Collections III: Hominids

Anthropology

Anthropology Overview

• The study of human diversity• 2 main areas of study:

– Physical anthropology• Evolutionary development/ Biological variations

within the species

– Cultural anthropology• Archaeology• Linguistics• Ethnology

Cultural Anthropology: Archaeology

• Studies material remains (“artifacts”) – Describes or explains human behavior– Examples: tools, pottery, and written

documents (anything man-made)– Garbage Project To study household waste

as a function of contemporary social issues• Alcohol consumption• Meat price increases/increased waste of meat• Landfill decay issues

Breakout Class Activity

• If this school was to be unearthed 500 years from now what would archaeologists view as artifacts? What would they be able to tell from the artifacts collected? – Take 5 minutes to walk through the school to find

(appropriate) artifacts that would best represent what this site was used for. You must have written permission of a teacher or administrator for each artifact you bring back. You will also be responsible for returning the artifact before the end of the day. Your group is required to collect at least 2 artifacts.

Class Discussion

• What is your artifact?• What does it tell you about this archaeological

site?• What artifacts seem to be missing from this

settlement/site that are commonly found at a campsite/homestead?

• What can you infer about the humans that inhabited/visited this site?

• What misconceptions could be inferred from your artifacts?

Cultural Anthropology: Linguistics

• The study of human language

• Language allows for transmission of culture from one generation to the next.

• Allows scientist to understand how people perceive themselves and the world around them.

Breakout Class Activity

• Take 5 minutes and make a list of all the things in our society that you use slang for.

• Take 2 minutes and create another list of

all the words that mean “money”.

Discussion

• For each list:– What does each word mean?– Where did you learn these words? Friends?

Family? Community members?

• What does this tell you about the importance of certain things in our culture?

Cultural Anthropology: Ethnology

• Study of present-day cultures• Human behavior that can be seen, experienced,

and discussed• Participant observation holistic perspective

(view a culture in a broad way instead of focusing on individual components of the culture)

• Researcher tries to be bias-free – Difficult because of prior knowledge of one’s

own cultural rules

Class Activity

• Read the following first-hand account of a researcher on the islands of Truk.

Discussion

• What was going through your mind when the researchers were first attacked by the first young man? The continued attacks?

• What would you have done?• Why did you think the men drank while the women did

not?• What did the researcher do that his professors told him

never to do? Why?• What was the result? What did he learn about this

culture?• How is our culture different or the same?

Physical Anthropology

• Heredity (genetics)

• Forensic anthropology– Identification of human remains

• Changes in humans over time– Tracing the evolutionary development of

human skulls over time