ANT 1/9 Franz Boas father of American anthropology Studied Baffin islanders, in the artic and peoples of British

sh Columbia, like the Kwakiutl

What is anthropology? Study of (hu)man Seeks the answers to many questions about humans

The scope of anthropology Examines all peoples throughout the world of all periods or times Interested in everything that relates to human or hominid populations Searches for generalizations about human groups, but in a critical, questioning manner

What anthropology is not Do not ONLY study exotic peoples, primitive or savage groups

The holistic approach All these features make anthropology holistic or multifaceted Use different modes of inquiry to learn about populations or groups History, environment, kinship, language, settlement, political system, economic system, religion, art styles, clothing, etc.

How is this unique? Anthropologists search for typical characteristics in population These traits or customs are then examined in depth

Specializing the typical Originally, anthropologists studied all of these features at once As the fields has grown and progressed, this is too much information for one person to process and examine

The four (sub)fields: Biological anthropology Study humans in terms or their biological and evolutionary relationships and look at their physical and genetic diversity Paleoanthropology: getting to homo sapiens sapiens (primatologists)

Human variation

Anthropological linguistics Usually studies unwritten languages Study changes over time (historical linguistics) Study differences in construction (structural linguistics) Study how language is used socially (sociolinguistics)

Archaeology Cultural anthropology of the human past through material remains Material remains are the residue of human existence Post-holes, garbage heaps, settlement patterns, pottery, metals, stone tools

Cultural anthropology Aka sociocultural anthropology, social anthropology or ethnology Something other than biology account for human variation globally People everywhere use culture to adapt Differs from sociology in terms of the comparison of cultures

How do anthropologists research? Basic research Fieldwork, and extended period of involvement with a people Those who share information about their culture are informants

Sharing this knowledge Articles in journals, books, audio, photography, or film Ethnography: written or filmed descriptions of culture Ethnohistory: study or how ways of life of a people have changed through time Cross-cultural research attempts to find general patterns about cultural traits

Applied anthropology Making anthropological knowledge applicable to specific problems Considered fifth subfield

Specialization There are four (sub)fields which are broken down further and further Helps to avoid stereotypes Knowledge of our past, learning for the present, considerations of the future