WHAT IS ANTHROPOLOGY?
Anthropology Greek origins of word: anthropos “man” -ology “study of”
Anthropology Greek origins of word: anthropos “man” -ology “study of” The study of human biological and cultural variation, past and present
Anthropology Greek origins of word: anthropos “man” -ology “study of” The study of human biological and cultural variation, past and present Goal: understand uniqueness and diversity, and discover universal similarities
Anthropology Greek origins of word: anthropos “man” -ology “study of” The study of human biological and cultural variation, past and present Goal: understand uniqueness and diversity, and discover universal similarities Holistic approach: study many different aspects of human experience
Four-Field Approach Cultural Anthropology Linguistic Anthropology Biological Anthropology Archaeology
BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY Also called Physical Anthropology
Biological Anthropology Human Paleontology and Paleoanthropology Evolution of humans
Biological Anthropology Human Paleontology and Paleoanthropology Evolution of humans Primatology Study of primates
Biological Anthropology Human Paleontology and Paleoanthropology Evolution of humans Primatology Study of primates Modern Human Biological Variation How and why populations of humans vary biologically
CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY Also called Social Anthropology and Socio-cultural Anthropology Second subfield is cultural anthro, also called social anthro or socio-cultural anthro: it all means the same things!
Cultural Anthropology Ethnology (Ethnologist) Study of existing and recent cultures
Cultural Anthropology Ethnology (Ethnologist) Study of existing and recent cultures Ethnography (Ethnographer) Detailed description of customary thought & behaviour of a particular culture
Cultural Anthropology Ethnology (Ethnologist) Study of existing and recent cultures Ethnography (Ethnographer) Detailed description of customary thought & behaviour of a particular culture Ethnohistory (Ethnohistorian) Study of how the ways of life of a group of people have changed over time
ARCHAEOLOGY
Archaeology Prehistoric Archaeology Historic Archaeology Reconstruct past cultures based on material remains Historic Archaeology Same as prehistoric, but study societies with written records ==
LINGUISTIC ANTHROPOLOGY
Linguistic Anthropology Historical Linguistics How languages change over time and are related
Linguistic Anthropology Historical Linguistics How languages change over time and are related Structural (or descriptive) linguistics How modern languages differ in construction
Linguistic Anthropology Historical Linguistics How languages change over time and are related Structural (or descriptive) linguistics How modern languages differ in construction Sociolinguistics How language is used in social contexts
Applied Anthropology Useful application of anthropological knowledge (of ANY subfield) to real-world issues and concerns
Anthropologists study all cultures – ours and others Anthropologists study all cultures – ours and others. Here you have Massai people of East Africa
Next time… Concept of Culture