Chapter 1: What is Anthropology?

I. Human Adaptability
Anthropology is the exploration of human diversity in time and space.
Anthropology studies the whole of the human condition: past, present, and future;
biology, society, language, and culture. Of particular interest is the diversity that
comes through human adaptability.
A. Adaptation, Variation, and Change
1. Adaptation refers to the processes by which organisms cope with
environmental forces and stresses.
2. Humans use both biological and cultural means of adaptation. For
example, human bodies can adapt biologically in three ways to
high altitude: genetic adaptation, long-term physiological
adaptation, and short-term physiological adaptation. Culturally,
humans have developed technologies, such as pressurized airplane
cabins equipped with oxygen masks, to deal with extreme
environments.
3. As human history has unfolded, the social and cultural means of
adaptation have become increasingly important. Much more
recently, the spread of industrial production has profoundly
affected human life.
II. General Anthropology
A. The academic discipline of anthropology, also known as general
anthropology or "four-field" anthropology, includes four main
subdisciplines or subfields. They are sociocultural, archaeological,
biological, and linguistic anthropology. This four-field approach is
distinctly American.
1. There are historical reasons for the inclusion of four subfields in a
single disciple, with origins tracing to the 19th century.
2. There are also logical reasons for the unity of American
anthropology. Each subfield considers variation in time and space,
and to each of them, a comparative, cross-cultural approach is
essential.
B. Human Biological Diversity and the Race Concept
1. Historically, scientists have approached the study of human
biological diversity in two main ways:
a. Racial classification (now largely abandoned).
b. The current explanatory approach, which focuses on
understanding specific differences.
2. Racial classification attempts to assign humans to discreet
categories (purportedly) based on common ancestry.
a. A biological race is a geographically isolated subdivision of
a species. A species is a population whose members can
interbreed to produce offspring that can live and reproduce.
b. Humanity (Homo sapiens) lacks such races because human
populations have not been isolated enough from one
another to develop into such discreet groups.
 c. A race is supposed to reflect shared genetic material
(inherited from a common ancestor), but early scholars
instead used phenotypical traits (usually skin color) for
racial classification. Phenotype refers to an organism's
evident traits. However, racial classifications based on
phenotype raise the problem of deciding which trait(s) are
most important.
d. Among the many problems of using traits for racial
classification is the fact that often these traits don't go
together. For example, people with dark skin may be tall or
short and have hair ranging from straight to very curly.
Dark-haired populations may have light or dark skin, along
with various skull forms, facial features, and body sizes and
shapes. The number of combinations is very large, and the
amount of heredity (versus environment) contributes to
such phenotypical traits is often unclear.
e. A final objection to racial classification based on phenotype
is that phenotypical similarities and differences don't
necessarily have a genetic basis (they may be caused by
changes in the environment that affect individuals during
growth and development).
C. Explanatory Approaches
1. Biological differences are real, important, and apparent to all of us.
However, it is not possible todefine human races biologically. Still,
scientists have made much progress in explaining variation in
human skin color, along with many other expressions of human
biological diversity. We shift from classification to explanation, in
which natural selection plays a key role.
a. Natural selection is the process by which the forms most fit
to survive and reproduce in a given environment do so in
greater number than do others in the same population.
b. The role of natural selection in producing variation in skin
color will illustrate the explanatory approach to human
biological diversity.
i. Melanin, the primary determinant of human skin
color, is a chemical substance manufactured in the
epidermis, or outer skin layer. It screens out
ultraviolet radiation from the sun, offering
protection against diseases such as skin cancer.
ii. Before the 16th century, most of the world's very-
dark-skinned populations lived in the tropics.
Outside of the tropics, skin color tends to be lighter.
iii. How, aside from migrations, can we explain the
geographic distribution of skin color? Natural
selection provides the answer. In the tropics, with
intense ultraviolet radiation from the sun,
 unprotected humans face the threat of severe
sunburn. This confers a selective disadvantage on
lighter-skinned people in the tropics.
iv. An important factor affecting the geographic
distribution of human skin color has to do with
vitamin D. Ultraviolet radiation stimulates the
manufacture of vitamin D in the human body. A
shortage of vitamin D diminishes the absorption of
calcium in the intestines, leading to the nutritional
disease known as rickets, which softens and
deforms bones. Thus, considering vitamin D
production, light skin is an advantage in the cloudy
north but a disadvantage in the sunny tropics. In the
tropics, dark skin color protects the body against an
overproduction of vitamin D that can lead to a
potentially fatal condition leading to calcium
deposits in the body's soft tissues.
v. Another key factor explaining the geographic
distribution of skin color involves the effects of UV
on folate, an essential nutrient that the body
produces from folic acid. Folate plays a key role in
preventing neural tube defects and promoting
healthy sperm production. High amounts of melanin
in populations living in the tropics helps protect
against the destruction of folate and thus reduce the
chances of neural tube defects and complications
with sperm production.
vi. This discussion of skin color shows that common
ancestry, the presumed basis of race, is not the only
reason for biological similarities. Natural selection
can produce the same results in separate and distant
populations.
D. Cultural Forces Shape Human Biology
1. Anthropology's comparative, biocultural perspective recognizes
that environmental factors, including cultural forces, constantly
mold human biology.
a. Biocultural refers to the inclusion and combination of both
biological and cultural perspectives and approaches to
comment on or solve a particular issue or problem.
b. Culture is a key environmental force in determining how
human bodies grow and develop.
i. Cultural traditions promote certain activities and
abilities, discourage others, and set standards of
physical well-being and attractiveness. For
example, cultural standards of attractiveness and
 propriety influence participation and achievement in
sports.
III. The Subdisciplines of Anthropology
A. Cultural Anthropology
1. Cultural anthropology is the study of human society and culture,
the subfield that describes, analyzes, interprets, and explains social
and cultural similarities and differences.
2. Ethnography provides an account of a particular community,
society, or culture. During ethnographic fieldwork, the
ethnographer gathers data that he or she organizes, describes,
analyzes, and interprets to build and present that account, which
may be in the form of a book, article, or film.
3. It is important to keep in mind that cultures are not isolated. People
everywhere increasingly participate in regional, national, and
world events.
4. Ethnology examines, interprets, analyzes, and compares the results
of ethnography—the data gathered in different societies.
B. Archaeological Anthropology
1. Archaeological anthropology (more simply, "archaeology")
reconstructs, describes, and interprets human behavior and cultural
patterns through material remains.
2. Many archaeologists examine paleoecology. Ecology is the study
of interrelations among living things in an environment.
Paleoecology looks at the ecosystems of the past.
3. Archaeologists are not limited to reconstructing the past. They also
study the cultures of historical and even living peoples.
C. Biological, or Physical, Anthropology
1. The subject matter of biological, or physical, anthropology is
human biological diversity in time and space. The focus on
biological variation unites five special interests within biological
anthropology:
a. Human evolution as revealed by the fossil record
(paleoanthropology).
b. Human genetics.
c. Human growth and development.
d. Human biological plasticity.
e. The biology, evolution, behavior, and social life of
monkeys, apes, and other nonhuman primates.
D. Linguistic Anthropology
1. Linguistic anthropology studies language in its social and cultural
context, across space and over time.
2. Historical linguistics considers variation in time, such as the
changes in sounds, grammar, and vocabulary between Middle
English (spoken from approximately A.D. 1050 to 1550) and
modern English.
 3. Sociolinguistics investigates relationships between social and
linguistic variation.
IV. Anthropology and Other Academic Fields
A. One of the main differences between anthropology and the other fields that
study people is holism, anthropology's unique blend of biological, social,
cultural, linguistic, historical, and contemporary perspectives.
B. Paradoxically, while distinguishing anthropology, this breadth is what also
links it to many other disciplines.
C. Anthropology is a science—a "systematic field of study of body of
knowledge that aims, through experiment, observation, and deduction, to
produce reliable explanations of phenomena, with reference to the material
and physical world."
D. Anthropology also has strong links to the humanities, including English,
comparative literature, classics, folklore, philosophy, and the arts.
V. Applied Anthropology
A. Anthropology's foremost professional organization in the United States,
the American Anthropological Association (AAA), has formally
acknowledged a public service role by recognizing that the field has two
dimensions:
1. Academic anthropology.
2. Practicing or applied anthropology.
B. Applied anthropology is the application of anthropological data,
perspectives, theory, and methods to identify, assess, and solve
contemporary social problems.
C. Applied archaeology, usually called public archaeology, includes such
activities as cultural resource management, contract archaeology, public
educational programs, and historic preservation.
VI. Anthropology Today: Anthropologist's Son Elected President
A. This account focuses on the life of Dr. Stanley Ann Dunham Soetoro, the
mother of Barack Obama, 44th president of the United States, and her
attraction to diversity, which led her to a career in anthropology.
B. A sociocultural anthropologist by training, Dunham's work on
microfinance and socioeconomic issues affecting Indonesian women
illustrates the application of anthropology to identify and solve
contemporary problems.

Vocabulary

adaptation The process by which organisms cope with environmental stresses.

anthropology The study of the human species and its immediate ancestors.
applied The application of anthropological data, perspectives, theory, and
anthropology methods to identify, assess, and solve contemporary social
problems.

archaeological The branch of anthropology that reconstructs, describes, and

anthropology interprets human behavior and cultural patterns through material
remains; best known for the study of prehistory. Also known as
"archaeology."

biocultural Referring to the inclusion and combination (to solve a common

problem) of both biological and cultural approaches—one of
anthropology's hallmarks.

biological (or The branch of anthropology that studies human biological

physical) diversity in time and space—for instance, hominid evolution,
anthropology human genetics, human biological adaptation; also includes
primatology (behavior and evolution of monkeys and apes). Also
called physical anthropology.

cultural The study of human society and culture; describes, analyzes,

anthropology interprets, and explains social and cultural similarities and
differences.

cultural resource The branch of applied archaeology aimed at preserving sites

management threatened by dams, highways, and other projects.
(CRM)

cultures Traditions and customs that govern behavior and beliefs; distinctly
human; transmitted through learning.

ethnography Field work in a particular culture.

ethnology The theoretical, comparative study of society and culture;
compares cultures in time and space.

food production Plant cultivation and animal domestication.

general The field of anthropology as a whole, consisting of cultural,

anthropology archaeological, biological, and linguistic anthropology.

holistic Interested in the whole of the human condition past, present, and
future; biology, society, language, and culture.

linguistic The branch of anthropology that studies linguistic variation in time

anthropology and space, including interrelations between language and culture;
includes historical linguistics andsociolinguistics.

natural selection Originally formulated by Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel

Wallace; the process by which nature selects the forms most fit to
survive and reproduce in a given environment, such as the tropics.

phenotype An organism's evident traits, its "manifest biology"—anatomy and

physiology.

racial classification The attempt to assign humans to discrete categories (purportedly)

based on common ancestry.

science A systematic field of study or body of knowledge that aims,

through experiment, observation, and deduction, to produce
reliable explanations of phenomena, with reference to the material
 and physical world.

sociolinguistics Study of relationships between social and linguistic variation;

study of language in its social context.

tropics Geographic belt extending about 23 degrees north and south of the
equator, between the Tropic of Cancer (north) and the Tropic of
Capricorn (south).