Chapter 1- Thinking and Doing Anthropology - Haviland text

informed consent

This is a formal recorded agreement of participation between the subject and the researcher which is federally mandated. Informed consent can be obtained in many different ways and is not always simply a signed piece of paper. There are times when confidentiality can (and should) be maintained.

culture-bound theories

Through a rigorous methodology and the use of cross-cultural and a long-term evolutionary perspective, anthropologists try to avoid the pitfalls of ethnocentrism and other culture-bound theories

Ethnographic Field Methods

To conduct ethnography, anthropologists use a series of traditional field methods Key consultants Interviews Eliciting devices

contract archaeology

When state legislation requires or sponsors any archaeological work

Ethnography

a detailed description of a particular culture based primarily on first-hand fieldwork.

Fossils

a preserved trace or impression of an organism

Artifacts

any object fashioned or altered by humans

Culture-bound theories

base their assumptions about the world and reality from a researcher's own particular culture and can be ethnocentric.

Interviews

both informal (unstructured and open-ended conversations) and formal (structured questions and answers).

Ethnology

cross-cultural research that allows anthropologists to develop theories to address differences and similarities among and between groups.

Relative dating techniques

do not establish precise dates for remains, but instead set up a series of relationships between known dates ("older than" or "younger than" a known date).

Participant observation:

ethnographic method , used by cultural anthropologists for fieldwork. a combination of social participation and personal observation within the community being studied. the hallmark of ethnographic fieldwork.

Theories

explanations supported by a reliable body of data

Biological (physical) Anthropology

focuses on the study of humans as biological organisms. It has three primary specialties: Paleoanthropology Primatology Human growth, adaptation, and variation

How do anthropologists face the ethical challenges that emerge through conducting anthropological research?

informed consent anthropologists must do everything in their power to ensure that they do not harm the safety or dignity of the people with whom they work.

Cultural resource management

is applied archaeology. It involves using archaeology to identity and preserve any significant prehistoric or historic resources that might be affected by new construction. When state legislation requires or sponsors any archaeological work, it is referred to as contract archaeology

Archaeology

is the study of human cultures through recovery and analysis of material remains and environmental data. There are three types of archaeology: Historical Archaeology Bioarchaeology Contemporary Archaeology

Anthropology

is the study of humankind in all times and places.

cultural anthropology social or sociocultural anthropology

is the study of patterns of human behavior, thoughts, and feelings. It has two main components: Ethnography Ethnology Fieldwork for cultural anthropologists most commonly involves the ethnographic method participant observation

Key consultants

members of the society being studied who play a primary role in working with the anthropologist.

Ecofacts

natural remains of plants and animals in the archaeological record

Features

nonportable elements on a site

Ethnocentrism

occurs when a person believes that the ways of their own culture are the only proper ones.

Fieldwork

on-location research Fieldwork for cultural anthropologists most commonly involves the ethnographic method participant observation

holistic perspective

perspective allows anthropologists to prevent their own cultural ideas and values from distorting their research

Absolute dating (or chronometric dating) techniques

provide actual dates calculated in years "before the present."

Globalization

refers to worldwide interconnectedness, evidenced in global movements of natural resources, trade goods, toxins, human labor, finance capital, information, and infectious diseases

Human Relations Area Files (HRAF)

A key resource for cross-cultural comparison is the use of the Human Relations Area Files, a collection of cross-indexed ethnographic, biological, and archaeological data catalogued for nearly 400 societies. The use of cross-cultural data aids in the development of theories.

Culture

A society's shared and socially transmitted ideas, values, and perceptions, used to make sense of experience and which generate behavior and are reflected in that behavior

How do anthropologists conduct research?

Anthropology is an empirical social science, which means it is based on observations or information about humans that is collected through sensory data and verified by others. Field study Dating Archaeological Excavation Key consultants Interviews Eliciting devices

empirical social science

Anthropology is an empirical social science, which means it is based on observations or information about humans that is collected through sensory data and verified by others. It involves the use of: Hypotheses Theories

How is anthropology different from other disciplines?

Anthropology is the study of humankind in all times and places.

Which anthropological fields utilize applied anthropology?

Applied anthropology is found in all four of the primary fields of the discipline. All four fields practice applied anthropology, which entails using anthropological knowledge and methods to prevent or solve practical problems. Cultural Anthropology Linguistic Anthropology Archaeology Biological (Physical) Anthropology

What is anthropology's role in our globalized world?

Because of its holistic perspective and long-term commitment to understanding the human species, anthropology is highly relevant in our world today.

What can anthropology contribute to the understanding of globalization?

Because of their holistic perspective and long-term commitment to understanding the human species, anthropologists are uniquely positioned to be effective at understanding globalization.

Anthropology has four primary fields:

Cultural Anthropology Linguistic Anthropology Archaeology Biological (Physical) Anthropology

datum point

Each grid system has a starting point called a datum point. It is the point of primary reference

What do anthropologists do in each of its four fields?

Forensic anthropology Cultural Anthropology Linguistic Anthropology Biological (physical) Anthropology

medical anthropology

One of the early forms of applied anthropology

Sites

Places containing remains of previous human activity. Excavations from sites yield many different types of information: Artifacts Fossils

Anthropological Code of Ethics

The American Anthropological Association devised a formal code of ethics in 1971 and currently operates under a revised 2009 edition of the Code. It outlines a range of moral responsibilities and obligations. The core principle is that anthropologists must do everything in their power to ensure that they do not harm the safety or dignity of the people with whom they work.

forensic anthropology

The applied aspect of biological anthropology. An approach which uses genetic and skeletal information to identify deceased individuals.

Historical linguistics

studying relationships among languages and their spatial distributions

Hypotheses

tentative explanations or hunches

Historical Archaeology

the archaeological study of places for which records also exist, often providing additional data.

Descriptive linguistics

the dissection of a language by recording, delineating, and analyzing all of its features.

Bioarchaeology

the study of cultural practices through human remains.

Linguistic anthropology

the study of human languages - it investigates their structure, history, and relation to social and cultural contexts. There are three types of linguistic anthropology: Descriptive linguistics Historical linguistics Language in its social and cultural settings

Primatology

the study of living and fossil primates.

Contemporary Archaeology

the study of modern material culture to understand contemporary cultural patterns

Human growth, adaptation, and variation

the study of the biological mechanisms of growth and environmental impact.

Paleoanthropology

the study of the origins, predecessors, and early representatives of the present human species.

Language in its social and cultural settings

the study of ways that specific speech events are affected by differences between cultures and individual users. languages are dying out at a shocking rate of about one every two weeks

Eliciting devices

the use of activities and objects to draw out information about cultural beliefs and practices.

Dating Methods

Material remains (artifacts and fossils) are dated using two different systems: Relative dating techniques Absolute dating (or chronometric dating) techniques:

holism

It focuses on the interconnections and interdependence of all aspects of the human experience in all places

grid system

Sites are excavated using a grid system: dividing the surface into squares of equal size and numbering or marking them with stakes.

Applied anthropology is found in all four of the primary fields of the discipline.

TRUE

Because of its holistic perspective and long-term commitment to understanding the human species, anthropology is highly relevant in our world today.

TRUE

It is estimated that there are no more than six degrees of separation between your hands and those of the "blue miners" of coltan in eastern Congo

TRUE