Transcript Document
INTRODUCTION TO ANTHROPOLOGY What is Anthropology? Scientific study of the origin, behavior, and physical & cultural variation of human beings, both past and present What does it mean to be human? How did we become who we are today? What is our place in nature/the world? Where are we headed? Holistic Perspective • Looks for & considers the interrelationships among biology, society, language, culture & history & how they influence one another Goals of Anthropology • To understand & explain the biological and cultural variation & development of the human species • To understand what makes the human species unique • To foster awareness of & sensitivity to the bio-cultural diversity of humans The Five Fields • Biological/Physical Anthropology – Study of human biological origins, adaptations, and evolution – Reconstructing the ancestry of the human species • Cultural Anthropology – Study of how cultures differ from or resemble one another in their behavior • Beliefs, rituals, traditions, values, customs, laws, art • Archaeology – Study of past human cultures by investigating material remains of human activity • Linguistics – Studies human communication systems & how languages develop and change in a cultural context • Applied Anthropology – Applying anthropological knowledge to help solve social problems Biological Anthropology • Focus on bio-cultural evolution of humans – As a biological species, but with the influence of culture Genetics/Molecular Biology Foundation of evolutionary change – How genetic variation occurs & why it is important in context of natural selection – Inheritance of traits from parents to offspring – Genetic mutations – Structure & function of genes – Evolutionary & genetic relationships of all species Primatology • Study of the anatomy and behavior of nonhuman primates (Apes, Monkeys, and Prosimians) – Use for comparative analysis to shed light on human biological and social development Paleoanthropology • Study of human evolution through human fossil record Osteology • Study of the skeleton – What anatomical features mean in terms of behavior and evolution Forensic Anthropology • Analysis of human skeletal remains for legal purposes – Determination of age, sex, ancestry, stature, circumstances surrounding death & pathology Why study humans? • By knowing where we’ve been and how we got here, we can shape where we are going • To better understand what it means to “be human”