Final Exam Review – Complete Outline of Course Notes

Introduction
1. What is Anthropology? - The scientific study of human beings

2. Origins of Anthropology - Khaldun, Parker, Boas - (father of academic anthropology)

3. The Discipline of Anthropology is split into four fields:

a. Biological (Physical) Anthropology

b. Linguistics

c. Archaeology

d. Cultural Anthropology

e. Applied Anthropology cuts across these fields in the work world.

4. Holism - concerned with wholes or complete systems

5. Ethnocentric Awareness - based on the attitude that one's own group is superior

Evolution and Genetics

1. Notable Figures in Evolution: Linnaeus, Lamarck, Darwin, Mendel, Watson & Crick (know
dates)

2. Principles of “Descent with Modification” (Darwinian Evolution/Natural Selection)

a. Variation

b. Heritability

c. Differential Reproductive Success: survival of the fittest

d. DNA: i. Deoxyribonucleic acid, ii. Genotype, Phenotype, iii. Dominant and

Recessive genes , iv. Messenger RNA (mRNA) and Ribosomes

3. Species Differentiation (The Origin of Species)

a. Species Defined : A population that consists of organisms able to interbreed and produce
fertile and viable offspring. Meiosis is important to this process. Genetic change alters the
form of a species.

b. Comparative Anatomy (Morphology)

c. Sources of Genetic Change i. Recombination; ii. Mutation; iii. Drift; iv. Flow
The Origins of Man and Emergence of Modern Humans
1. Origins of Man In the evolutionary story of human development, the brain is the most
important organ to examine. Growth of the brain is clearly connected to changes and
development of human beings.

a. About 3-4 million years ago, prior to human development, Australopithecus

afarensis roamed the plains of Africa.

b. Slowly, Australopithecus had evolved into Homo habilis , "man with ability" - tool
use and culture begin at the same time. The earliest remains, dating to about 2.5
mya, were discovered in Tanzania's Olduvai Gorge, in the ancient Ngorongoro
crater. This was in the Oluvain period (2.5mya-, when man was first creating crude
tools by the "percussion" method (banging rocks together).

c. Homo habilis (2.3 mya) evolved into Homo erectus (1.8 mya) and eventually into
Homo neandertalensis (500kya) and Homo sapiens (250kya).

d. Homo habilis had a small brain, large teeth, and was likely still partially arboreal
(a tree climber).

Homo erectus, first disovered in Java, Indonesia, was more "human-like," with a larger brain
than habilis, and a prominent brow ridge. Third molars (wisdom teeth) were smaller, probably
linked to a change in diet that was related to cooked food. The cranial (skull) features included
an occipital torus and sagittal keel. Erectus lived during the Lower Paleolithic period (1.5mya-
300kya), when Acheulian tools like the hand-axe were invented, and advances such as
controlling fire and hunting large game were made.

Homo neandertalensis and ancient Homo sapiens had the largest brains yet (with Neanderthal
brains being somewhat bigger than today's average human), and continued changes to the skull,
skeletal structure and teeth. They lived during the Middle Paleolithic period (300kya-40kya),
when the Mousterian tool kit reduced the size and increased the efficiency of tools, and relatively
permanent home sites were created. There is evidence of funeral rituals taking place toward the
end of the Middle Paleolithic period.

e. Neanderthals disappeared because they were either killed off by Homo sapiens
(genocide), mixed with Homo sapiens genetically (interbred), or could not survive
the harsh environments of Northern Europe (extinction). There is no firm
conclusion as to what theory is correct.

2. Emergence of Modern Humans Designation: Homo sapiens sapiens

a. First evidence of modern humans:

 I. Cro-Magnon Man (1868) - 35kya Evidence collected more recently: 100kya:
Klasies River, S.A.; Border Cave, S.A.; Omo, Ethiopia;

II. Distinctive Features: high, bulging forehead; thin, light bones; small face and
jaw; chin; slight brow ridge or none at all.

b. The Upper Paleolithic Cultures

I. Tool Industry of H. Sapiens (50kya - 10kya)

 Burins (refined chisel process)

 Pressure Flaking (Blade flake)

 Spearthrowers (Atlatl)

II. Upper Paleolithic art

 Beads and Carvings

 Cave paintings: Lascaux, Altamira

 Fertility figurines: Venus of Willendorf

 Musical Instruments (bone pipes)

c. Where does H.Sapiens emerge?

I. Single Origin Theory (“Out of Africa” theory)

 Common ancestor: “Mitochondrial Eve hypothesis”

 Lack of evidence from 200kya makes it impossible to verify

II. Multiregional Theory (“Regional continuity”) Suggests continuity between evolution in

distinct world regions

d. The New World: Human Migration to N. & S. America

I. The Last Ice Age (70kya-13kya) or the "Pleistocene Era"

 Glaciers covered much of Europe and North America (for example, 97% of Canada
was covered by glaciers)

 Plants and animals were adapted to extreme conditions (megafauna/flora)

 The ice age allowed migration to North and South America

II. 11.5 kya - Native Americans originally came from Asia and migrated over the Beringia land
bridge. (txt p173)

 Were PaleoIndians, or Clovis People first? (discovered in Clovis, NM) …. or ….

 Did earlier migrations occur? c.f. Monte Verde 33kya

 Many colonization events occurred and inhabitants of the new world varied in their
cultures. (See “teeth” evidence, text p. 175).

III. Remains of early new world hunters have been found in Canada, the United States and
Mexico.

 Clovis points are found in association with mammoth kills

 Clovis sites range from 11.2kya to 10.9kya

 Mammoth disappeared 10kya.

 Did early migrants to N. America kill off 35 genera of Pleistocene mammals?

Discovering the Past with Archaeology

1. Archeological Methods

a. Types of Evidence

i. Artifacts

ii. Eco facts

iii. Fossils

iv. Features

b. Finding the Evidence

i. Finding Sites

ii. Stratification and Taphonomy

iii. Methods of discovery: Pedestrian survey; Remote Sensing techniques

(ground penetrating radar, 3D laser scans)

c. Analyzing the Evidence

i. Conservation and Restoration

ii. Excavation: Formal measurement, Metric measurement

d. Dating the evidence

i. Relative (contextual) methods:

1. Stratigraphy, Indicator Artifacts

2. F-U-N trio

ii. Absolute (chronometric) methods:

1. Dendrochronology,

2. Radiocarbon dating, principle of "half-life"

3. Potassium-Argon

4. Uranium-Thorium and Uranium-Lead

5. Thermoluminescence/ Electron Spin,

6. Paleo magnetic dating

The Rise of Domestication and Civilization

The Neolithic (Agricultural) Revolution: Food Production vs. Food Collection (Foraging/
Hunting/ Gathering)

1. Domestication of Plants and Animals

a. In the Epi-paleolithic period of 12-15kya, ceramic pottery and early settlement was
developed, particularly in the Near East (Mesopotamia).

 Shortly thereafter came one of the most important revolutions in human history,
the agricultural revolution, also known as the Neolithic revolution .

b. Food production technology (domestication) developed between 10,000 and 8,000

years ago after millions of years when hunting and gathering (or food collection ) was
the sole basis for human subsistence

i. Sedentarism: living in permanent villages; domestication made this possible.

ii. Broad-spectrum collecting: the change from hunting big-game to relying on a

wider variety of food sources.

c. The first animals to be tamed were dogs. Dogs were domesticated about 12,000 years
B.P. (before present) in the Near East. Wolves are the direct ancestors of all dog
breeds in existence today. The DNA makeup of wolves and dogs is almost identical.
Other early domesticated animals include:
  Sheep and Goats (9k BP, Near East)

 Cattle and pigs (8k BP, Near East)

 Horses (6k BP, Central Asia/N. Africa)

 Cats and Camels (5k BP, Near East / Arabia, Asia)

 Chicken (4k BP, S. Asia) (see Figure 8-1, p. 136 text)

Traits suitable for domestication were: docility, non-territoriality, hierarchical (humans co-opt
leadership role), uninhibited breeding, fast growth MesoAmerican domestication: Semi-
nomadism (non-sedentary life) continued long after domestication. Why? Domesticated items
included desirable items, but were not necessary for survival:

- Bottle Gourds (used for carrying water)

- Tomatoes

- Cotton

- Maize (corn)

d. Why did domestication occur around the world at roughly the same time?

i. Three theories:

ii. Climate Change (wild resources were less available) (Childe)

iii. Cultural Evolution (the idea of domestication was ripe) (Braidwood)

iv. Population Pressure (desired food availability reduced by competition) (Binford-

Flannery)

e. Consequences of domestication

i. Population growth A sharp increase in population occurred when agriculture developed.

ii. Decline in health Tooth enamel and bone infusions show that domestication did not
improve health – human stature (size) also decreased

iii. Artificial selection (Dogs, Heiki crabs, corn are examples)

2. The Rise of Civilization and States

By 8,000 BCE (before common era , or BC), sedentarism led to the first towns and villages

a. ~ 6000 BCE: the origins of communities and towns

 i. Evidence of political organization and status is apparent

 Houses were different sizes, economies emerged, and chiefdoms (separate

communities organized by political authority) developed.

ii. The true end of the stone age: Copper smelting (metallurgy) became common in the Near
East (Anatolia), though it took time to perfect; Bronze Age = 3500BC – 1100BC

b. ~ 3500 BCE: the rise of cities and civilization

“Civilization” is a term meaning, literally, “citified”

i. Urban development was underway

Is the oldest city in India (7500 BCE)? or the Middle East (8,000 BCE) ? (it depends on how you
define city)

 Catalhoyuk (Turkey)

 Uruk / Babylon (Iraq) ( 2003 war destroys arch. evidence )

 Mohenjo-Daro (India)

ii. As early cities were connected by trade routes and political alignments, city-states
emerged.

c. City-State development

i. ~ 3500 BCE, city-state development occurred

A “city-state” is a self-governing community consisting of an independent city and its

surrounding territory.

Old World Civilizations:

Year Region City-State

 3500 BCE - Mesopotamia - Uruk

 3000 BCE - Mesopotamia - Sumeria

 2700 BCE - Egypt – Old Kingdom

 2300 BCE - India Harappa

 1600 BCE - China – Shang Dynasty

ii. New World Civilizations (developed after 1000 BCE)

 Year - Region - City-State
 800 BCE - Mexico – Monte Alban

 200 BCE - N. America - Hopewell Mounds

 200 BCE - S. America – Peru city-states

 200 AD - Mexico – Teotihuacan empire

 700 AD - Mexico – Mayan city-states

 700 AD - Peru - Wari empire

d. Why did city-states form?

i. Irrigation (labor and management led to political systems)

ii. Population Growth and War (resource competition led to incursions and the need for
protection)

iii. Trade (local and long- distance)

Note: No one factor explains the rise of city-states.

e. Civilizations have a cyclical nature

Without exception, all great civilizations of the past have fallen due to political, economic or
environmental collapse, and been replaced by new orders.

Cultural Anthropology (Chapter 9 textbook / Chp 2 C&C)

1. What is Culture?
Culture is learned . ; Culture is shared .; Culture is ideas .; Culture is behavior .

Culture refers to the values, beliefs, behavior and material objects that together form a people’s
way of life.

a. Material culture – tangible, physical cultural artifacts. Example: paper money

b. Non-material culture – intangible, mental cultural meanings. Example: value of a

dollar”

c. Symbols and Language: A system of symbols that allows people to communicate

with one another.

i. Cultural transmission: Language passes on culture

 ii. Non-verbal language Beware of gestures

d. Artifacts are: The wide range of material human creations. These artifacts partly
reflect underlying cultural values

This tension between material and non-material culture is realized in the balance between form
(design) and function (usefulness) of an artifact.

2. Studying Culture: Ethnography

a. Ethnography is the firsthand personal study of a local cultural setting. “Ethnographers try to
understand the whole of a particular culture, not just fragments (e.g., the economy, family or
politics).” Ethnographers spend an extended period of time living with the group they are
studying. Early ethnographers conducted research almost exclusively among small-scale,
relatively isolated (indiginous) societies.

b. “Participant observation,” as practiced by ethnographers, involves the researcher taking part in

the activities being observed. Ethnographers are trained to be aware of and record details from
daily events, the significance of which may not be apparent until much later.

i. Positives

 Access the culture

 Determine actual behavior

 Develop rapport

 Biculturalism

ii. Problems

 Language

 Lies

 Ethics

 Culture shock

 Witness effect

 Observer effect (Heisenberg)

 - “Going native”

iii. Dangers and Difficulties

  Faux Pas

 Group Hostility/Defense Reactions

 Poor Sanitation

 Environmental Stresses

 Health and Illness

 Civil Wars

3. Doing Fieldwork
Fieldwork is the gathering of anthropological or sociological data through the interviewing and
observation of subjects in the field.

Famous Fieldworkers

a. Bronislaw Malinowski (1884-1942) is generally considered the father of

ethnography. He did “salvage ethnography,” recording cultural diversity that was
threatened by westernization. His ethnographies were scientific accounts of
unknown people and places.

b. Margaret Mead (1901-1978): Popularized the insights of fieldwork with books

about culture and sexuality in the South Pacific islands.

c. Napoleon Chagnon (living): Infamous for his allegedly bringing disease to the
Yanomami natives of the Amazon rainforest. The controversy continues…

d. Ethnographic realism and Comparing differences (or cultural relativism): The

writer’s goal was to produce an accurate, objective, scientific account of the study
community. The writer’s authority was rooted in his or her personal research
experience with that community. Malinowski believed that all aspects of culture
were linked and intertwined, making it impossible to write about just one cultural
feature without discussing how it relates to others (an early proponent of holism).

Economic Institutions - Food Production and Subsistence

a. Foraging or Hunting/ Gathering

i. Small Societies

ii. Seasonal Nomadism

iii. Use Rights

 iv. Egalitarian

v. Balanced/Delayed Reciprocity

b. Pastoralism

i. At least 50% subsistence from herd animals, e.g. cows, goats, reindeer

ii. Larger, more sedentary groups than foragers

iii. Rely on trade

c. Farming

i. Farming - Horticulture

 Relying on gardening

 Swidden, irrigation

 Sedentary (non-mobile) Populations

 Leads to Larger Societies

 Economies of Surplus

ii. Farming - Agriculture

 More intensive technology for domestication of plants and animals

 Local or intensive

 Huge surplus

 Large, complex societies

iii. Modern American Farming:

1. Intensive farming:

- Michael Pollan, NYT, on cattle farming;

- John Robbins ( Diet For a New America, The Food Revolution) on pig farming

- Russian chicken farming machinery

- Food safety video;

2. Commercial fishing
- Declining oceans population articles 1 2 3 4

- on Marine Protected Areas

Economic Distribution Systems

Once new food production techniques were invented, surplus food eventually became available,
which led to the first trading relationships. These trading relationships are called “distribution
systems” by anthropologists and there are generally three kinds…

1. Distribution Systems
Throughout history, social groups have exchanged goods and services based on three basic types
of distribution:

a. Reciprocity

b. Redistribution

c. Market or commercial exchange

a. Reciprocity consists of giving and taking without the use of money.

i. Generalized (or Delayed) reciprocity - long-term expectation; typical of foraging

societies; ex: Birthday gifts

ii. Balanced reciprocity

 short-term expectation; a barter system ex: Christmas gifts ex: The Kula Ring -
Trobrianders of New Guinea; the Kwakiutl potlatch ceremony)

 Social class effect: leveling Reciprocity may be used as a social leveler , so that
power is shared amongst the group or tribe – ex: The !Kung ridiculed Lee;
Trobrianders exchange status symbols

b. Redistribution is the accumulation of goods or labor by a particular person or in a particular

place , for the purpose of later distribution.

i. Why redistribution systems?

 “Sub regional differentiation” - different kinds of crops or natural resources can

be redistributed where they are needed most;

 Encourages surplus; protection against crop failure or game scarcity (food sharing
as insurance). Ex: Direct taxation is the most common form of social resource
redistribution in complex societies. Ex: the Kwakiutl (NW Native American)
potlatch ; ( video )
  Social class effect: Redistribution can be important in societies that have

a. a political hierarchy

b. Market (or Commercial) Exchange

i. Resembles balanced reciprocity, but money is involved. Money system:

 Intervening in barter system is money: Why does money develop?

 When trade or barter needs to become more efficient (and thus more competitive).

ii. Exchanges or transactions in which the “prices” are subject to supply and demand, whether or
not the transactions actually occur in a marketplace. Market exchange involves not only the
exchange of goods, but also transactions of labor, land, rentals, energy, water, credit, and now
even life itself (with gene copyrighting).

iii. Consumer Societies

a. Greater stratification in complex societies as a result of specialization has led to the creation of
“manufactured needs.” The development of manufactured needs depends upon:

i. Vast surplus (all true needs are satisfied; extra income needed);

ii. Marketing devices (advertisement creates desire);

iii. Leisure time (used to enjoy new diversions).

Stratification and Social Power

Social Stratification is a system by which a society ranks categories of people in a social
hierarchy (as defined by access they have to certain social resources.)

1. Political Types and Ownership

i. Types of Political Structures, small to large

ii. Egalitarianism: “primitive communism” (!Kung)

iii. Headsmen / Big Heads (Siuai mumis )

iv. Chiefdoms (Cherokee, Trobrianders)

v. City-States (Greco-Roman states)

vi. Nation-States (U.S., Russia, Iraq, etc.)

vii. New World Order? (Global Corporate Government – U.N.?)

b. Ownership and Power: The Land

There is a clear connection between food production, economic form and stratification.

i. Foragers: land has no intrinsic value for food collectors (primitive communism ==
use rights)

ii. Horticulturists: most do not have individual or family ownership of land;

iii. Pastoralists: customary for animals to be owned by individuals (enclosure

movements);

iv. Intensive Agriculturalists: individual ownership of land itself (class society ==

property rights).

3. Greater stratification in society gives some people or entities more power and many others a
deficit in the power to control the forces that affect their lives.

THE CORPORATION is that bureaucratic- economic entity that has the GREATEST POWER
today (corporate leaders are the high priests” of modern times).

ii. Corporations

a. The Corporation: An organization with a legal existence, including rights and liabilities,
separate from those of its members

b. Global corporations have concentrated wealth In 2009, Exxon-Mobil was the largest with
$442 billion in assets. Next are Wal-Mart ($405b.), Chevron ($263b.) and ConocoPhillips
($200b.)

c. Corporations have become globally linked organizations , expanding their reach and power
across the world to become a World System of Global Capitalism.

d. How has this affected indigenous peoples ( like the !Kung )? (Indonesian example )

Sex, Gender and Culture

Culture has always created different social roles for men and women.

1. Sex vs Gender:
a. Sex: Biological distinctions

i. Primary sex traits: related to reproduction

 ii. Secondary sex traits: not reproductive For example: Muscle mass; skeletal
structure (pelvis, feet); amount of body hair (facial); tonality of voice (vocal
cords)

b. Gender: cultural distinctions

i. Material gender traits For example: fashion – dress, hair, and

adornments;

ii. Non-material gender traits For example: learned characteristics like

emotionality (feminine) and toughness (masculine) (American cultural
traits)

2. Gender Roles: Theories of Difference

a. Strength Theory - Tasks that require more strength are done by men

b. Compatibility with Child Care Theory - Work that facilitates child care is done by
women

c. Economy of Effort Theory – Chores that are similar are split by sex

d. Expendability - Society can afford to lose more men than women

Q: Gender Difference: Nature or Nurture?

3. Political Power and Status Difference

a. In most societies men are the leaders; this is known as patriarchy. Some rare exceptions
exist, such as the Greek Amazons . Ancient Spartans also had remarkable freedom for
women compared to nearby Athens. Among males, height is associated with leadership
as is likelihood of engaging with the outside world.

b. Warfare is almost exclusively a male activity Theories suggest that this is because of
potential fertility of women is more important to survival than eliminating outside threats.

4. Cultural Regulation of Sexuality

Regulation and control of sexuality involves social norms which restrict:

a. Premarital sex

b. Extramarital sex

c. Sex within marriage

 d. Homosexuality tremendous variation occurs between cultures regarding the specific
norms that are acceptable (except one: incest ).

5. In-class

Language, Myth and Meaning

One way in which cultures and subcultures vary between and within societies is in the form of
language they use. Language is necessary in EVERY culture for the purpose of cultural
transmission. But the form it takes depends on “local conditions”.

Language is local.

What is Language?

The words, their pronunciation, and the methods of combining them used and understood by a
culture

1. Language and Linguistics

a. Language is a common human characteristic across cultures: it is a cultural universal .

b. No current language is primitive or simple. All languages are a complex mix of

symbols, meanings and interpretations, which are always evolving.

c. Where did different languages come from? The connection between languages is
what historical linguists study.

i. How many languages are there?

Short answer: over 6,000;