Intro to Anthropology Midterm study guide – Flashcards
90 test answers
Unlock all answers in this set
Unlock answers 90question
Biological & Physical Anthropology
answer
The study of humans as biological organisms
Unlock the answer
question
Cultural Anthropology
answer
The study of living human cultures that often includes fieldwork
Unlock the answer
question
Linguistic Anthropology
answer
The study of the structures of human language
Unlock the answer
question
Ethnography
answer
The firsthand, personal study of local settings.
Unlock the answer
question
Ethnology
answer
the comparative, generalizing aspect of cultural anthropology.
Unlock the answer
question
Gene
answer
the basic physical unit of heredity in DNA that leads to the expression of hereditary character.
Unlock the answer
question
mitosis
answer
cell division in which the nucleus divides into nuclei containing the same number of chromosomes
Unlock the answer
question
meiosis
answer
(genetics) cell division that produces reproductive cells in sexually reproducing organisms
Unlock the answer
question
chromosome
answer
a threadlike body in the cell nucleus that carries the genes in a linear order
Unlock the answer
question
homozygous
answer
having identical alleles at corresponding chromosomal loci
Unlock the answer
question
heterozygous
answer
having dissimilar alleles at corresponding chromosomal loci
Unlock the answer
question
dominant allele
answer
an allele whose trait always shows up in the organism when the allele is present
Unlock the answer
question
recessive allele
answer
an allele that is masked when a dominant allele is present
Unlock the answer
question
phenotype
answer
An organism's evident traits, or physical appearance
Unlock the answer
question
genotype
answer
the particular alleles at specified loci present in an organism
Unlock the answer
question
mutation
answer
(genetics) any event that changes genetic structure
Unlock the answer
question
genetic drift
answer
The gradual changes in gene frequencies in a population due to random events
Unlock the answer
question
gene flow
answer
The transmission of genetic material between populations
Unlock the answer
question
four forces of evolution
answer
Mutation, Gene Flow , Genetic Drift, Natural Selection
Unlock the answer
question
natural selection
answer
a natural process resulting in the evolution of organisms best adapted to the environment
Unlock the answer
question
adaptation
answer
The processes by which organisms cope with environmental forces and stresses
Unlock the answer
question
Biological Anthropology
answer
Study of humans as biological organisms
Unlock the answer
question
Cultural anthropology
answer
The study of human culture
Unlock the answer
question
adaptive radiation
answer
Many species emerging from one or few ancient ones
Unlock the answer
question
Directional selection
answer
Natural selection that drives evolutionary change by selecting for a greater or lesser frequency of a given trait in a population
Unlock the answer
question
Stabilizing selection
answer
Selection that maintains a certain phenotype by selecting against deviations from it
Unlock the answer
question
sexual dimorphism
answer
Difference is size, shape, or color between the sexes
Unlock the answer
question
homology
answer
Similarity of traits resulting from shared ancestry
Unlock the answer
question
analogous
answer
Having similar traits due to similar use, not due to shared ancestry
Unlock the answer
question
Convergent evolution
answer
similar form or function brought about by natural selection under similar environments rather than shared ancestry
Unlock the answer
question
population genetics
answer
the study of genetic variation within and between groups of organisms
Unlock the answer
question
Cline
answer
The distribution of a trait or allele across geographic space
Unlock the answer
question
Phylogeny
answer
An evolutionary tree indicating relatedness and divergence of taxonomic groups
Unlock the answer
question
Melanin
answer
A dark pigment produced by the melanocytes of the epidermis, which is the most important component of skin color
Unlock the answer
question
Prosimian
answer
Member of the primate suborder Prosimii that includes the lemurs, lorises, galagos and tarsiers
Unlock the answer
question
Anthropoid
answer
Members of the primate suborder Anthropoidea that includes the monkeys, apes and hominins
Unlock the answer
question
Dirunal
answer
Active during the day
Unlock the answer
question
Hominin
answer
Member of our own human family, past or present
Unlock the answer
question
Brachiation
answer
Mode of arm-hanging and arm-swinging that uses a rotating shoulder to suspend the body of an ape or hominin beneath a branch or to travel between branches
Unlock the answer
question
Participant-Observation
answer
Studying a culture both by participating and observing the actions and statements of its members.
Unlock the answer
question
Characteristics of Culture
answer
Learned, shared, symbolic, all-encompassing, and integrated
Unlock the answer
question
Artifacts
answer
Objects shaped by humans (intentionally or incidentally) that make their culture material and reflect their ideas or needs
Unlock the answer
question
Ethnocentrism
answer
The belief that one's own culture's way of doing something is right, natural, or universal
Unlock the answer
question
Cultural Relativism
answer
The idea that we must understand others' cultural practices on their own terms. The natives know what they're doing.
Unlock the answer
question
Emic
answer
Perspective held my members of a cultural group
Unlock the answer
question
Etic
answer
Perspective held by outsiders through their own ideas and concerns
Unlock the answer
question
Language
answer
A system for the communication, in symbols, of any kind of information
Unlock the answer
question
Symbol
answer
A sound, gesture, or object which a particular culture has associated with a particular meaning. Stop signs.
Unlock the answer
question
Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis
answer
Language shapes what you are able to think
Unlock the answer
question
Dialect
answer
A variant form of a language that reflects a particular region or class yet is similar enough to be mutually intelligible
Unlock the answer
question
Pidgin
answer
A simplified language, often a hybrid of two languages, used for communication between two groups (ruling and ruled)
Unlock the answer
question
Creole
answer
A pidgin language which has fully developed after being learned as a first language by children of pidgin speakers
Unlock the answer
question
Focal Vocabulary
answer
A set of words and distinctions that are particularly important to certain groups such as Eskimos or skiers
Unlock the answer
question
Hunter-Gatherers
answer
Hunting wild animals and gathering wild plant food as a way of life. Characterized by no farming, high mobility, small groups, few possessions, food sharing
Unlock the answer
question
Domestication
answer
The process whereby humans modify the genetic makeup of a plant or animal population to make them better suited to human use
Unlock the answer
question
Pastoralism
answer
A form of subsistence based on caring for herds of domesticated animals before eating them
Unlock the answer
question
Nomadic
answer
Groups who travel with animals on a seasonal pattern and get all other food by trade
Unlock the answer
question
Transhumant
answer
Part of the group travels with the animals and others stay in settled villages growing crops
Unlock the answer
question
Agriculture
answer
the practice of cultivating the land or raising stock
Unlock the answer
question
Mode of Production
answer
A set of social relations through which labor is deployed to wrest energy from nature by means of tools, skills, organizations, and knowledge
Unlock the answer
question
Capitalist Economy
answer
Money buys labor power and a social gap forms between the people involved in the production process
Unlock the answer
question
Market Principle
answer
Means of production (land, labor, resources, technology, and capital) are bought and sold using money to maximize profit. Value is determined by supply and demand
Unlock the answer
question
Redistribution
answer
Operates when goods, services, or their equivalent move from the local level to a center (chief) who manages the surplus
Unlock the answer
question
Generalized Reciprocity
answer
Someone gives to another person and expects nothing concrete or immediate in return
Unlock the answer
question
Balanced Reciprocity
answer
Exchanges between people who are more distantly related where the giver expects something in return
Unlock the answer
question
Negative Reciprocity
answer
Exchanges in which someone attempts to get something for as little as possible
Unlock the answer
question
Potlatch
answer
Sponsors traditionally give away food, blankets, pieces of copper, or other items in return for prestige
Unlock the answer
question
Band
answer
A type of political organization that is autonomous at the local level; bands are kin-based and egalitarian
Unlock the answer
question
Tribe
answer
composed of a number of bands
Unlock the answer
question
Chiefdom
answer
a type of political organization that is regional, kin-based and hierarchical
Unlock the answer
question
State
answer
a type of political organization that is regionalized, bureaucratic, and hierarchical
Unlock the answer
question
Paleoanthropology
answer
The study of hominid evolution and human life as revealed by the fossil record
Unlock the answer
question
Hominids
answer
humans and other creatures that walk upright
Unlock the answer
question
Australopithecines
answer
Any of several extinct human like primates that lived from about 4 million years ago to 750,000 years ago. The name means "southern ape", which refers to the area in Africa where they were primarily found. Skull evidence suggests largely vegetarian
Unlock the answer
question
Paleolithic age
answer
Second part of the Stone Age beginning about 750,00 to 500,000 years BC and lasting until the end of the last ice age about 8,500 years BC
Unlock the answer
question
Opposable thumb
answer
Thumbs that enables grasping objects and using tools
Unlock the answer
question
Homo habilis
answer
Extinct species of upright east African hominid having some advanced humanlike characteristics
Unlock the answer
question
Homo Erectus
answer
Extinct species of primitive hominid with upright stature but small brains
Unlock the answer
question
Neanderthal
answer
Extinct robust human of Middle Paleolithic in Europe and western Asia
Unlock the answer
question
Racial classification
answer
The attempt to assign humans to discrete categories supposedly based on common ancestry
Unlock the answer
question
Explanatory Explanations of "race"
answer
Natural selection in particular environments led to variation in the amount of melanin in the skin cells, changes skin color
Unlock the answer
question
Anthropological interest in Primatology
answer
The study of the cultural and behavioral traits that primates share with humans
Unlock the answer
question
Archeological Methodology
answer
Two primary methods are systematic surveys and excavation
Unlock the answer
question
Principle of superposition
answer
In an undisturbed sequence of strata, the oldest layer is on the bottom
Unlock the answer
question
Stratigraphy
answer
Determining the age of undisturbed soil strata according to the depth and order of their deposition
Unlock the answer
question
taxonomy
answer
The classification of organisms based on their relationships and resemblances
Unlock the answer
