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7 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Defining Anthropology |
• Anthropology is the study of Homo sapiens, our species.– As anthropologists we try to understand our species by studying all possible variables that make us who we are. For every conceivable human variable there is an anthropologists wanting to study that variable. |
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Key Anthropological Perspective |
Holistic: Human variables must be viewed in the broadest possible context in order to understand their interconnections and interdependence with each other. Comparative: Anthropology by its very nature is comparative. We are able to understand what makes us unlikely human by comparing ourselves anatomically and genetically to other species. Relativistic: Who is more evolved? The human or the fish? The particular capacities that make us human are not capacities that make us superior or inferior to other species. After all a human in water will drown. |
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What is science? |
A process for discovery • Developed to provide an unbiased way of finding the best possible answer to a problem by testing empirical data, and allowing others to verify the results. |
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The Subfields of Anthropology |
• The U.S. approach to anthropology was born from the work of Franz Boas who felt that our species is best studied when viewed from all possible perspectives. U.S. anthropology consists of four previously independent fields of study that have merged into one. Biological anthropologyCultural anthropologyLinguistic anthropology Archaeology |
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Theory |
• In every day life the word theory is the same thing as a guess. • In science theory is a well supported explanation for some aspect of the natural world that incorporates facts, laws, inferences, and tested hypotheses. Observations are all empirical. |
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Three basic assumptions of science |
• Natural causality – cause and effect. • Uniformity in space and time – all events occur in the same way regardless of the time and the place. • Common Perception – All humans will experience events in the same way by way of their senses. |
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The two basic things contained within chromosomes: |
Chromosomes are mostly composed of complex proteins. Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is the other main component of chromosomes. There is a relatively small quantity of DNA inside of chromosomes. DNA itself is relatively simple molecule. |
