Anthropological Research Theories, Questions, Scales, Data, and Models

Anthropological Research Research begins with an idea or question about something: –From the literature –Derived from a theory or model –From a discovery of a pattern in the data The purpose of research is to evaluate the support for that idea

Theories in Anthropology Linked sets of statements about how people behave and why, e.g. –Zipf’s Law of the Minimum – people minimize their effort –Cultural Ecology – people behave in ways that harmonize with their environment –Behavioral Ecology – natural selection shapes our behavior

Kinds of Theories in Anthropology Biology (population genetics) Environment/Ecology (exogenous) Demography (endogenous) Culture (innovation, diffusion, migration, interaction, stratification) Psychology (individual needs/wants/ strategic action)

Who Questions Who has power? Who has wealth? Who is related to whom? Who were the first agriculturalists? Who were the first Americans/ Australians?

What Questions What do people call their kin? What are the rules for dividing shares? What kind of houses do they build? What was this artifact used for? What disturbances have altered the site?

When Questions When did the first humans emerge? When did agriculture begin? When did Western influences become important? When was the New World colonized?

Where Questions Where do people live, work, play? Where are various activities performed? Where are people buried?

Why Questions Why do people believe in... ? Why do people do... ? Why was agriculture invented? Why are pots decorated? Why did states emerge?

How Questions How was Australia colonized? How did the Indo European language spread? How did human culture emerge? How do people classify...? How does globalization affect local culture?

Scale Global view – big picture processes Temporal view – periods, phases Regional view – social networks, territories Local view – neighborhood Site/Village view – structure, context Individual view – life history, types

Global View Climate, soils, topography, ecological zones, isolation, ocean currents Data on cultures, nations – demography, economy, ideology Broad patterns between global characteristics and culture

Temporal View Archaeological time/space charts spanning millennia Historical timelines spanning centuries Generational data Life history data

Regional View Environmental variability at regional level – rivers, mountains, vegetation, ecological communities Locations of sites/villages Characteristics of sites/villages

Site/Village View Site neighborhood Location of structures, features, artifact clusters Household composition Variability

Household View Location (within village/site) Pattern of structures, features, and activity areas Comparison with other households

Individual View Physiology, genetic makeup, skeletal characteristics Life history Statuses and roles Decision making Belief system

Individual (Artifact) View Group (classification) Composition Properties – size, shape, color, quality, wear, breakage, material, Style vs. Function

Models A model uses a theory to develop expectations about what kinds of patterns we will find in the data Models use theories and operational arguments to tell us what is important in the data Statistics can help evaluate the fit between model and data

Evaluation Must check reasoning from theory to model Must check operational arguments and proxy measures Must check data gathering process Must check role of formation processes

Quantitative Approaches Estimation and Confirmation –Sampling –Parametric vs. Non-parametric –Response (Dependent) vs. Explanatory (Independent) variables (causal models) Descriptive –Data Reduction, Pattern Recognition (Exploratory Data Analysis)

Kinds of Data Scales of measurement – nominal, ordinal, interval, ratio (dichotomy) Discrete vs. Continuous Composition/Assemblage (Percentages)