Anthropology Ch 3

Paleoanthropology

The study of hominin evolution and human life as revealed by the fossil record.

Which of the following best explains what biological anthropologists study?

living and recent humans and primates as well as ancient humans and primates

Which type of anthropology compares and analyzes DNA from various primates such as chimpanzees and apes, extinct human groups such as Neandertals, and various modern human groups to determine evolutionary relationships ?

molecular anthropology

One technique commonly used by ethnographers is _______________ which means that they take part in community life as they study

participant observation

What are the two major categories of dating techniques used to establish the dates of layer of fossils and artifacts?

relative dating and absolute dating

Anthropometry

the measurement of human body parts and dimensions, including skeletal parts (osteometry)

The American Anthropological Association (AAA) has established a Code of Ethics that requires that anthropologists be guided by a principle that has been compared to a doctor' Hippocratic oath, which essentially says, ____________

"first do no harm"

Which of the following best describes how the subfield of archaeology differs from that of biological anthropology?

Archaeologists study the past by analyzing objects from dig sites; biological anthropologists study ancient human skeletons or living humans

T/ F It is not necessary for an ethnographer to learn the local language

False

T/F Fossils include the preserved remains of any object (building, container, tools, pottery, weapon, work of art ) made, used, or modified in some way by human beings, which help us to understand how people lived in the past

False

What is NAGPRA?

Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act

In the methods of archaeology, what is the difference between systematic survey and excavation?

Systematic survey involves gathering information about settlement patterns across a region; excavation involves digging in selected sample sites

Which statement best describes the principle ethical guideline stated in the Code of Ethics of the AAA?

The anthropologist's first obligation is to the people in the study community

Which of the following statements correctly describe what molecular anthropologists do?

They compare the genetic relationship between apes and humans They reconstruct patterns and waves of human migration They examine evolutionary relationships among ancient and contemporary populations

participant observation

a characteristic ethnographic technique; taking part in the events one is observing, describing, and analyzing

Sample

a smaller study group chosen to represent a larger population

If an anthropologist needs a metric (quantitative) estimate of the age of a pottery shard, which method of dating should be used

absolute dating

informed consent

agreement to take part in research, after the people being studied have been told about that research's purpose, nature, procedures, and potential impact on them

In a sociological survey conducted in Florida about sugar cane cutters brought from the English speaking Caribbean islands of Barbados and Jamaica, one question asked was first worded as follows, "What is your net pay?" How might an ethnographer help these survey researchers gather better information about this economic information?

an ethnographer might discover that the culturally appropriate question would be "How much do you take home in your hand?"

Variables

attributes (e.g. age, occupation, income) that differ from one person or case to the next

What are fossils?

bones or other remains of ancient life forms

A technique called _______ measures radioactive decay and is commonly used to date fossilized plants or animal remains

carbon- 14 dating

survey research

characteristic research procedure among social scientists other than anthropologists. Studies society through sampling, statistical analysis, and impersonal data collection

relative dating

dating technique (e.g. stratigraphy) that establish a time frame in relation to other strata or materials, rather than absolute dates in numbers

absolute dating

dating techniques that establish dates in number or ranges of numbers; examples include the radiometric methods of 14C,K/K, 238U, TL, and ESR dating

excavation

digging through the layers of deposits that make up an archaeological site

Which of the following suitably reflect ethical considerations that should be followed by anthropologists working abroad?

establishing ongoing collaborative relationships with colleagues in the host country including colleagues of the host country in planning research and requesting funding

Which of the following statements best describes the way that ethnographers gather data during fieldwork?

ethnographers learn the local language so that they can ask questions informally in all kinds of social settings in the field

Some biological anthropologists analyze human remains to provide legal evidence. The special type of anthropology is known as _____

forensic anthropology

molecular anthropology

genetic analysis, involving comparison of DNA sequences, to determine evolutionary links and distances among species and among ancient modern populations

systematic survey

information gathered on patterns of settlement over a large area; provides a regional perspective on the archaeological record

The ethics of archaeologists and physical anthropologists require that they negotiate with local officials and colleagues to establish who owns bones, artifacts, and other materials recovered at excavation sites. These agreements between anthropologists and colleagues in the host countries are established through the procedure known as _________

informed consent

Which of the following statements best describes the limitation of potassium- argon (K/A) dating?

it cannot be used to directly analyze bone or plant remains, but instead is limited to use on ash layers that are older than 500,000 years old

Which of the following does palynology do?

it helps to determine an ancients site's environment at the time it was inhabited

life history

of a cultural consultant; provides a personal cultural portrait of existence or change in a culture

How does paleoanthropology differ from paleontology?

paleoanthropology focuses on the study of ancient human life while paleontology includes the study of all kinds of ancient life forms

To study the ancient human past, archaeologists and physical anthropologists work with scientists in the field of ______, who study plants and animal fossils

paleontology

human skeletal remains from archaeological sites can be analyzed to identify specific types of disease and injury. The specialty within biological anthropology is known as ________

paleopathology

The specialty in archaeology known as _____ is the study of human skeletons and associated artifacts, which are used to understand health, diet, and social status differences

palynology

Microscopic crystals called _______ found at archaeological sites help identify wheat, maize, rice, or other early domesticated plants

phytoliths

phytoliths

plant crystals

Jane Goodall is a well known anthropologist who has studied chimpanzees in their natural settings. The name of her subfield within biological anthropology is _____

primatology

genealogical method

procedures by which ethnographers discover and record connections of kinship, descent, and marriage, using diagrams and symbols

Fossils

remains (e.g. bones), traces, or impressions (e.g. footprints) of ancient life

Startigraphy

science that examines the ways in which earth sediments are deposited in demarcated layers known as strata (singular, stratum)

Paleoanthropologists

search for evidence about human origins

cultural consultant

someone the ethnographer gets to know in the field, who teaches him or her about the consultant's society and culture, also called an informant

Paleontology

study of ancient life through the fossil record

Paleopathology

study of disease and injury in skeletons from archaeological sites

The study of the processes that affect the remains of dead animals is known as _________

taphonomy

Etic

the research strategy that emphasizes the observer's rather than the natives' explanations, categories, and criteria of significance

Taphonomy

the study of processes----biological and geological---- by which dead animals become fossils; from the Greek taphos, which means "tomb"

Digging through layers of deposits at an ancient site is known as ______

an excavation

key cultural consultants

an expert on a particular aspect of local life who helps the ethnographer understand that aspect. Also called key informant

Which of the following best sums up the hallmark of ethnography?

anthropologists get to know people via local life

Which statement best describes the major emphasis in the ethnographic method?

anthropologists personally experience life in a study community in order to understand it

Measuring human proportions on skeletal remains from ancient sites as well as among modern human population is known as__________

anthropometry

Which type of archaeologists are usually interested in styles of architecture and sculpture and work more in university departments with art historians rather than in anthropology departments?

classical

When construction sites reveal artifacts, impact studies may be required to assess the historical importance of the site. In this case, "salvage archaeologists," also called _______ archaeologists, analyze what is found at the site

cultural resource management

interview schedule

ethnographic tool for structuring a formal interview. A prepared form (usually printed) that guides interviews with household or individuals compared systematically. Contrasts with a questionnaire because the researcher has personal contact and records people's answers

What is the term used for the type of archaeologists who make replicas of ancient tools?

experimental archaeologists

Archaeologists who study the past by using written records as guides and supplements to research are referred to as ________ archaeologists

historical

Which of the following statements best describes the principle of superposition?

in an undisturbed set of strata, the oldest layer is deepest

Which of the following statements best describes the limitations of carbon- 14 dating?

it only works on organic materials, such as plant and animal remains, and the specimens cannot be older than 40,000 years old

When cultural anthropologists do fieldwork in a community, they may rely on just a few chosen people who can provide special knowledge and details about community life. What is the term used for the people chosen?

key informants

ethnographers consider which of the following data sources?

local people's answers to questions government record or archives direct measurement of such things as rainfall, temperature, or crop yield

longitudinal research

long- term study of a community, society, culture, or other unite, usually based on repeated visits

Ethnographers typically maintain their connection to the community they study and return to it several times to see how community life has changed. For example, Margaret Mead first described her fieldwork in Growing Up in New Guinea, detailing her study of the Manus, a New Guinea people still untouched by the outside world when she visitedthem in 1928. She lived in their noisy fishing village of Peri at a pivotal time --- after World War 1 was over but before missions and global commerce had begun to change their lives. She continues her relationship with this same village for 50 years until her death, and it helped her to describe how these villagers maintained their unique cultural values even with increasing global influence/ What is the term usedto describe this type of ethnographic research?

longitudinal research

Sources of information for archaeologists studying sites primarily include __________

plant and animal remains, ceramics, other artifacts

Archaeologists study settlement patterns primarily to reveal what kinds of information about prehistoric communities ?

population estimates and degrees of social complexity

One commonly used radiometric dating technique is used to date layers of volcanic ash found above and below strata containing fossil remains in Africa's Great Rift Valley, especially for a significant time period in human evolution dating to around 2 million years ago. That dating technique is known as ____________

potassium- argon (K/A) dating

The type of dating that establishes a sequence for the artifacts and fossils found at a site, but that does not establish a specific age for these items, is called ________ dating

relative

At an archaeological site you discovered a stone spear point in another geologic layer. Because the layer containing the stone spear point is deeper than the layer containing the bronze ax head, you conclude that the stone point is older than the ax head. What kind of dating technique does this illustrate?

relative dating

What technique is used by archaeologists to identify ancient roads and canals invisible to the human eye but visible with aerial photos and satellite images using a spectrum invisible to the naked eye?

remote sensing

We know from geology that layers in the earth are sequenced in such a way that the oldest layers are the deepest, and on this basis we can date artifacts and fossils found in shallower layers as younger than those found in the deeper layers by using the principle of ________

stratigraphy

The study of society through sampling and statistical analysis ________, and the study of culture and people is __________

survey research; anthropological research

Which of the following are studied as part of taphonomy?

the possible fossilization of remains the distortion of remains by natural various forces the scattering of remains by carnivores and scavengers

Emic

the research strategy that focuses on native explanations and criteria of significance

Palynology

the study of ancient plants through pollen samples

bone biology

the study of bones as a biological tissue including it genetics; cell structure; growth, development, and decay; and patterns of movement (biomechanics)

Which of the following statements best describes how archaeologists survey sites?

they excavate to reveal the layers in a site and systematically survey the region

Which statement best describes why ethnographer collect life histories?

to learn about the personal experiences of a few community members over a long period of time, in order to understand responses to change

What is the terms used to describe the type of archaeology that investigates shipwrecks and sites submerged under the sea?

underwater archaeology