brought about by migration

-clear physical differences between western and eastern forms of humans 

cooking food- smaller teeth/ face 

heat treat flint

safety 

more time to do things 

warmth

tool tradition of Homo erectus 

- originated in Africa and communicated across groups

-mental template of:

bi-facial hand axe

begins shift of poles 

beginning of ice age 

causes:

sea levels drop: creates land bridges 

Africa becomes very dry = encourages migration

Homo habilis tool tradition

-because the earliest are in Olduvai Gorge 

2 mya "man on the move

-much taller 

-beginning of forehead: abstract thought 

-increasing cranial capacity

-migrate out of Africa 

-use of stone tools (Acheulean)

-more emphasis on culture

2.5 mya "handy man"

-association with stone tools (Olduwan)

-planned/ shared info

3.5 mya Lucy

-fully bipedal

-ape like skull/ small brain

-3.5 feet tall

-used tools of perishable material

4.4 mya 

-bipedal

-foramen magnum: farther under skull

defines the origins and continued development of human culture as a complex developmental and feedback among 3 biological traits in human biological evolution

1)ability to think abstractly 

2)ability to use language 

3)ability to use tools

ethnography 

observation/ participant observation

conservation 

geneological method 

key cultural consultants 

life histories 

discovery of local beliefs/ perceptions 

problem oriented research 

longitudinal research 

team research

large scale research 

1) avoid harm 

2) preserve the safety, dignity, and privacy of the subjects and informants 

exist in almost all cultures 

ex: incest 

parts of culture 

ex: 

technology 

religion 

etc

Emic: view of the participant of that culture 

Etic: from the view of the observer 

the process by which one society adopts the culture of another 

all cultural systems are inherently equal value 

traits characteristics of each system need to be assessed and explained within the context in which they occur

actions by an individual that form and transform cultural identities 

practice theory: influence of me v. Obama

what people actually do 

- observed behavior 

E.B. Tylor 

-is learned 

-dynamic 

-complex whole

-shared through symbols: symbolic

-holistic

-integrated, patterned 

-adaptive 

a process by which a child learns a culture

-passing traits from generation to generation

1) all cultures other than mine are inferior

2) because others are unatural and illogical

1) temporal- time (includes evolution)

2)spatial- study humans around the world

1)generalizing: find commonality

2)comparitive: compare groups

3)integrating: the stew 

4) holistic: the whole thing

1)academic: research/ teachers

2)applied: used to solve problems in today's world

study of human evolution

*primates

500,000 ya

-transitional form of human

-first hominid to hunt big game

-brain size: 1200 cc

130,000 ya

-during warm interglacial period

-subspecies

 .short/ stocky

-large brain (1700cc)

-round crania, big faces

-small back teeth, large worn front teeth

-capable of speech/ language

-lived to be 40-45 

-buried their dead

*favored by anthropologists 

-mitochondrial DNA confirms 

-through mixing of species, fighting etc.

Anatomically Modern Humans: AMH

100,000 ya

-new tool assemblages: blades not flakes

-art

-marked by worldwide artistic explosion

-parietal (murals)

Gravettian 25,000 ya 

-hunting magic

-fertility

-art for art sake

-primitive temples

-buried with grave goods

-positioned bodies

-evidence of hierarchy 

transmitted through learning as a part of enculturation 

- based on arbitrary, learned assiciations between words and the things they represented

-conjure up elaborate images

-discuss past/ future

-share experiences

-benefit from each others experiences

minimal sound contrast, has no meaning but when combined create meaning 

-native speakers perceive as distinct 

*phones: sound that a phoneme consist of

language predisposes you to see the world in a certain way

against Sapir- Whorf

-reality is the same for all of us

language no longer has competent users

-loss of cultural variation

-small groups (bands) <100

-highly mobile (nomadic)

-egalitarian (equality) *accepts gender and age 

-more leisure time

-abundance of food 

-10,000 years ago

-transition from hunting/ gathering to domestication of plants and animals 

-"New Stone Age": begins in Middle East

-slash and burn

-fallowing 

-some foraging 

-pastorialism

-symbiosis: obligatory interaction (cattle)

-permanent fields

-relies on animal power and technology 

-agribusiness 

-worker is not owner

-modern technology

1) all cultural systems reflect the environment, and the resources of the geographical region in which they occur

2) all cultural subsitence patterns are framed within the prevailing environment and resources

3) all cultures develop or borrow sufficient technology for the people to live according to their cultural norms within the resource capacity

-part time magical/ religious specialists 

-mediate between people and super natural

-medicine

-mobilize public opinion 

-eliminate source of conflict*

-natural leaders/ competent hunters 

-use persuasion, not force 

-depend on kin group for support 

-spokes person for public opinion

-control tribe resources 

headman's status is earned 

FOOD sharing is a major cultural practice

must be very generous- their reputation depends on it

-no power to coerce anyone 

-in a larger society

-partially achieved 

-controls food

-power to make war

controlled by chiefs 

4 polities