What is anthropology? - The study of the human species and its immediate ancestors
anthropos means - human
logos means - study
the art of map making
-The skill began in the 13th century in Europe with its development being related to
expansion of Europeans. - Cartography
Is cartography eurocentric? - Yes
The two major problems in early cartography: - 1. Technical one of how to depict three-
dimensional sphere onto a two dimensional, flat surface
2. Cultural one of whose worldview the maps reflect
These problems are inseparable.
What is reality determined by? or What is anthropology about? - Perception
How we view the world, be it on a map or in our minds is shaped by our - Subjective
thought processes
What is reality for one culture may not be... - reality for other cultures
Myths (mythology) and folklore were once used to try to understand our - surroundings
Myths are often defined in popular culture as merely a ___. But they are actually stories
that: - lie; explain things in our world.
Myths (mythology) was, therefore, a way of trying to: - understand culture
Mythologies are very - subjective
One of the most popular type is the ____ _______ - origin myth
is the hallmark of any science - objectivity
Anthropology is relatively new. Why? - -Major reason: technology and travel.
-human history of transportation to other parts of the world is expensive, laborious, and
time consuming
, The second reason for why Anthropology is relatively new. - Cultural bias
-Early civilized Europeans had a problem with recognizing that "primitive" or "barbarian"
people could be of the same, common human stock.
Even educated, scientific people often used negative value laden words in describing
any group of people that were not European, especially Indigenous peoples.
the study of the full scope of human diversity and the application of that knowledge to
help people of different backgrounds better understand one another. - anthropology
is the idea of judging other groups of people based upon how you live, in other words,
making value judgments that are based on your own culture when describing aspects of
another culture. - ethnocentrism
looking at a culture and not using any value judgments that stem from your own culture-
bound background. - cultural relativism
what does the comparative method do? - simply compare data
-its used in all fields of anthropology
-don't rely on one study
Cultural anthropologists make _____ between peoples and cultures of the past and
present but not judgments on the quality between them. - comparisons
Difficulties of anthropological studies: - 1. Objectivity: It is difficult for someone who grew
up in one culture to frame objective hypotheses about other cultures.
2. Validity and Reliability: The reliability of the ethnographer's account is not easily
validated.
A study can be reliable but not valid, i.e., always obtain the same data although it may
be bad or skewed data.
What happened in the 1700s? 3 things - 1. A significant number of Europeans finally
realize that studying other people in the world was important.
2. A time of scientific activity in many fields of endeavor, such as biology, chemistry,
astronomy, and many others.
3. A time of conflict between the "objective" scientific views and the prevailing
"subjective" religious views of the day.
an important early attempt at classifying life in which each life form was placed on a
graduated scale of "perfection". - the chain of being
What was wrong with the chain of being? - it was objective.
1. it it is the study of humankind everywhere,
2. the science or study of Homo sapiens using a holistic approach.
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