Historical Transformation In American Anthropology

Historical Transformation in American Anthropology
The main purpose of Fox's work appears to be trace the historical development of what he refers to
as "historical transformation" in American Anthropology. Fox argues that this method differs from
the comparative method used by nineteenth–century evolutionists to study anthropology. The
"historical transformation" method used by American anthropologists instead focuses on the
histories of cultures in terms of their development from earlier times. In other words, the study
focuses on how historical events interact with existing cultural structures to lead to a variety of
outcomes for the culture being studied. In other words, the author, and indeed American
anthropologists, is concerned with the dynamic process involved in the development of cultures
rather than comparing cultures in a supposedly static way, which is the aim of the comparative
method. Fox supports his point with a study of the way in which the historical transformation
method has developed in American anthropology. He starts his discussion with Franz Boas and his
critique of the comparative method. The main argument in this critique is that there is a basic flaw in
the assumption that comparable cultural phenomena existing in the present must have a common
historical origin. According to Boaz, this assumption is proven incorrect by empirical study. Fox
bases his argument upon similar findings, one of which found that comparable totemic clans do not
have a common origin; some of them originated from a
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Analysis Of Using An Anthropological Perspective
According to Merriam–Webster, sociology is defined as, "the study of society, social institutions,
and social relationships." While sociology offers a perspective usually about the United States,
anthropology offers a new perspective. According to Merriam–Webster, anthropology is defined as,
"the study of human beings and their ancestors through time and space and in relation to physical
character, environmental and social relations, and culture." Anthropology holds a comparative
analysis component in study that sociology lacks. It is the comparative analysis component that
makes anthropology an important lens to use when looking at human reproduction. Human
reproduction is not a universal event, it varies from person to person, culture to culture. Using
anthropology as a lens for the study of human reproduction allows people to understand a biological
process in a social context comparatively. Understanding the past, helps people make advancements
and modifications for the future. An anthropological perspective would suggest that "understanding
something about our historical and evolutionary past can help us understand several contemporary
health issues, including childbirth" (Trevathan 1996, 287). Using this lens to look at human ... Show
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Using an anthropological lens to examine human reproduction is useful for both those who are
scholars and those who are not. Understanding another culture's way of childbirth, may make
someone appreciative of the support available in the United States. It may make someone in another
country like Central Brazil appreciate that they do not have as medicalized of a childbirth process.
Trevthan, Jordan, and Han all argue that anthropology is a useful lens to use when examining human
reproduction. Comparing a biological process, human reproduction and childbirth, in a social
context creates a greater understanding of human

The Origns of The Species by Charles Darwin Essay
The Merriam–Webster Collegiate Dictionary defines cultural anthropology as the anthropology that
deals with "human culture [especially] with respect to social structure, language, law, politics,
religion, magic, art, and technology" (1998:282). Anthropology, when broken down, simply means
the study of man (anthropos: man and ology: study). The word culture comes from the Latin word
"colere," which means to cultivate, or to worship. When you understand the meaning of the word, it
provides you with a better understanding of what the word represents. Culture is something people
create and then "worship" as a way to feel like a part of something. Cultural anthropology aims to
study cultures and how they came to form.
WHAT IS CULTURE AND WHERE ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Because many anthropologists at the time were also religious, degradation theory fit well because it
coincided with the Bible and the story of the Tower of Babel.
Anthropologists also liked to use phrenology, which was "the study of the conformation of the skull
based on the belief that it is indicative of mental faculties and character" (Merriam–Webster
1998:876), as one of the "scientific methods" to support racism. An anthropologist would use
phrenology to say that certain groups of people were, because of the shape of their head, primitive
and lacking intelligence. Surprisingly, phrenology is still used today. In a study published at the
University of California, Riverside, researchers "identified leaders' facial structure as a specific
physical trait that correlates with organizational performance" (Haselhuhn, Ormiston, and Wong
2011). Whether it is a nineteenth century anthropologist or a group of researchers at the University
of California in 2011, it is still phrenology. Anthropologists credit Lewis Henry Morgan as being the
founder of American cultural anthropology or more broadly as the father of "American
anthropology." Many anthropologists at the time were known as "arm chair" academics, meaning
that they studied anthropology from a distance while sitting in chairs, reading, and thinking; Morgan
was not an "arm chair" anthropologist; He went out into the field to learn

Comparing How Various Anthropologists Discovered...
Comparing How Various Anthropologists Discovered Anthropology as a Career
Anthropologists have reasons for entering a field of work just like any other person has reasons for
Choosing science over music or medicine over business. The reason a person may enter a particular
career can be from stumbling upon a field that they knew little. Once discovering it they have
ambitions of being the best they can be. It could also stem from a desire as a child to know more
about a specific subject. Reasons may be distinct or similar to another person's in the same field. I
will compare various anthropologists to how they started in anthropology and how they are different
from one another.
Anthropologists have stumbled upon or discovered the ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Her focus then went towards archaeology and studying the Bronze Age metals (64). Mary Leakey's
interest in anthropology also came from viewing art (www.primate). Her father had taken her to visit
cave paintings of the Dordogne, which led to her desire to study anthropology (www.primate). As a
child viewing such paintings, Leakey probably wanted to know all the reasoning behind the
paintings and what each meant. It could have been perceived as viewing a storybook to discover the
meaning of the pictures.
Ruth Benedict, Alfred Kroeber and Hortense Powdermaker all discovered anthropology through a
college lecture. Benedict had become a high school English teacher, social worker, writer and poet
(Mead, 7). After attending a lecture by Alexander Goldenweiser and Elsie Clews Parsons, Benedict
knew that this career would keep her interested and she would enjoy it (7). Alfred Kroeber majored
in English, like Benedict, but after hearing Franz Boas in a seminar on American Indian Languages
he switched to studying anthropology (Steward, 4). Hortense Powdermaker was not happy with her
desk&SHY;job after graduating from college so she went back for more schooling (Hortense, 293).
She took a course in social anthropology and knew that was the career for her (293). All three of
these anthropologists started in careers not related to anthropology but for unknown reasons had
attended a lecture focusing on anthropology. The effects of attending one lecture

Applied Anthropology Vs. American Anthropological Association
People taking anthropology may be under the impression that it is the mere study of humans despite
knowing that it is a universal and holistic field that can be applied in many different ways. Two
types of anthropology identified by the American Anthropological Association are applied and
academic anthropology and while both are similar by working together to answer questions about
humankind, they differ in their methods of anthropology.
Both applied and academic anthropology are similar because they are fields that analyze, interpret
and connect with their collected information. Their research is based on answering questions such
as: "Why is this culture this way?" and "How does this issue affect others?" In fact, these questions
allow for both dimensions of anthropology to work together. For instance, applied anthropology can
be practiced academically by teaching others and sharing knowledge about some field work
experienced first–hand in another country. In addition, academic anthropology can be applied by
addressing a studied issue in the community and interviewing people affected by it to find solutions.
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It involves first–hand experience to understand real life issues that leads to effective change. In an
interview from "Doing Anthropology," anthropologist Heather Paxson talks about her study of the
culture of artisan cheese making in America. She engages in every day practices including
sterilizing milk cans and processing cheese so that she can anthropologically analyze that cheese
making is not just a simple or useless task, but a part of that society's culture and way of living.
Therefore, with the knowledge that applied anthropologists collect from ethnographic research they
are able to ask more informed questions and handle an issue directly if

Culture And Lack Of Understanding Between Hmong And Hmong...
Throughout this ethnography about the cultural group known as the Hmong, there are several
anthropological concepts that can be found due to differences in culture and lack of understanding
between the Hmong and the Americans. Two concepts that are prevalent throughout are medical
anthropology and ethnomedcine. For example, Lia's mother, Foua, was restricted to specific foods
because of her culture, which were criticized by the medical staff which shows the dissonance
between American and Hmong culture. This is a perfect example of ethnomedicine, in that the
medical staff at Merced Community Medical Center expressed a completely different way of
administering medicine with vastly different medications than that of the Hmong. This idea of
ethnomedicine is explained later on and is constantly seen throughout the novel.
Later on the Lee's took Lia home in order to have her "hu plig" which is a cultural birth ritual that
"includes a sacrifice for ancestral soul to invite a soul into Lia's body." (Fadiman, 21) After some
time, Lia becomes diagnosed with severe epilepsy by the doctors at Merced, where the Hmong call
it "qaug dab peg" (aka the title of the book!) (Fadiman, 21). This is an example of medical
anthropology because the Hmong see illness as something that is physical where the soul and the
body are tangled or conflicted. Whereas the doctors (whom are classified as agreeing with the
cultural views of American culture) see illness as biological, with viruses, bacteria,

African American Slave Culture
Anthropology findings continue to educate people on how human beings before our time used to
live and run their societies in the past. While searching online for an article, I was able to find a
recent anthropology related article on slave findings at the Magnolia Plantation in Louisiana. The
name of the article that I found was called Slave Culture Research Showcased at New Smithsonian
Museum written by Katelyn Kenny. This article interested me the most because I am very interested
in African American culture and the history of African Americans and how they were treated as
slaves, which is why I choose to write about this particular article for my extra credit assignment.
The article states "artifacts discovered during an excavation at the Magnolia Plantation in Louisiana
at Washington D.C.'s Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture".
These archeological findings were found by Kenneth Brown and some of his students by digging on
the plantation, which would be considered an field site in archeological terms. During their search,
Professor Brown and his students were able to find materials such as artifacts as well as cabins that
former slaves once lived in. They were able to identify the type of people who lived in these
particular cabins based on the materials that were left ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
The article also states where these slaves would place their cemeteries and how much they
attempted to hold on to their culture, while it was constantly trying to be wiped away from them. In
the findings we can understand the social status of slaves in America and their relationship with
plantation owners. It is also important to anthropology because it points out how slave communities
were set up during these oppressive

American Anthropological Association Anthropology
According to the American Anthropological Association (AAA), anthropology is the study of
humankind. In order for anthropologists, to comprehend each aspect of the human race she or he
does so in a broad matter. They tend to view archaeology as being related to the past to determine
how human beings existed as well as what they considered to be significant from their perspective.
They reflect on what created our physical structure including our bones, flesh, and organs.
Anthropologists tend to also observe human beings and animals at the same time to determine their
similarity and dissimilarity. Despite the fact that, humans obtain the same necessities in order to
survive; how they meet these needs are often different. According

The American Museum Of Natural History: Anthropology Essay
The American Museum of Natural History has many exhibits that demonstrate many aspects of
anthropology. The Museum is located on Central Park
West between W81st and W77nd streets. The museum is an excellent place to open oneself to many
new ideas and cultures. When looking through the museum the exhibits that are anthropological
could enhance ones understanding of a culture.
The museum is very big and a lot of time is needed to get the most out of it.
The following exhibits that demonstrate many aspects of anthropology are located on the first,
second and third floors. The first floor has American Northwest
Coast Peoples, Eskimos, Human Biology and Evolution. The second floor had
African Peoples, Asian Peoples, Mexico and ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
The way the Chinese get married is very unusual to our western culture. This exhibit expresses to
me that people are very different all over the world and their is much to explore about other cultures
even an event such as a wedding.
One other exhibit seen in the Asian Peoples were an exhibit about dance.
It was called the personality in Dance. The junkai people perform a special dance called the whirling
dance. Dance in these peoples culture express a lot of different things. It evokes many moods,
inspiration of belief, the hope and energy of young people, and the power of fear that could kill you.
Society is very important to these people. Dance also by itself can express the values that a society
should have that keep it binded together.
One educational exhibit is the Human Biology and Evolution Hall. This exhibit introduces the
common biology of humans, and how we evolutionized. The biology of the humans were shown
though holographic pictures. These pictures did show the whole body including the muscles and the
bones. The evolution part of this exhibit was very interesting. " We humans often think of ourselvess
as the culmination of a steady history of a evolutonary improvement. But this idea is wrong, for
evolution is neither goal–oriented nor merely a matter of species gradual improving their adaptation
to their

Arab American Cultural Anthropology
This research paper will explore American of Arab descent, an overview of Arab culture, and their
psychological and social factors (i.e discrimination and prejudice). The two main objectives that will
be discuss throughout my research paper are (a) discuss the appropriate culturally counseling for the
following topics: religion, gender relations, communication, family, stereotypes and behavior issues
(b) recommendations and implications for culturally appropriate considerations working with Arab
Americans with multicultural counseling issues, mental health issues, and disabilities within their
families. Literature Review In Khateeb et al.'s (2014) summary article reviewed up until recently;
first, the U.S. Census does not use an

The Importance Of Kinship In Cultural Anthropology
Kingsborough Community College
Importance of Kinship in cultural anthropology
Student: Amulang Mantsynov
Professor: Igor Pashkovskiy
Kinship has traditionally been one of the key topics in social and cultural anthropology. There are
two primary reasons for this. First, although not all communities are constituted on the basis of
kinship, all humans have a kinship as individuals and are related to other individuals through it.
Second, for the sorts of "tribal," classless, economically unspecialized societies that anthropologists
have mostly – though no longer exclusively – studied, kinship has appeared to be the main or even
sole form of social organization. These observations led various theoretical approaches, especially
the schools of functionalism and structuralism within social anthropology, to focusing on how social
groups are formed. They got interested in studying of how individuals are related to one another
through kinship, and what kinds of mutual rights and duties they have as a result. (R. Parkin.
Kinship)
Parkin (2012) also points out that unlike the functionalists and structuralists, cultural
anthropologists, elected to focus more greatly on the symbolic rather than socio–practical aspects of
kinship. They are interested in the meanings attached to being a particular sort of relative. They also
study how symbols of and perspectives on an individual, the body, and gender tell kinship ideas and
practices. In broad terms, a study of kingship from the symbolic standpoint has prevailed in America
since the beginning of the twentieth century and periodically has been reinvented and by the 1970s
become more influential in world anthropology, especially in its poststructuralist phase. The field of
study of a kinship can be divided into three major categories: descent (that is, relations between
generations); affinity (marriage); and siblingship. However, the siblingship hasn't been studied as
widely as the first two categories. (R. Parkin. Kinship).
By the definition provided in the New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, kinship is "a relation between
two or more persons that is based on common ancestry (descent) or marriage (affinity)." In his work

American Dream Vs Urban Anthropology
I interviewed my older brother, Brandon Mathura. As a 21 year old, he is new to the "real world."
Similarly to my previous interviewee, Brandon was born into the American Dream. Overall, his
definition of the American Dream is having a lot of success and having opportunities. However, he
believes that you can receive similar opportunities in other parts of the world. According to
Brandon, the American Dream "is a standard in society." In his American Dream, he is willing to
work hard in order to become successful, retire and live down South or live in the city. His
experiences such as working and taking an urban anthropology class has shaped his views on
society and the American Dream. Brandon believes that he is slowly transitioning into a rugged
individual. Something that stood out to me the most was how his thinking changed over time and his
connection to anthropology. His point about "achieving the American Dream elsewhere such as the
United Kingdom," pushed me to think beyond the American Dream. Bri: What have you been taught
about the American Dream by mom and dad? When you were younger. Brandon: Well for one , I
don't know if my view of the American Dream.. The change that I had to deal with ... Show more
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Well right now I am studying about what had happened in Harlem. I guess the definition of poverty
for me... before it was just about being poor, but as I started to indulge myself into the actual subject
I started to realize that poverty is not just about being poor. I think that more or less, it is more of the
culture of poverty that we focus on rather than the actual definition. And I think poverty to me is not
just being poor, but it's living in a condition that is not middle class or being below middle class, not
holding a "white collared job." In some places you can argue that minimum wage is a form of

Culture and Race Essay
Culture and Race Anthropologists have always had their discrepancies with the word culture and its
background significance. There have been numerous definitions that have filtered through the field,
yet not one that everyone can accept or agree with. Franz Boas, an anthropologist in the early 20th
Century, and his students, had a difficult time figuring out the objective of what culture is. Culture is
about learning and shared ideas about behaviour. Although Boas and his students had a slightly
different idea in mind. They ultimately reached a conclusion, a definition of culture in their view
that is a contradiction in terms. Boas sates that, " culture was expressed through the medium of
language but was not reducible to it; ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
143). She illustrates how essential culture is to anthropology and how anthropology helps to balance
culture, as well as its ties with race. She considers culture and race as opposites. "Culture is learned
and can change," (Abu–Lughod, p. 144), and race is something inborn. Although she can only depict
and explain the concept of culture, and how it has become necessary and not the reasons behind it.
Lila Abu–Lughod also writes about feminism in regard to culture. " It has been important for most
feminists to locate sex differences in culture, not biology or nature," (Abu–Lughod, p. 144). There
have been many cultural differences between women and men, " a different voice" perhaps from
Anglo–American feminist Gilligan and her followers, (Abu–Lughod, p. 145), as well as an
explanation of the differences, " whether through a socially informed psychoanalytic theory, a
Marxist–derived theory of the effects of the division of labour and women's role in social
reproduction, an analysis of maternal practice or even a theory of sexual exploitation," (Abu–
Lughod, p. 145). With that there has been an increasingly large demand for more women oriented
culture, a place where they can express themselves and learn about their gender culture, and not that
of men. "That is to say, if women share something in common, it is not the result of a universal
bodily maturational process but of mutually experienced interpolations of race, class, and sexual

Essay on The Moral and Ethical Dilemmas of Anthropology
Anthropological researchers have considerable moral and ethical standards by which their work
must be conducted in order to preserve the accuracy and the posterity of the information gathered
during the study and also to the persons or cultures of which they study. These two important parts
of anthropology – the research and those being researched – can be conflicting. The Code of Ethics
of the American Anthropological Association presents itself as a body of guidelines for discussing
these ethical and moral conflicts. This allows for researchers in the field of anthropology to have a
foundation for understanding what decisions must be made regarding these ethical and moral
conflicts and to whom the disclosures of those decisions ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
The researcher must also be forward and honest with the participants that despite the due diligence
put forth by the researcher, the information gained and shared through the study may lead to the
unintentional disclosure of some of the participants' personal information. Ensuring that this is
shared with the participant allows a partnership to form between the researcher and those who are
part of the research. The case of anthropologist Becky Ross as documented by Elizabeth Colson of
the University of California, details the ethical dilemma reached when the projected status of the
researcher crosses from field research into a daily contributor to the study group. Colson suggests
that by creating these relationships, researchers are "creating obligations and they ought to learn
what these may entail." (Colson, 2006)
Partnerships, or relationships, are another aspect of social research that must be negotiated with an
ethical and moral perspective. Anthropologists have more than just the responsibility to report their
studies and results with accuracy but must also complete their research with propriety of moral
respect for those being studied, sometimes more than for the study itself. "In conducting and
publishing their research, or otherwise disseminating their research results, anthropological

Forensic Anthropology
Not many people realize that bones can talk, if you listen close enough and have the right education.
Forensic Anthropology is the study of "talking" bones or more properly as told by Burns (2013),
"the discipline that applies the scientific knowledge of physical anthropology (and often archeology)
to the collection and analysis of legal evidence" (p.3). This discipline brings together the fields of
physical anthropology, biology, and many other physical sciences to allow for the proper
identification of mostly human remains. The basis of forensic anthropology is to help solve cases
using the extensive knowledge of bones that has been built up over the years and is still being
shaped today. The first recorded use of skeletal information on ... Show more content on
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Also, the vertebrae and pubic symphysis can help discover the estimated age. If the forensic
anthropologist is using the vertebrae, they would have to look at the epiphyseal to see if it is either
absent, in the process of fusing, fully fused, or completely destroyed. They can also check if
osteoarthritis is becoming present, if the line of fusion is visible or no longer noticeable and if the
bone has become porous. Lastly, the pubic symphysis can be used. There are ten phases that the
bone endures from the age of 18 to 50 and upward. The changes of the pubic symphysis are similar
to the vertebrae with looking for the fusion or ossification of certain parts of the bone. However,
depending on the sex of the decedent, there are variations of testing for age because of childbirth
within women causing destructive trauma to the bone. Nonetheless, anthropologists do not have to
go that far to check the sex of the

Anthropology And What Are The Four Main Guidelines Used In...
What is anthropology, and what are the four main subdisciplines used in the study of mankind; and
how to they contribute to the study of human relations today. So, what is anthropology, "It stems
from the Greek words anthropo, meaning "human beings" or "humankind", and logia, translated as
"knowledge of" or the "study of" (Scupin, 2012, p. 4). Therefore, anthropology is a term used to
better understand how us humans function, and to where we came from (our existence); as well as
what shapes our customs and beliefs into what is known as race and ethnicity. The field of
anthropology surfaced many years ago, during the mid–western period when Christopher Columbus
sailed the open sea's; while discovering the different cultures during his voyages. ... Show more
While there are many factors and bridges that make up who we've become, and how our societies
differ from one culture to another, one thing is for sure we were put on this earth by one individual
our Creator; and Father from the heavens above. However, shortly after Christopher's return
anthropologists came together to use his findings from his research, and developed a well–
organized, and customary technical approach as to what they claimed made up our existence in
society; known as the four–field approach. Soon this approach stimulated into the four main
subdisciplines in the study of those non–Western societies in the United States, which are as
follows: Physical Anthropology, Archaeology, Linguistic Anthropology; and Cultural

Pros And Cons Of Ethnology
AN6123
Latif Oksuz
Fall 2015
2th summary assignment
Chapter 8, The Methods of Ethnology The ways of ethnology have modified significantly over the
years. Throughout the second part of the previous century, there was a unilinear evolution of society
where it included all human beings. Anthropologists, for example, Spencer, Morgan, Tyler, and
Lubbock supported this idea. However, Boas argues the techniques of analysis into the historical
improvement of society. More current advancement as for the surprising changes moves back to
some extent to the impact of Ratzel whose geological activity inspired him with the significance of
spreading and migrations. Hence, through this time ethnological study, especially in England and
Germany, is based upon the notion of migration and spread instead of evolution (Boas: 117). ...
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American anthropologists are more related to how and why that culture changed with a specific end
goal to reproduce the history. The entire problem of cultural history comes out of us as a historical
problem. According to the Boas '' In order to understand history, it is necessary to know not only
how things are, but how they have come to be'' (Boas: 120). As far as the field of ethnology in the
majority parts of the world, historical data were not available, but there were only the archaeological
proofs. I may draw a conclusion from this article;. We fairly notice that every society has its own
particular one of a kind history; thusly, no society remains completely the same for hundreds and
many years. In the creation of ethnology, all ways of a culture should be thought in order to have an
absolute consciousness of the past and the

Modern American Anthropology By Franz Boas
Known as the founder of modern American anthropology, Franz Boaz who was originally born in
Germany developed and furthered his understanding of anthropology in America through his
journey from Arctic Canada to the northwestern part of America in the early 1880s. His
ethnographic study was aimed at understanding the life the Eskimo community. Boas talks about
how the Eskimo community lived in ways they only knew about from their ancestors even in the
most challenging times despite the conditions of their environment. He was trying to reveal the
concept of how people were not tied down to the environment they lived in as the misconception
follows rather the culture that influences the way they go by their life. This concept was conceived
by a question he asked at the beginning of the film which was "What determines the behavior of
human beings?" which therefore can be ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
He further explains that human behavior is not dependant on racial characteristics nor is it a factor.
As a scientist, his vision was that derived from reasoning and that this was a self–conscious
characteristic that should be over–looked since it gives no scientific value. The second film we
watched regarded a social anthropologist by the name of Sir Edward Evans–Pritchard who was
English and taught at the University of Oxford. As a man who wanted to translate the thought
behind culture as we have described before in Boas, both anthropologists conducted observation and
participant methodology of field work to get the best and most intimate understanding of the people
they were studying. I believe this was the best way to know and understand the culture since this
does really apply to the view of Boas in terms of Cultural

Holism In The Anthropology 303 Class
During my time in the Anthropology 303 class, I have been exposed to many different ideas,
theories, and concepts that shaped the academic discipline of anthropology into the version we see
today. Prior to this class, I did not recognized most of the theorists from any of my previous
anthropology classes. However, I wanted to learn the reason why these theorists are considered
important to the development of anthropology.
When I started my sophomore year in community college, I decided to switch my major from
history to anthropology. One of the main ideas I have learned when I started taking my anthropology
classes is the idea of holism. Holism is the idea that one must study the whole of something in order
to better understand the individual parts that make it up. The holistic approach is in important in
anthropology because anthropologists study human cultures and societies by examine all aspects of
humanity. An example of holism in anthropology is Franz Boas' four–field approach of American
anthropology which divided the academic discipline into four sub–fields of physical anthropology,
cultural anthropology, linguistic anthropology and archaeology. ... Show more content on
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In my Anthropology of Religion, Magic, and Witchcraft class, I learned about Edward Tylor's
interpretation of religion by using the evolutionary approach of unilineal evolution. Tylor used his
theory of unilineal evolution to explain that all religions had a belief in spiritual beings but that the
religions of "civilized" peoples included beliefs in gods and souls, whereas the religions of
"primitive" peoples focused on the belief in spirits and ghosts. This idea is known in anthropology
as

Compare And Contrast The Four Careers In Anthropology
Archaeologists are those who study past human cultures and behaviors. They examine material
remains of previous human societies, which include human fossils, food remains, ruins, and also
things like tools, pottery, and jewelry. Archaeologists try to reconstruct the past from their studies.
Anthropology is the comparative study of human societies and cultures and their development.
Anthropology looks for the basis of behavior that applies to the entire populace. There are four
primary fields of anthropology which are biological anthropology, cultural anthropology, linguistic
anthropology, and archaeology. Archaeologists are anthropologists who specialize in ancient
societies. The evidence found in archaeology is used to understand past human culture.
Archaeologists ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
They can be found in almost any work environment or setting. There are ten main fields of
anthropological study. These fields include Sociocultural anthropology , archaeology, physical
anthropology , linguistic anthropology , medial anthropology, forensic anthropology, business
anthropology, visual anthropology, environmental anthropology, and museum anthropology. A
degree in anthropology opens the door for excellent jobs in many different career paths. Many
applicants for positions in archaeology have a masters degree. Bachelor's degrees are required for
entry level positions such as field assistants and surveyors. A graduate degree is required for upper
level positions for museums and archaeology firms. A PhD is s typically required for teaching. Just
having a master's degree in Anthropology is rare because most programs require students to pursue a
doctorate while completing coursework for their master's degree. Most anthropology fields require a
graduate degree. Careers in anthropology can range from opportunities in human rights advocacy or
social services to opportunities in criminal justice or historic

Anthropology and Gender Essay
Though women have played an integral part in the history of the discipline of anthropology, it was
not until the early 1970's that the field of anthropology and gender, or feminist anthropology
emerged. Sex and gender roles have always been a vital part of any ethnographic study, but the
contributors of this theory began to address the androcentric nature of anthropology itself. The
substantial gap in information concerning the study of women was perceived as a male bias, a
prejudice made more apparent because what little women–centered fieldwork was done received
insufficient attention from the academic community. While anthropology was considered one of the
more egalitarian fields of study, it was dominated by white, Western males who ... Show more
One of Slocum's contemporaries, Eleanor Leacock (1922–1987) chose to differently analyze gender
research, focusing on distinctions in power as it relates to society, the economy, and politics (2011:
397). She concentrated on North American natives and aboriginal Australians and their changing
gender roles as the result of Western influence. Another feminist trend gave emphasis to gender
identities, analyzing the ways in which race, class and gender converge. David Valentine, born in
1966, illustrates such an emphasis in his work which concerns the cross–cultural variations on the
westernized concepts of gender identity and sexuality, by which we categorize sexual desire
(2011:398). As evidenced by the variety of emphases within the theory, feminist anthropologists
were fully committed to assessing all previously ignored facets of the subjugated female within
numerous cultures worldwide.
Several decades ago the idea of women as subordinate was considered to be a universality by the
aforementioned white, Western male anthropologists who lead the field. Despite an anthropologist's
endeavor to be unbiased, the fact is these traditional anthropologists came from a culture where
many aspects of human life were male dominant. Though many studied

Economic Behavior And Its Effects On Society
Katelyn Cathcart
ECON 100–01
Hamilton
December 11, 2014
Economies According to Anthropology
Humans have been evolving the way they live for centuries. With the billions of people that live on
the planet today, it would be no surprise that people across the globe have varied ways in which they
live. These lifestyles can be as old as those our ancestors thousands of years ago had practiced, to
the mechanized practices we see in 21st century Western societies. Communities can be categorized
into one of four 'types' of societies (hunting and gathering, pastorial, horticultural, and industrial).
The different 'types' of societies are organized by how the economies each community has functions
using three fundamental elements of economic behavior. The first behavior of an economy is
production, or how a society comes to have resources. Economies usually come to be by modeling
the practices a community uses to produce its food. This means that the economic behaviors
exhibited by a community are based off the way that community produces food. The other two
economic behaviors are how a society distributes and consumes their resources. These two
behaviors reveal who (if anyone) is in charge of distribution, and who is able to consume goods
(Cultural Anthropology).
Hunting and gathering societies are just that: societies that get food by hunting wild animals and
gathering wild plants (Ember). Common examples of horticultural societies are some of the Native
American communities that

Cultural Anthropology And The American Society
Lucas Mochal
General Education Task Assignment 1
10/3/2014
Cultural Anthropology
Feminist Approach to the American Society
One theoretical approach in the field of cultural anthropology is the Feminist Approach. The
feminist approach is an approach that helped females from all diverse cultures to band together for
equal rights or more freedom for themselves. A feminist theory can be described as an approach to
move towards empowering women worldwide. Feminism has been a problem in any culture from
any time in history, and feminist worldwide are all banding together for one reason: to become
independent and highly powered women. The main goals of feminism are to discuss the importance
of women, break the gender inequality ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
In the later centuries in school girls were depicted to be in home economic classes to learn how to be
a homemaker, whereas boys were sought out to be in math and science classes. As the centuries
progressed society has changed immensely in how men have treated their women and how women
have overcome their typical roles in society. People have always had the impression that society is
driven by males. One big feministic move that women fought for was the right to be able to vote.
Women had never been able to vote because it was thought that men should only have the right to
choose who would be serving us locally and nationally. Liberal feminists thought that this idea was
unfair and that both genders should be able to vote, so they fought for the right for some women to
vote in 1918 and then in 1928 their appeal was approved and all women got the right to be able to
vote.
Another area that feminists fought to change was the view of women in the workplace. Many career
areas have always been depicted as a "men only" career such as Political, law enforcement, military
and construction. Feminist have taken the challenge to prove that this is a gender equal nation where
women are able to do the same amount of work that men can do if not better than men. In the earlier
centuries when it came to serving in the military you would never find a women serving because
they were known to be very weak and physically unfit to serve in the

Native American Anthropology Research Paper
Archaeologists destroy the sites they excavate. This has been one of the major criticisms that has
been lobbed at archaeologists for years. When archaeologists excavate a site, the common practice
of digging and removing artifacts is sometimes frowned upon by the communities in the
surrounding area. In the 1800's people's views of indigenous communities where reprehensible to
say the lest "American Indians were held to be inferior to civilized men in order to rationalize the
seizure of Indian lands, and that eventually, racial myths grew to supplant any other myths about
Indians as a justification for waging war on Indians and violating their treaties." (Watkins 2000: 6)
This trend continued into the 1900's, but the degradation that indigenous and to some extant non–
indigenous communities have experienced is still present to this day, but it is not as prevalent as it
was in the past. The things that were decimated where Indigenous graves, sacred places, and cultural
materials. The practice of looting grave goods has been a problem since Europeans first came to the
Americas "The looting of the Native American past began with the very earliest European presence
in North America, starting earlier than many would think." ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net
...
Randall H. McGuire asked the question in his paper Archaeology and the First Americas, "Why are
scholars (archaeologists, historians, and anthropologists) the stewards of Indian pasts." (McGuire
1992: 817) There is no good answer, to answer one would have to look at the relationships between
white and Indigenous communities, which in itself is a difficult. Indigenous communities have been
given the short end of the stick in the past, but that has begun to change in

Big Family Archaeology Research Paper
Archaeology is the scientific study of humans from the origin through the present. It encompasses
the investigating, analyzing, and interpreting of culture, behavior and the material remains of
previous human societies. Material remains, or artifacts, might include structures, garbage–heaps,
tools, metals, ceramics, or food. Archaeology is an important field of anthropology, which is the
study of human culture. Archaeologists concentrate on past societies and cultures and study their
changes in those societies over extremely long periods of time. Before this search I didn't realize
what a big family archaeology belonged to. I thought archaeology was just about digging up
artifacts from the past because people wanted their findings to be put

Importance Of Time, Context And Material
ARC1 Supervision (Monday, 20 October)
Daniel Orvomaa
Discuss the importance of time, context and material culture in archaeology. Which of these three,
based on your analysis of their use in archaeology, is most important to the distinctiveness of
archaeology as an anthropological discipline?
Introduction
If we were to imagine all the humanities, and especially the anthropological disciplines at the centre
of them, together with the natural sciences trying to form some sort of grand narrative – a full
picture of humanity that would include answers to all the thousands of questions we ask about our
origins and history, our societies, our place in the universe, politics, economics etc. – then we would
definitely see archaeology contributing in some manner. Gosden (2009) examines this concept as
expressed by Whallon: " 'we ultimately may see the development of a systematic and rigorous
understanding, on both short–term and long–term timescales, of human cultural organization and
evolution' (Whallon 1982: 1)". He then rejects this view when he says: "The second justification for
looking at the relationship between archaeology and anthropology is that they are part of the same
endeavour. This is not to say that archaeology and anthropology are part of a grand generalising
discipline of anthropology which can make statements about all of human life, past and present, as
was said by the new archaeologists." (Gosden, 2009) He does, however, admit that the disciplines
are on a

Essay about Father Franz Boas--Father of American...
Father Franz Boas––Father of American Anthropology
Franz Boas is often referred to as the father of
American anthropology because of the great influence he had in the lives and the careers of the next
great generation of anthropologists in America. He came at a time when anthropology was not
considered a true science or even a meaningful discipline and brought an air of respectability to the
profession, giving those who followed a passion and an example of how to approach anthropology.
Boas directed the field studies and trained such prominent anthropologists as Alfred Louis Kroeber,
Robert Lowie, Margaret Mead, as well as others. Although he did not leave as his legacy any
specific line of thought, he left a pattern that was ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Boas' rejection of data that was not collected in the field is well–documented and presents a nature
that was very specific in its analysis of the subject. His determination to go out into the field and
collect the data for the project ushered in a new respectability to the field in that he was not merely
regurgitating data that had been collected for another study but rather he was analyzing a specific set
of information that was pertinent to the study at hand. He introduced the concept of empirical
observation. This initial use of fieldwork set Boas ahead of the rest of the anthropologists. He was
not content to take old data and make it suit his theories. Rather, he embraced the scientific method
and collected data and then reworked his thesis to fit the information dictated by the data set found.
Boas lived what he preached, and this can be seen in his numerous trips to live among the natives of
the land. He put in stints in the Arctic, with the Kwakitul of the
Pacific Northwest.
Boas also felt that learning a language was a significant part of understanding a culture, something
that was a new concept. Along these lines, Boas recognized the importance of reaching into the past
to create and preserve the present, again setting himself ahead of the rest of his contemporaries. The
idea of cultural whole is that every culture was a complete system. He felt

The Anthropology Of Welfare And Social Protection
During my current position as a Teaching Associate (and Affiliated Lecturer) I wrote and delivered
the core second–year course of eight lectures, and facilitated eight MPhil seminars, in Economic
Anthropology. I also wrote and delivered two lectures concerning the anthropology of welfare and
social protection, supervised over forty students for the papers SAN1, SAN2, S5 and SAN8, and
supervised an undergraduate dissertation. My effectiveness as a lecturer is attested by a quantitative
evaluation, in which I received 88% for how interesting the material was, and 90% for how clearly
this material was presented. One part IIA student provided the following in their feedback form at
the end of the SAN2 economic anthropology lecture course: "My favourite lectures of the year. I
thought I didn't like economic anthropology because I didn't understand it. These lectures clearly
explained concepts with a diverse range of ethnographies. I am now doing my dissertation in
economic anthropology! Thank you!". This quote encapsulates my approach to lecturing in which I
clearly explain theoretical approaches using ethnographic examples. In some lectures I aim to
provide a coherent overview of a particular topic, while in others I explicate particular concepts and
theories using a more circumscribed set of literature. Aside from teaching economic anthropology
and supervising students, I would also welcome the opportunity to teach research methods. I
recently co–facilitated a five–day

Anthropology : Anthropology And Cultural Anthropology
What is anthropology? This is a question that can be answered in numerous ways, but we are going
to define it as simple as possible. If we break the word down into its two components it means the
study of human beings. "Anthropo" means human beings or human kind and "logy" or "logia" is
Greek for the study or knowledge of something. When we put it all together, it is the study of human
beings which can be very broad. Anthropology can be broken down into four subfields: physical
anthropology, archaeology, linguistic anthropology, and cultural anthropology.
Physical anthropology is all of the physical aspects of being human like human evolution and
human variation. People come in different heights, weights, and etc. The next subfield is
archaeology which is the human cultures in the past. Examples of these are artifacts and architecture
like pyramids and buildings. The third subfield of anthropology is called linguistic anthropology is
the study of language. The last subfield is called cultural anthropology and it is focused on the study
of cultural variation throughout the world. Cultural anthropology can also be called ethnology. Two
of the subfields that I thought were evident in most of the movies we watched were cultural
anthropology and linguistic anthropology.
One of my favorite examples of cultural anthropology was from the beginning of the semester in the
movie The Gods Must be Crazy. When Xi was venturing to the end of the earth to drop off the Evil
Thing, he has

Essay about Cultural Studies 1st Exam
Cultural Studies
First Examination
Due September 28th by Midnight
Name ___________________________________________________________
Part One: Identifications (Write the correct terminology or name in the space provided by each
statement. Some terms may not be used.
Anthropology Human Race Orthopraxy
Arbitrariness Informants Paralanguage
Christianity Language Phonology
Cultural Hybridization Language Family Pidgin
Culture Language Ideology Priests
Diachronic Langue Primatologists
Dogma Linguistic Competence Revitalization
Enculturation Linguistic Performance Secularism
Fieldwork Monograph Shaman
Fundamentalist Multisited Fieldwork Sociolinguistics
Holistic New Religious Movement ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
_____________________________22. Term meaning sets of learned behaviors and ideas that
human beings acquire as members of society.
_____________________________23. The idea of mixing and reconfiguring of elements from
different cultural traditions is acknowledged and even celebrated.
_____________________________24. Individuals who people believed have the power to contact
powerful cosmic beings directly on behalf of others, sometimes traveling to the cosmic realm to
communicate with them.
_____________________________25. The beliefs and practices about language that are linked to
struggles between social groups with different interests and that are regularly revealed in what
people say and how they say it.
Part Two: Multiple Choices

___1. Anthropologists who study the factors that contribute to human disease or illness as well as
the ways in which human groups respond to them.
a. Biological Anthropologists
b. Medical Anthropologists
c. Cultural Anthropologists
d.

Ruth Fulton Benedict Essay
Considered a pioneer in her time, Ruth Fulton Benedict was an American anthropologist who helped
to popularize anthropology while introducing such terms as culture and racism into common place
language. As an advocate against discriminatory attitudes, Benedict advocated for tolerance and
individuality within social norms and expectations and sought to determine that each culture has its
own moral imperatives. Considered her most famous written work, Patterns of Culture, Benedict
explores the differences between rituals, beliefs, and personal preferences and how within that
culture, personality within the individual exists. While Benedict advocated for tolerance within
individual choice and society, she also recognized the struggle within ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
Perhaps the isolation that Benedict experienced as a young girl can be considered a stepping stone to
the future. Using a pen name of Anne Singleton, Benedict wrote poetry and graduated from high
school at St. Margaret's Academy. Continuing to have aspirations of personal success, Benedict
enrolled at Vassar College where she majored in English and later became a teacher after moving to
Los Angeles with her sister. Benedict was yearning for something and yet at this time could not find
what was beckoning to emerge when she married and returned to New York City. It was during this
time, that Benedict experienced her internal conflicts and began to seek fulfillment. Coupled with a
desire for personal growth and seeking refuge from an empty and childless marriage she began
pursuing her education. This conflict was seen in Benedict's candor in her mid to late thirties as she
pursued graduate work. As written in personal journals, Benedict says, "I gambled on having the
strength to live two lives, one for myself and one for the world" (Mead, p.3).
Unsatisfied with her life, Benedict married a biochemist named Stanley Benedict in 1914 hoping to
find meaning. Benedict and her husband were unable to have children which caused strain in the
marriage during an era where women were valued as homemakers and mothers. Benedict yearned
for something more in her life, and it was then that she discovered

Contributions Of Pierre Boourdieu
The contributions of Pierre Bourdieu to anthropology:
Pierre Bourdieu made many contributions to the field of anthropology over the course of his
academic career. His contributions have shaped the anthropological landscape in the analysis of the
maintence of societal structures. Bourdieu's theoretical approaches of 'practice theory', 'habitus' and
'cultural capital' play a central role in his continuing influence in the field of anthropology.
Bourdieu's 'practice theory' is one of his most influential overarching comments on made on the
maintainence of a particular society. Created as an answer to a critique he made on social sciences it
is a new frame work to explain the dialectical relationship between individuals with different ideas
and behaviours which create the overall structure of society (reference). Bourdieu uses the
internalisations of the theories of 'habitus' and 'cultural capital' to further explain why the use of
practice theory is a good anthropological method of inquirery when exmining other societies, these
theories will be discussed below.The fore mentioned theories culminate into the theory of practice to
create the invidual person who inhabits a particular societal space. For example the essay will draw
on one of Bourdieu's most famous ethnographic pieces of writing surrounding Kabyle peoples of the
Berbers. Bourdieu produced a chapter entitled 'The Kabyle House or the World Reversed' (1979).
This chapter discussed the inticate layout of the

Franz Boas : The Father Of American Anthropology Essay
There are many anthropologists out there who each have their own findings and thoughts. The one
anthropologist who I felt I really connected with and was very interesting in his findings and
thoughts, was anthropologist Franz Boas. Boas was a white, Jewish male. He was known as the
Father of American Anthropology. Franz Boas has demonstrated major work in physical
anthropology, linguistics, Cultural anthropology, and the famous four field approach. Additionally,
through learning about Boas' findings and thoughts, I was able to engage with his work, evaluate it,
think about the works limitations, ramifications, and its lasting import. Boas' has made a difference
in many peoples lives and has been very involved. Boas had a very interesting life growing up
leading him to the person he was. As biography.com stated "Franz Boas was a German–born
anthropologist who founded the relativistic, culture–centered school of American anthropology that
dominated 20th century thought." He was born 1850 on July 9th, in Minden which was in the
Westphalia area of Germany. Growing up, being the son of a merchant, Boas was very protective
about his health, which lead him to spend a lot of his time with books. Although Boas was
completely Jewish jr grew up feeling as if he was not Jewish, rather he felt as if he was German.
Ever since Boas was five years old he was interested in natural sciences such as, botany, zoology,
geography, astronomy and geology. Boas' interest in the history of

Linguistic Anthropology: American Sign Language
Evolution is "the idea that species change over time and have a common ancestry"(Parks, 2014).
According to Charles Darwin theory of evolution, "is that all species came from one single source
and over time, we have adapted to our environment for survival during the history of the Earth." It's
a fact that since human kind entered the world, up until this day we have evolved to suit a different
kind of world. As to say we went from a simple kind of form and progressed into a more complex
form in other words, we are still evolving to this day. "The idea that biological species, including
humans, have changed over time and have given rise to other species can be traced all the way back
to the ancient Greek philosophers. Our present–day understanding ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
One of the biggest factor is that both study evolution just like the other subfields and are quite
similar. Language connects with our biological aspect and nature. Culture has much to do with both
as well. Physical anthropology study human evolution just like forensics do, which is a subfield
within linguistics. How they differ from each other is simple. Physical anthropologist has much
more to do with our biological aspect; how we are male, female and so forth. It's into how we
became humans and how we learned to adapt to our every changing environment. Linguistic has
more to do with language and how our language differ from one another also the connection it has
with our

Fieldwork in Various Anthropological Schools of Thought Essay
Cultural anthropology is a social science that studies the origins and development of human
societies (History World International, 2001). Many theories to explain cultural variations among
humans have emerged. As a result, numerous anthropological schools of thought have been
established based on these theories since the nineteenth century. These schools of thought
encompass the dominant beliefs about culture during a time period and are constantly changing as
new knowledge is acquired. As schools of thought develop, ethnographic methods have changed and
developed as well. Fieldwork is an ethnographic method that has been implemented in all
anthropological schools of thought. It involves gathering data and information about a specific ...
Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
On the other hand, scholars, like Lewis Henry Morgan, did their own fieldwork to study and
understand societies. However, scientific methods for collecting data were not developed until
decades later. As a result, Morgan's studies have been criticized for being too vast and superficial, as
well as having fundamental errors in the interpretation of the data (Tooker, 1992). Ethnographic
methods during this time were basic at best and were of little concern to the cultural evolutionists.
Franz Boas was one of the first anthropologists to reject the theories of the cultural evolutionists in
the beginning of the twentieth century (History World International, 2001). Although he recognized
the role of evolution in ancestry, he found the theories of the cultural evolutionists to be
scientifically unfounded. Instead, he pioneered historical particularism, the first American–born
anthropological school. This school emphasized the individuality of a society and, therefore, to
examine it one must look at the cultures environmental, psychological, and, most importantly,
historical circumstances (McGee & Warms, 2008). With the creation of a new school and his
background in physical science, Boas stressed the importance of ethnographic fieldwork for the first
time. McGee and Warms (2008) state that "Boas advocated a four–field perspective that included
studying prehistory, linguistics, and physical

The Father Of American Anthropology
"If we were to select the most intelligent, imaginative, energetic, and emotionally stable third of
mankind, all races would be present." – Franz Boas Franz Boas has been called the "Father of
American Anthropology." Dr. Boas did not obtain his degree in anthropology, but went on to help
create the four fields of anthropology and teach many of the most well–known anthropologists of
today. His contributions to the field of cultural anthropology alone are magnificent, Dr. Boas and his
students had managed to completely alter how we as a society viewed race and culture. On July 9,
1859 in Minden, Westphalia, Germany Franz Boas was born. Boaz was from a Jewish family his
grandparents were conservative, and his parents were very liberal. However, Boaz did not view
himself as Jewish, but rather German instead. At a young age Boaz had spent his time reading due to
poor health, he would later be engrossed with natural science and the history of culture. When Boaz
attended Heidelberg his main focus of study was mathematics and physics, then in 1881 he
graduated Kiel University with his Ph. D in physics and a minor in geography. In 1883 Boas had
went to Baffin Island in the artic to conduct geographical research. Once there he became fascinated
with non–Western cultures, and upon his subsequent return home Boaz had decided to devote his
time to anthropology. Later in 1885 Boas had gone to work with Rudolph Virchow, and Adolf
Bastian. Boas had worked more closely with Bastian who

The American Museum of Natural History: Anthropology
The American Museum of Natural History: Anthropology
The American Museum of Natural History has many exhibits that demonstrate many aspects of
anthropology. The Museum is located on Central Park
West between W81st and W77nd streets. The museum is an excellent place to open oneself to many
new ideas and cultures. When looking through the museum the exhibits that are anthropological
could enhance ones understanding of a culture.
The museum is very big and a lot of time is needed to get the most out of it.
The following exhibits that demonstrate many aspects of anthropology are located on the first,
second and third floors. The first floor has American Northwest
Coast Peoples, Eskimos, Human Biology and Evolution. The second floor had ... Show more
Aztecs our very popular for their monuments and stone sculptures.
Their most popular monument is this stone of the sun known as the calender stone. It includes allthe
elements of a calendrical system, but it is not a calender.
All the symbols on this calender stone relate to the sun and accent. It also expains the role of the sun
in the aztecs belief and culture. The aztec preform many rituals that have been drawn on the stone.
In the museum they colored in parts of the stone to explain what the deseigns meant. Look at the
picture in the back to fully understand this. The orange part of the stone, which is the face in the
middle, is the sun god ( Tonatiuh ). The yellow orange, which surrounds the sun god, is cosmogonic
myths of the Aztecs. The blue, which is just outside the myths, is emblems referring to the four
cardinal directions.
The pink, which is outside the cardinal directions, is the 20 day signs of the
260 day ritual calender. The yellow, which is located after the ritaul calender, is the disc of the sun.
The red, which is the end of the stone, is 2 fire serpents. The green, the last design on the stone, is
the date " 13 need " which is supposed to be the birth of the sun. This stone expresses the great
beliefs the aztecs had for the sun. They were a people of great design and expression for their
culture. Also in the same exhibit of the aztec stone was the Colossal Olmer Head.
This looked like

In Quest Of A Political-Economic Critical Anthropology.
In Quest of a Political–Economic Critical Anthropology
Many social scientists questioned the world systems and its histories because of observing the world
uneven development, unequal powers, inequalities, hierarchies, wars, and poverty. The world
systems produce and reproduce the injustice and social inequalities. Jeff Maskovsky and Ida Susser,
in their chapter "A Critical Anthropology for the Present" in After the Crisis (2016), argued that we
need to understand the history of political economy in order to understand how neoliberalism
operates in the present time. I would add that in a world where its people suffer from inequalities
and lack of social justice, there is a continuous necessity to understand those structures of
inequalities ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Anthropology in the United States:
Sydel Silverman, in One Discipline, Four Ways: British, German, French, and American
Anthropology, clarified how Franz Boas (1858 – 1942), the founder of anthropology in the United
States, trained the major figures of anthropology in the first half of the twentieth century (Silverman:
2005, 258). Boas started a critique to evolutionary theory and a move to the institutionalization of
cultural anthropology in universities and museums. Boas and his students started to layout American
anthropological landscape with questions about culture and meaning. He established culture as a
core concept in anthropology challenging the social–structural emphasis of the British Social
Anthropology (258). Interestingly enough, how Silverman suggested that the understanding of
American anthropology trajectory should not be in terms of Boas's school of thought, but more like
an arena of "debate, conflict, and differences in many kinds – theoretical, social, political, cultural,
and institutional" (258).
In order to understand this arena of debate, we need to highlight the political historical context
which influenced the world and its disciplines. American Anthropological Association (AAA),
founded in 1902, was reorganized after the war, with a larger agreement that the association should
continue for the four fields of archaeology, linguistic anthropology,

Franz Boas : Cultural Anthropology Essay
Born and brought up Jewish in Germany during a very antisemitic time, Franz Boas was a
successful student, earning his doctorate at a fairly young age and holding an academic position in
Berlin. However, in 1886 Boas found himself in New York after having participated in several
ethnographic studies in Canada. He decided to remain in New York for several reasons, the main
one being that it kept him close to the North American Indians and Inuit who were the peoples most
fascinating to him. In 1899 he became a professor of Anthropology at Columbia university and went
on to teach and mentor some of the most important people in Anthropology today. Boaz received
much of his schooling from scholars in Germany, who like many others, were skeptical of
evolutionism. Boaz became convinced that the task of an anthropologist wasn 't simply to study
peoples and their culture but to also carefully and systematically collect detailed data and material
on these particular cultures and only then would one be able to be cognizant of them. In the USA,
this became known as cultural anthropology. It consisted of everything humans have created from
society, symbolism, to materialism. It quite literally encompassed everything human and because of
this reason Boas, advocated for subfields to be created in Anthropology. These fields became known
as linguistics, cultural anthropology, physical or biological anthropology, and archaeology. Students
were then trained in a specific field rather then the

Historical Transformation In American Anthropology

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