Anthropology

ANTHROPOLOGY

Reference: EMBER & EMBER

Anthropology?

It is the discipline of infinite curiosity about human beings

Anthropos= manLogos= study

Broader in scope, geographically and historically correct or mistaken beliefs about people

Fields of Anthropology1. Biological

a. Human paleontologyb. Human variation

2. Culturala. Archeologyb. Linguisticsc. Ethnology

3. Applied Anthropology4. Archeology

Reflect a possible social concern issue or problem in which you think

you would face in the exercise of the profession you are preparing

for. How can the discipline of anthropology be used in

understanding this concern?

Culture is the entire way of life of society including its

customs, values, social institutions, attitudes, music

and arts.

Material Culture

Made up of the artifacts people construct on the basis

of cultural norms

Non-material Culture

Abstract aspect

1. NormsRules of conduct that guide the

behavior of people in society

Examples: •Obedience to Elders•Applaud after a musical performance but not when a priest finishes a sermon

Non-material Culture

1.A FolkwaysHave the force of custom but do

not necessarily have a moral connotation

Examples: •Simple greetings•Dress code

Norms for routine, casual interaction

1.B MoresIdeas of right or wrong

Example: •Not engage in pre-marital sex; concept of

morality (not provided by law)•Not engage in infidelity (provided by law)

May be sanctified by religion and strengthened by incorporation into a law

1.C LawsFormalized social norms

Examples: •Smoking•Pedestrian Crossing

Recognized and should be followed

2. Cognitive

a. ValuesCulturally defined measures of goodness or desires

Example: equal opportunities for men and women, good looks, success

b. BeliefsExample: Pamahiin (Superstitious),

Supernatural

Subculture

Behavior and value system of a group which is a part of the society but has a unique cultural patterns

Example: subculture of poverty, subculture of students

Counter Culture

A subculture which is not merely different but sharply opposed to

the dominant values of the society

Examples: Criminals, NPA, CPP

Cultural RelativismFunction and meaning of a

culture depends on its setting

EthnocentrismBelief in the superiority if one’s

culture

Culture ShockReaction on things or

traditions they encounter or the first time

EnculturationProcess of socialization

Learn the culture

Characteristics of Culture• It is learned• It is shared• It is transmitted from one

generation to generation• It is adaptive/dynamic• It is diverse• It is integrated• It is symbolic

Features of Human Language

Human language use a limited number of sounds in combination to

make an infinite number of utterances/meanings

Conventionality

ProductivityHumans produce and understand an

infinite number of utterances they have never said or heard before

Eg. I don’t know the man who took the spoon that Jordan left on the table that was lying upside

down in the upstairs hallway of the building that burned down last night.

All human speech is adaptive allows humans to think to plan, coordinate activities to store up knowledge and

teach others.

Human beings have innate language learning capacity.

Eg. Take a child’s initiative in learning language and to speak grammatically. This potential for speech will only be realized, however, through interaction with other humans

speaking a language.

Descriptive/Structural LinguisticsDiscovers the rules that predict how most

speakers of a language talk

PhonologyPattern/system of sounds

MorphologyPattern of sound sequences to form

meaningful unitsSyntax

Pattern of phrases and sentences

Historical LinguisticsFocuses on how language changes

over time records and dates linguistics divergence

Geographic separationRacial or social distance

Conquest and colonization

What language would a human speak if he/she were not taught

any particular language?

Linguistically impaired

Do animals have culture?

No, because only humans have culture and humans are

able to adapt.

Variations in getting Food

Food collectorsHorticulturalists

PastoralistsIntensive Agriculture

Food Collection• Food getting strategy that obtains wild

plants and animals thru hunting (men), gathering (women), scavenging or fishing.

• Don’t own land.• Nomadic.• Division of labor in food collecting in

based age and gender.

Food CollectionExample

Hadza of Tanzania

Do not believe that they have exclusive rights over land on

which they hunt

Horticulture• Growing of crops with simple hand• Allocate plots of land to industries or

families for their use but don’t own these.• More sedentary communities may more

after several years

• Exhibit social differentiation part time political officials certain members of a kin group may have more status

HorticultureExample

Mundurucu of Brazil

The village controls the rights to use landA person who cultivates the land owns the

produce

Pastoralism

• Depend on domesticated herds of animals

• Animals are owned by industries/families but decisions about where and when to move them are made by the community

PastoralismExample

BasseriHave rights to pass through certain areas but do

not own the entire territory

BaluchClaim a tribal territory which they defend by

force, if necessary

Intensive Agriculture

• Cultivate fields permanently rely on mechanization

• Individual ownership of land resources

• Concept of ownership is a political and social matter

Intensive AgricultureExample

Under the Homestead Act of 1862

If a person cleared a 160 acre piece of land and farmed it for 5 years, the federal government would consider that person the owner of the land

Intensive Agriculture societies are more likely to face famines and food shortage

than horticultural societies. Why?

• They are producing crop for the market• Ergo farmers cultivate plants that give them the

higher yield that those that are drought resistant• Farmers also concentrate on one crop. Crop

diversity is a protection against total crop failure• There are fluctuations in market demands. If the

prices fall for a particular crop, farmers may not have money

Conversion to resources/types of economic production

• Domestic family or kinship mode of production• Industrial mechanized production• Tributary, most people produce their own food

but an elite or aristocracy controls of production (feudal, medieval, western)

• Postindustrial computer drive, machines and robots

• Businesses are more knowledgeable

Why do people work?• Household consumption• For survival• Profit motive universal• Need for achievement• Social Rewards• Forced Labor• Taxation

Inca Empire in the Central Andres; work for the state or as personal servants; the draft or compulsory military service

Emperors of China (Great Wall)Egyptians (Pyramid)

Distribution of Goods and Services

GeneralizedWithout any apparent expectation

BalancedImmediately or in the short term

ReciprocityGiving and taking without the use of money

RedistributionAccumulation of goods by a particular

person for subsequent distribution

Competitive feasting in New Guinea; produce more than what

they need, adaptive in agricultural activities

Market or Commercial Exchange

Prices depend on supply and demand

Occurs with increasing level of economic productivity