Collections
LEARNING OUTCOMES By the end of this section, you will be able to: Not all anthropological research is done in the field. There is much to be learned from the collections of manuscripts and artifacts housed in universities and museums.…
Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis
LEARNING OUTCOMES By the end of this section, you will be able to: Differences between Quantitative and Qualitative Information Quantitative information is measurable or countable data that can provide insight into research questions. Quantitative information is one of the most direct…
Participant Observation and Interviewing
LEARNING OUTCOMES By the end of this section, you will be able to: Participant Observation Working in the field often places anthropologists in settings very different from what they are familiar with. Upon first arriving at an unfamiliar field location,…
Ethnography and Ethnology
LEARNING OUTCOMES By the end of this chapter, you will be able to: The Development of Ethnography and Ethnology As discussed in What is Anthropology? ethnography is a method used by cultural anthropologists to create a description of a culture or society. Ethnographers…
Conservation and Naturalism
LEARNING OUTCOMES By the end of this section, you will be able to: Early Efforts The conservation movement began in the 19th century as people in Europe and America began to realize that human settlement and the exploitation of the…
Archaeological Research Methods
LEARNING OUTCOMES By the end of this section, you will be able to: Many people have an inherent fascination with the human past. Perhaps this fascination stems from the fact that people recognize themselves in the objects left behind by…
Introduction
Figure 2.1 These archaeologists are working to uncover a fresco on a building in Pompeii, Italy. Pompeii was famously covered in ash when nearby Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 CE. The ash has preserved many structures and artifacts from the time. (credit:…
Summary
Anthropology is an incredibly broad discipline, covering the entire scope of human experience, but its enormity is controlled by a common narrative and set of three central commitments. The common narrative states that human beings have developed flexible biological and…
Reaching for an Insider’s Point of View
LEARNING OUTCOMES By the end of this section, you will be able to: Bettina Shell-Duncan’s work on FGC demonstrates the importance of setting aside your own values and opinions in order to see an issue from the point of view…
Cross-Cultural Comparison and Cultural Relativism
LEARNING OUTCOMES By the end of this section, you will be able to: Recall our earlier discussion of cultural styles of clothing. American clothing style is related to American values. Ghanaian clothing style is related to Ghanaian values. We have seen how different realms…