AnthropologyLesson 1 of 7 in the course What Is Anthropology?

Anthropology’s Scope, Cultural Diversity, Holism, and Human–Environment Relations

5 flashcards · 5 quiz questions · 5 match pairs · 5 fill-in sentences · English

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Summary

Anthropology examines humanity across time and space. This lesson introduces the field’s broad scope and the distinctive narrative that connects its many topics.

Many disciplines focus on a particular subject: economists study economic systems, biologists study living organisms, and religious scholars study religion. Anthropologists may study all these subjects, but they approach them through a distinctive focus on human life and experience.

All flashcards

Multidisciplinary anthropology
Anthropologists draw on other disciplines while retaining an anthropological focus.
Anthropology’s central narrative
Flexible human biological and social features, amid varied conditions, have produced diverse cultures.
Sociocultural diversity
The variation in ways of life that anthropologists describe and seek to understand without ranking cultures.
Holism
A perspective that examines how elements of human life interrelate within societies and cultures.
Ethnobotany
The study of how people in different cultures categorize and use plants.

Quiz questions

  1. Which definition best describes anthropology?Answer: The study of humanity across time and space.
  2. What does holism emphasize when studying a society?Answer: How different elements of human life are interconnected.
  3. In discussions of caste in India, what does jati refer to?Answer: A birth group, with thousands found across regions.
  4. What does the term Anthropocene highlight?Answer: Growing human impacts on the planet’s ecosystems.
  5. What does archaeoastronomy study?Answer: How past people understood and used celestial objects.

Based on Introduction to Anthropology by Jennifer Hasty, David G. Lewis, Marjorie M. Snipes (OpenStax), licensed CC BY 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.

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