ANTA01H3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Dual Inheritance Theory, Linguistic Anthropology, Molecular Anthropology
ANTA01 – Lecture 1- Introduction; Evolutionary Principles
What Is Anthropology?
• The field of injury that studies human culture evolutionary aspects of human biology.
• Comprised of four primary subfields:Cultural Anthropology,Archaeology,Linguistic
anthropology,Physical (or Biological) Anthropology.
• This course will only study two
• Each subdiscipline emphazies different aspects of the humans experience, but
together, they of a means of explaining variation in human biological and
behavioural adapations.
• Humans are unique compared to other primitives, But in ourselves we are unique.
Behavioural, culture and biological.
Anthropology: Cultural Anthropology
• Study of patterns of belief and behaviour found in modern and historical cultures.
• Cultural anthropology began with an interest in traditional societies and led early
anthropologists to study and record lifeways that are now all but extinct.
• Ethnographies : Detailed descriptive studies of human societies; they form the basis for
comparative studies of numerous cultures.
o Ethnographic techniques are applied to the study of diverse subcultures and their
interactions with one another in contemporary areas (urban anthropology).
Anthropology: Linguistic Anthropology
1. Focuses on the relationship between human speech and language and different aspects
of culture, such as the role of symbols in society, social identity, and cultural beliefs and
ideologies.
2. The use of language is a unique human characteristic.
3. Interest in written and spoken languages.
4. Insights into the process of language acquisition in infants have implications for the
development of language skills in human evolution.
Anthropology: Archaeology
•Study of earlier cultures by anthropologists who specialize in the scientific recovery,
analysis, and interpretation of material remains of past societies (artifacts).
•Artifacts are objects or materials made or modified for use by hominins.
•The earliest artifacts are usually tools made of stone or,occasionally, bone.
•Focuses on artifacts and materials remains of culture. Ancient artifacts remain.
Anthropology: Physical (Biological Anthropology)
• Scientific discipline concerned with the biological and behavioral characteristics of
humanbeings, as well as those of our closest relatives, the nonhuman primates (apes,
monkeys, tarsiers, lemurs, and lorises), and their ancestors.
• Non- humans primates like gorillas. We share our genetics with them. They give insight
on your ancestors or maybe look like and what they did behaviorally.
• The study of human biology within the framework of evolution (human biology from an
evolutionary perspective) with an emphasis on the interaction between biology and
culture.
• This kind of research helps us explain what it means to be human and how we came to
be the way we are.
• Physical anthropology is, in large part, human biology seen from an evolutionary
perspective.
Physical Anthropology
• Paleoanthropology- Ancient ancestors before we came human and before 10,000 years
ago. Interested in Fossil humans. Pre-modern and way earlier than early ancestors.
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• Human Variation
• Human Anatomy
• Molecular Anthropology
• Osteology & Bioarchaeology- Skeletal remain on humans.
• Paleopathology- diseases and injury. Ex- hunchback people. TB(Tuberculous)
• Forensic Anthropology- living humans in death, crime scenes.
• Primatology- biology, evolution.
• Applied: applied research areas include genetic and biomedical research, public health,
evolutionary medicine, medical anthropology, conservation of nonhuman primates, and
positions in museums and zoos.
Humankind: A Biocultural Product
• Culture: the strategy by which humans adapt to the natural environment; a set of
learned behaviors transmitted from one generation to the next by non-biological
means.
• Technology, religion, values, social organization, language, kinship, marriage rules,
gender roles, dietary practices, inheritance of property, and so on, are all aspects of
culture.
• Each culture shapes people
͛s perception of the external environment, or their
worldview, in particular ways that distinguish that society from all others.
• Behavioral aspects of human adaptation, including technology, traditions, language,
religion, marriage patterns, and social roles.
• Humankind: A biocultural product. Ven diagram with environment, biology and
culture. Humans are a product of a combination of inherited(biological) traits and
cultural (learned) traits.
• Relationship with environment ex- eating less wild food and eating more processed
food than before which has shown an increase in diabetes and obesity rates.
• The predisposition for culture is perhaps the most critical component of human
evolutionary history, and it was inherited from our early hominin or even pre-hominin
ancestors. In fact, the common ancestor we share with chimpanzees may have had
this predisposition.
• During the course of human evolution, the role of culture became increasingly
important. Over time, culture influenced many aspects of our biological makeup; and
in turn, aspects of biology influenced cultural practices.
• For this reason, humans are the result of long-term interactions between biology and
culture, and we call these interactions biocultural evolution; in this respect, humans
are unique
Physical Anthropology & the Scientific Method
• Physical anthropology is a scientific approach to the investigation of all aspects of
human evolution, variation,& adaptation.
• Research in this field is based on the scientific method
• The scientific method is a system of inquiry that involves the
• development of hypotheses to explain some phenomenon;
• It involves: observing phenomena, developing hypotheses to explain what is
observed, and developing a research design or experiments to test the hypothesis.
• This is an empirical approach: relying on experiment or observation (Science is a
body of knowledge gained through observation and experimentation)
Physical Anthropology and the Scientific Method Process
• Identify the research problem.
• Explore the existing literature to read what others have
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Document Summary
Physical anthropology: paleoanthropology- ancient ancestors before we came human and before 10,000 years ago. Pre-modern and way earlier than early ancestors: human variation, human anatomy, molecular anthropology, osteology & bioarchaeology- skeletal remain on humans, paleopathology- diseases and injury. Tb(tuberculous: forensic anthropology- living humans in death, crime scenes, primatology- biology, evolution, applied: applied research areas include genetic and biomedical research, public health, evolutionary medicine, medical anthropology, conservation of nonhuman primates, and positions in museums and zoos. In fact, the common ancestor we share with chimpanzees may have had this predisposition: during the course of human evolution, the role of culture became increasingly important. Physical anthropology and the scientific method process: explore the existing literature to read what others have. Identify the research problem. found: create several tentative explanations (or hypotheses), develop a research design or methodology to test the, hypothesis, collect and analyze data. We have biased that are different from us.
