anthropological perspective - Answers The approach to social research that seeks to
understand culture from the point of view of the people within that cultural context.
anthropology - Answers The holistic study of humankind.
applied anthropology - Answers The branch of anthropology in which practitioners use
anthropology in the service of particular social concerns.
archaeology - Answers The subfield of anthropology focused on the study of material artifacts
to understand a people's culture and society, usually in the past.
Cultural Anthropology - Answers The subfield of anthropology focused on the description,
interpretation, and analysis of similarities and differences in human cultures.
cultural other - Answers A term used to refer to the subjective experience of difference at the
cultural level; identifying "us/me" and "them/you" through cultural symbols and markers.
ethnoarchaeology - Answers An approach to archaeology that combines the analysis of material
life with information taken from contemporary populations.
ethnographic fieldwork - Answers Anthropology's hallmark research method, based on the
anthropologist's direct experience in a culture.
ethnographic interviews - Answers Purposeful, documented conversation with research
participants that may be formal or informal.
ethnography - Answers (1) A rich description and analysis of a culture that includes the
anthropologist's experience of "being there"; (2) the method of research involving firsthand
fieldwork, participant observation, and other qualitative data.
excavation - Answers A rigorous method of extracting artifacts from underground; the primary
data collection method of archaeologists.
focus groups - Answers A type of interview in which small groups of people are asked to
discuss a particular topic while the anthropologist takes notes.
globalization - Answers The integration of economies, political systems, societies, and culture
into a larger community on a global scale.
holistic understanding - Answers The view that all parts of human life—from birthing practices
to the economy to warfare to art—are interconnected.
life history - Answers An interview or series of interviews that document the trajectory of a
single life.