to achieve practical goals, usually in the service of an agency outside the traditional academic setting

question

Archaeology

answer

The branch of anthropology that seeks to reconstruct the daily life and customs of peoples who lived in the past and to trace and explain cultural changes. Often lacking written records for study, archaeologists must try to reconstruct history from the material remains of human cultures

question

Biological (physical) Anthropology

answer

The study of humans as biological organisms, dealing with the emergence and evolution of humans and with contemporary biological variations among human populations

question

Cross-Cultural Researcher

answer

An ethnologist who uses ethnographic data about many societies to test possible explanations of cultural variation to discover general patterns about cultural traits - What is variable, why traits vary, and what the consequences of the variability might be

question

Cultural Anthropology

answer

the study of cultural variation and universals in the past and present

question

Descriptive (structural) lingustics

answer

the study of how languages are constructed

question

Ethnographer

answer

a person who spends some time living with, interviewing, and observing a group of people to describe their customs

question

Ethnography

answer

a description of a society's customary behaviors and ideas

question

Ethnohistorian

answer

an ethnologist who uses historical documents to study how a particular culture has changed over time

question

Ethnology

answer

The study of how and why recent cultures differ and are similar

question

Fossils

answer

the hardened remains or impressions of plants and animals that lived in the past

question

Historical Archaeology

answer

A speciality within archaeology that studies the material remains of recent peoples who left written records

question

Historical Linguistics

answer

The study of how languages change over time

question

Holistic

answer

refers to an approach that studies many aspects of a multifaceted system

question

Homo Sapiens

answer

all-living people belong to one biological species, which means that all human populations on Earth can successfully interbreed.

question

Human Paleontology or Paleoanthropology

answer

the study of the emergence of humans and their later physical evolution

question

Human Variation

answer

the study of how and why contemporary human populations vary biologically

question

Prehistory

answer

the time before written records

question

Primates

answer

divided into the two suborders of prosimians and anthropoids

question

Primatologist

answer

the study of primates

question

Sociolinguistics

answer

the study of cultural and subcultural patterns of speaking in different social contexts

question

Behavioral Ecology

answer

Typically tries to understand contemporary human behavior using evolutionary principles. In addition to to the principle of individual selection, point to the importance of analyzing economic tradeoffs because individuals have limited time and resources

question

Cultural Ecology

answer

the analysis of the relationship between a culture and it's environment

question

Dual-Inheritance Theory

answer

in contrast to evolutionary ecological perspectives, this theory gives much more importance to culture as part of the evolutionary process. Refers to both genes and culture playing different, but nonetheless important and interactive roles in transmitting traits to future generations

question

Ethnoscience

answer

an approach that attempts to derive rules of thought from the logical analysis of ethnographic data

question

Eugenics

answer

selectively breeding humans with desirable characteristics and preventing those with undesirable ones from having offspring

question

Evolutionary Psychology

answer

a type of evolutionary ecological approach that is particularly interested in universal human psychology. It is argued that human psychology was primarily adapted to the environment that characterized most of human history - the hunting-gathering way of life

question

Functionalism

answer

the theoretical orientation that looks for the part that some aspect of culture or social life plays in maintaining a cultural system

question

General Evolution

answer

the notion that higher forms of culture arise from a generally supersede lower forms

question

Genus

answer

a group of related species

question

Group Selection

answer

natural selection of group characteristics

question

Hermeneutics

answer

the study of meaning

question

Individual Selection

answer

natural selection of individual characteristics

question

Political Economy

answer

the study of how external forces, particularly powerful state societies, explain the way a society changes and adapts

question

Sociobiology

answer

systematic study of the biological causes of human behavior

question

Specific Evolution

answer

the particular sequence of change and adaptation of a society in a given environment

question

Structuralism

answer

the theoretical orientation that human culture is a surface representation of the underlying structure of the human mind

question

Theoretical Orientation

answer

a general attitude about how phenomena are to be explained

question

absolute dating or chronometric dating

answer

a method of dating fossils in which the actual age of a deposit or specimen is measured.

question

40 Ar- 39 Ar dating

answer

used in conjunction with potassium-argon dating, this method gets around the problem of needing different rock samples to estimate potassium and argon. A nuclear reactor is used to convert the 39 Ar to 39 K, on the basis of which the amount of 40 K can be estimated. In this way, both argon and potassium can be estimated from the same rock sample

question

artifact

answer

any object made by a human

question

context

answer

the relationships between and among artifacts, ecofacts, fossils, and features

question

culture history

answer

a history of the cultures that lived in a given area over time. Until the 1950's, was a primary goal of anthropological research

question

ecofacts

answer

natural items that humans have used; things such as the remains of animals eaten by humans or plant pollens found on archaeological sites are examples

question

excavation

answer

the careful removal of the archaeological deposits; the recovery of artifacts, ecofacts, fossils, and features from the soil in which those deposits have been buried

question

explanation

answer

an answer to a why question. In science, there are two kinds of explanation that researchers try to achieve: associations and theories

question

falsification

answer

showing that a theory seems to be wrong by finding that implications or predictions derivable from it are not consistent with objectively collected data

question

features

answer

artifacts of human manufacture that cannot be removed from an archaeological site, Hearths, storage pits, and buildings are examples

question

fieldwork

answer

firsthand experience with the people being studied and the usual means by which anthropological information is obtained. Regardless of other methods that anthropologists may use, this is usually involves percipient-observation for an extended period of time, often a year or so

question

fossils

answer

the hardened remains or impressions of plants and animals that lived in the past

question

half-life

answer

the time it takes for half of the atoms of a radioactive substance to decay into atoms of a different substance

question

hypotheses

answer

predictions, which may be derived from theories about how variables are related

question

indicator artifacts or ecofacts

answer

items that changed relatively rapidly and which, thus, can be used to indicate the relative age of associated items

question

laws

answer

associations or relationships that almost all scientists accept

question

lithics

answer

the technical name for tools made from stone

question

measure

answer

to describe how something compares with other things on some scale of variation

question

operational definiton

answer

a description of the procedure that is followed in measuring a variable

question

participant - observation

answer

living among the people being studied -- observing, questioning, and (when possible) taking part in the important events of the group. Writing or otherwise recording notes on observations, questions asked and answered, and things to check out later are parts of participant-observation

question

potassium - argon dating (K - Ar)

answer

a chronometric dating method that uses the rate of decay of a radioactive form of potassium into argon to date samples from 5,000 years to 3 billion years old. This method dates the minerals and rocks in a deposit, not the fossils themselves

question

probability value (p - value)

answer

the likelihood that an observed result could have occurred by chance

question

radiocarbon, or carbon - 14, dating

answer

a dating method uses the decay of carbon 14 to date organic remains. It is reliable for dating once-living matter up to 50,000 years old

question

random sample

answer

a sample in which all cases selected have had an equal chance to be included

question

relative dating

answer

a method of dating fossils that determines the age of a specimen or deposit relative to a known specimen or deposit

question

sampling universe

answer

the list of cases to be sampled from

question

sites

answer

locations where the material remains of human activity have been preserved in a way that archaeologists or paleoanthropologist can recover them

question

statistical association

answer

a relationship or correlation between two or more variables that is unlikely to be due to chance

question

statistical significant

answer

refers to a result that would occur very rarely by chance. The result (and stringer ones) would occur fewer than 5 times out of 100 by chance

question

stratified

answer

an archaeological deposit that contains successive layers or strata

question

stratigraphy

answer

the study of how different rock formations and fossils are laid down in successive layers or strata. Older layers are generally deeper or lower than more recent layers

question

theoretical construct

answer

something that cannot be observed or verified directly

question

theories

answer

explanations of associations or laws

question

variables

answer

a thing or quantity that varies

question

adaptive customs

answer

cultural traits that enhance survival and reproductive success in a particular environment

question

allele

answer

one member of a pair of genes

question

balancing selection

answer

a type of selection that occurs when a heterozygous combination of alleles is positively favored even though a homozygous combination is disfavored

question

chromosome

answer

paired rod - shaped structures within a cell nucleus containing the genes that transmit traits from one generation to the next

question

cline

answer

the gradually increasing (or decreasing) frequency of a gene from one end of region to another

question

crossing-over

answer

exchanges of sections of chromosomes form one chromosome to another

question

directional selection

answer

a type of natural selection that increases the frequency of a trait (the trait is said to be positively favored or adaptive)

question

DNA

answer

a long, two-stranded molecule in the genes that directs the makeup of an organism according to the instructions in its genetic code

question

dominant

answer

the allele of a gene pair that is always phenotypically expressed in the heterozygous form

question

genes

answer

chemical unit of hereditary

question

gene flow

answer

the process by which genes pass from the gene pool of one population to that of another through mating and reproduction

question

genetic drift

answer

the various random processes that affect gene frequencies in small, relatively isolated populations

question

genotype

answer

the total complement of inherited traits or genes of an organism

question

heterozygous

answer

processing differing genes or alleles in corresponding locations on a pair of chromosomes

question

homozygous

answer

processing two identical genes or alleles in corresponding locations on a pair of chromosomes

question

hybridization

answer

the creation of a viable offspring from the mating of two different species

question

maladaptive customs

answer

cultural traits that diminish the changes of survival and reproduction in a particular environment

question

meiosis

answer

the process by which reproductive cells are formed. In this process of division, the number of chromosomes in the newly formed cells is reduced by half, so that when fertilization occurs the resulting organism has the normal number of chromosomes appropriate to its species, rather than double that number

question

messenger RNA (mRNA)

answer

a type of ribonucleic acid that is used in the cell to copy the DNA code for use in protein synthesis

question

mitosis

answer

cellular reproduction or growth involving the duplication of chromosome pairs

question

mutation

answer

a change in the DNA sequence, producing an altered gene

question

natural selection

answer

the outcome of processes that affect the frequencies of traits in a particular environment. Traits that enhance survival and reproductive success increase in frequency over time

question

normalizing selection

answer

the type of natural selection that removes harmful genes that arose by mutation

question

phenotype

answer

the observable physical appearance of an organism, which may or may not reflect its genotype or total genetic constitution

question

recessive

answer

an allele phenotypically suppressed in the heterozygous form and expressed only in the homozygous form

question

ribosome

answer

a structure in the cell used in making proteins

question

segregation

answer

the random sorting of chromosomes in meiosis

question

sociobiology

answer

systematic study of the biological causes of human behavior.

question

speciation

answer

the development of a new species

question

species

answer

a population that consists of organisms able to interbreed and produce viable and fertile offspring

question

anthropoids

answer

one of the two suborders of primates; includes monkeys, apes, and humans

question

arboreal

answer

adapted to living in trees

question

bilophodont

answer

having four cusps on the molars that form two parallel ridges. This is the common molar pattern of Old World monkeys

question

bipedalism

answer

locomotion in which an animal walks on its two hind legs

question

canines

answer

the cone-shaped teeth immediately behind the incisors; used by most primates to seize food and in fighting and display

question

catarrhines

answer

the group of anthropoids with narrow noses and nostrils that downward. Include monkeys of the Old World, as well as apes and humans

question

cercopithecoids

answer

Old World Monkeys

question

cerebral cortex

answer

the "gray matter" of the brain; the center of speech and other higher mental activities

question

diastema

answer

a gap between the canine and first premolar found in apes

question

diurnal

answer

active during the day

question

hominoids

answer

the group of catarrhines that includes both apes and humans

question

hominids

answer

the group of hominoids consisting of humans and their direct ancestors. contains at least two genera

question

hylobates

answer

the family of hominoids that includes gibbons and siamangs; often referred to as the lesser apes

question

incisors

answer

the front teeth; used for holding or seeing food and preparing it for chewing by the other teeth

question

knuckle walking

answer

a locomotor pattern of primates such as the chimpanzee and gorilla in which the weight of the upper part of the body is supported on the thickly padded knuckles of the hands

question

molars

answer

the large teeth behind the premolars at the back of the jaw; used for chewing and grinding food

question

nocturnal

answer

active during the night

question

omnivorous

answer

eating both meat and vegetation

question

opposable thumb

answer

a thumb that can touch the tips of all the other fingers

question

platyrrhines

answer

the group of anthropoids that have broad, flat-bridged noses, with nostrils facing towards; these monkeys are currently found only in the New World

question

pongids

answer

hominoids who's members include both living and extinct apes

question

prehensile

answer

adapted for grasping objects

question

premolars

answer

the teeth immediately behind the canines; used in chewing, grinding, and shearing food

question

primatology

answer

the study of primates

question

prosimians

answer

literally "pre monkeys," one of the two suborders of primates; includes lemurs, lorises, and tarsiers

question

quadrupeds

answer

animals that walk on all fours

question

sexual dimorphism

answer

a marked difference in size and appearance between males and females of a species

question

terrestrial

answer

adapted to living on grounds

question

vertical clinging and leaping

answer

a locomotor pattern characteristic of several primates, including tarsiers and galagos. The animal normally rests by clinging to a branch in a vertical position and uses its hind limbs alone to push off from one vertical position to another

question

Y-5 pattern

answer

refers to the pattern of cusps on human molars. When looked at from the top, the cusps of the molars form a Y opening toward the cheek

question

holisitc

answer

Anthropology takes a _____ approach that includes a wide geographic and historical range.

question

milk intolerance

answer

What explanation did American educators give when they discovered African American schoolchildren rarely drank milk?

question

sociological relationships

answer

a human paleontologist would be least interested in...

question

cultural anthropology

answer

Archaeology is a sub field of

question

historical linguistics

answer

The study of how languages change through time and how they may be related is...

question

sociolinguistics

answer

The study of how language is used in social contexts is called

question

work in the field for long periods of time

answer

an ethnographer would...

question

study the way in which cultures have changed over time

answer

an ethnohistorian would...

question

applied or practicing anthropologist

answer

Which of the following may be trained in any or all of the subfields of Anthropology?

question

primates

answer

Prosimians, monkeys, apes, and humans are all members of the order of

question

humans

answer

Anthropology is literally the study of

question

in all sub fields of anthropology

answer

Applied anthropologists practice

question

ethnologist

answer

The _____ seeks to understand how and why peoples of today, and the recent past, differ in their customary ways of thinking and acting

question

how insect colonies are organized

answer

Anthropology includes all of the following except a. why contemporary peoples have different cultures b. how humans vary biologically c. how insect colonies are organized d. when humans first appeared on the earth

question

society to society

answer

The distinctive feature of cultural anthropology is its interest in how all aspects of human existence vary from

question

specialize in one certain topic or area

answer

Compared to anthropologists of previous years, an anthropologist today is more likely to

question

There was little improvement

answer

What did Elizabeth M. Brumfield discover about the standard of living of local people after the Aztec Empire had absorbed them?

question

1800's

answer

Anthropology is a comparatively young discipline. It was only in the late ______ that anthropologists began to go live with people in faraway places

question

applied anthropology

answer

Which of the following is NOT usually considered one of the four main subfields of anthropology?

question

human

answer

From primate studies, biologists try to discover characteristics that are distinctly _________.

question

3

answer

To understand better the biological variations observable among contemporary human populations, biological anthropologists use the principles and techniques of at least ______ other disciplines.

question

sociolinguist

answer

The __________ is interested in what people speak about and how they interact conversationally.

question

human paleontology

answer

Which of the following would not be considered part of cultural anthropology?

question

more likely to study cultures older than 5000 years

answer

Compared to the historian, the archaeologist is...

question

dinosaur bones

answer

Which of the following is least likely to interest an archaeologist?

question

unwritten languages

answer

unlike other linguists, anthropological linguists are primarily interested in

question

draw on a database principally of observations and interviews with living people

answer

unlike archaeologists, ethnologists...

question

describe a given society based on their own fieldwork

answer

Unlike ethnologists, ethnographers

question

helping us determine which culture traits are the best

answer

The study of Anthropology may be useful for all of the following except: a. giving us a sense of humility about our own culture's failings. b. helping us avoid misunderstandings between people. c. giving us a better understanding of humankind. d. helping us determine which culture traits are the best

question

it studies not only all varieties of people, but many aspects of human life as well

answer

In Anthropology, what makes the holistic approach to the study of humans so useful?

question

humans lived then and knowledge of their way of life can help us today

answer

Why should we bother studying prehistory?

question

biological, archaeology, ethnology

answer

Of the five subfields of anthropology, which one arouses the most curiosity about a human population?

question

a. construct dictionaries and rules of grammar to understand the language

answer

Anthropologists doing fieldwork would sometimes encounter cultures with no written language. What would they then do?

question

b. it takes that long to collect data for a detailed description of customary behavior

answer

Why do ethnographers typically spend at least a year living with the people they are studying?

question

a. it includes what people speak about b. it includes how people interact conversationally c. it includes attitudes towards speakers of the language

answer

. How can language have social aspects?

question

a. applied anthropology explicitly tries to make anthropological knowledge useful

answer

. What is so attractive about applied anthropology as a career choice for new anthropologists?

question

a. over time, the discipline grew and expanded its knowledge base requiring well defined skills

answer

Why did specialization in anthropology develop?

question

c. if we want to understand humans, it is important to study them in all times and places

answer

What makes anthropology relevant to life today?

question

a. our actions and beliefs are too individualistic b. humans are only understandable in other worldly terms c. some people do not believe in scientific principles

answer

Why do some people feel it is impossible to study human behavior scientifically?

Anthropology 201 Vocabulary Exam 1 – Flashcards

Unlock all answers in this set

Haven't found what you were looking for?

Search for samples, answers to your questions and flashcards