chapter 1

evolution

the adaptive changes in populations of organisms across generations

Even though anthropologists use parts of the scientific method, some don't see what they do as a science because

the complexity of social behavior prevents any completely objective analysis of human culture

qualitative approach to studying social life in your university would emphasize what?

the construction of statistical models to explain activities in the community

Industrialization

the economic process of shifting from a agricultural economy to a factory-based one

What prompted intellectuals to start systematically explaining the differences among people?

the industrial revolution

cultural relativism

the moral and intellectual principle that one should withhold judgement about seemingly strange or exotic beliefs and practices

the primary ethical responsibility of anthropologists is to (who)

the people or species they study

diversity

the sheer variety of ways of being human around the world

scientific method

the standard methodology of science that begins from observable facts, generates hypotheses from these facts and then tests these hypotheses

Lingustic Anthropology

the study of how people communicate with one another through language and how language uses shapes group membership and indentity

anthropology

the study of human beings and their biology, prehistory and histories and their changing languages, cultures and social institutions

Biological Anthropology

the study of the biological aspects of the human species, past and present, along with those of our closest relatives, the nonhuman primates

cultural anthropology

the study of the social lives of living communities

culture

the taken-for-granted notions, rules, moralities, and behaviors within a social group

A key element of the scientific method, which both explains things and guides research

theories

Qualitative methods

A research strategy producing an in-depth and detailed description of social activities and beliefs.

Anthropologists have always approached a problem by specializing in one of the four subfields T/F

TRUE

An ethical approach to anthropological research would emphasize

all of these (rejection of cladistine research, responsibilities towards the host, commitment to doing no harm

empirical

verifiable through observation rather than through logic or theory

Contemporary cultural anthropologists often rank societies along an evolutionary scale from "primitive" to "advanced." T/F

FALSE

Historical archaeologists excavate sites where written historical documentation exists that provide an accurate description of the way the people actually live. T/F

FALSE

T/F The scientific method is a research method in pursuit of ultimate truth

FALSE

Diversity, defined anthropologically, refers to both multiplicity and variety, which is not the same thing as "difference" T/F

TRUE

ethnocentrism

The assumption that one's own way of doing things is correct, while dismissing other people's practices or views as wrong or ignorant.

colonialism

The historical practice of more powerful countries claiming possession of less powerful ones.

The Human Terrain System, a program of the US military in Iraq and Afghanistan, used anthropologists to ______________________________

better understand locals, (against the locals)

the subfield of anthropology that studies human evolution, including human genetics and human nutrition is called

biological anthropology

evolutionary perspective would be most likely to explain colonialism a

the superior natural abilities of one group of people allowing them to control an inferior group of people

when did anthropology emerge as an academic disipline

1800s

A key concern in the 1850s that shaped the discipline of anthropology was the emergence of a new scientific theory called "evolution. T/F

True

There is rarely any guessing involved in the development of theories because they are tested repeatedly. T/F

True

A relativistic perspective on the meanings of Coca-Cola in Tzotzil Maya communities in Chiapas, Mexico, would emphasize what

that those meanings are only sensible within a culturally specific set of ideas about religion and spirituality

the 19th century british anthropologist credited with the development of the concept of culture through evolutionary perspective was

E.B Taylor

salvage paradigm

The paradigm that held that it was important to observe indigenous ways of life, interview elders, and assemble collections of objects made and used by indigenous peoples.

Archaeology

The study of past cultures, by excavating sites where people lived, worked, farmed, or conducted some other activity.

Anthropologists like E.E. Evans-Pritchard and Renato Rosaldo do not see cultural anthropology as a science T/F

True

Qualitative methods often use the researchers themselves as the research instrument T/F

True

theory

a collection of tested and repeatedly supported hypotheses

A key principle of the holistic perspective developed by Franz Boas

a goal of synthesizing the entire context of human experience

quantitative methods

a methodology that classifies features of a phenomenon, counting or measuring them, and constructing mathematical and statistical models to explain what is observed

ethnographic method

a prolonged and intensive observation of and participation in the life of a community

comparative method

a research method that derives insights from careful comparisons of aspects of two or more cultures or societies

Applied Anthropology

anthropological research commissioned to serve an organization's needs

practicing anthropology

anthropological work involving research as well as involvement in the design, implementation, and management of some organization, process, or product

which of the following is the most significant aspect of the salvage paradigm

anthropologists need to collect information from societies before they die out

The practical use of anthropologic al knowledge to address real-world problems, sometimes called anthropology's "fifth field," is

applied anthropology

the subfield of anthropology that studies the material remains of past cultures, often focusing on the rise of cities is called

archaeology

A quantitative approach to studying the archaeological past would be most interested

building and testing hypotheses by collecting, classifying, and measuring the remains of past cultures

the thinker who developed evolutionary theory in the nineteenth century was

charles darwin

The historical practice of more powerful countries claiming possession of less powerful ones is called _____________________ and was a driving force in anthropology

colonialism

The comparative method is:

comparing 2 or more cultures

the subfield of anthropology that studies human diversity, beliefs, and practices is called

cultural anthropology

the moral and intellectual principle that one should withhold judgement about seemingly strange or exotic beliefs and practices is known as

cultural relativism

A key feature of the_____________concept is that it refers to the taken-for-granted notions, rules, moralities, and behaviors within a social group that feel natural.

culture

holism

efforts to synthesize distinct approaches and findings into a single comprehensive interpretation

Assuming your culture's way of doing things is the best is called

ethnocentrism

The method of data collection that involves prolonged and intensive observation of everyday life and is a hallmark of cultural anthropology

ethnographic method

__________________ refers to the adaptive changes that organisms make across generations

evolution

Research that involves interviews, observations, images, objects, and words is a _____ study

feildwork?

Linguistic anthropologists traditionally study

how our mouths form word, how our language evolve, how indigenous people classify their social worlds

What process involves shifting from an agricultural economy to a factory-based one?

industriallization

The practice of anthropologists explaining their research to participants and being clear about the risks involved is called

informed consent

During fieldwork, cultural anthropologist

interview people, live in the society

The application of the comparative method in his research in Papua New Guinea led coauthor Robert Welsch to focus on

interviews of village elders in different villages, published and unpublished accounts of mask collectors who visited different villages, and museum collections

the subfield of anthropology that studies language is called

linguistic anthropology

Ethics, which are_______________________________, are important to anthropologist

moral obligations

ethics

moral questions about right and wrong standards of appropriate behavior

The process by which inheritable traits are passed along to offspring because they are better suited to the environment is

natural selection

Western colonial powers understood the different customs and cultures of the people they colonized a

proof of their primitive nature

Techniques that classify features of a phenomenon and count, measure, and construct statistical models are collecting and analyzing

quantitative data