LESSON 3 FROM THE PERSPECTIVES OF ANTHROPOLOGY

ANTHROPOLOGY

• A field of social sciences that focuses on the study of man.

• The field looks into man’s physical/biological characteristics, his social relationships and the
influences of his culture from the dawn of civilization up to present.

• Everything in anthropology is interconnected and a complete understanding is necessary to

achieve the goal of man towards understanding himself better.

Subfields of Anthropology

• Archaeology

• Biological Anthropology

• Linguistics

• Cultural Anthropology

Archaeology

• The study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture.

• Studies artifacts (tools and objects past people have made), architecture, biofacts or ecofacts
and cultural landscapes in order to discover how these people lived their lives.

• As a result, what archaelogists have so far discovered are the unique ways in which human
beings adapted to changes in their environment in order for them to survive.

• These discoveries made people realize the most important aspect of human nature – SURVIVAL.

• School of Functionalism – states that people have struggled to survive and up to present, human
behavior continues to adapt in order to survive.

• Similar – our goal to survive and continue living

• Difference – ways to survive (use power and strength, declare wars, conquer and even try to
annihilate races, while others would offer their services, knowledge, resources and even their
lives to ensure that a few deserving human beings would survive.
Biological Anthropology

• Focus primarily on how the human body adapts to the different earth environments.

• They look at the probable causes of disease, physical mutation and death; to know how human
beings might have evolved from their early forms (based on discovered fossilized remains); do
comparative studies on human beings both dead and living and other primates (apes and
monkeys).

• Interested in explaining how the biological characteristics of human beings affect how they lived
their lives.

• Human beings at present still share the same biological strengths and vulnerabilities:

• Ex. eating the right balance of nutrients from food and intake of minerals is beneficial to all
human beings while what may be lethal/poisonous for one person will most likely have the
same effect on others.

• In cases when a pandemic (disease affecting people in a large geographical area) may happen, a
cure effective for one person will most likely have similar effects on others.

• On the negative, a virus like anthrax, for instance, which is lethal for one will be as lethal for
many.

Linguistic Anthropology

• Human survival is primarily linked to their ability to communicate; this is another capability that
resulted from BIG HUMAN BRAINS.

• LANGUAGE – an essential part of human communication; it identifies a group of people.

• The words, sounds, symbols, writings and signs that are used are reflections of a group’s culture.

• Linguistic anthropologists’ interest focuses on using language as a means to discover a group’s

manner of social interaction and his worldview.

• They also want to discover how language is used to create and share meanings, to form ideas
and concepts and to promote social change.

• Linguistic anthropologists also study how language and modes of communication over time.

• TOWER OF BABEL– a story which provided an alternative view on how language originated, it
can be attested that through the centuries, man have been searching for ways in order for
people of different languages to understand each other.
 • In the contemporary society, other forms of languages have evolved which represent the
subculture of a particular group. Ex. The terms used in social media and the language of the
LGBTs.

• Language adapts to the existing conditions in the society.

Cultural Anthropology

• CULTURE – described as a group of people’s way of life which includes behaviors, values, beliefs
and symbols that they accept (usually unconsciously) that are socially transmitted through
communication and imitation from generation to generation

(people.tamu.edu/~i-choudhury/culture.html).

• Cultural anthropologists are interested in knowing what makes one group’s manner of living
particular to that group and forms an essential part of the member’s personal and social
identity; whether admits it or not, he is a product of his culture.

Theory of Cultural Determinism

• The contention that culture has a strong impact on how the individual views himself.

• Human nature is determined by the ideas, meanings, beliefs and values learned as members of a
society.

• With the different cultures that exist not only in a society but all over the world, anthropologists
suggest that THERE IS NO UNIVERSAL or RIGHT WAY OF BEING HUMAN; the right way is always
based on ONE’S CULTURE.

Implications of Cultural Determinism

POSITIVE NEGATIVE

Suggest that human beings can be
shaped/formed to have the kind of life they
prefer (there is no limit placed on the human
ability to be or to do whatever they set their
minds and hearts into).
May mean that people have no control over
what they learn (they blindly accept the
learning their cultures expose them to).
Human beings are seen as helpless and do
only what their culture instructs them to do.
This places human nature under the mercy of
his culture.
 • CULTURAL DIVERSITIES – are manifested in different ways and at different levels of depth.

• SYMBOLS – are considered the most superficial level of culture.

(people.tamu.edu/~i-choudhury/culture.html).

Ways which culture may manifest itself in people

1. Symbols – words, gestures, pictures or objects that have a recognized/accepted meaning in a

particular culture. It can be shared/copied by other cultures who find them also fitting for their own
culture.

Ex. RINGS signify COMMITMENT; COLORS have meanings that are similar in many cultures.

2. Heroes – are persons from the past or present who have characteristics that are important in a
culture. They may be real or fictitious and are models for behavior.

Ex. Real – Jose Rizal, Andres Bonifacio

Fictitious – Spiderman, Darna

3. Rituals– are activities (may be religious or social) participated in by a group of people for the
fulfillment of desired objectives and are considered to be socially essential.

Ex. Religious ceremonies like baptisms and weddings

Social ceremonies like birthdays and graduations

4. Values – are considered to be the core of every culture. These are unconscious and can neither be
discussed nor be directly observed but can only be inferred from the way people ACT and REACT to
circumstances and situations. It involves human tendencies and preferences towards good or bad, right
or wrong.

Ex. Respect for elders, hospitality and nationalism

ANTHROPOLOGY

• Makes the person aware that WHAT he is maybe determined by his:

1. Past and present condition

2. biological characteristics

3. the way he communicates

4. the language that he uses

5. the manner in which he chooses to live his life