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 rater 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 life ways 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 distinction that are meaningful to members of that culture
etic
examining societies using concepts, categories, and ruled derived from science; an outsider's perspective
ethnology
the attempt to find general principles or laws that govern cultural phenomena
archaeology
the sub discipline 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 anthropology
the sub discipline 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
enculturation
the process of learning to be a member of a particular cultural group
symbol
something that stands for something else; central to language and culture
anthropological theory
a set of propositions about which aspects of culture are critical, how they should be studied, and what the goal of studying them should be
culture and personality
a theoretical position in anthropology that held that cultures could best be understood by examining the patterns of child rearing and considering their effect on adult lives and social institutions
ethnoscience
a theoretical position in anthropology that focuses on recording and examining the ways in which members of a culture use language to classify and organize their cognitive word
cognitive anthropology
a theoretical position in anthropology that focuses on the relationship between the mind and society
ethnobotany
a focus within anthropology that examines the relationship between humans and plants in different cultures
ethnomdedicine
a focus within anthropology that examines the ways in which people in different cultures understand health and sicknesses as well as the ways they attempt to cure diseases
symbolic anthropology
a theoretical position in anthropology that focuses on understanding cultures by discovering and analyzing the symbols that are most important to their members
interpretive anthropology
a theoretical position in anthropology that focuses on using humanistic methods, such as those found in the analysis of literature, to analyze culture and discover the meaning of culture to its participants
organic analogy
the comparison of societies to living organisms
functionalism
a theoretical position in anthropology, common in the first half of the 20th century; focuses on finding general laws that identify different elements of society, show how they relate to each other, and demonstrate their role in maintaining social order
ecological functionalism
focuses on the relationship between environment and society
norms
shared ideas about the way things ought to be done; rules of behavior that reflect and enforce culture
values
shared ideas about what is true, right, and beautiful
subculture
a group within a society that shares norms and values significantly different from those of the dominant culture
dominant culture
the culture with the greatest wealth and power in a society that consists of many subcultures
historical particularism
a theoretical position associated with the american anthropologists of the early 20th century; focuses on providing objective descriptions of cultures withing their historical and environmental context
postmodernism
a theoretical position that focuses on the issues of power and voice; suggests that anthropological accounts are partial truths reflecting the backgrounds, training, and social positions of their authors
adaptation
a change in the biological structure or life ways of an individual or population by which it becomes better fitted to survive and reproduce in its environment
plasticity
the ability of human individuals or cultural groups to change their behavior with relative ease
cultural ecology
a theoretical position that focuses on the adaptive dimension of culture
innovation
an object or a way of thinking or behaving that is new because it is qualitatively different from existing forms
diffusion
the spread of cultural elements from one culture to another
participant observation
the fieldwork technique that involves gathering cultural data by observing people's behavior and participating in their lives
racism
the belief that some human populations are superior to others because of inherited, genetically transmitted characteristics
culture shock
feelings of alienation and helplessness that result from rapid immersion into a new and different culture
informant
a person from whom anthropologists gather data; also known as a consultant or respondent
human relations area files
an ethnographic database that includes cultural descriptions of more than 300 cultures