ANTH 1006 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Franz Boas, American Anthropologist, Trans-Cultural Diffusion
- Franz Boaz is the father of American anthropology!**
- Anthropological Thought
- Social Progression -> society is moving towards something better.
- If social progression exists why can't cultural progression happen?
Unilineal Evolution:
- Tyler is a British anthropologist
- Lewis Morgan is an American anthropologist
- Worked together to discover the culture:
○ Why are they different?
§ Savagery, barbarism, civilization,
□ Civilized chosen to help others
□ Hierarchy of humanity
○ One of them created a list of what it means to be a savage
○ They hunt and gather in small populations-> cultural system -> savages
○ ?????? Listen to lecture again
Diffusionism:
- Difusionism recognized that there were "hotspots" around the world
○ Egypt for example. Something must have happened there, so there may have
been a culture there.
○ Diffusion reaches surrounding groups at differing rates.
Document Summary
Franz boaz is the father of american anthropology! Social progression -> society is moving towards something better. One of them created a list of what it means to be a savage. They hunt and gather in small populations-> cultural system -> savages. Difusionism recognized that there were hotspots around the world. Something must have happened there, so there may have been a culture there. Diffusion reaches surrounding groups at differing rates. Early anthropologists were trying to understand variation! There are certain core elements that culture needs. (on ppt) Commodities came around - it was better to have your name on it. They work together to allow people to survive and function in their society. Malinowski asked how a certain population bent to suit another culture. Measured their skulls and rank them based on races. Levi was bringing in information from psychology. He wanted to understand the idea of patterns.
