Anthropology 1100 Exam 1

General anthropology

"four-field"- anthropology as a whole: culture, archaeological, biological and linguistic

Haplogroup

a biological lineage defined by specific cluster of genetic traits

Illness

a condition of poor health perceived or felt by an individual

Biological

a long period of infant dependency, year-round sexuality, and a complex brain

Gene

a place (locus) on a chromosome that determines a particular trait

Disease

a scientifically identified health threat caused by a bacterium, virus, fungus, parasite, or other pathogen

Hypothesis

a suggested but as yet unverified explanation

Allele

a variant of a particular gene

Food production

an economy based on plant cultivation and/or animal domestication

Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)

an indigenous group's collective knowledge and its applications

Selection pressure

any feature of the environment, both physical and cultural, that results in natural selection and can cause individuals of different genetic types to survive to different average sets, to reproduce at different rates, or both

Hominins

are a tribe in the hominid family, made up of all human species that ever existed, but African apes are excluded

Fossils

are remains, traces, or impressions of ancient life forms

Uniformitarianism

belief that natural forces at work today also explain past events

Health Care Systems

beliefs, customs, specialists, and techniques aimed at ensuring health and diagnosing and curing illness

Diffusion

borrowing of traits between cultures

Development Anthropology

branch of applied anthropology that focuses on social issues in and the cultural dimension of, economic development

Bioculture

combining both biological and cultural perspectives and approaches to a given problem

Psychological

common ways in which humans think, feel, and process information

Medical Anthropology

comparative, biocultural study of disease, health problems and health care systems

Ethnology

comparative, cross-cultural studies of two or more societies using ethnographic data -study of sociocultural difference and similarities

Urban Anthropology

cross-cultural and ethnographic study of urbanization and life in cities

National Culture

cultural features shared by citizens of the same nation

International Culture

cultural traditions that extend beyond national boundaries

Excavation

digging through layers at a sight

Particularity

distinctive or unique culture trait, pattern or integration

Relative Dating

establishing a time frame in relation to other strata or materials

Absolute dating

establishing dates in numbers of ranges of numbers

Biochemical genetics

examines structure, function, and changes in DNA

Stratigraphy

examines ways in which earth sediments accumulate in layers known as strata

Acculturation

exchange of cultural features between groups in firsthand contact

Generality

exists in some but not all societies

Science

field of study that seeks reliable explanations, with reference to the material and physical world

Population genetics

field that studies genetics of breeding populations

Ethnography

fieldwork in a particular cultural setting; provides an account of that community, society, or culture

Classical archaeologists

focus on literate civilizations of the Old World, such as Greece, Rome, and Egypt

Heterozygous

having dissimilar alleles of a given gene

Scientific Medicine

health care system based on scientific knowledge and procedures

Subcultures

identifiable cultural patterns existing within a larger culture

Core values

integrates each culture and helps distinguish it form others

Underwater archaeologists

investigate submerged sites like ships

Public Anthropology

is an extension of anthropology's visibility and demonstration of public policy relevance

Paleoecology

looks at the ecosystems of the past

Crossdating

matching ring patterns among trees and assigning rings to specific calendar years

Anthropometry

measurement of human body parts and dimensions, including skeletal parts

Hominid

member of hominid family; any fossil or living human, chimp, or gorilla

Dendrochronology (three-ring dating)

method of absolute dating based on the study and comparison of patterns of tree-ring growth

Contract archaeologists

negotiate specific contracts for cultural resource management (CRM) studies

Symbols

no necessary or natural connection to the things they signify or for which they stand

Association

observed relationship between two or more variables

Curer

one who diagnoses and treats illness

Chromosome

paired lengths of DNA, composed of multiple genes

Enculturation

process by which a child learns his or her culture

Independent Invention

process by which humans innovate, creatively finding problems and solutions

Adaptation

process by which organisms cope with environmental forces and stresses

Microenculturation

process by which people learn particular roles within a limited social system

Anthropological Archaeology

reconstructs, describes and interprets human behavior through material remains

Increased Equity

reduced poverty and a more even distribution of wealth

Holistic science (Holism)

refers to the study of the whole of the human condition: past, present, and future; biology, society, language and culture

Human rights

rights based on justice and morality beyond and superior to particular countries, cultures and religions

Cultural rights

rights vested in religious and ethnic minorities and indigenous societies

Globalization

series of processes that work to make modern nations and people increasingly interlinked and mutually dependent

Theory

set of ideas formulated to explain something

Seriation

similar-looking artifacts should be the same age. Changes in artifact style can be used to create a relative chronology

Universal

something that exists in every culture

Linguistic Anthropology

studies language in its social and cultural context, across space and over time

Paleoanthropology

study of ancient humans and their immediate ancestors

Paleontology

study of ancient life through the fossil records

Bone Biology

study of bone as a biological tissue

Paleopathology

study of disease and injury in skeletons from sites

Bioarchaeologists

study of human skeletons to reconstruct physical traits, health status, and diet

Cultural Anthropology

study of human society and culture -describes, analyzes, interprets and explains social and cultural similarities and differences

Ecology

study of interrelations among living things in the environment

Taphonomy

study of processes affecting remains of dead animals

Systematic survey

study of settlement patterns over a large area

Anthropology and education

study of students in the context of their family, peers and enculturation

Anthropology

study of the human species and its immediate ancestors

Primatology

subfield of biological anthropology; primate studies

Ethnocentrism

tendency to view one's own culture as superior and to use own standards and values in judging outsiders

Adaptability

the capacity to become adapted

Natural Selection

the differential contribution of offspring to the next generation by individuals of different genetic types, but belonging to the same population

Behavior

the dynamics of adaptation

Law of Superposition

the layers that are lower down in a stratigraphic sequence must be older than the layers that are above them.

Adaptedness

the status of being adapted and the ability of an organism to survive and reproduce in a given environment

Palynology

the study of ancient diet, plant life, and climate using pollen samples

Biological Anthropology

the study of human biological variation in time and space

Sociolinguistics

the study of language in society

Underdifferentiation

the tendency to view so-called less-developed countries as being more alike than they really are

Cultural Relativism

to know another culture requires full understanding of its members' beliefs and motivations

Cultures

traditions and customs, transmitted through learning, that form and guide the beliefs and behavior of the people exposed to them

Evolution

transformation of species; descent with modification

Experimental archaeologists

try to replicate ancient techniques and processes under controlled conditions

Overinnovation

trying to achieve too much change

Remote Sensing

use of aerial photos and satellite images to locate sites on the ground

Historical archaeologists

use written records as guides and supplements; and work with remains more recent than the advent of writing

Colonial archaeologists

use written records to locate and excavate postcontact sites and to verify or question written accounts

Molecular Anthropology

uses genetic materials to date and estimate the evolutionary distance between species

Applied Anthropology

using anthropology is solve contemporary problems

Mendelian genetics

ways in which chromosomes transmit genes across generations

Forensic Anthropologists

work within a legal context to recover, analyze, and identify human remains