ANTHROP 1AA3 Lecture 1: What is Anthropology - Lecture1
27 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
What is Anthropology?
• What is Anthropology? • Anthropos = ‘humans’ • Logia = ‘study of’
• The systematic study of humankind
Anthropology is Historical
• How did we come to be the way we are?
• What forces in the past have shaped us?
Anthropology is Comparative
• What do all humans have in common?
• How do we differ?
• What are the reasons for this difference?
Anthropology is Contextual
• What circumstances, environments, and beliefs (= context) shape human
behaviour?
Anthropology is Holistic
• How can we understand the entire picture of the human condition, both
biological and cultural?
The Four Subfields of Anthropology
• Biological anthropology
• Archaeology
• Sociocultural anthropology
• Linguistics
• All have subdivisions, some overlap
Sociocultural Anthropology
• The study of contemporary cultures and societies
• Culture is defined as transmitted, learned behavior
• Dr Petra rethmann – looks at cultural agencies, afterlife of historical,
production history, attends to questions of cultural politics
• Methodology – ethnology & participant observation.
• Ethnography – a description of an aspect of culture within a society
• Usually spend long period fo time with the group they are studying, learning
their language, engaging in activity with them and observing daily behavior
• Traditional view : going off to exotic places, studying other cultures, noe many
look at our own community
• Modern Cultural Anthropology: Local, Regional, Global.
Archaeology
• The study of past societies and their cultures using material culture (e.g.,
tools, ceramics, sites)
• 100’s of years back
• Dr. Andy Roddick – works in bolomenia, he uses ceramic analysis to
investigate how potters learn their craft, how craft was developed and how
was production and distribution contirnbute to culture
• What does the production & use of pottery tell us about past social
organization?
• Prehistoric Archaeology
o Usually no written documents or oral histories
Document Summary
What is anthropology: what is anthropology, anthropos = humans" logia = study of". The four subfields of anthropology: biological anthropology, archaeology, sociocultural anthropology, linguistics, all have subdivisions, some overlap. Evidence comes from artifacts recovered from sites": historical archaeology, work on more recent societies. Archaeology (vs. treasure hunting: rigorously controlled using standard procedures, sampling usually do not excavate the entire site, evidence/artifacts are recorded, labeled, photographed, & mapped systematically, excavation method depends on challenges/problems associated with site. Linguistic anthropology: studies the construction and use of language by human societies, dr. john colarusso he is a historical linguisit, international relationship, nationalism, how language affects. Physical anthropology: dr. megan brickley interested in health research, specializes into metabolic, chronic diseases, bonic disease, studies all aspects of the biology and behavior of the human species (and our closest relatives), past and present. Osteology: study of the skeleton, central to physical anthropology. Interested in the diversity of populations: structure and function of the skeleton.
