ANT100Y1 Lecture : Anthropology Part 2.docx
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ANT100Y1 Full Course Notes
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Document Summary
The value of language and culture for adaptation. Which part of our existence is due to nature and which part is due to nurture: meaning either from genes or from the people around you. All humans have language and all humans have culture . So language and culture are programmed into humans by nature. But specific languages and specific cultures are human particulars. Language allows us to adapt to new situations. Social transmission much more flexible than genetic transmission: The major changes can occur within a generation or two. Major changes can occur without a change of species. Specific languages and cultures develop to cope with specific environmental and social contexts. Cultures: potlatch, brides wealth/dowry: potlatch: giving away everything prestige. Result: adaptation without becoming a new species. Within all species, groups can come into conflict, often over resources. In homo sapiens, these groups may be adapted to different niches. And this may be accompanied by prejudices about the other.
