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Contents - Lessons & Practice

Social Sciences

Introduction to Anthropology

OpenStax book

OpenStax

Introduction to Anthropology

20 lessons

One lesson for each chapter of Introduction to Anthropology, in the book’s order. The lesson teaches what that chapter says you need to know, then checks it.

  1. 1What Is Anthropology?Anthropologists have developed four main approaches to pursuing anthropology’s common narrative, comprising the discipline’s four fields: biological anthropology, archaeology, cultural anthropology, and linguistic…
  2. 2Methods: Cultural and ArchaeologicalChapter 2 discusses how anthropologists gather information.
  3. 3Culture Concept Theory: Theories of Cultural ChangeThe discipline of anthropology is centered on the concept of culture.
  4. 4Biological Evolution and Early Human EvidenceNatural selection depends on the evolutionary processes of mutation, speciation, gene flow, and genetic drift
  5. 5The Genus Homo and the Emergence of UsGenetic information provided by mtDNA indicates that all humans shared common ancestors who lived in Africa 200,000 years ago.
  6. 6Language and CommunicationHuman language differs from animal communication in its complexity and flexibility, aspects of human communication made possible by unique human biological and genetic features.
  7. 7Work, Life, and Value: Economic AnthropologyHumans use four main modes of subsistence to meet their needs: gathering-hunting, pastoralism, plant cultivation, and industrialism.
  8. 8Authority, Decisions, and Power: Political AnthropologyIn centralized societies such as chiefdoms and states, various forms of power are condensed in the formal hereditary role of the leader.
  9. 9Social InequalitiesDivision of labor , in and of itself, is not hierarchical, but when different values are assigned to different types of labor and some positions or people have power over others, this creates a hierarchy.
  10. 10The Global Impact of Human MigrationHistorically, global forces have also contributed to migration, including seafaring explorations, colonialism, and the transatlantic slave trade that led to a diaspora (dispersal) of millions of African peoples into…
  11. 11Forming Family through KinshipIt defines the way an individual (EGO) fits within a larger kindred (depicted by terms of reference) and the rights and obligations that EGO has to these individuals (depicted by terms of address)
  12. 12Gender and SexualityThe study of gender and sexuality also shows how power operates among the categories of gender, particularly through forms of gender ideology such as patriarchy.
  13. 13Religion and CultureNones, agnostics, and atheists do have worldviews particular to their cultures, and they sometimes also have spiritual beliefs
  14. 14Anthropology of FoodThe study of early human diets is important for understanding the evolution of humans, and archaeologists use various kinds of evidence to determine early foodways, from material artifacts such as food utensils to food…
  15. 15Anthropology of MediaDigital media construct entirely new forms of sociality, including illicit shadow forms of impersonation and scamming such as sakawa
  16. 16Art, Music, and SportThe anthropology of the arts is a subfield of cultural anthropology that explores the arts in a broader context within and between different cultural settings.
  17. 17Medical AnthropologyMedical anthropologists thus try to study medicine and health within the context of the culture it comes from, which is known as ethnomedicine.
  18. 18Human-Animal RelationshipHuman-animal scholars often use a research approach known as multispecies ethnography as a way of understanding the symbiosis between humans and animals
  19. 19Indigenous AnthropologyThe issues faced by these people are similar to those faced by Indigenous peoples around the world, including a history of colonization, removal from traditional lands to reservations, signing away land and rights in…
  20. 20Anthropology on the GroundThe diverse ways in which we humans have solved or managed the challenges of our lives are a rich storehouse for our future.