ANTH 205 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Tabula Rasa, Concealed Ovulation, Genetic Diversity
Human Universals 10/8/2014 5:17:00 PM
o Human universals: any cultural trait or institution found in all societies
and cultures
o So, why would there be certain types or categories of behavior that are
universal?
• Humans everywhere have to respond to a similar set of needs and
problems
o basic survival
o subsistence
o protection
o enculturation
o explanation of the unknown, etc.
• Common biological ancestry, biological constraints
o Prolonged dependency of children
o Language acquisition
o Sexual dimorphism
▪ Division of labor and hunting
▪ Catherine Marsh study: animal reactions to human
menstrual blood
Herbivores and game animals tend to practice
extreme avoidance
Carnivores acted with extreme aggression
o Female reproductive changes
▪ Menopause
▪ Quantity vs. quality theory, Sociobiology
Best strategy for men is to father as many
children as possible while contributing as little
time as possible
Best strategy for women is to gather as many
resources as possible and focus them on fewer
offspring
o Loss of estrus (cycle)
▪ Human females are the only females with concealed
ovulation; this concealment led to decline of alpha male
system; led to greater sexual receptivity which has led
to pair intimacy and bonding; some say it is the origin
of love
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▪ Insecure male theory/cuckoldry
Fear of spouses cheating; highly emphasized in
male perspective
Say this originally led to marriage
• Blank Slate or Empty Cup Theory> Ruth Benedict> Myth>
behavioral universals
o Benedict believed that human beings at birth were like a
blank slate
o Cognitive design elements
• Detect and prefer the central tendency of a group
o Evolution and conformity
• Trust the familiar, distrust the foreign
o War, aggression, slavery, chimpanzees, non-linguistic
universals
o Culture can override things we may think of as universal
• Mother-infant bonding
o Shepper-Hughes and Angelinhos
▪ Children who are not meant to live; extremely high
infant mortality rate; Angelinhos born really weak; not
named when born; victims of benign neglect; Shepper-
Hughes describes this as a coping mechanism
• “naturally aggressive”
o Semai people of Malaysia
▪ Gentleness is the norm; tribal level society that has
withdrawn completely into the mountains and have very
little outside contact; aggressive behavior is frowned
upon and shunned
o Subsistence
• Theme: same basic needs but with different solutions
o Needs
▪ Energy
Marasmus> caloric deficiency disease; victims
almost look like human skeletons
▪ Protein
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Kwashikor> protein deficiency disease; swelling of
abdomen; rust-colored tint to hair; sores all over
the body
▪ Vitamins
Various deficiencies
▪ Fats
Needed for thermal protection and energy storage
▪ Water
Cooling system; regulates chemical reactions in
the body; aids in digestion; dehydration is lethal
o Solutions
▪ Great basin groups
People eat grasshoppers during dryer times of the
year when game is scarce
▪ Eskimo/Athabascan: sausage, fish
▪ Pastoralists
o Enculturation: the process of the acquisition of culture, learned/taught
• Four Avenues
o Observation and Mimicry
▪ Language acquisition, etc.; children soak up languages
like a sponge; only need to be taught exceptions to
rules
o Emulation of model behavior
▪ High status, figures, etc.; people/figures they look up
to; anyone that receives praise from people
o Technical instruction
▪ School; explicitly taught special skills
o Conditioning
▪ Rewards and punishments
▪ Fictive agents- stories like Boogie Man, Santa Claus,
etc.
o
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