Anthropology
the scientific and humanistic study of human beings
Society
a group of people who depend on one another for survival or well-being as well as the relationships among such people including their status and roles
Culture
the learned behaviors and symbols that allow people to live in groups, the primary means by which humans adapt to their environment; the ways of life characteristic of a particular human society
Ethnocentrism
judging other cultures from the perspective of one's own culture. The notion that one's own culture is more beautiful, rational, and nearer to perfection than any other.
Cultural Relativism
the notion that cultures should be analyzed with reference to their own histories and values rather than according to the values of another culture
Holism
In anthropology, an approach that considers culture, history, language, and biology essential to a complete understanding of human society
Cultural Anthropology
the study of human thought, behavior, and lifeways that are learned rather than genetically transmitted and that are typical of groups of people
Ethnoscape
global distribution of people associated with each other by history, kinship, friendship, and webs of mutual understandings
Ethnography
the major research tool of cultural anthropology; includes both fieldwork among people in a society and the written results of such fieldwork
Emic
examining societies using concepts, categories, and distinctions that are meaningful to members of that culture
Etic
examining societies using concepts, categories, and rules derived from science; an outsider's perspective
Ethnology
the attempt to find general principles or laws that govern phenomena
Archaeology
the subdiscipline of anthropology that focuses on the reconstruction of past cultures based on their material remains
Anthropological linguistics
the study of language and its relation to culture
Physical (Biological) Anthropology
the subdiscipline of anthropology that studies people from a biological perspective, focusing primarily on aspects of humankind that are genetically inherited
Human Paleontology
the focus within biological anthropology that traces human evolutionary history
Primatology
the focus within biological anthropology that is concerned with the biology and behavior of nonhuman primates
Forensic Anthropology
the application of biological anthropology to the identification of skeletalized or badly decomposed human remains
Applied Anthropology
the application of anthropology to the solution of human problems