ANTHRO 134A Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Evolutionary Medicine, Ethnomedicine, Sleep Paralysis

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Darwinian medical anthropology: darwinian medicine asks the question: how have humans and disease pathogens have been co-evolving. This approach focuses on culture, life cycles of other organisms(mosquitoes) and genetic selection (random mutation for sickle cell). Disease might be biological but we cannot separate out the cultural aspect. Culture and disease are always intertwined and this is true for most human diseases. The cause of sickle cell is a difference in hemoglobin. You can look at malaria to see how often you will get the sickle cell allele. However, you have a much higher resistance to malaria. Ethnomedicine: ethnomedicine is the beliefs and practices related to disease and healing in diverse cultures. Ethnomedicine tries to make the strange, familiar and tries to understand the theory behind what they are doing. Examples: shamanism, contacting the supernatural, home remedies, use of parasites, cupping, holy water, herbal medications, etc.