ch 1 Flashcards
the contemporary period of increasing human impact on the ecosystems of our planet.
Anthropocene
the study of humanity across time and space.
anthropology
the study of how people in the past understood and used celestial objects for navigation, calendars, politics, and the timing of ritual events.
archaeoastronomy
the field of anthropology that relies on the excavation of artifacts and fossils to explore how environmental and historical conditions have produced a diversity of human cultures.
archaeology
objects made by humans, such as pottery or tools.
artifacts
the field of anthropology that focuses on the earliest processes in the biological and sociocultural development of human beings as well as the biological diversity of contemporary humans. Biological anthropologists study the origins, evolution, and diversity of our species.
biological anthropology
the field of anthropology devoted to describing and understanding the wide variety of human cultures. Cultural anthropologists focus on such things as social thought, action, ritual, values, and institutions.
cultural anthropology
a stereotype of a person from a different culture, used to create a cultural distinction between “us” and “them.”
cultural other
a stereotype of a person from a different culture, used to create a cultural distinction between “us” and “them.”
cultural other
understanding every element of culture within the broader whole of that culture. Cultural relativism highlights how each belief or practice is related to all of the other beliefs and practices in a culture.
cultural relativism
the process of learning and acquiring a particular culture, often intensified in childhood.
enculturation
the study of how people in different cultures categorize and use plants for food, shelter, tools, transportation, art, and religion.
ethnobotany
the notion that one’s own culture is so superior that no other culture is worth consideration. Ethnocentric people often imagine that the world would be a much better place if the beliefs, values, and practices of their own culture were spread to or imposed on everyone else in the world.
ethnocentrism
a written book or article about a particular culture.
ethnography
the removal of fossils and artifacts from the ground in order to learn as much as possible about how people lived in times before and after the development of writing.
excavation
