1. The Nature of Anthropology
Nature/Nurture Controversy
The Rulers, Plato said, must tell the people of the city “The Noble Lie”--that
the categories of Rulers, tract, "The Republic," Plato (427 BC – ca. 347 BC) described
In his best known Auxiliaries, Farmers, etc. was not due to circumstances
within the people's control, upbringing, or education, but because of Auxiliaries,
city whose inhabitants were organized into categories: The Rulers, God's
intervention. God, the Lie went, hadwould be chosen from the into eachelite (called
Farmers, etc. The Rulers, he said, put gold, silver, and iron military person’s soul,
and those metals determined where a person's stationand caring for the interest of the
Guardians) because they were good at shepherding was in life was.
community. The Auxiliariesargues,be Guardians in training.social structure. In
The Lie is necessary, Plato would in order to keep a stable
Plato’s mind, The Noblethe people of the city that’s fed to ownmasses to were found
The Rulers told Lie is a religious lie that if their the children keep
with bronze orcontrol and happy the child would drop downPlato did not believe
them under iron in their soul, with their situation in life. the ranks accordingly.
And if apeople were smart enough to look after their own would rise up best
most farmer’s child was born with gold in his soul, he and society’s to the
Guardian level.few smart peoplesaid people had different metalsresttheir flock,
interest. The The Rulers also of the world needed to lead the in of the
blood stream,And The Noblecould notto continue.
Plato said. and therefore Lie had intermarry.

2. The Nature of Anthropology
An artifact of late 19th Century Western Civilization

3. The Beginning of Anthropology
Weltanschauung
Shift in Weltanschauung from idea that human
beings are “apart from nature” to the idea that
we are “a part of nature.”
Just a little shift in prepositions!
Charles Darwin exemplifies this shift….

4. The Beginning of Anthropology
The Enlightenment
Precursors John Locke (1632-1704)
Locke's metaphor of the tabula rasa, "white paper” illustrates his
idea that, without experience, no characters are written on the
"tablets" of the mind; except through the "windows" of sensation
and reflection, no light enters the understanding. No ideas are
innate; and there is no source of new simple ideas other than
George Berkeley (1685-1753)
those two.
idealism: nothing, including material objects, exists apart from perception;
external objects are ultimately collections of ideas and sensations

5. The Beginning of Anthropology
The Enlightenment
Benjamin Franklin (1706 - 1790)
Thomas Jefferson (1743 – 1826)
When in the Course of human events, it becomes
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) bands
necessary for one people to dissolve the political
Discourses on the Sciences and the Arts (1751) to
which have connected them with another, and
Johannamonguponpowers ofGoethe (1749-1832)
assume Wolfgang von the earth, the separate Inequality Among
A Discourse the the Origin and Foundation of the
Mankind (1755) - known as the Second Discourse of
and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and
Nature's God entitle what wedecent respect to the
“We see only them, a know.”
opinions of mankind requires that they should declare
The Social Contract (1762)
the causes which impel them to the separation.

6. The Beginning of Anthropology
Other disciplines with similar origins:
Sociology - Auguste Comte 1798-1857;
Emil Durkheim (1858-
1917)
Economics - Adam Smith (1723-1790);
David Ricardo (1772-1823);
Karl Marx (1818-1883)
Psychology - Wilhelm Wündt (1832-1920;
Wm. James (1842-1910)

7. Anthropometry
Physical Primatology
Osteology Human Genetics
Cultural Ethnology
Ethnography Linguistics
Social Anthropology
Archeology
Forensic Anthropology

8. Anthropometry
One of the earliest specialties
Concerned with empirical
description of many aspects
of the human physical
height; weight; skin pigmentation; skull
condition…..
shape; girth; ratios of measurements,
Never a good source of theory…has
i.e. the Cephalic Index.
been mainly descriptive…important
part of modern science of ergonomics.

9. Osteology
Tibia (shinbone) our prevention of osteoporosis
Until recently provides a model osteology has
Study of bone….inknowledge of to
Now recognized in anthropology with
illustratebeenprocess of ignored
the relatively boneof
and in identification development:
emphasis on primates human remains.
(i.e. Clyde Snow and Forensic Anthropology)
Long bones such as the tibia very small andaonly
At birth, human skeleton is grow the way tree
There are two kinds of bone cells….essentially hard,
grows…thatcells thatthe ends.one another, andsuch as
partially calcified….the skull and other bones a soft,
outer bone is from overlap Using data from
various bones, it bonecartilaginous model, along stress
the tibia consist of possible to determine with some
spongy interior is a whose cells develop and
degree ofto hardenhousingthings asproceeds with age.
proceed confidence such for marrow. approximate
lines and provide as calcification the
age, sex, population group, represented. Based on
skeletal material alone, positive I.D. is rare.

10. Primatology
Study of Primates
Before the 1930’s knowledge of free ranging
Early studies included:
primates was riddled with “sea stories.”
Clarence Ray Carpenter’s studies of Howler Monkeys
Horace Bingham’s studies of the Mountain Gorilla. on Barrio Colorado
island in the Panama Canal Zone.
These were essentially studies in comparative psychology
that employed anthropological field techniques….These
studies were interrupted by WWII.

11. Primatology
Among these were:
After the war studies of free ranging primates
were resumed with renewed vigor.
Jane Goodall’s studies of Mountain Gorillas in
Dian Fossey’s studies among the Chimpanzees
of the Gombe Stream Preserve in NE Tanzania.
Ruwanda’s Volcanic National Park.

12. Human Genetics
“Bokanovsky's Process,’ repeated the Director, and
the students underlined the words in their little
notebooks.
One egg, one embryo, one adult-normality. But a
bokanovskified egg will bud, will proliferate, will
divide. From eight to ninety-six buds, and every bud
will grow into a perfectly formed embryo, and every
embryo into a full-sized adult. Making ninety-six
human beings grow where only one grew before.”
-----Brave New World
Aldous Huxley
wrote Brave New World
in four months in 1931.

13. Human Genetics
aka Population Genetics (Microevolution)
Species
Largest set of individuals who can mate
with one another with genetically viable
offspring as a result.

14. Human Genetics
aka Population Genetics (Microevolution)
Population (Mendelian population;
breeding population)
Set of individuals who mate with one
another more often than with others.

15. Human Genetics
Barriers that divide species into populations:
Geographic barriers
Temporal barriers
Psychological barriers
Sociocultural barriers

16. Human Genetics
The total genetic material of a population is
the Gene Pool of that population.
Evolution is operationally defined as change
in the composition of a gene pool.

17. Human Genetics
Processes that effect changes in composition of gene pools:
Genetic Drift/Sewell Wright Effect
(founder’s principle is related)
Natural Selection
(i.e. Kettelwell’s pepperback moth study)
Mutation
Cross breeding

18. Cultural Anthropology
Ethnography
Ethnology
Social Anthropology
Linguistics
Forensic Anthropology
Archaeology
Psychological Anthropology

19. Ethnography (ethnos, a people+graphos, a writing)
An attempt to give an accurate, objective,
valid, reliable account of the way of life
of a specific group of people.
This is the basic descriptive level of cultural
anthropology.
Participant Observation is major feature.
Laura Tamakoshi’s (above) work in New Guinea is another.
Margaret Mead’s work with the Samoans is a good example.
(Margaret Mead also worked in New Guinea.)

20. Ethnology (ethnos, people+logos, word)
An attempt to give an accurate, objective,
valid, reliable account of the way of life
of a larger set of people.
The Science of Culture.
E.B. Tylor,A higher level of generalization….
Franz Boas
Ethnologists try to find patterns of behavior that
are common to the various groups under
investigation.
The Comparative Method is an important tool.
Cultural Universals…cultural traits manifest in religion
some way in all cultures under study.
language kinship systems

21. Social Anthropology
Area of anthropology most
like sociology.
Differs mainly on areas of emphasis
and the professional identification
of the individual.

22. Social Anthropology
Social anthropologists have been
Sociologists have been concerned
concerned mainly with
mainly with own society.
Kinship and Descent
traditional society.
Be sure to use the supplemental Powerpoint
presentation for more information on social anthropology topics
such as kinship and descent, geneaological space, kin types and
terms, etc.

23. Linguistics
Study of Language
Language is a system of vocal symbols
by means of which human beings interact in
terms of their culture.
Be sure to use the supplemental Powerpoint
presentation “05WHATDO” for more on morphemes, the 3
“S’s” of language, different specialties, etc.

24. Forensic Anthropology
Application of anthropology to law.
Clyde Snow, Laura Fulginiti, Gill
King, Kathleen Reichs

25. Archaeology (Archeology)
Set of techniques and methods to
study material remains.
Prehistoric (before writing)
Historic (depends on writing)
Garbage Project (U. of Arizona)

26. Psychological Anthropology
Largely began as “Culture and Personality”
Margaret Mead and Ruth Benedict
Has morphed into much broader areas:
Martha McClintock’s work on menstrual synchrony
New think tank at UTD called antÉ…..
Institute for Research in Anticipatory Systems