#separator:tab #html:false #tags column:4 Anthropology The study of humans, past and present tp-anthropology Four-field approach Cultural, biological, archaeological and linguistic anthropology tp-anthropology Cultural anthropology Study of human societies and cultures tp-anthropology Biological anthropology Study of human evolution and biological variation tp-anthropology Archaeology Study of past peoples through material remains tp-anthropology Linguistic anthropology Study of language in its social and cultural setting tp-anthropology Ethnography Detailed written study of a culture based on fieldwork tp-anthropology Ethnology Comparing cultures to find patterns tp-anthropology Participant observation Living with a community to learn its ways tp-anthropology Fieldwork Research conducted in the community studied tp-anthropology Informant A community member who provides cultural information tp-anthropology Emic perspective Understanding a culture from the insider's point of view tp-anthropology Etic perspective Analysis from an outside observer's viewpoint tp-anthropology Cultural relativism Judging a culture by its own standards tp-anthropology Ethnocentrism Judging other cultures by one's own tp-anthropology Franz Boas Founder of American anthropology; stressed cultural relativism tp-anthropology Margaret Mead Anthropologist of Samoa who studied childhood and adolescence tp-anthropology Bronislaw Malinowski Developed participant observation in the Trobriand Islands tp-anthropology Enculturation Learning one's own culture tp-anthropology Acculturation Change from contact between cultures tp-anthropology Cultural diffusion Spread of cultural traits between societies tp-anthropology Kinship Social relationships based on descent and marriage tp-anthropology Descent group Group tracing ancestry to a common ancestor tp-anthropology Patrilineal descent Tracing descent through the father's line tp-anthropology Matrilineal descent Tracing descent through the mother's line tp-anthropology Bilateral descent Tracing descent through both parents tp-anthropology Clan A descent group claiming a common ancestor tp-anthropology Incest taboo Universal rule against marriage or sex between close kin tp-anthropology Bride service Groom works for the bride's family tp-anthropology Dowry Goods the bride's family give at marriage tp-anthropology Reciprocity Exchange of goods and services among people tp-anthropology Potlatch A feast among Pacific Northwest peoples redistributing wealth and affirming status tp-anthropology Kula ring Trobriand exchange network of shell valuables tp-anthropology Foragers People who live by hunting, gathering and fishing tp-anthropology Pastoralism Livelihood based on herding animals tp-anthropology Horticulture Small-scale farming using simple tools tp-anthropology Intensive agriculture Large-scale farming with plows, irrigation and animals tp-anthropology Band Small, mobile, egalitarian group tp-anthropology Tribe Group of related kin, loosely organized, often with shared language tp-anthropology Chiefdom Society with hereditary leaders ranked above others tp-anthropology State Centralized political system with formal government tp-anthropology Rite of passage Ritual marking change of status; Arnold van Gennep tp-anthropology Liminality The in-between stage in a ritual tp-anthropology Totemism Link between a group and a natural symbol tp-anthropology Animism Belief that spirits inhabit natural things tp-anthropology Shaman A specialist who mediates with the spirit world tp-anthropology Myth A sacred narrative explaining origins or beliefs tp-anthropology Ritual Formal, repeated symbolic action tp-anthropology Magic Rituals aimed at controlling events tp-anthropology Primate Order of mammals including monkeys, apes and humans tp-anthropology Hominin Humans and their extinct bipedal relatives tp-anthropology Bipedalism Walking on two legs tp-anthropology Australopithecus Early bipedal hominin genus of Africa tp-anthropology Lucy A 3.2-million-year-old Australopithecus afarensis skeleton from Ethiopia tp-anthropology Homo habilis Early toolmaking Homo species tp-anthropology Homo erectus Long-lived species that used fire and spread beyond Africa tp-anthropology Neanderthals Extinct relatives of modern humans in Europe and western Asia tp-anthropology Homo sapiens Anatomically modern humans, appeared in Africa roughly 300,000 years ago tp-anthropology Out of Africa model Modern humans originated in Africa and spread worldwide tp-anthropology Paleolithic The Old Stone Age tp-anthropology Mesolithic The Middle Stone Age tp-anthropology Neolithic The New Stone Age, when farming began tp-anthropology Neolithic Revolution Shift from foraging to farming around 10,000 years ago tp-anthropology Domestication Breeding plants or animals for human use tp-anthropology Oldowan tools Earliest simple stone tools tp-anthropology Acheulean tools Hand axes linked to Homo erectus tp-anthropology Stratigraphy Studying layers of earth to determine relative age tp-anthropology Radiocarbon dating Dating organic remains by carbon-14 decay, up to about 50,000 years tp-anthropology Artifact A portable object made or used by humans tp-anthropology Feature A non-portable sign of human activity, like a hearth tp-anthropology Midden An ancient trash heap tp-anthropology Cultural resource management Archaeology done to protect sites ahead of development tp-anthropology Site A place with evidence of past human activity tp-anthropology Excavation Systematic digging and recording of a site tp-anthropology Provenience The exact location where an object was found tp-anthropology Material culture Physical objects created by a society tp-anthropology Race as social construct Human races are not biologically distinct groups tp-anthropology Natural selection Traits that aid survival and reproduction become more common tp-anthropology Adaptation A trait that helps survival in an environment tp-anthropology Genetic drift Random changes in gene frequency tp-anthropology Gene flow Exchange of genes between populations tp-anthropology Mutation Change in DNA that is the source of new variation tp-anthropology Fossil Preserved remains or traces of ancient life tp-anthropology Language family Languages sharing a common ancestor tp-anthropology Phoneme A basic sound unit that distinguishes meaning tp-anthropology Morpheme The smallest meaningful unit of language tp-anthropology Sapir-Whorf hypothesis Language influences how people think tp-anthropology Sociolinguistics Study of language and society tp-anthropology Code-switching Alternating between languages or dialects tp-anthropology Applied anthropology Using anthropological knowledge to solve practical problems tp-anthropology Globalization Growing worldwide interconnection tp-anthropology Medical anthropology Study of health, illness and healing across cultures tp-anthropology