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More about anthropology
Review key terms chapter 1 essentials of physical anthropology
Cultural Anthropology and linguistics
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What is anthropology? Anthropology is defined as the study of human beings and the relationship between humans and other organisms. As a result of different types of anthropologies many studies focus on particular aspects of humans, which will be merely discussed in this paper. In the United States anthropology is made up of four main subfields which are: cultural/social anthropology, archaeology, linguistic anthropology, and physical/biological anthropology. Cultural/social anthropology is the study of culture and society and describes social and cultural similarities and differences. Archaeology studies past human behavior and culture patterns through material remains. Linguistic anthropology studies languages and how people use them. Physical/biological anthropology is introduced as the study of biological and behavioral characteristics of human beings, apes, and their ancestors.
Chapter one of Essentials of physical anthropology opens by introducing the famous fossil footprints in East Africa made about 4 million years ago by the animal who we now call Australopithecus afarensis....
A study performed by Martin Hausler and Peter Schmid of the University of Zurich, Switzerland, appeared in the October 1995 issue of Journal of Human Evolution, igniting controversy over the 1974 Australopithecus discoveries in Hadar, Ethiopia. The most famous of the Hadar specimens is the 3-million-year-old skeleton, “Lucy,” who was recovered by paleoanthropologist, Donald Johanson. In his article, Shreeve presents the methods and findings of Hausler and Schmid’s study as well as some counter arguments from other scientists in the field.
“Analyses of the hominid indicate that they belonged to a previously unidentified species, which anthropologist Yohannes Haile-Selassie of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History and his colleagues are calling this species Ardipithecus Kadabba. Previous fossil finds from the identical genus has suggested that hominids called kadabba were instead a subspecies of the only other known Ardipithecus species, Ardipithecus ramidus”(Bower 2004). This new hominid is being addressed presently as Ardipithecus ramidus kadabba. “While Ardipithecus ramidus kadabba is not the sought-after link—the yet-undiscovered creature that lived at the cusp of the evolutionary division between man and chimp—Yohannes Haile-Selassie, also a doctoral candidate at the University of California at Berkeley, said the hominid certainly is very close to the branching point.” (Rickman 2001)
Allen, John S., and Susan C. Anton. "Chapter 13 The Emergence, Dispersal, and Bioarchaeology of H. sapiens." Pearson Custom Anthropology. By Craig Stanford. Boston: Pearson Learning Solutions, 2013. 200+. Print.
Australopithecus afarensis who existed 3.5 million years ago and a 4.4 million year old skeleton of an Ardipithecus ramidus are the closest science has come to discovering the human lineage. Shattered Ancestry an article written by Katherine Harmon discusses the remains of two hominids found within Ethiopia. These skeletal remains have created a huge controversy within the topic of evolution questioning many assumptions that have been made referencing the human lineage. The skeleton of the Australopithecus afarensis was named Lucy and was discovered in 1974. The evidence of her walking upright on her two feet essentially guaranteed her a spot in the human lineage line. Lucy was a chimplike ape that was said to walk upright making scientists believe the human ancestry was simple. The complete skeleton found in Ethiopia of an Ardipithecus ramidus named Ardi completely changed all assumptions made from scientists about the complexity of the human lineage. These remains have encouraged researches that the human line is not the only lineage to have evolved but the chimpanzee line has undergone drastic changes as well. There are many traits that researchers have always directly linked to the human lineage however since these discoveries occurred researchers are reconsidering. The recent discoveries that have shattered what has always suggested what linked a species to the human lineage have changed the certainty of whether it is possible to confidently identify the human’s last common ancestor. Majority of scientist had forgotten that there would have been many hominid species living together at one time. New theories have been suggested since scientists revealed that the foot of a hominid found called the Burtele site was found ju...
The species A. afarensis is one of the better known australopithecines, with regards to the number of samples attributed to the species. From speculations about their close relatives, the gorilla and chimpanzee, A. afarensis’ probable social structure can be presumed. The species was named by Johanson and Taieb in 1973. This discovery of a skeleton lead to a heated debate over the validity of the species. The species eventually was accepted by most researchers as a new species of australopithecine and a likely candidate for a human ancestor.
Stanford, Craig B., John S. Allen, and Susan C. Antón. Exploring Biological Anthropology: The Essentials. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2010. 17. Print.
Cultural Anthropology is a term that is in everyday lives and topics. When one thinks of anthropology they think of the study of old remnants commonly referred to as archaeology. This, however, is not the only form of anthropology. There are four types of anthropology and they are archaeology, biological anthropology, cultural anthropology, and linguistic anthropology. However, Cultural anthropologists are every where and study people of all walks of life. One can find a topic and find some type of study that an anthropologist has conducted on the matter. The following are five articles that explain how anthropologists are every where.
Cultural anthropology involves exploring social and cultural variations of humans. Linguistic anthropology studies how language shapes communication. Archaeology is the study of earlier cultures by analyzing and interpreting material remains. Biological anthropology includes topics such as genetics, evolution, and growth and development. Cultural anthropology can give a more in depth perspective on how different cultures, religions, and nations interact with their children.
Physical anthropology “is in large part, human biology seen from an evolutionary perspective” (Jurmaln, Kilgore & Trevathan, 2011). By this statement, I believe the authors mean that physical anthropology studies human biology from an evolutionary viewpoint rather than a scientific or medical viewpoint. Anthropology, as a broader science, is concerned with and studies human culture and the evolutionary aspects of human biology. Since culture affects human beings and human beings affect culture, the two are intertwined, and it therefore, makes sense to study them together.
Anthropology is the study of humans through the ages. It aims to understand different cultures and practices that have existed from the origins of mankind as well. It differs from sociology in that it takes into account humans and cultures that no longer exist.
One cannot generalize or predict all human behaviors, thought processes, morals, and customs. Because human nature is dominated by different types of cultures and societies in various parts of the world, this can often lead to misunderstanding which ultimately leads to the illusion of cultural superiority, and in most cases this can lead to genocide - the systematic murder or annihilation of a group of people or culture. Anthropology is the study of humans, our immediate ancestors and their cultural environments this study stems from the science of holism - the study of the human condition. Culture is crucial in determining the state of the human condition, as the cultures are traditions and customs that are learned throughout an individual
According to Stringer and Andrews, the Out-of-Africa Model suggests that there is a fairly recent common ancestor that shares many of the anatomical characteristics displayed by modern Homo Sapiens (1263). This version is more parsimonious with regard to the fact that it ...
1. Stanford, Craig. Allen, John S. Anton, Susan C. Exploring Biological Anthropology second edition. Pearson Education, Inc. 2008. Pages 238-420.
Cultural anthropology known as the comparative study of human societies and cultures and their development. Cultural anthropology is also known as the study of human cultures, their beliefs, practices, values, ideas, technologies, economies and other domains of social and cognitive organization. Cultural anthropology studies how human cultures are shaped or shape the world around them and it focus a lot on the differences between every person. Human societies has been culturally involved throughout generations because of human development and advanced. The goal of a cultural anthropology is to teach us about another culture by collecting data about how the world economy and political practices effect the new culture that is being studied. However, cultural anthropology has gave us a understanding of world affairs and world problems, the way to interpret the meaning of social actions by putting them in as much context as possible, and a deeper insight of humankind-at all times, in all places and of yourself as part of a culture.
Culture is an important concept in anthropology. Culture is defined as, "sets of learned behavior and ideas that human beings acquire as members of society. Human beings use culture to adapt to and transform the world in which they live." (LS:512). Culture has been used in anthropology to understand human difference, but within this understanding there have been benefits and drawbacks to the ideas of culture. Finally, the study of language and humans as symbol using creatures helps us have perspectives on different parts of the world. All anthropologists share a certain reliance on culture to have a starting point in understanding human experience as a whole.