FREE ESSAY ON ANTHROPOLGY

ANTHROPOLGY

Anthropology- the study of humankind everywhere, through time, seeks to produce reliable
knowledge about people and their behavior, both about what makes them different and what
they have in common. What They Do- Physical anth- study humans as biological organisms,
tracing there evolutionary development of the human animal and looking at biological
variations within the species, past and present (human evol, Primates, Human diversity.
Cultural Anth- is concerned with human cultures, or the ways of life in societies.
Culture bound- Theories about the world and reality based on the assumptions and values
of ones own culture. Within the field of cultural anth are Archaeologist- Is the branch
of cultural anth that studies material remains in order to describe and explain human
behavior. Traditionally it has focused on the human past, for material products of
behavior, rather then behavior itself, are all that survive of the past. They did the
Arizona garbage project. Linguists- who studies language, by which cultures are
maintained and passed on to succeeding generations. Ethnologist- Or sociocultral anth,
concentrates on cultures of the present. Human behavior as it can be seen, experienced,
and even discussed with those whose culture is to be introduced. How do they do what they
do- anth, in common with other scientist are concerned with the formulation and testing
of hypothesis, or tentative explanations of observed phoneme. In so doing, they hope
develop readable theories- explanations supported by bodies of data-although they
recognize that no theory is ever completely beyond challenge. In order to frame
hypothesis that are as objective and free of culture bias as possible, Anth typically
develop them through a kind of total immersion in the field, becoming so familiar with
the minuet details of the situation that they can begin to recognize patterns in the
data. It is also through fieldwork that anth test existing hypotheses.
Ethnology- the systematic description of a particular culture based on first hand
observation.
Holistic perspective-A fundamental principle of anth, that the various parts of culture
must be viewed in the broadest possible context to understand their interconnections and
interdependence
Participant observation through direct participation in every day life for an extended
period of time.
Ethnohistory-is a kind of historical ethnology that studies cultures of the recent past
through the accounts of explore, and through analysis of such data land titles, birth
records and so on.
CH-2- Archaeologist- Are anth that many study human past physical remains.
Paleonthropologist- An anth who studies human evolution from fossil remains. Artifact-
any object fashioned altered by humans. Stuart Piggot a British archeologist called it
the study of rubbish. Fossil- the preserved remains of plats and animals that lived in
the past. Unaltered fossil- Remains of plats and animals which lived in the past that
have not been altered. Ex- iceman. Altered fossil- fossils that have been altered by
organic material by calcium carbonate or silica. Site- In archaeology, a place containing
remains of human activity. Fossil- Locality- In a place were fossils are found. Soil
Marks- stains, which show up on the surface of recently plowed fields that, reveal an
arch site. Grid system- recording data from an arch site. Datum point- The starting, or
reference point for a grid system. Flotation- an arch technique employed to recover very
tiny objets by immersion of soil through water. Stratified- Layered of arch sites where
the remains lie in layers, one upon another. !/4 of arch sites by accident. ? by arch
survey. Cultural Resource Management (CRM) Relative dating- Fossils being older or
younger then another. Absolute or Chronometrical dates- Dates for arch materials based on
solar years, centuries, or other units of absolute time. Stratigraphy- Layer dating.
Fluorine Test- The amount of fluorine in bones. Radiocarbon analysis- unstable isotope,
Decays to nitrogen n14 (c14 dating) half-life is 5730.Dendrochronology- Tree ring
testing, based on chronometrical dating. Potassium -argon analysis- ratio of radioactive
potassium to argon in volcanic debris associated with human remains. Electron spin
resonance - a tech for chromatic dating that measures the number of trapped electrons in
a bone or shell. 
CH-3-Primate order- The group of mammals that include lemurs, lorries, tarsiers, monkeys
apes and humans. Genes- potions of DNA molecules that direct the development of the
observable or identifiable traits. DNA- the genetic material, deoxyribonucleic acid, a
complex molecule with info to direct the synthesis of proteins. They can produce exact
copies of themselves. Chromosome- In the cell nucleus, long strands of DNA combine with
proteins. Alleles- Alternate forms of single gene. Ex (brown blue eyes). Mitosis- Cell
division that produces new cells having exactly the same number of chromosomes pairs, and
hence genes, the parent cells. Meiosis- Cell division, that produces the sex cells, each
of which has half the number of chromosomes, and hence, as the parent cell. Homozygous
refers to a chromosome pair that bears identical alleles for a single gene. Heterozygous-
refers to a chromosome pair that bears different alleles for a single gene. Genotype- The
actual genetic makeup of an organism. Phenotype- The physical appearance of an organism
that may not reflect a particular genotype because the latter may or may not include
recessive alleles. Hemoglobin- the protein that carries oxygen in the red blood cells.
Sickle-cell anemia- an inherited form of anemia caused by the red blood cells assuming a
sickle shape. Loc. in chromsone#21 3 copies. Polygenetic inheritance- When 2 or more
genes work together to effect a single phenotypic character. Population- individuals that
can interbreed. Gene Pool- the total genes of a population. Hardy-Weinburg Principle-
Demo algebraically that the percentage of individuals that are homozygous for the
dominant allele, homozygous for the recessive allele, and heterozygous should remain
constant from one generation to the next, provided that certain conditions are met.
Evolution- A heritable change in genotype that becomes effective in the gene pool of a
pop. Mutation- Chemical alteration of a gene that produces a new allele. Genetic Drift-
Chance fluctuations of an allele frequencies in a gene pool of a popu. (Mud slid). Gene
flow- the introduction of alleles from the gene pool of one pop into that of another.
(River dividing mammals). Divergent evolution_ an evolutionary process in which an
ancestral population gives rise to two or more descendant population that differs from
one to another. Convergent evolution- A process in which two phylogenetic unrelated
organisms develops greater similarities. Species- A pop that can inter breed,
reproductively isolated from other pop. Race- A pop of a species that differs in the
frequency of some allele or alleles from other po of the same species. Isolating
mechanism- Factors that separate breeding pop, creating divergent races and ultimately
divergent species. CH-14-What is culture? Culture consists of the abstract values,
beliefs, and perceptions of the world that lie behind people's behavior and that are
reflected by their behavior. Members of a society share these, and when they are acted
upon, these elements produce behavior that is intelligible to other members of that
society. Cultures are learned, rather then inherited biologically, and they are learned
largely through the medium of language. The parts of a culture function as an integrated
whole. Culture- the ideals, values and beliefs of a society share to interrupt experience
and generate behavior and that are reflected by their behavior. Society- A group of
people who have a common homeland, are interdependent and share a common culture. Social
structure- the relationships as group within a society that hold it together. Gender- the
elaboration's and meanings cultures assign to the biological differentiation of the
sexes. Subculture- (Amish) A distinctive set of standards and behavior patterns that a
group within a larger society operates by. Pluralistic societies- Societies that have
diversity culture