INTRODUCTION TO ANTHROPOLOGY Anthropology 2000002

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INTRODUCTION TO ANTHROPOLOGYAnthropology
2000-002
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Professor Clifford T. Brown

• Office Room SO172
• Phone [phone]
• Address
• Department of Anthropology
• Florida Atlantic University
• 777 Glades Road
• Boca Raton, FL 33431
• Email ctbrown_at_fau.edu
• Office Hours 200-400 p.m. Tuesday and by
  appointment
• Web site http//www.fau.edu/ctbrown
• Please check the web site for notes and other
  information.

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Assignments

• Class attendance required
• Textbook readings
• Text Ember, Carol R., Melvin Ember, and Peter N.
  Peregrine, 10th edition. Pearson Prentice Hall.
• Getting the most out of the readings
• Other readings as assigned (few of these)
• Three tests
• Physical anthropology
• Archaeology
• Cultural anthropology and linguistics
• Tests are not cumulative except to the extent
  that the material is innately progressive
• Tests are mostly multiple choice
• Usually include some extra credit
• Two short written assignments
• One on archaeology
• One on ethnography

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Class Policies

• No plagiarism or cheating
• How to avoid plagiarism
• Quotes and references
• See style guides
• Turn off cell phones, pagers, beepers
• Everyone gets treated with respect, you, me, and
  your classmates

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What Is Anthropology?

• Anthropology is the holistic and scientific
  study of humankind. As such, it is a very broad
  field that includes human biology, genetics and
  evolution the study of human history,
  prehistory, and archaeology human culture,
  cultural patterns, and cultural diversity social
  structure, kinship, economics, religion,
  politics, art, and linguistics (the scientific
  study of language).

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What Does THAT Mean?

• Anthropology has four main parts
• Physical or biological anthropology
• Archaeology
• Cultural (and social) anthropology
• Linguistics
• VERY BROAD FIELD
• Runs the gamut from medicine and genetics (pure
  or hard sciences) to art, religion, drama, and
  poetry (humanities)
• Something for everyone
• Examples

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The Subfields in More Detail Physical
Anthropology

• Physical anthropology (also known as biological
  anthropology) is human biological diversity and
  evolution.
• Includes
• Medical anthropology
• Paleoanthropology (including some paleontology)
• Human genetics and evolution
• Primatology

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The Subfields in More Detail Archaeology

• The study of human prehistory and cultural
  evolution (no dinosaurs)
• Archaeologists study ancient society and culture
  through material remains
• Like artifacts and human remains
• Bioarchaeology study of ancient human remains
• Paleopathology study of ancient disease through
  materials remains

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The Subfields in More Detail Cultural
Anthropology

• Cultural anthropologists study modern, existing
  human cultures
• Comparative and holistic
• Ethnology is the study of particular cultures
• Ethnography is writing about a culture.
• Social anthropology (which is part of cultural
  anthropology) focuses more on social structure

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The Subfields in More Detail Linguistics

• Scientific study of human language
• Language is the basis of culture
• Includes historical linguistics,
  sociolinguistics, morphology, syntax, etc.

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Closely related fields

• Social sciences
• Economics
• Psychology
• Sociology
• Political science
• Sciences
• Medicine, Genetics, Human biology
• Physics and chemistry

• Humanities
• Arts
• Literature
• Ethnomusicology
• Religion
• Ritual

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Venn Diagram
Anthropology
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How is anthropology different?

• Concept of culture and cross-cultural approach
• Holistic approach
• How did anthropology develop its special
  structure?