Cultural Materialism - Answers A theoretical position that takes material features of life, such as the
environment, natural resources, and mode of production, as the bases for explaining social organization
and ideology
Cultural Relativism - Answers the perspective that each culture must be understood in terms of the
values and ideas of that culture and not judged by the standards of another culture.
Participant Observation - Answers basic fieldwork method in cultural anthropology that involves living in
a culture for a long time while gathering data.
Kula - Answers a trading network, linking many of the Trobriand Islands, in which men have long-
standing partnerships for the exchange of everyday goods, such as food, as well as highly valued
necklaces and armlets
Functionalism - Answers the theory that a culture is similar to a biological organism, in which parts work
to support the operation and maintenance of the whole
Medical Anthropology - Answers Considers the way economics and political structures shapes people's
health status, their access to health care, and the prevailing healing systems.
Evolutionary Theory - Answers A concept developed by Charles Darwin to explain the ways in which
animals adapt to their environments.
Anthropology - Answers A humanistic discipline that studies the diversity of human kind in its cultural
manifestations.
British Anthropology - Answers Also referred to as Social Anthropology. This discipline doesn't contain a
four-field structure.
Prehistoric Archaeology - Answers studies the lives and societies of people who had no writing to keep
records of their activities, customs, and beliefs.
Historic Archaeology - Answers The study of past cultures that possessed written records of their history.
Linguistic Anthropology - Answers The study of human communications including its origins, history, and
contemporary variations and change.
Archaeology - Answers The study of past human cultures through their material remains.
Primatology - Answers The study of nonhuman members of the order of mammals called primates,
including a wide range of animals from very small nocturnal creatures to the largest members (E.g.
Gorillas).
, Armchair Anthropology - Answers refers to how early cultural anthropologists conducted research by
sitting at home in their library and reading reports about other cultures written by travelers,
missionaries, and explorers.
Interpretive Anthropology - Answers Considers how people use symbols to make sense of the world.
around them. "Culture is a contested domain, not a given."
This term also rejects reductionist approaches.
Emic - Answers approach of studying a culture's behavior from the perspective of an insider
Etic - Answers The analytical framework and tools used by outsiders in searching for patterns and
regularities concerning the insider's culture.
Collaborative Research - Answers an approach to learning about culture that involves anthropologists
working with members of the study population as partners and participants rather than as "subjects".
Culture Shock - Answers the feeling of disorientation experienced by someone who is suddenly
subjected to an unfamiliar culture, way of life, or set of attitudes.
Primary Ethical Obligation of Anthropologists - Answers Respect the people/artifacts/primates they
study.
Ethical Guidelines for Anthropologists - Answers - The relationship created with people anthropologists
work with (establishing rapport) is important. A relationship of mutual respect and trust aids in
productive research.
- The relationship depends on the anthropologists' people skills and traits.
- Anthropologists have moral obligations outlined in a code of ethics obligations as both fellow humans
& scientists.
Holism - Answers the perspective in anthropology that cultures are complex systems that cannot be fully
understood without paying attention to their different components, including economics, social
organization, and ideology.
Rapport - Answers The relationship between the researcher and the study population.
- One of the primary goals to establish
- Involves "trust" (on the part of the study population).
Inductive Research - Answers a research approach that avoids hypothesis formation in advance of the
research and instead takes its lead from the culture being studied