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Anthropology Unit I
Unit 1
Question | Answer |
---|---|
What is Cultural Anthropology? | The study of culture of human groups (living or historically known groups) |
Name four fields or "subgroups" of Anthropology | Cultural Anthropology, Archaelogy, Physical Anthropoology; and Linguistic Anthropology |
What is Ethnohistory? | A gap between oral and written history. Information written about a culture by someone other than a member of that culture. |
What are the Anthrological Perspectives? | a. Holism b. Realativism c. Comparativism d. Ethnocentrism e. Cultural Relativism |
What is the difference between Ethnocentism and Cultural Relativism? | Ethnocentism is the perspective that your own culture is superior. CR is the perspective that all cultures have worth. |
What is Ethnography? | A written decription of a single culture. Example: Ruth Underhill (traditional) |
What is Ethnology? | Relates to comparativism: The comparative study of specific aspects of 1-2 cultures. |
What is Participant Observation? | Living and participating in the daily lives of people being studied without actually becoming a member of the culture. |
What is Ethnographic Present? | A specific period of time during which a culture is studied and information is recorded. (A snapshot in time) |
Define Culture | Socially patterned and learned thoughts and behavior that is passed on from generation to generation and that guides human behavior and is the Unique Way humans adapt to natural and social environment. |
What are three aspects of "Culture" | 1. What people make - material culture 2. What people think 3. The way people act or behave |
Explain what the "Unique Way" is. | No other animal adapts to environment through learning (culture) |
What is Society? | Refers to territorially defined population that regularly interacts and intermarries and shares language and culture. |
What is a Sub-Culture? | A culture within a mulitcultural society. Social groups w/i a larger society. Same distinctive language, beliefs, and behaviors. |
What is an Ethnic Group? | A dependant culturally distinct population that forms part of a larger state and that formally was autonomous (African Americans) |
What is a Tribe? | A type of poitical organization.A group of people who are associated primarily on the basis of shared language. |
What does the term Indigenous People mean? | Considered the "original" pre-western contact.Inhabitants of an area that are now part of nation states but seek to preserve their culture and their ability to make decisions about their future. |
What are other names for Ingidenous People? | Aboriginals, Natives, Savages, Primative. Their identification is separate from larger groups. |
What are some of the aspects of World View? | The way people perceive and interpret reality and events. It can include physical and spiritual aspects, one's purpose in life, whether there is a creator, if there is evil and where it comes from, time and space, economic conditions, and values. |
What can one's World View lead to? | Generalizations and steriotypes.People overuse resources and produce garbage (less people = less garbage) |
Define Aculturation | Refers to the culture change that occurs when 2 or more cultures come into contact and the smaller scale population (non-western)changes |
Define Assimilation | Occurs when 2 or more cultures come into contact and one culture loses it's identity (they get absorbed by another culture) |
What is the difference between matralineal and paterneal | Patrilineal: Tracing relationships through the father and his male relatives A child is a member of his father’s male descent group. (A member of his father’s clan)The woman is the outsider to the family and visa versa |
Define Family | Family: Biological unit consisting of a usually married couple, and their offspring (Nuclear Family) |
Define Extended Family | Extended Family: Mom, Dad, Kids, Grandparents, and or other unmarried relatives. (have basic advantage over Nuclear Family, because there is always someone to watch the kids) |
Define Household | A domestic work group consisting of a group of people who regularly live and work together to support the group. Whereas families consist of biological relatives a household can consist of biological and other people such as servants and captives. |
Define Clan | Clan: A group of people who trace their descent from a common fictive (someone who is not a named human) ancestor. (Native Americans) |
Define Lineage | Lineage: A group of people who trace their descent from a common know ancestor. |
What is Bilateral Descent? | Bilateral Descent: You trace your kinship equally through the mother and the father. Equally a member of your mother and your father’s kin groups. |
Define Holistic Perspective | Holistic Perspective: An attempt to understand all the factors of the community, rather than focusing on a single aspect. |
Define Comparative Perspective | General theoretical ideas about humans or human societies or cultures must be tested from a comparative perspective. (nature, sexuality,warfare,family,and relationships) |
Define Relativism | All cultures have intrinsic worth and must be understood on their own terms. No culture is inherently superior or inferior to any other. Your culture does it this way, we do it that way. |
Define Archaelogy | Archaelogy – Study of the non-written past. The study of the past using material objects that people use (artifacts). |
Define Physical Anthropology | Physical Antrhopology – Study of diversity (physiological) among human populations and the study of human ancestors (migrations of human populations). Genome Project (DNA) |
Define Linguistic Anthropology | Linquistic Antrhopology – Study of human language (the human language is the most complex). Including historical connections and documentation of language that are going extinct. |
Define Ethnography | A written description of a single culture. |
Define Ethnology | Reltes to Comparativism: The compartive study of specific aspects of 1 -2 cultures. |