Introduction to Anthroplolgy

A) Anthropology is the study of humans, or mankind. For example- who we are, why all people are so different from one another, why are we the way that we are, why do humans act and speak differently, etc...

B)There are five different general principals of anthropology.

• Global: It focuses on different groups of humans all over the globe. Ultimately the goal is to study how culture effects human experience. Also it can deal with the past. Basically it is the study which explores all of the aspects of humans.

• Holistic: Holistic means that you look at the whole picture and not just a single part, anthropologist study all of the aspects of a culture (religion, customs, politics...) and draw connections linking them together.
• Comparative: It is pretty self explanatory, we compare ourselves and our different cultures to others different than our own.
• Relative: Basically it is the study of how different cultures have different ways of thinking, and different views on things. So if we are going to compare a culture, we cannot compare it to our own, we must compare it to itself, the time period, etc...
• Empirical: the empirical method is really focused more on research and fact. It is more hands on, more evidential. The information is not assumed or scientifically guessed, but it is very factual, and opinions are formed by collected information.
  

C) The four sub fields of anthropology are:
a. archaeology
b. biological
c. linguistic
d. cultural
D)

1. Archaeology anthropology: This is the study of people in the present but mostly in the past. The study of for example fossils, artifacts, and any remnants of happenings in the past.
   
2. Biological or Physical Anthropology: Is basically the study of evolution. Animals, humans, etc... and how over time they adapted in order to live. Adaptions such as, body size, teeth, weight, and much more.
3. Linguistic Anthropology: This is the study of language. How languages have evolved over time to what they are today, verbal language and non verbal(like sign language)
4. Cultural Anthropology:This is the study of cultures, languages, nutrition, customs, and people, in the past and in the present.

E) After reading through all of the course material i really liked the website for The American Anthropological Association. I thought that it was a really cool page. Anthropology is a new thing for me, so i felt that it was pretty easy to understand, even though i am very much so a beginner. Also, i thougth that it was really neat that they talked all about the different perfessions that can be pursued through studying anthropology. Like working in local government agencies, or health clinics, or using it to teach! Overall i really felt that just starting out the class it gave me a good insited and a little better understanding on what anthropology is really about.