Anthropology Exam 1 – Flashcards

the holistic, scientific study of humankind- holistic study of all humankind from its origin to the present

the subfield of anthropology that recovers evidence of the human cultural past and reconstructs past cultural systems- study of material remains of past human behavior- get materials from: refuse- trash, architecture- foundations or stains, shipwrecks- see what’s being traded- can trace routes- development of ships, landscapes- where people choose to settle- how people manipulated it

the subfield of anthropology that studies humans as a biological species. Focus on physical, biological human- genetics, evolution, fossil record, modern primates
Physical anthropology- the impact of culture on the human body

the subfield of anthropology that focuses on human cultural behavior and cultural systems and the variation in cultural expression among human groups. Study of culture and behavior- all aspects of life have affects and are culture- done in living communities
How people’s behaviors adapt to different situations
How people will interpret there cultural upbringing

going into living communities- description of a cultural system based on fieldwork within that culture

making value judgments about another culture from the perspective of one’s own cultural system

studying another culture from its point of view without imposing our own cultural views

father of American Anthropology- redefined race

In ethnography, the technique of learning a people’s culture through social participation and personal observation within the community being studied, as well as interviews and discussion with individual members of the group over an extended period of time.

changes in frequency (number) over time

the subfield of anthropology that studies language as a human characteristic and attempts to explain the differences among human languages and the relationship between a language and the society that uses it
study of language as a human characteristic and attempt to explain the differences among the 3,000 or so existing human languages
Physical features- mouth, throat, brain
Historical linguistics- how language has changed over time and how that reflects our different culture
Culture- how culture effects language- texting, internet

the subfield of anthropology applied to legal matters. Usually involved in identifying skeletal remains and assessing the time and cause of death.

the collective interpretation of and response to the natural and cultural environments in which a group of people lives- their assumptions about those environments and values derived from those assumptions- a set of assumptions about the way things are

focused on living in a community of goods and absolute pacifism, 19th century found a new home in North Ameria

assuming an interrelationship among the parts of a subject

focusing on the interaction of biology and culture

comparing cultures or societies- similarities and differences

ideas and behaviors that are learned and transmitted. Nongenetic means of adaptation.

a group of organisms living together in an ordered community. In the case of humans, a group with a shared culture.

physical, tangible aspect of culture- desk, phone- how we interact with material affects how we behave

the process of conducting scientific inquiry- use a theory to develop a hypothesis- testing hypothesis

the process of developing a general explanation from specific observations

suggesting specific data that would be found if a hypothesis were true. Works from the general to the specific

ideas that are taken on faith and cannot be scientifically tested

how people interact with the world, people and their environment

field- place you go to do observations- fieldwork involves a goal or a question and collecting data- often among a single culture or site but can be multi-sited

extragenetic transmission

observed transmission, imitation

the idea that human behaviors have a biological basis with minimal influence from culture

a theory that explains human behavior and ideas as shaped mainly by learning

pre written record

the archaeology of a society that has written records- spread of Europeans- 1492 on

something that stands for something else, with no necessary link between the symbol and its meaning

any object that has been consciously manufactured. Usually refers to human made objects but now includes some items made by other primates.

-a set of scientific procedures for recovering evidence from the ground

plot a map of (land)

the systematic removal of layers of earth

the study of the earth’s strata, the layers of rock and soil under the surface of the earth or the socioeconomic levels within a society

youngest layers on top and oldest on the bottom

dating that indicates the age of one item in comparison to another

dating that gives a specific age, year, or range of years for an object or a site. – radio carbon dating- C14

chronological sequence- assume gradual change- similar objects closer together

a classification using nested sets of categories of increasing specificity

Swedish botanist (1707-1778) devised a system of names that would reflect the relationship of plants and animals- system of nested categories of increasing specificity

a tree diagram used to illustrate phylogenetic relationships

a behavior having most but not all of the characteristics of a cultural behavior

a large-brained, mostly tree-dwelling mammal with three dimensional color vision and grasping hands. Humans are primates. A primate is a mammal adapted to an arboreal environment through well-developed vision, manual dexterity, and large, complex brains that rely on learned behavior. The latter is aided by the birth of few offspring and the direct and extensive care of those offspring during a long period of dependency while they socialized into groups based on differential relationships among individuals.

located in the Americas, 2133 dental structure, with gripping tails includes Spider, Howler, Capuchin, Squirrel Monkeys, Tamarins, and Marmosets

located in asia and africa, 2123 dental structure, non-gripping tails, include Baboons, Mandrills, Macaques, and Colobus monkeys.

Found in Equatorial Africa Knuckle-walking, brachiation, sometimes bipedal Less sexually dimorphic Omnivores, organized hunts: M and F group hunting effort Small – large mammals Share meat

a category of large and tailless primates that includes orangutans, gorillas, chimps, and bonobos and humans

gibbons and siamongs; arboreal, brachiators (hand over hand swinging); small body size, extremely long arms relative to body and legs;

having the ability to grasp, especially by wrapping the hand or foot around an object

the ability to touch the thumb to the tips of the other fingers on the same hand

moving using arm over arm swinging

the kind and number and arrangement of teeth (collectively) in a person or animal

ability to merge visual images from both eyes, which provides depth perception and a three-dimensional view of the world

adapted to life in the trees

an animal that feeds on both animal and vegetable substances

any animal that feeds chiefly on grass and other plants

(1809-1871)- idea of natural selection- evolutionary change based on the differential reproductive success of individuals within a species

(1823-1913)- English naturalist- came up with evolution at the same time as Darwin

evolutionary change based on the differential reproductive success of individuals within a species

the idea that present day geological process can also explain the history of the earth. Can be applied to biological change as well.

the idea that the history of the earth and its life is accounted for by a series of global catastrophes

inheritance of acquired characteristics- the incorrect idea that adaptive traits acquired during an organisms lifetime can be passed on it its offspring

principles of population (1798)- all organisms out produce their food supply- when this occurs population check must happen- a high degree of mortality keeps population growth at an even rate

mutation, genetic drift, gene flow, natural selection

used the phrase survival of the fittest

cultural/ social- used to show superiority

• Modern body proportions
• Increased brain size (within range of modern humans, with Neandertals actually having larger average brain size)
• Neanderthals – cave paintings, buried dead away from camp site (Lascaux)
• Limited evidence of symbolic behavior seen in later forms (e.g., Neandertals) – huge bodies.
• Range expanded into northern portions of Europe and western Asia

modern humans and African apes and their direct ancestors.

under the cladistic taxonomy, humans and our direct ancestors. Habitually bipedal primates

walking on two legs

Very small hominin found in Indonesia. They show a combination of modern and australopith characteristics. Small size could be due to island dwarfism or microcephalism

extinct species of primitive hominid with upright stature but small brain

the genus of bipeds that appeared 2.5 million years ago characterized by increasing brain size compared to earlier bipeds. The genus is divided into various species based on features such as brain size, skull shape, and cultural capabilities

The first to walk on two feet,

They were the most common technology until about 12,000 years ago.

multiregional (originate in lots of places) vs recent African origins (modern humans walked out of Africa) vs genetic replacement (modern humans walked out of Africa and could interbreed with regional archaic humans)

Care of old and sick, cosmology and ritual (burial) art and andornment (pierced teeth, incised tooth)

in biology, the same as subspecies. In culture, categories that classify and account for human diversity

a geographic continuum in the variation of a trait

skin color is adaptive to the physical environment

human differences= separate human species- origins in different places around the world

origin from a single source- degeneration- decline to various degrees

A rule that automatically places the children of a union or mating between members of different socioeconomic groups in the less privileged group.

…

human ancestors and human evolution

studying our closest relatives to learn about our ancestors or to learn about disease

crime scene- why the person did something?-the subfield of anthropology applied to legal matters. Usually involved in identifying skeletal remains and assessing the time and cause of death.

how people try to treat illness

the ideas and behaviors that are learned and transmitted between generations- culture is a set of learned behaviors and ideas that human beings acquire as members of society – use culture to adapt to and transform the world in which we live- learned and involves concepts, generalizations, abstractions, assumptions, and ideas and shared through the extra genetic transmission of symbols and realized through the use of artifacts, both concrete and abstract

based on presence or absence

fifth field- specialize in different areas- practical application- often part of development studies

how people reflect on their own culture

a classification using nested sets of categories of increasing specificity- 7 categories: kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species- reflects evolutionary relationships

a classification system based on existing phenotypic features and adaptions

a classification system based on order of branching rather than on present similarities and differences

an unmodified natural object used as a tool

first, deepest, and oldest part in self- preservation behaviors like mating, aggressiveness and territoriality

a portion of the brain involved in emotions such as fear, rage, and care of young- also areas dealing with basic sexual function and sense of smell- also involved with some aspects of memory

a portion of the brain involved in conscious thought, spatial reasoning, and sensory perception

idea that species change over time and have a common ancestry

remains of life forms from the past

layers of rock and soil under the earth’s surface

differential success to survive and reproduce

random change in the inheritance of material, affecting genes, chromosomes- spontaneous, unpredictable change

interbreeding of populations- often in geographic proximity

changes in allele frequencies due to random events- fission and founder effect

how strong the jaw muscles

how standing

muscle attachments

brain size

specialized or generalized