Midterm Flashcards
(36 cards)
define anthropology
all aspects of humanity, from material to non-material, in all times and at all places
2 domains of anthropology, define
Physical: as biological organisms. (evolution, primates, biological variation)
Cultural: behavior, ethnology, archaeology, material culture, linguistics
ethnocentrism
the belief that the was of one’s own culture are the only proper ones
what are the four fields of anthropology?
cultural, linguistic, archaeology, physical
describe ‘participant observation’
the technique of learning a people’s culture thru social participation and personal observation within a community being studied, as well as interviews and discussion with individual members of the group over an extended period of time.
Who is Herbert Spencer?
- developed theories on unilateral evolution
- renowned anthropologist
- ideas on how ppl were progressing from inferior to superior.
- coined ‘survival of the fittest’
who is Edward Tylor?
- wrote ‘primitive culture’
- cultural evolutionism
- british
who is Louis H Morgan?
- wrote ‘Ancient Societies’
- researches on human society from savagery to civilization
- American
define Louis H Morgan’s definition of savagery, barbarism, civilization?
Civilization: ancient and modern
Barbarism: domestication, smelting, writing
Savagery: Fishing, fiver, bow, arrow, pottery, fire.
Name the five aspects that define ‘Culture’
- learned (family, community, media)
- shared (passing down, school, society)
- based on symbols (wedding rings, flags, money)
- dynamic (ever-changing, a living thing)
- integrated (work, tools, dwellings, food, worship, etc.)
How do anthropologists conduct research?
- field work where they completely immerse themselves in the culture
- some conduct laboratory analyses
how does ethics affect anthropology?
anthropologists must stay aware of the potential uses and abuses of anthropological knowledge and the ways that it is obtained.
enculturation
the process by which a society’s culture s passed on from one generation to the next and individuals become members of their society.
cultural relativism
the idea that one must suspend judgment of other people’s practices in order to understand them in their own cultural terms.
how well does a particular culture satisfy the physical and psychological needs of those whose behavior it guides
- nutritional status
- general physical and mental health
- incidence of violence
- stability of domestic life
- group’s relationship to its resource base
define language
a system of communication using sounds gestures, or marks that are put together in meaningful ways according to a set of rules, resulting in meanings that are intelligible to all who share that language
Language is organized into what three factors?
- vocabulary (symbolic sounds)
- grammar (entire formal structure of a language, including morphology and syntax)
- syntax (rules by which words are arranged into phrases and sentences)
morpheme
smallest units of sound that carry a meaning (cat: free, cats: bound)
phoneme
smallest class of sound (ie: cat, cut)
morphology (language)
the study of the patterns or rules of word formation in a language, including the guideline for verb tense, pluralization, and compound words.
phonology
study of language sounds
language family
a group of languages descended from a single ancestral language.
paralanguage
extralinguistic noise that accompanies language (giggling, groaning, sighing, as well as voice qualities such a s pitch and tempo)
kinesics
nonverbal signals in body language incliding facial expressions and bodily postures and motions
