ANTHROPOLOGY 1006

Dr. Nicholas F. Bellantoni, Fall 2015

Texts:
Park, Michael Alan, INTRODUCTION TO
ANTHROPOLOGY
Bellantoni, Nicholas, INTRODUCTORY
ANTHROPOLOGY:
1006

ANTH

Neihardt, John, BLACK ELK SPEAKS, Excelsior Edition

Syllabus

Connect to HuskyCT

Discussion Sections: Friday

First Readings:

Park, Chaps. 1, 2
and 3
Bellantoni, Articles, #2, 3, and 4

GRADING SYSTEM

One-third numerical average of 2 hour

long exams in class 9/24 and 10/29

One-third based on the final exam

(partially cumulative)

One-third from participation and

assignments in class discussion groups

LECTURE LINEUP
What is Anthropology?
Culture and Biology
Humans Among Other Animals
Organic Evolution
Process of Hominization
Emergence of the Hominin
Emergence of Homo
Human Biological Variability
Agricultural and Urban Revolutions
Anthropological Archaeology
Forensic Archaeology
Albert Afraid of Hawk/Lakota Culture

LECTURE LINEUP
The Concept of Culture
Cultural Change
Cultural Ecology
Cultural Anthropology: In the Field
Economic Systems
Political Systems
Religious Systems
Revitalization Movements: Ghost
Dance
Family and Kinship Systems
American Cultural System, Part I
American Cultural System, Part II
Future of Humanity

Contact Information

Office Hours: 2:00 4:00pm

(Wednesday)

Building #5, Horsebarn Hill Science Complex

Campus Phone: 860-486-6953

Campus Mail: U-2176; U-1023
Email: nicholas.bellantoni@uconn.edu

WHAT IS
ANTHROPOLOGY?

Margaret
Mead
Cultural
Anthropologist

Louis and Mary

Leakey
Paleoanthropologists,
Archaeologists

Jane Goodall
Primatologis
t

ANTHROPOLOGY

Who are we?

Where have we come from?

Why do we look like we do?

Why dont we all look alike?

Why do we behave the way we do?

George Harrison
The Silent Beatle

For every human is

the quest to find the
answer to Why are we
here? Who am I?
Where did I come
from? Where am I
going? That, to me,
became the only
important thing in my
life. Everything else is
secondary

Myths and
FolkloreCreation Stories

ANTHROPOLOGY

Scientific Approach

Study of Humankind - Human groups

Seeks to Produce useful

GENERALIZATIONS about people & their
BEHAVIOR

To arrive at an UNBIASED
UNDERSTANDING OF HUMAN DIVERSITY

ANTHROPOLOGY

Objectivity(?)

Napoleon Chagnon and

the Yanamamo

Anthropology Is Vast

Human Beings:

Past & Present

Biologically &
Culturally

Embraces All Of
Humanity

ANTHROPOLOGICAL
PERSPECTIVES

HOLISTIC APPROACH

CULTURAL RELATIVISM

COMPARATIVE APPROACH

HOLISM

To view things in the broadest

possible context

To cover the whole scope of

humanity

To provide a total or composite view

1) Human Culture as a System
2) Biocultural Perspective

Kuru!
Neurological
disease that
has affected
Highland New
Guinea tribal
members
Affected
primarily
women and
children
Caused prion
proteins

Transmitted by
endocannibalis
m during
mortuary
practices
Relationship
between
Biology and
Culture

Cultural Relativism

To view the beliefs & customs of

other peoples within the context
of their culture not ones own.

Practice of not judging other

cultures based on the standards
of ones own culture.

ETHNOCENTRISM

Group-centeredness

Tendency to see ones own culture as the

center of everything.

The measure or standard against which all

other lifeways are evaluated.

Tendency to consider ones own culture as

superior or better than all others

Cultural Chauvinism

CULTURAL RELATIVISM

Anthropologists must be unbiased, objective

Involves an effort to remain unbiased in ones

observations

Acknowledges that cultures are DIFFERENT,

but NOT RANKED

No right or wrong cultures

Moral issues?

Cultural Relativism

Not as Moral Issues, but as answers

to problems people face:

Economically unproductive members

in a harsh environment?
Minimize competition for spouses?
Avoid family conflicts?

CONCEPT OF CULTURE

A Problem-Solving Process

Anthropologist injects themselves into

the cultural system being studied

Interpretations are based on that

system

Critical Cultural Relativism

Recognizes Plural Interest Groups

Understands Power Relationships

Critique Behavior
Human Rights

Comparative Approach

Compares society with society;

tradition with tradition

Identifies Similarities & Differences

In order to arrive at Generalizations

Variability in Peoples Behavior

Testifies to the Range of the Human

Experience

Incest Tabu

Certain categories of
biological relatives are
off limits in terms of
marriage and mating

Universal (Similarity)

Incest Tabu may apply to

different relatives in
different cultures
(Difference)

Anthroplogical Subfields

Biological Anthropology

Humans as a
Biological
species

Human Evolution
Biological Variability
Human Genetics
Primatology
Forensic
Anthropology

Anthropological Archaeology
Understanding the
Human Past
Prehistoric

Archaeology
Historical Archaeology
Reconstruction of Past
Cultures
Culture Change and
Continuity
Cultural Evolution
Forensic Archaeology

Cultural Anthropology

Focuses on
Human Behavior

Cultural Diversity
Explores
Subsystems
Behavioral Traits
Processes of
Cultural Change
and Adaptation

BIOLOGY & CULTURE

An Integrated, Holistic
Approach

Understanding the Relationship

BIOLOGY AND CULTURE

Humans as a Living
Organism

Human Behavior

Concept of Culture

Culture Change

Cultural Diversity

Human Evolution
Human Biological
Variability

Bio-Cultural Perspective

Holistic Approach in Anthropology

Nature/Nurture Debate:

Human Aggression

Molecular Biology - Genetics

Learned, Shared Behavior - Culture

NATURE/NURTURE DEBATE: KILLER APES IN FOSSIL

RECORD??

Raymond Dart and the Osteodontokeratic

Culture

Early Hominin Aggression:

Prey or Predator?

Evolutionary Perspective of
Behavior

Different Behavior Patterns Adaptive to our

Ancestors
Language, Tool making
Defense and Territorial Spacing
Cooperation in Small Groups

Aggression - characteristic of nearly all

animal life
Heritable Component

SEROTONIN LEVELS

Neurotransmitter

Located in the Gastrointestinal Tract

and Central Nervous System

In Humans and Bilateral Animals

Serotonin Levels

Research on nonhuman primates

demonstrates it can be raised or lowered
by environmental stimuli
Functions to regulate self-confidence,
depending on feedback from others
High Levels = Well-being; Less
Aggression
Low Levels = Prone to Violence

Aggression & Human

Evolution

Valuable function for defense and

territorial spacing in early hominin groups
Aggression can be controlled by
environmental stimuli!

Human Evolution = small highly social groups

Today = High population, impersonal social
relationships, alienation

Biology and Culture!

Sickle Cell Anemia

(Biology)

Heritable Disease
Red blood cells form
an abnormal
crescent-shape Hemoglobin
Unable to Deliver
Oxygen
Painful Episodes:

Effects Bones
Organ Failure

Malaria Distribution
(Biology)

Malaria = Caused by
Infected Mosquitoes

Parasitic Disease
High Fevers; Shaking
Chills, Flu-like symptoms;
Anemia and Death

Distribution of sickle
cell trait is close to that
of Malaria
Why?

Sickle Cell Allele

(Biological Genetic)

Alternative Characteristic on the Gene

Two Abnormal Alleles = Sickle Cell

Anemia
Two Normal Alleles = No Sickle Cell
One Abnormal/One Normal =
Resistance to Malaria and No Anemia

Human Health & Illness

(Cultural Dimension)

Foragers = Hunting and Gathering Natural Resources

Small Populations
Mobile
Forested & Desert Areas Did Not Harbor Large Mosquito
Populations

Agriculture = Significant Ecological Change

Large Populations
Sedentary
Cleared Land - Pooling of Water and Sunlight
Breeding habitats for Mosquitoes = Malaria
Persistence of Sickle Cell Anemia

Health & Illness

(Biology & Culture)

Foraging Societies

Agricultural Societies

Small Pops., Mobile, Few Episodes of Infectious

Disease, Fitness
Large Pops., Sedentary, Sanitation, Infectious
Disease Takes Hold

Industrial Societies

Even Larger Pops., Global Infectious Disease, Air

Pollution, Processed Food, Obesity, Diabetes,
Cancers, Lack of Exercise, Etc., Etc., Etc.

Holistic Perspective

Human Health Researchers:

Biological Answers
However, Needed to Investigate:

Archaeology
Cultural Anthropology
Linguistics

Holism Crucial for Solving the Major

Riddles of Human Existence
Subfield of Medical Anthropology

MEDICAL ANTHROPOLOGY

Studies biological
and cultural factors
that affect health,
disease, and illness
Focuses on the
interrelationships
between health,
biology, the
environment, and
culture

APPLIED MEDICAL ANTHROPOLOGY

UCONN

HEALTH AND ILLNESS

Maternal & Child

International
AIDS & Substance
Abuse
Ethnic Health
Disparities
Biopolitics & Social
Exclusion
Human Rights
Immigration

ANTHROPOLOGY

Culture is a Complex
Phenomenon

Demonstrates DIVERSITY and

FLEXIBILITY in Behavior

Sociobiology/Anthropology

Sociobiology may overemphasize genetic

predetermination of human behavior

Cannot ignore cultural diversity and flexibility

We are products of our evolutionary past

Both in terms of Biology and Culture

Human Biology

Humans are Animals

Being Human is being a Biological

Organism

Need to provide Nutrition, Protection,

Disease, etc.

Food: As Group Identity

Production: Cooperation, Roles

Distribution: Sharing, Family, Friends, Social

Bonds

Consumption: Ethnicity; What is Good, Proper

Food?

Culture (Complex
Behavior)

Capable of interpreting our experiences

Modify our Behavior

Learned, Shared Behavior

Set of Rules for interpreting our world

= Culture
Influences

Natures

every aspect of our Biological

Bio-Cultural Approach

We are not strictly governed by

genetic influence

Nor are we simply products of

our Culture

Concepts are Mutually

Interacting

Cultural
Schedul
e for
Meals

Meal as Social Event

Social Bonds
Social Status
Social Control
Family
Cohesion
Religion
Biology & Culture are Mutually
Interacting

Bellantoni Family Meal

Meal As A Social Event???

Lets Go Out To
Dinner Together
So We Can Stare
At Our Cell
Phones.

Infant Sleeping Patterns

Western Industrial Society

Infants Sleep Alone Early as

Possible
Independence
Competitive, Aggressive

Non-Western Tribal Society

Infant Sleeps with Mother and

Family Members
To Sleep Alone is Considered
Child Abuse
Takes a Village to Raise a
Child
Cooperative, Less Aggressive

Bio-Cultural Adaptation

Relationship Between a Group & Their Environment

Biological and Cultural Mechanisms of Adaptation

Traditional Inuit

Arctic Environment Alaska, Canada, Greenland

bitter cold
strong winds, storms (whiteouts)
dangerous animals

Inuit Physiology and

Anatomy
Arms and Legs are relatively short
Trunk is large - more body volume
to surface
Able to pump greater amounts of
blood to extremities
Layer of fatty tissue beneath skin

Inuit Culture and Behavior

Skilled hunters of sea mammals

Large amounts of fat

excess calories = production of body

heat
high amounts of Vitamins A, C, and D

Inuit Culture

Igloo, snow sled, furs,

Rituals, art, religion

Capturing a seal

Conclusion

Essence of Being Human is Grounded in the

Inter-relatedness of Biology and Culture

Serves to adapt human groups to their

environment

Gives meaning to peoples lives

Sociobiology may have a lot to teach us!!