HSP 3U1 – Chapter 1

What is
Anthropology?
Section 1.1 – p. 14-36
Key Terms

Define the following terms:

● Culturally constructed

● Ethnocentric

● Ethnography

● Ethnology

● Informant

● Objective

● Participant observation

● Reflexivity

● Subculture

● Subjective

Questions

1. What is Anthropology?
2. What do Anthropologists seek to understand?
3. Why was Chagnon’s research criticized? Is the criticism of Chagnon’s work
justified? Why or why not?
4. To what extent can anthropologists conduct research ethically in another culture?
Explain.
5. What is culture constructed of and how is it learned in society?
6. What types of questions does a cultural anthropologist ask?
7. What are the three areas of cultural anthropology?
 8. How do cultural anthropologists find informants? Why are informants important?
9. What are the three types of interviews used by cultural anthropologists? What are
the advantages and disadvantages associated with each one?
10.What type of interview would you use if you were going to conduct research
today in the Ju/’hoan village? Explain your reasoning.
11.How do Ethnologists study culture?
12.How did Bronislaw Malinowski pioneer this method?
13.How does an anthropologist have to adapt while using participant observation
and why does this offer a detailed view of a culture?
14.What are some challenges that cultural anthropologists face? What
characteristics does an effective anthropologist require?
15.Describe the study conducted by Margaret Mead with the Samoan adolescent
girls?
16.How was Mead’s work criticized by Derek Freeman?
17.What was discovered by Paul Shankman when he re-examined Mead’s and
Freeman’s original findings?
18.What challenges does participant observation have for the researcher and for
those who are being observed?
19.Why was Ruth Benedict’s research criticized?
20.What are some of the ethical issues of studying the culture of an enemy nation
during wartime?
21.How does the behaviour of the Ju/’hoansi in this story show us their cultural
values?
22.Why is it important for a cultural anthropologist to take detailed notes during an
interview?
23.Complete the following chart for the Schools of Thought in Cultural Anthropology.
School of Main Key Theorists Example of
Thought Ideas/Description Research

Cultural
Relativism

Functional Theory

Cultural
Materialism

Feminist
Anthropology

Postmodernism

24. What do Linguistic Anthropologists study?

25. What are the three areas of Linguistic Anthropology? Provide a brief description for
each.
26. What are some challenges of studying linguistic anthropology?
27. What is archaeology?
28. What techniques do archaeologists use to learn about past and current cultures?
29. What personal qualities and skills do you think an archaeologist should have?
30. What are some of the ethical questions archaeologists face in their work?
 HSP 3U1 – Chapter 1

What is
Anthropology?
Section 1.2 – p. 37-51
Key Terms
Define the following terms:
● Bipedalism

● Hominin

● Fossil

● Radiometric dating

Questions
1. What is Physical Anthropology?
2. What are the three areas of physical anthropology and what do they study?
3. What are some things anthropologists can learn from ancient bones?
4. How can Lucy and Selam help paleoanthropologists understand our past?
5. Who is Charles Darwin? Why is he important?
6. Who are the Leakey’s? Why are they important?
7. Why is finding fossil evidence important in paleoanthropology?
8. What do you think are some of the challenges that paleoanthropologists face?
What might be some of the rewards?
9. What are some of the things that make humans different from other primates?
10. How are Neanderthals different from modern humans? How are they the same?
11. What can anthropologists learn from ancient stone tools? Name three things?
12. Think about a product or technology that you use every day. How do you think
an anthropologist in the future might interpret it? What do you think it might say
about your culture?
13. How is forensic anthropology similar to other types of anthropology? How is it
different?
14. How do primatologists study primates?
15. Who were some of the pioneers of primatology?
16. Why is it important for primatologists to study primates?
17. Why should scientists follow ethical guidelines when conducting experiments on
primates?
18. How are humans similar to and different from other primates?
19. Explain why variation is important for a species to survive?
20. Why does the American Anthropological Association state that race does not
exist?
21. What are some legitimate explanations for human variation?
22. To what extent do you think skin colour gives an evolutionary advantage?
Explain.