1: Chapter The Essence of Anthropology 1. The Development of Anthropology 2. The Anthropological Perspective 3. Anthropology and Its Fields a. Physical Anthropology i. Paleoanthropology ii. Human Growth, Adaptation, and Variation iii. Forensic Anthropology iv. Primatology b. Cultural Anthropology i. Ethnography ii. Ethnology c. Archaeology i. Cultural Resource Management d. Linguistic Anthropology 4. Anthropology, Science, and the Humanities a. Fieldwork 5. Anthropology's Comparative Method 6. Questions of Ethics 7. Anthropology and Globalization
Anthropology--the study of humankind in all times and places Holistic perspective--a fundamental principle of anthropology: that the various parts of human culture and biology must be viewed in the broadest possible context in order to understand their interconnections and interdependence. Culture-bound--theories about the world and reality based on the assumptions and values of one's own culture. Applied anthropology--the use of anthropological knowledge and methods to solve practical problems, often for a specific client. Physical anthropology--also known as biological anthropology. The systematic study of humans as biological organisms. Molecular anthropology--a branch of biological anthropology that uses genetic and biochemical techniques to test hypotheses about human evolution, adaptation, and variation. Paleoanthropology--the study of the origins and predecessors of the present human species Biocultural--focusing on the interaction of biology and culture. Forensic anthropology--applied subfield of physical anthropology that specializes in the identification of human skeletal remains for legal purposes. Primatology--the study of living and fossil primates
Cultural anthropology--also known as social or sociocultural anthropology. The study of customary patterns in human behavior, thought, and feelings. It focuses on humans as cultureproducing and culture-reproducing creatures. Culture--a society's shared and socially transmitted ideas, values, and perceptions, which are used to make sense of experience and which generate behavior and are reflected in that behavior. Ethnography--a detailed description of a particular culture primarily based on fieldwork. Fieldwork--the term anthropologists use for on-location research. Participant observation--in ethnography, the technique of learning a people's culture through social participation and personal observation within the community being studied, as well as interviews and discussion with individual members of the group over an extended period of time. Ethnology--the study and analyses of different cultures from a comparative or historical point of view, utilizing ethnographic accounts and developing anthropological theories that help explain why certain important differences or similarities occur among groups. Archaeology--the study of human cultures through the recovery and analysis of material remains and environmental data. Cultural resource management--a branch of archaeology tied to government policies for the protection of cultural resources and involving surveying and/or excavating archaeological and historical remains threatened by construction or development. Linguistic anthropology--the study of human languages, looking at their structure, history, and/or relation to social and cultural contexts. Empirical--based on observations of the world rather than on intuition or faith. Hypothesis--a tentative explanation of the relation between certain phenomena. Theory--in science, an explanation of natural phenomena, supported by a reliable body of data. Globalization--worldwide interconnectedness, evidenced in global movements of natural resources, trade goods, human labor, finance capital, information, and infectious diseases. Chapter 14: Characteristics of Culture Culture is learned rather than inherited biologically. The human perspective is typically "ethnocentric"--believing that the ways of one's own culture are the only proper ones. 1. The Concept of Culture 2. Characteristics of Culture a. Culture is learned b. Culture is shared i. Subcultures: Groups Within a Larger Society c. Culture is Based on Symbols d. Culture is Integrated e. Culture is Dynamic
3. Culture and Adaptation a. Functions of Culture b. Culture and Change 4. Culture, Society, and the Individual 5. Evaluation of Culture
Culture--a society's shared and socially transmitted ideas, values, and perceptions, which are used to make sense of experience and which generate behavior and are reflected in that behavior. Enculturation--the process by which a society's culture is transmitted from one generation to the next and individuals become members of their society Society--an organized group or groups of interdependent people who generally share a common territory, language, and culture and who act together for collective survival and wellbeing. Gender--the cultural elaborations and meanings assigned to the biological differentiation between the sexes. Subculture--a distinctive set of standards and behavior patterns by which a group within a larger society operates, while still sharing common standards with that larger society. Ethnic group--people who collectively and publicly identify themselves as a distinct group based on various cultural features such as shared ancestry and common origin, language, customs, and traditional beliefs. Ethnicity--this term, rooted in the Greek word ethnikos ("nation") and related to ethnos ("custom"), is the expression of the set of cultural ideas held by an ethnic group. Pluralistic society--a society in which two or more ethnic groups or nationalities are politically organized into one territorial state but maintain their cultural differences. Symbol--a sign, sound, emblem, or other thing that is arbitrarily linked to something else and represents it in a meaningful way. Social structure--the rule-governed relationships--with all their rights and obligations--that hold members of a society together. This includes households, families, associations, and power relations, including politics. Infrastructure--the economic foundation of a society, including its subsistence practices and the tools and other material equipment used to make a living. Superstructure--a society's shared sense of identity and worldview. The collective body of ideas, beliefs, and values by which a group of people makes sense of the world--its shape, challenges, and opportunities--and their place in it. This includes religion and national ideology. Ethnocentricism--the belief that the ways of one's own culture are the only proper ones. Cultural relativism--the idea that one must suspend judgment of other people's practices in order to understand them in their own cultural terms.
Chapter 2: Biology & Evolution 1. The Classification of Living Things 2. The Discovery of Evolution 3. Heredity a. The Transmission of Genes i. Genes & Alleles b. Cell Division i. Polygenic Inheritance 4. Evolution, Individuals, and Populations a. The Stability of the Population 5. Evolutionary Forces a. Mutation b. Genetic Drift c. Gene Flow d. Natural Selection e. The Case of Sickle-Cell Anemia f. Natural Selection, Time, and Nonadaptive Traits Mammal--the class of vertebrate animals distinguished by bodies covered with fur, selfregulating temperature, and in females milk-producing mammary glands. Primate--the group of mammals that includes lemurs, lorises, tarsiers, monkeys, apes, and humans. Species--the smallest working unit in the system of classification. Among living organisms, species are populations or groups of populations capable of interbreeding and producing fertile viable offspring. Genus, genera--in the system of plant and animal classification, a group of like species. Taxonomy--the science of classification Analogies--in biology, structures possessed by different organisms that are superficially similar due to similar function; without sharing a common developmental pathway or structure. Homologies--in biology, structures possessed by two different organisms that arise in similar fashion and pass through similar stages during embryonic development though they may possess different functions. Hominoid--the taxonomic division superfamily within the old world primates that includes gibbons, siamangs, orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos, and humans. Hominid--African hominoid family that includes humans and their ancestors. Some scientists, recognizing the close relationship of humans, chimps, bonobos, and gorillas, use the term hominid to refer to all African hominoids. They then divide the hominoid family into two subfamilies: the Paninae (chimps, bonobos, and gorillas) and the Homininae (humans and their andcestors). Hominin--the taxonomic subfamily or tribe within the primates that includes humans and our ancestors.
Notochord--a rodlike structure of cartilage in that, vertebrates, is replaced by the vertebral column. Natural selection--the evolutionary process through which factors in the environment exert pressure, favoring some individuals over others to produce the next generation. Gene--a portion of the DNA molecule containing a sequence of base pairs that is the fundamental physical and functional unit of heredity. Law of segregation--the Mendelian principle that variants of genes for a particular trait retain their separate identities through the generations. Law of independent assortment--the Mendelian principle that genes controlling different traits are inherited independently of one another. Chromosome--in the cell nucleus, the structure visible during cellular division containing long strands of DNA combined with a protein. DNA--Deoxyribonucleic acid. The genetic material consisting of a complex molecule whose base structure directs the synthesis of proteins. Codon--three-base sequence of a gene that specifies a particular amino acid for inclusion in a protein. RNA--ribonucleic acid; similar to DNA but with uracil substituted for the base thymine. Transcribes and carries instructions from DNA from the nucleus to the ribosomes where it directs protein synthesis. Some simple life forms contain only RNA. Transcription--process of conversion of instructions from DNA into RNA. Ribosomes--structures in the cell where translation occurs. Translation--process of conversion of RNA instructions into proteins. Genetic code--the sequence of three bases (a codon) that specifies the sequence of amino acids in protein synthesis. Enzyme--protein that initiates and directs chemical reactions. Allele--alternate form of a single gene Genome--the complete structure sequence of DNA for a species. Mitosis--a kind of cell division that produces new cells having exactly the same number of chromosomes pairs, and hence copies of genes, as the parent cell. Meiosis--a kind of cell division that produces the sex cells, each of which has half the number of chromosomes found in other cells of the organisms. 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 alleles possessed for a particular trait. Phenotype--the observable or testable appearance of an organism that may or may not reflect a particular genotype due to the variable expression of dominant and recessive alleles. Dominanace--the ability of one allele for a trait to mask the presence of another allele. Recessive--an allele for a trait whose expression is masked by the presence of a dominant allele. Hemoglobin--the protein that carries oxygen in the red blood cells.
Polygenic inheritance--when two or more genes contribute to the phenotypic expression of a single characteristic. Population--in biology, a group of similar individuals that can and do interbreed. Evolution--changes in allele frequencies in populations; also known as microevolution Gene pool--all the genetic variants possessed by members of a population Hardy-Weinberg principle--demonstrates 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 specified conditions are met. Mutation--chance alteration of genetic material that produces new variation Genetic drift--chance fluctuations of allele frequencies in the gene pool of a population Founder effect--a particular form of genetic drift deriving from a small founding population not possessing all the alleles present in the original population Gene flow--the introduction of alleles from the gene pool of one population into that of another. Adaptation--a series of beneficial adjustments to the environment Altruism--acts of selflessness or self-sacrificing behavior Stabilizing selection--natural selection acting to promote stability, rather than change, in a population's gene pool. Sickle-cell anemia--an inherited form of anemia caused by a mutation in the hemoglobin protein that causes the red blood cells to assume a sickle shape. Chapter 3: Living Primates 1. Methods and Ethics in Primatology 2. Our Mammalian (Primate) Heritage 3. Primate Taxonomy a. Establishing Relationships among the Primates Through Genetics 4. Primate Characteristics a. Primate Dentition b. Sensory Organs c. The Primate Brain d. The Primate Skeleton 5. The Living Primates a. Lemurs and Lorises b. Tarsiers c. New World Monkeys d. Old World Monkeys e. Small and Great Apes 6. Primate Social Behavior a. The Group b. Individual Interaction and Bonding
c. Sexual Behavior d. Reproduction and Care of Young e. Play f. Communication g. Home Range h. Learning i. Use of Objects as Tools j. Hunting 7. Primate Conservation and the Question of Culture
Nocturnal--active at night and at rest during the day. Arboreal--living in the trees Diurnal--active during the day and at rest during the night Prosimii--a suborder of the primates that includes lemurs, lorises, and tarsiers. Anthropoidea--a suborder of the primates that includes New World monkeys, Old World monkeys, and apes (including humans). Grade--a general level of biological organization seen among a group of species, useful for constructing evolutionary relationships Platyrrhini--an anthropoid infraorder that includes New World monkeys. Catarrhini--an anthropoid infraorder that includes Old World monkeys, apes, and humans. Strepsirhini--in the alternate primate taxonomy, the suborder that includes the lemurs and lorises without the tarsiers. Haplorhini--in the alternate primate taxonomy, the suborder that includes tarsiers, monkeys, apes, and humans. Dental formula--the number of each tooth type (incisors, canines, premolars, and molars) on one half of each jaw. Unlike other mammals, primates possess equal numbers on their upper and lower jaw so the dental formula for the species is a single series of numbers. Sexual dimorphism--within a single species, differences in the shape or size of a feature for males and females in body features not directly related to reproduction such as body size or canine tooth shape and size. Binocular vision--vision with increased depth perception from two eyes set next to each other allowing their visual fields to overlap. Stereoscopic vision--complete three-dimensional vision (or depth perception) from binocular vision and nerve connections that run from each eye to both sides of the brain allowing nerve cells to integrate the images derived from each eye. Fovea centralis--a shallow pit in the retina of the eye that enables an animal to focus on an object while maintaining visual contact with its surroundings. Ecological niche--a species' way of life considered in the full context of its environment, including factors such as diet, activity, terrain, vegetation, predators, prey, and climate. Vertebrate--an animal with a backbone including fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals
Cranium--the braincase of the skull Foramen magnum--a large opening in the skull through which the spinal cord passes and connects to the brain. Clavicle--the collarbone connecting the sternum (breastbone) with the scapula (shoulder blade). Suspensory hanging apparatus--the broad powerful shoulder joints and muscles found in all the hominoids, allowing these large-bodied primates to hang suspended below the tree branches. Scapula--the shoulder blade Brachiation--using the arms to move from branch to branch, with the body hanging suspended beneath the arms Prehensile--having the ability to grasp. Opposable--able to bring the thumb or big toe in contact with the tips of other digits on the same hand or foot in order to grasp objects. Community--a unit of primate social organization composed of fifty or more individuals who inhabit a large geographic area together. Natal group--the group or the community an animal has inhabited since birth Dominance hierarchies--an observed ranking system in primate societies ordering individuals from high (alpha) to low standing corresponding to predictable behavioral interactions including domination Grooming--the ritual cleaning of another animal's coat to remove parasites and other matter. Estrus--in some primate females, the time of sexual receptivity during which ovulation is visibly displayed. Ovulation--moment when an egg released from the ovaries into the womb is receptive for fertilization. Monogamous--mating for life with a single individual of the opposite sex. Home range--the geographical area within which a group of primates usually moves. Tool--an object used to facilitate some task or activity. Although tool mating involves intentional modification of the material of which it is made, tool use may involve objects either modified for some particular purpose or completely unmodified.