ARCH131
anthropology - Answer: a discipline that explores human differences and similarities by
investigating our biological and cultural complexity, past and present.
subdisciplines of anthropology - Answer: archeology, cultural anthropology, biological
anthropology, linguistic anthropology
fifth subdiscipline of anthropology - Answer: applied anthropology
cultural anthropology - Answer: similarities and differences among living persons and societies.
linguistic anthropology - Answer: the study of humanity and languages
archaeology - Answer: looking at material remains to better understand people and societies
biological anthropology - Answer: the study of human evolution and biological variation.
applied anthropology - Answer: practical application of anthropological theories, methods, and
findings to solve real-world problems.
what are the four anthropological approaches - Answer: holism, comparison, dynamism, and
fieldwork.
holism - Answer: looking at all factors of a study combined
comparison - Answer: comparing data from different populations
dynamism - Answer: looking at short and long term changes in a society
,ARCH131
fieldwork - Answer: going and getting experience to study
subfields of biological anthropology - Answer: primatology, paleoanthropology, molecular
anthropology, bioarchaeology, forensic anthropology, and human biology
science must be..? - Answer: testable and refutable, based off of empirical evidence, and
involving the scientific community
scientific method - Answer: observation, hypothesis, predict, test, hypothesis is supported or
rejected
hypothesis vs theory vs law - Answer: hypothesis is explanations that address a narrow set of
phenomena, such as (in anthropology) a particular human population or primate species.
theory is an explanation of observations that addresses a wide range of phenomena.
law is a prediction about what will happen given certain conditions, not an explanation for how
or why it happens.
ways of knowing - Answer: knowledge systems are unified way of knowing that is shared by a
group of people and used to explain and predict phenomena
scientific understanding is knowledge gained from science
belief is a religious way of knowing
margret mead - Answer: • In an attempt to investigate whether emotional turbulence exhibited
by American adolescents was caused by the biology of puberty, Mead studied Samoan
teenagers.
,ARCH131
• Wrote Coming of Age in Samoa (1928) in which she critiqued restrictive parenting methods in
the US and argued that because Samoan teenagers had the freedom to explore their
community and their sexuality, they were relatively tranquil and happy.
• Mead argued that teenage angst was shaped by nurture more than nature. However, her work
has been criticised in recent years for not accounting for exploiting the people she studied and
misrepresenting (or misinterpreting) Samoan sexuality.
Aristotles thoughts on evolution - Answer: hierarchal classification of organisms based on their
perceived ability to sense the world around them and to move, their modes of reproduction,
warm-/cold-bloodedness, (in)vertebrates
Al-Jahiz - Answer: ● Described over 350 species in his Book of Animals
● Introduced the idea and mechanisms of biological evolution 1,000 years before Darwin
proposed the concept of natural selection.
● Discussed the struggle for existence, the transformation of species over time, and
environmental factors that influence the process.
776-868 CE
Ibn al-Haytham - Answer: 965-1040 CE•
Authored around 200 books and was an expert on Aristotle's natural philosophy, logic, and
metaphysics.
• Used experiments to verify theory— similar to the modern scientific method
Francis Bacon - Answer: 1561-1626
Likely influenced by the methods used by Ibn al-Haytham, Bacon was the first to codify the
Scientific Method.
John Ray - Answer: 1627-1705
, ARCH131
Defined a species as a group of morphologically similar organisms arising from a common
ancestor.
Now defined as a group of similar organisms capable of producing fertile offspring.
Carolus Linnaeus - Answer: 1707-1778
Established the system of binomial nomenclature (Genus species)
Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon - Answer: 1707-1788
Introduced the idea that species change over time and compared similar structures across
different species (comparative anatomy)
Georges Cuvier - Answer: • Paleontologist, comparative anatomist
• Proved that some species had become extinct
• Contradicted Biblical writings saying that all species created during the 7 days that God
created the world have survived to this day
• Also implied that God's work was flawed and that the world is older than biblical scholars
calculated
• Catastrophism: Species did not evolve but periodically went extinct and were replaced by
species from other regions.
James Hutton - Answer: 1726-1797
• Based on observations of geological formations, argued that the world was much older than
originally thought.
Charles Lyell - Answer: (1797-1875)
• Argued that layers of rock (strata) increase in age the further down they are, and that the
same principle must apply to any fossils contained within the rock
anthropology - Answer: a discipline that explores human differences and similarities by
investigating our biological and cultural complexity, past and present.
subdisciplines of anthropology - Answer: archeology, cultural anthropology, biological
anthropology, linguistic anthropology
fifth subdiscipline of anthropology - Answer: applied anthropology
cultural anthropology - Answer: similarities and differences among living persons and societies.
linguistic anthropology - Answer: the study of humanity and languages
archaeology - Answer: looking at material remains to better understand people and societies
biological anthropology - Answer: the study of human evolution and biological variation.
applied anthropology - Answer: practical application of anthropological theories, methods, and
findings to solve real-world problems.
what are the four anthropological approaches - Answer: holism, comparison, dynamism, and
fieldwork.
holism - Answer: looking at all factors of a study combined
comparison - Answer: comparing data from different populations
dynamism - Answer: looking at short and long term changes in a society
,ARCH131
fieldwork - Answer: going and getting experience to study
subfields of biological anthropology - Answer: primatology, paleoanthropology, molecular
anthropology, bioarchaeology, forensic anthropology, and human biology
science must be..? - Answer: testable and refutable, based off of empirical evidence, and
involving the scientific community
scientific method - Answer: observation, hypothesis, predict, test, hypothesis is supported or
rejected
hypothesis vs theory vs law - Answer: hypothesis is explanations that address a narrow set of
phenomena, such as (in anthropology) a particular human population or primate species.
theory is an explanation of observations that addresses a wide range of phenomena.
law is a prediction about what will happen given certain conditions, not an explanation for how
or why it happens.
ways of knowing - Answer: knowledge systems are unified way of knowing that is shared by a
group of people and used to explain and predict phenomena
scientific understanding is knowledge gained from science
belief is a religious way of knowing
margret mead - Answer: • In an attempt to investigate whether emotional turbulence exhibited
by American adolescents was caused by the biology of puberty, Mead studied Samoan
teenagers.
,ARCH131
• Wrote Coming of Age in Samoa (1928) in which she critiqued restrictive parenting methods in
the US and argued that because Samoan teenagers had the freedom to explore their
community and their sexuality, they were relatively tranquil and happy.
• Mead argued that teenage angst was shaped by nurture more than nature. However, her work
has been criticised in recent years for not accounting for exploiting the people she studied and
misrepresenting (or misinterpreting) Samoan sexuality.
Aristotles thoughts on evolution - Answer: hierarchal classification of organisms based on their
perceived ability to sense the world around them and to move, their modes of reproduction,
warm-/cold-bloodedness, (in)vertebrates
Al-Jahiz - Answer: ● Described over 350 species in his Book of Animals
● Introduced the idea and mechanisms of biological evolution 1,000 years before Darwin
proposed the concept of natural selection.
● Discussed the struggle for existence, the transformation of species over time, and
environmental factors that influence the process.
776-868 CE
Ibn al-Haytham - Answer: 965-1040 CE•
Authored around 200 books and was an expert on Aristotle's natural philosophy, logic, and
metaphysics.
• Used experiments to verify theory— similar to the modern scientific method
Francis Bacon - Answer: 1561-1626
Likely influenced by the methods used by Ibn al-Haytham, Bacon was the first to codify the
Scientific Method.
John Ray - Answer: 1627-1705
, ARCH131
Defined a species as a group of morphologically similar organisms arising from a common
ancestor.
Now defined as a group of similar organisms capable of producing fertile offspring.
Carolus Linnaeus - Answer: 1707-1778
Established the system of binomial nomenclature (Genus species)
Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon - Answer: 1707-1788
Introduced the idea that species change over time and compared similar structures across
different species (comparative anatomy)
Georges Cuvier - Answer: • Paleontologist, comparative anatomist
• Proved that some species had become extinct
• Contradicted Biblical writings saying that all species created during the 7 days that God
created the world have survived to this day
• Also implied that God's work was flawed and that the world is older than biblical scholars
calculated
• Catastrophism: Species did not evolve but periodically went extinct and were replaced by
species from other regions.
James Hutton - Answer: 1726-1797
• Based on observations of geological formations, argued that the world was much older than
originally thought.
Charles Lyell - Answer: (1797-1875)
• Argued that layers of rock (strata) increase in age the further down they are, and that the
same principle must apply to any fossils contained within the rock
