...Anthropology – derived from the Greek word anthrope which means man; and logy which means science. -- it is a science that deals with the origins, physical and cultural development, social characteristics, social customs and beliefs of mankind. -- regarded as the “the science of man and his works.” BRANCHES OF ANTHROPOLOGY 1. Physical Anthropology – deals with the origin and evolutionary process of man. 2. Cultural Anthropology – deals with the study of man’s behavior and how he carries out and adapts to the various activities of everyday life. * Archaeology – this deals with the study and analysis of ancient culture pertaining to prehistoric people, their dwelling, artifacts, inscriptions and movements. * Ethnology – analyzes culture, especially in regard to their historical development and the similarities and dissimilarities between them. * Linguistics – is concerned with man’s literate or non-literate and takes up interrelation between language of a certain people and various aspects of culture. EVOLUTION Charles Darwin – proposed the mechanism of natural selection to account for the evolution of species. Basic Principles of the Natural Selection 1. Every species is composed of a variety of individuals, some which are better adapted to their environment than the others. 2. Offspring inherits traits from their parents at least to some degree. 3. Since better adapted individuals generally produce more offspring over the...
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...Throughout the primate world, there is one species in particular that occupies a large space in the hearts of many. The beloved orangutan has been the star of the show in many forms of media including television and film, which helps to explain why they are so loved and appreciated. Despite this admiration for the orangutan, they are facing an impending crisis that could potentially eliminate all traces of their species- for good. Orangutans, according to Meijaard, Wich, Ancrenaz & Marshall (2012) are, “among the most iconic species in wildlife conservation.” (p. 29) This is due to the aforementioned factors and the exposure in which this species receives, which, in some ways, is much more than a plethora of other primate species. As well, the conservation efforts surrounding orangutans have become widely recognized due to the urgency of this impending crisis. The important question that accompanies all of this chaos surrounding orangutans in this present time still remains- why is this even important? And ultimately, why is this important for anthropology? Despite the darkness that surrounds the potential loss of another species due to humankind, there are many reasons as to why the conservation of orangutans is incredibly important. The first reason as to why...
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...Biological Anthropology is the study of human biology within the framework of evolution. There are four subfields of Biological Anthropology; genetics, human variation, paleoanthropology, and primatology. Primatology is the study of non-human primates and I find it the most interesting of the four subfields. The study of Primatology focuses on the biological and psychological aspects of non-human primates. Also it looks at the similarities shared between humans and primates. Primatologists focus on studying and conducting research on primates in three main ways; field study, laboratory study, and through captivity. In captivity, they try to replicate natural primate habitat in a controlled captive setting. This is one of the most effective ways to study primates because scientists are able to watch how primates would normally act in the wild but they have continual access to them and the also the ability to control their environment. Lastly the social and cultural aspects of primates are studied heavily. For example the individual self versus social self of primates are compared heavily to humans to try and give greater insight on human nature. There are four main groups of types of primates; Prosimians, New World Monkeys, Old World Monkeys, and Apes. Prosimians are considered the most primitive of all primates and are found in Madagascar. They are made up of Lemurs, Lorises, Galagos, and Tarsiers. The reason that they are considered the most primitive is because of their...
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...Mid Term Essay Felicia Deremer Anth100 APUS Kristie Martin Mid Term Essay Anthropology is unique due to its concerning human nature which is broken down into four different subfields. The four major fields are Biological, Cultural, Linguistic and Archaeology anthropology all four fields have a very diverse approach to the study of humans. For example Cultural anthropologist are more focused on things like social and religious beliefs within the human species. While Biological (Physical) anthropologist are interested in the evolution of humans. Linguistic anthropologist study languages within the human’s species. And lastly Archaeology anthologists studies humans by fossil remains. While even though all four sub fields study the human with different approaches they all still use a scientific method in their researches to study human kind. I’m a primate. You’re a primate everyone reading this is a primate. We hear humans are primates, but what does that mean that humans are ancestors to apes? No not exactly it just means that we share similar traits with primates such as apes and chimpanzees. According to the Smithsonian magazine “humans share more DNA with lemurs, monkeys, and apes than they do with any other mammals.” Carl Linnaeus was the first to classify humans with monkeys and apes in his 18th century taxonomic system. So now that we know that we similar apes what traits do we really share. Well first vision humans an apes can both see color. The...
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...Biological Anthropology is the study of human biology within the framework of evolution. There are four subfields of Biological Anthropology; genetics, human variation, paleoanthropology, and primatology. Primatology is the study of non-human primates and I find it the most interesting of the four subfields. The study of Primatology focuses on the biological and psychological aspects of non-human primates. Also it looks at the similarities shared between humans and primates. Primatologists focus on studying and conducting research on primates in three main ways; field study, laboratory study, and through captivity. In captivity, they try to replicate natural primate habitat in a controlled captive setting. This is one of the most effective ways to study primates because scientists are able to watch how primates would normally act in the wild but they have continual access to them and the also the ability to control their environment. Lastly the social and cultural aspects of primates are studied heavily. For example the individual self versus social self of primates are compared heavily to humans to try and give greater insight on human nature. There are four main groups of types of primates; Prosimians, New World Monkeys, Old World Monkeys, and Apes. Prosimians are considered the most primitive of all primates and are found in Madagascar. They are made up of Lemurs, Lorises, Galagos, and Tarsiers. The reason that they are considered the most primitive is because of their...
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...Midterm Exam Assessment Essay: “Chimpanzees are Human’s Closest Living Non-human Primate Relatives” Table of Contents Answer to letter A……………………………………………………………………..Pages 2 to 4 Answer to letter B………………………………………………………………………Pages 4 to 7 Answer to letter C………………………………………………………………………Pages 7 to 8 References…………………………………………………………………………………Page 9 For many years, scientists have supported through DNA and behavioral observation that chimpanzees are human’s closest relatives. Also, the advance in technology has enable scientists to find similarities and differences between humans and chimpanzees. DNA has revealed that Homo sapiens and chimpanzees are 98.5 to 99 percent identical. If an individual observes a chimpanzee, he or she will be surprised with the emotional, behavioral, and physical similarities one shares with the chimpanzees. A) The evidence that supports the statement that chimpanzees are Human’s closest living non-human Primate Relatives are DNA and the chimpanzee’s cultural behavior. DNA studies have shown that Homo sapiens and chimpanzees share 99 percent of identical DNA. In the article, “What Makes Us Human?” Katherine S. Pollard focuses on the 1 percent of DNA that makes humans and chimpanzees different. However, the findings revealed a closer relationship between humans and chimpanzees, and explanations of how genes have mutated throughout time. Pollard reports that the human accelerated region 1 (HAR1) “might be part of a gene new to science that is...
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...Primate Size and Sexual Dimorphism Sexual Dimorphism in Primate Evolution by J. Michael Plavcan and Correlates of Sexual Dimorphism in Primates: Ecological and Size Variables by Walter Leutenegger and James Cheverud are very similar articles for their respective journals, but do come to a major disagreement within their articles. The agreements come when discussing which primates are monogamous and polygynous, why this is the case, and why sexual dimorphism will continue at a forever-growing rate through time. Plavcan disagrees with Leutnegger and Cheverud on one key fundamental issue, saying that the study of sexual dimorphism as it relates to the size of primates, their mating system, and how this came to be. Similarities Plavcan, Leutnegger, and Cheverud reached the same conclusion when correlating the size of the primate and the likelihood of that primate being monogamous or polygynous. Quite simply, the bigger the primate, the more likely they are to be polygynous. The three cite a few reasons for this. The first reason is because of sexual selection. Polygynous males often fight for the affection of female primates and the bigger the primate, the more likely they are to succeed. This is why hominoids such as apes are polygynous, whereas smaller primates like Gibbons stay with one mate throughout their lives. The three scientists also do not consider it a coincidence that males are much larger and more advanced in their evolution of dimorphism. Consider the dental...
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...Cultural Anthropology/Introduction Cultural Anthropology is the study of human cultures, their beliefs, practices, values, ideas, technologies, economies and other domains of social and cognitive organization. This field is based primarily on cultural understanding gained through first hand experience, or participant observation within living populations of humans. What is Anthropology? Anthropology is the scientific study of human beings as social organisms interacting with each other in their environment. Anthropology can be defined as the study of human nature, human society, and the human past. It is a scholarly discipline that aims to describe in the broadest possible sense what it means to be human. Anthropologists are interested in comparison. To make substantial and accurate comparisons between cultures, a generalization of humans requires evidence from the wide range of human societies. Anthropologists are in direct contact with the sources of their data, thus field work is a crucial component. The field of Anthropology, although fairly new as an academic field, has been used for centuries. Anthropologists are convinced that explanations of human actions will be superficial unless they acknowledge that human lives are always entangled in complex patterns of work and family, power and meaning. While it is a holistic field, anthropology is typically considered to consist of five sub-disciplines, each focusing on a particular aspect of human existence: * Archeology:...
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...this period of time, species evolved; some stayed the same, and some changed drastically. Some flourished and some became extinct. This occurred by the process of natural selection (Park, 2014). DNA changes over time, which can cause mutations which effect the future production and growth of an organism. There is no set amount of change an organism will see, if it sees any at all. Discuss what evolution is in terms of physical anthropology. In physical anthropology, evolution is the change of living organisms over time, studying how they adapt with their environment and the stresses that go along with it (Park, 2014). From one generation to the next, there are specific aspects or traits of an organism that stay the same, and there are some that are constantly evolving. These changes can occur over billions of years and go unnoticed in short periods, but are significantly different in a lengthy time period. Discuss what a physical anthropologist may examine/investigate in order to study evolution (e.g. population DNA). One aspect of physical anthropology that examines and investigates the process of evolution would be Paleoanthropology. Paleoanthropologists are individuals who study extinct organisms or fossils. It’s important to understand that they are not searching for human ancestors but rather our biological and technological origins and evolution. (Middle Awash Project UC Berkley, 2015). There are several important aspects that are studied, such as reproduction, anatomy...
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...What is Anthropology??? • • • 20:41 Anthropology • Scientific Approach, OBJECTIVE • Study of Humankind- human groups • Seeks to produce useful GENERALIZATIONS about people and their BEHAVIORS • To arrive at an UNBIASED UNDERSTANDING OF HUMAN DIVERSITY • Only scientific discipline that attempts to embrace an understanding of all of humanity • Helps us understand ourselves an others Anthropology Perspectives • Holistic Approach (broadest view) o To view things in the broadest possible contest o To cover the whole scope of humanity o To provide a total or composite view o Human culture as a system, functional whole, all parts relate o Biocultural Perspective Studies both the PHYSICAL and SOCIAL EX: kuru disease (neurological disease)- disease caused by culture, transmitted by mortuary practices • Cultural Relativism o To view the beliefs and customs of other peoples within the context of their culture not one’s own o Practice of not judging other cultures based on the standards of one’s own culture o ENDOCENTRISM Group centeredness Tendency to see ones own culture as the center of everything The measure or standard against which all other lifeways are evaluated Tendency to consider ones own culture as superior or better than all others o Anthropologists must be unbiased, objective o Involves an effort to remain unbiased in ones observations o Acknowledges that cultures are DIFFERENT, but NOT RANKED o No right or wrong cultures...
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...He is the father of anthropology and was challenging the idea that race is a biological concept and that human behavior is best understood through typology of biological characteristics. Boas believed that human behavior was not a result of biological dispositions but it was a result of the environmental factors such as health and nutrition, through which a person grows which shapes their behavior. He explained that the difference in people's culture is not as a result of their difference in biological characteristics such as race but rather their cultural difference acquired through social learning processes. The methodology that Boas used for his studies was by combining various disciplines that he was able to succeed in achieving at a conclusive argument on the subject of anthropology. Some of the disciplines he used were: 1)cultural relativism that argues that no culture is superior or inferior to each other and that no norms and practices of a given culture are more right than those of other cultures. it was crucial to understand the linguistics of various cultures and hoe they contributed to their...
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...I. Human Adaptability Anthropology is the exploration of human diversity in time and space. Anthropology studies the whole of the human condition: past, present, and future; biology, society, language, and culture. Of particular interest is the diversity that comes through human adaptability. A. Adaptation, Variation, and Change 1. Adaptation refers to the processes by which organisms cope with environmental forces and stresses. 2. Humans use both biological and cultural means of adaptation. For example, human bodies can adapt biologically in three ways to high altitude: genetic adaptation, long-term physiological adaptation, and short-term physiological adaptation. Culturally, humans have developed technologies, such as pressurized airplane cabins equipped with oxygen masks, to deal with extreme environments. 3. As human history has unfolded, the social and cultural means of adaptation have become increasingly important. Much more recently, the spread of industrial production has profoundly affected human life. II. General Anthropology B. The academic discipline of anthropology, also known as general anthropology or "four-field" anthropology, includes four main subdisciplines or subfields. They are sociocultural, archaeological, biological, and linguistic anthropology. This four-field approach is distinctly American. 4. There are historical reasons for the inclusion of four subfields in a single disciple, with origins...
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...Q1) As an anthropologist, you find out about the existence of a group of humans in the amazon rainforest that have never been contacted. How would you the four subfields of anthropology to investigate this human community? Ans: The Amazon rainforest also known in English as Amazonia or the Amazon Jungle, is a moist broadleaf forest that covers most of the Amazon Basin of South America. This basin encompasses 7,000,000 square kilometres (2,700,000 sq mi), of which 5,500,000 square kilometres (2,100,000 sq mi) are covered by the rainforest. This region includes territory belonging to nine nations. The majority of the forest is contained within Brazil, with 60% of the rainforest, followed by Peru with 13%, Colombia with 10%, and with minor amounts in Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana. States or departments in four nations contain "Amazonas" in their names. The Amazon represents over half of the planet's remaining rainforests, and comprises the largest and most biodiverse tract of tropical rainforest in the world, with an estimated 390 billion individual trees divided into 16,000 species. Q2) How do anthropologists utilize the scientific method in their studies? What are the limitations of the scientific method in anthropological studies? Ans: The scientific method is described as "a method of investigation involving the observation of phenomena, the formulation of a hypothesis concerning the phenomena, experimentation to demonstrate the truth or...
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...Jane was born in London on April 3, 1934 to an engineer father and an author mother. Jane grew up in Bouren-mouth, England and lived there until the age of 20. Jane spent as much time outside as she could she would bring worms into the house to observe them, and sit in chicken coops to watch the hens lay. After getting a stuffed gorilla as a gift in her tween years, she decided she wanted to go to Africa and study the primates herself. Jane Goodall has shown us that humans and chimps are very much alike through her research at the Gombe National Reserve in Tanzania. They use facial expressions that look human. Chimps greet one another with similar displays of affection as us, such as kissing. Babies stay with their mothers until adulthood....
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...activities in relation to others. Anthropology: The study of human origin, development, and varieties of human beings. Anthropology is divided into 2 sub-studies, which are Cultural anthropology and Physical Anthropology. A sub field of Physical anthropology would be > paleoanthropology, which studies human development and human variation; why we look the way we do. Cultural anthropology> Linguistics, and the functioning and development of cultures. M.O.S > Case studies, participant observations, surveys, and excavations (digging up remains) Sociology: The study of human social life, and the development of societies. *Goal is to understand the whole world, not just part of it. Psychology: Scientific study of the human brain, mental processes, and human behaviours. METHODS OF STUDY: Case Study > observation of individual/group over period of time Experiments > Allows you to see how 1 factor is related to another Surveys > Obtain information on thoughts of a large group Interviews > used when you require detailed information, you look for explanations behind behaviour and thoughts Observation> Unstructured Observation: observing a group without a predetermined idea of what to look for. Structured Observation > Observing a group based planning what to look for Participant observation > immersing yourself into the daily activities of a group, MOS > Excavations, observations, surveys, experiments Anthropology > Study of human origins, traditions...
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