The Nature of Anthropology Cultural Anthropology Chapter 1

Groupings 1 and 4: Biological and Archaeology (p. 8 -11) 2 and 5: Linguistic and Applied (p.11- 12) 3 and 6: Sociocultural (p. 12 – 24 (-15 - 20))

Anthropology answers questions of who we are, where we came from and why we act the way we do “The study of humankind in all times and places” Anthropology incorporates physiology’s interest in humans as biological organisms, social science’s interest in human relationships and humanity’s examination of the achievements of human culture Concerned with everything human

The Development of Anthropology Anthropology as a distinct discipline is relatively new U of T offered the first anthropology course in North America in 1860 under the guidance of Sir Daniel Wilson

The Development of Anthropology Anthropology is new for various reasons: Technology was limited Through most of history people were stuck in their respective geographic locations so observations of different cultures was difficult When people began to travel to distant places they began to become conscious of the radical differences among humans Even though people were aware of different of other cultures (e.g.: the Bible references to many cultures like the Jews, Egyptians, Babylonians, Ethiopians) the differences between cultures is small compared to the differences between aboriginals of Australia and Arctic for example

The Development of Anthropology Another reason for the relatively recent development of anthropology is the European sense of superiority This failed to recognize that despite differences, all people had a shared ‘humanity’ Groups that did not share European values and beliefs were deemed as ‘savages’ and ‘barbarians’ Late18th century is when a significant number of Europeans considered the behaviour of these individuals as important in understanding themselves This coincided with efforts to understand the world in terms of natural laws

A Note on Terminology Names assigned to aboriginal peoples by European explores and colonial governments were not the terms used by the people to refer to themselves and concerted efforts are being made today to use the names that the actual people use In Canada it is First Nations, Inuit and Metis to indentify the aboriginal peoples collectively and their chosen name to identify distinctive cultural groups The text uses every effort to use the people’s preferred name when referring to a group For example, the Ju/’hoansi of the Kalahari used be called the uncomplimentary ‘bushmen’, then the !Kung and now we use their own name meaning, ‘genuine people’ The terms used will not satisfy all people but it is a step ensuring some cultural sensitivity

The Discipline of Anthropology Anthropology is divided into four fields: biological anthropology, archaeology, linguistic anthropology, and socio-cultural anthropology Biological Anthropology Concerned with humans as biological organisms Archaeology Cultural behaviour of people in past Sociocultural anthropology Concerned with humans as cultural animals Called social anthropology in N.A. and cultural anthropology in G.B Linguistic Anthropology The study of languages of the past and present as a means for people to relate to each other and develop and communicate ideas about each other and the world

Disciplines of Anthropology Jigsaw Activity You will be doing a jigsaw activity that explores the disciplines of anthropology; biological, archeology, sociocultural and linguistic (and applied) You will be assigned one or two areas of anthropology as described and will, in your home group, read and take notes on it. You will then meet with members from other groups to form an expert group and share your notes. This will be done in three separate jigsaw groups. Take notes on all the areas on a separate sheet of paper. You may use these notes for your chapter notes.