1. Famous Anthropologists
February 2013

2. Expectations:
evaluate the major contributions to our understanding of the idea of self in relation to others made by at least one of the leading practitioners in each of anthropology (e.g., Franz Boas, Margaret Mead, Ruth Benedict), psychology (e.g., Sigmund Freud, Jean Piaget, Karen Horney), and sociology (e.g., George Herbert Mead, Irving Goffman).
describe some differences and similarities in the approaches taken by anthropology, psychology, and sociology to the concept of self in relation to others;

3. Main Focus of Today
Who are the main practitioners in Anthropology and what are their major contributions to the discipline.
Disclaimer – this is a BRIEF introduction to some famous anthropologist. You will be learning more in-depth about these individuals in the upcoming units.
Source: Bain, C. M., & Colyer, J. S. (2001). The Human Way: Introducing Anthropology, Psychology, and Sociology (2nd ed.). Don Mills, Canada: Oxford University Press.

4. RECAP
Anthropology is the scientific study of the development of the human species and of the various cultures that make up humanity.
Anthropology
Social Anthro
-analyzes social organizations of living people
Cultural Anthro
-Analyzes cultures of living people
Physical Anthro
-analyzes human evolutionary and genetic development

5. Recap
Of the three social sciences, the youngest is anthropology, which originated as a discipline in the 20th century.
Its development differed from sociology and psychology in two significant ways: many of its founders were American, and many were female.

6. Margaret Mead (American) 1901-1978
Cultural anthropologist – studied Samoan culture compared to American culture
She looked at adolescents in both places and found that teens did not experience the same conflict as in America
Cooperation (Samoa) vs. competition (United States)
Studied gender roles
Dr. Mead's first field trip, to Samoa, between the years of 1925 and 1926, resulted in the book Coming of Age in Samoa. In this work, Dr. Mead proposed that culture plays just as strong a role as biology in influencing adolescent behavior--a novel and unprecedented viewpoint which propelled her into the public eye. Dr. Mead and Dr. Benedict were also influenced by the psychoanalytical theory of the interaction between culture and the mind. Dr. Mead eventually copleted fourteen field trips, primarily to the South Pacific and Bali, wrote over thirty books, edited at least ten, and penned countless articles for popular magazines. Dr. Mead taught her first class at Columbia in 1940, and remained affiliated with the University until her death in However, her major appointment was at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, where Dr. Harry Shapiro was Chair of the Department of Anthropology. Although Dr. Mead was twice offered a full-tenured professorship at Columbia, in 1958 and again in 1963, she refused both offers, presumably to keep the freedom and independence provided by her job at the museum. Dr. Mead is generally known as the anthropologist who popularized the discipline. Her clear and easily understood writing style, her dedication to relating the implications of her studies to the American public, and her involvement in current affairs and political issues all generated a wide audience for anthropological concerns.
Mead concluded that our personalities are largely influenced by the society in which we live. Americans were raised to compete against each other, while Samoans were taught to co-operate.

7. Margaret Mead Margaret Mead Biography
Watch a 10 minute clip on Mead’s research in Soma

8. Ruth Benedict (American) 1887-1948
Cultural anthropologist – studied the role of religion in shaping personality, studied native societies
Wrote Patterns of Culture – believed that culture is a sum of all personality types
Studied Japanese culture during World War II and brought respect to anthropology
Benedict, like Mead, concluded that there is a strong link between the characteristics of a culture and it’s peoples personality types.
Her book, Patterns of Culture (1934), had considerable influence on many anthropologists. The book was Benedict's attempt to bring order into the vast "diversity of customs". Race: Science and Politics (1940), was her contribution to the problem of human inequality. Her last book, The Chrysanthemum and the Sword (1946), was the result of her application of anthropological methods to the study of Japanese culture and character. The work was done for the American Office of War Information ( ) and did not involve field work in Japan but was a study of "culture at a distance". Above all, she guided and encouraged young anthropologists and taught many students for over twenty years at Columbia University. She was awarded many academic honors and was persident of the American Anthropological Association. Dr. Ruth Fulton Benedict died on September 17, 1948 at the age of 61 in New York City.

9. Raymond Dart (Australian) 1893-1988
Physical anthropologist
In 1924 he found a skull in South Africa in which he named it Australopithecus.
In the late 1930s and early 1940s Broom found many more australopithecine fossils in South Africa, and in the late 1940s Dart's position was vindicated when many scientists finally accepted that australopithecines were hominids. In the mid-1940s, Dart once again tried looking for fossils, at the site of Makapansgat. He found a number of fossils which he named Australopithecus prometheus, in the mistaken belief that their blackened state indicated the use of fire (in Greek mythology, Prometheus was the Titan who gave humans fire). They are now placed in A. africanus. Dart, never one to shy away from extravagant claims, also concluded from his analysis of the site that these creatures had had what he called an "osteodontokeratic" (bone, tooth and horn) culture, and argued that they were savage hunters and bloodthirsty killers whose violent tendencies had left their mark in human behavior. The "killer ape" idea was popularized by writer Robert Ardrey in books such as African Genesis, and is the inspiration behind the opening scene of the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey. These claims were strongly criticized, and later study showed them to be wrong.
His discovery of the skull, represented a transitional stage between ages and humans.

10. Leakey Family (Louis, Mary, and Richard) (British)
Physical anthropologists
Believed that people originated in Africa – found fossils of Australopithecus and homo habilis
Experimented with stone age tools to find out how ancestors hunted
Louis Leakey got women started in primatology (Fossey, Goodall, Galdikas)
Rejected the ideas that human origin was in Asia but Africa instead. In order to understand our ancestors’ lives we should study other primates.
Many of the Leakey’s most famous discoveries were found in northern Tanzania, at Olduvai Gorge. Because of its unique geological history, this area is particularly rich in fossil remains. In addition to evidence of human origins, Leakey excavations uncovered over 100 different forms of extict animal life at Olduvai Gorge. The first important discovery at Olduvai, which Louis named Zinjanthropus boisei, was uncovered by Mary Leakey on July 17, Now known as Australopithecus boisei, this find was a watershed moment in the history of paleontology, vindicating the Leakey’s decision to work at Olduvai and adding an important stage to the hominid lineage as it was then known. Another find in 1960 eventually led Leakey and his team to announce the new species Homo habilis or “handy man.” Leakey believed that this species was a direct human ancestor. Debate over the proper interpretation of many Leakey finds continues today, but no one questions Louis Leakey’s enormous contribution to human knowledge about the rise of our species.

11. Mary Leakey on Google!
Mary Leaky on Google!
Meave Leakey - Ted Talks

12. Jane Goodall (British) 1934 -
Primatologist – studied chimpanzees
Became part of group and was able to make new observations (eg. – chimps used tools – i.e stick in an ant hole, chimps were not strictly vegetarians – sometimes they killed another chimp and ate the meat from the carcass)
Most significant discovery is that chimps have highly developed social structure (eg. – alpha males and mating with other females)
Her work has given social scientists insights into the human kingdom – social structure, cooperation, competition in hunting, diet.
An alpha male wins supremacy over other males by sheer aggression and strength. He alone has the right to mate with all the females. The remaining males are not allowed to mate with the females as long as the alpha remains in charge. Eventually, a younger male will defeat an aging alpha and take his place as the supreme male. The old alpha remains in the community, but his privileged position is gone, and he lives like a respected grandparent.
Contribution to Science
Jane's work has taught hundreds of thousands of people about chimpanzees. It is as if she opened a window onto the chimpanzee world. People all over the world know and love the chimpanzees of Gombe. When one of the chimpanzees, old Flo, died in 1972, the London Times even printed an obituary.
Women primatologists owe a debt to Dr. Goodall. "Jane Goodall's trail-blazing path for other women primatologists is arguably her greatest legacy... Indeed, women now dominate long-term primate behavioural studies worldwide", writes Gilbert Grosvenor, chairman of the National Geographic Society.
In October of 1960, Jane witnessed chimpanzees making and using tools. To that point, tool-making had been considered one of the defining characteristics of humankind.
Just a few days later, Jane observed chimps hunting bush pigs, colobus monkeys and other small mammals for meat. These discoveries were monumental findings further solidifying humans' undeniable link to chimpanzees.
In 1964, Figan deliberately kidnapped Flint to get Flo and the rest of that group to follow him to another location. The planning and intelligence demonstrated in this instance was a first. In that same year, Mike ascended to the alpha male position by showing superior intelligence. Banging empty kerosene cans, creating a noisy charging display to intimidate larger males, he bluffed his way to the top.
In the year 1970, Jane witnessed chimps performing a spontaneous dance-like display by waterfalls. Jane believes that this parallels expressions of awe that led early humans to religion.
The first non-human war began in 1974 at Gombe between the primary Kasekela and the splinter Kahama groups. The war lasted four years – ending only when the last member of the Kahama group was dead.
Jane bore witness to great acts of compassion, considered a human trait, during her time at Gombe. In 1987, Spindle adopted Mel, an orphan whose mother died of pneumonia, even though the infant was not a close relative.
Researchers began to notice in 1994 that male chimps sometimes lead females away to establish brief monogamous relationships, to ensure that the female's offspring are theirs.
Also during that year, researchers discovered that chimps teach each other. Upon joining the Kasekela group, a former member of the Mitumba community imparted his knowledge of using twigs to catch carpenter ants to Flossi.
There is evidence to suggest that chimps deliberately eat medicinal plants (e.g. Aspilla leaves) to relieve stomach pains or reduce internal parasites. This was first noticed in 1995.
In 1995 and then again in 1998, the birth of twins was witnessed.
More recently, scientists discovered that females and males learn differently when fishing for termites.

13. Birute Galdikas (Canadian) 1945 -
Primatologist – studied orangutans (shares 98% genetic material with humans)
Worked in Borneo and was a “foster parent” to a young orangutan. She lived with primates.
“Looking into the calm, unblinking eyes of an orangutan, we see…the image of our own creation…We recognize that there is no separation between ourselves and nature. We are allowed to see the eyes of God.”
Found that orangutans live in highly structured social communities. Violence is ever-present, lurking just beneath the surface. Although largely vegetarian, orangutans, too, occasionally kill one of their community for meat.
Agreed with the Leakey's that humans can learn much about their early ancestors from the study of primates.
While studying in Borneo – they had to put up with ticks, fleas, and leaches that got under their clothes and into their skin. They were always wet and lived on a diet of fried sardines and rice.
Galdikas and her team have contributed to veterinary medical knowledge about orangutans, including treatments for malaria, tapeworm parasites and throat-pouch infections.
1. The Rain Forest
The tropical rainforest is one of the most stable natural places on the planet Earth. A huge variety of plants and animals thrives there, and nothing has changed for millions of years. This is why the common ancestor for all apes, and humans, may have been somewhat like an orangutan. Orangutans have no serious predators other than humans. Their dietary knowledge of the irregular fruiting patterns of tropical plants indicates how intelligent they are. It also explains their solitary lifestyle and the long interval between births. A big animal needs a lot of foraging territory, without too many competitors around who eat the same kinds of food.
2. Structural Brachiators
Orangutans are structural brachiators, which means they are built to swing from branches with their upper limbs, but they have become too heavy to move quickly like this. Adult orangutans are the largest tree-dwelling animals on Earth, averaging about 100 kilograms for males.
3. Food Collecting
In this photograph, a mother orangutan collects sweet habu-habu bark for her baby. This is one of over 400 types of food orangutans enjoy in the rainforest, and Galdikas has tried many of them herself. One way she has learned to spot orangutans in the dense foliage is to listen for the sound of fruit peels and pits dropping to the ground.
4. The baby is reaching for the food.
Through the repeated transfer of food between mother and baby, young orangutans learn what kinds of food are good to eat and how to eat them. They watch and imitate. They learn by trial and error. For instance, they might try eating the peel of a fruit and discover that it is too bitter. After making this error once or twice, they don’t try it again.
5. Babies
Baby orangutans cling to their mother’s fur until they are four years old. They are very dependent and remain with the mother for nine years. Females have perhaps four offspring in a lifetime. Orangutan males live solitary lives, looking for other orangutans only to mate. The orangutan’s natural lifespan is about 60 to 70 years in the wild. In zoos they normally die at around 35 years of age, but some have lived for up to 56 years in captivity.

14. Dian Fossey (American) 1938-1985
Primatologist – studied mountain gorillas in Rwanda
Lived with gorillas. Learned how to imitate their habits and sounds, and thus gained acceptance into their society.
She had a passion for protecting gorillas from poachers.
She was murdered in 1985 by an unknown person – much of her work remained unfinished.
She discovered much information about gorillas (eg – affection to families, aggression to outsiders; highly structured social system).
She argued, liked Goodall, that gorillas share much in common with out earliest ancestors.
In 1966, Dian Fossey caught up with Louis Leakey at a lecture in Louisville, and he invited her to study the mountain gorillas in Africa. She accepted his offer and lived among the mountain gorillas in the Democratic Republic of Congo until civil war forced her to escape to Rwanda.
Dian Fossey established the Karisoke Research Foundation in 1967, alternating her time between her fieldwork there and obtaining a Ph.D. based on her research at Cambridge University. She earned her degree in 1976 and later accepted a visiting associate professorship at Cornell University. In 1983, her book, Gorillas in the Mist, was published and became a best seller. A film with the same name was also released in 1988 starring Sigourney Weaver as Fossey.
Death and Legacy
Considered the world's leading authority on the physiology and behavior of mountain gorillas, Dian Fossey fought hard to protect these "gentle giants" from environmental and human hazards. She saw these animals as dignified, highly social creatures with individual personalities and strong family relationships. Her active conservationist stand to save these animals from game wardens, zoo poachers, and government officials who wanted to convert gorilla habitats to farmland caused her to fight for the gorillas not only via the media, but also by destroying poachers' dogs and traps.
On December 26, 1985, Fossey was found hacked to death, presumably by poachers, in her Rwandan forest camp. No assailant has ever been found or prosecuted in her murder.

15. The Challenge….
VS.