Cultural Anthropology

DR. NUR HAFIZAH YUSOFF

Goals of Anthropology

 Describe, analyze and explain different

cultures.
 Show how groups adapted to their
environments and gave meaning to their
lives.
 Comprehend the entire human
experience.
Areas of Specialization

 Cultural Anthropology
 Linguistic Anthropology
 Archaeology
 Physical Anthropology
 Applied Anthropology
Cultural Anthropology

 The study of human behavior that is learned

rather than genetically transmitted, and that is
typical of groups of people.
 Society is the set of social relationships
among people within a given geographical
area.
 Culture is the learned behaviors and symbols
that allow people to live in groups.
Examples of Cultural
Anthropology
 Political and legal anthropology - concerned
with issues of nationalism, citizenship, the
state, colonialism, and globalism.
 Humanistic anthropology - focused on the
personal, ethical, and political choices facing
humans.
 Visual anthropology - the study of visual
representation and the media.
Linguistic Anthropology

 Focus on understanding language and it’s

relation to culture.
– Development of language
– Variation of languages.
– Relationship of language to culture.
– How languages are learned.
 Historical linguists study how languages are
related to each other.
Archaeology

 Study of past cultures through their material remains.

 Prehistoric societies are those with no usable written
records.
– Artifact - A material remain of a past culture.
• Archaeologists interpret artifact’s function by
precise position in which it was found.
– Features are artifacts that cannot easily be
moved, such as ruins of buildings, burials, and fire
pits.
Applied Anthropology

 Analyze social, political and economic

problems and develop solutions.
 Example: Cultural anthropologists have been
instrumental in promoting the welfare of tribal
and indigenous peoples.
 Indigenous People

 Groups of people who have occupied a

region for a long time and are recognized by
other groups as original (or very ancient)
inhabitants.
– They are often minorities with little
influence in the government of the nation-
state that controls their land.
 Ch. 15 | Tribes and Indigenous Peoples

Indigenous Livelihoods and Economies at Risk

Climate change threatens Indigenous peoples’

livelihoods and economies, including agriculture,
hunting and gathering, fishing, forestry, energy,
recreation, and tourism enterprises. Indigenous
peoples’ economies rely on, but face institutional
barriers to, their self-determined management of
water, land, other natural resources, and
infrastructure that will be impacted increasingly by
changes in climate.
 Ch. 15 | Tribes and Indigenous Peoples

Physical, Mental, and Indigenous Values-

Based Health at Risk
Indigenous health is based on interconnected social
and ecological systems that are being disrupted by
a changing climate. As these changes continue, the
health of individuals and communities will be
uniquely challenged by climate impacts to lands,
waters, foods, and other plant and animal species.
These impacts threaten sites, practices, and
relationships with cultural, spiritual, or ceremonial
importance that are foundational to Indigenous
peoples’ cultural heritages, identities, and physical
and mental health.
 Ch. 15 | Tribes and Indigenous Peoples

Adaptation, Disaster Management, Displacement, and Community-Led Relocations

Many Indigenous peoples have been proactively identifying

and addressing climate impacts; however, institutional
barriers exist in the United States that severely limit their
adaptive capacities. These barriers include limited access to
traditional territory and resources and the limitations of
existing policies, programs, and funding mechanisms in
accounting for the unique conditions of Indigenous
communities. Successful adaptation in Indigenous contexts
relies on use of Indigenous knowledge, resilient and robust
social systems and protocols, a commitment to principles of
self-determination, and proactive efforts on the part of federal,
state, and local governments to alleviate institutional
barriers.
Ethnocentrism

 Belief that one’s culture is better than all other

cultures.
 Measures other cultures by the degree to
which they live up to one’s own cultural
standards.
Ethnocentrism

 When a culture loses value for its people, they may

experience anomie, a condition where social and
moral norms are absent or confused.
 Racism is the belief that some human populations
are superior to others because of inherited,
genetically transmitted characteristics.
Biological Diversity

 Wide diversity in human shapes and colors,

low levels of skeletal and blood type diversity.
 People from the same region tend to share
more traits than they do with people from
distant lands.
 Biopsychological Equality - The fact that all
human groups have the same biological and
mental capabilities.
Racial Classification

 Race is socially constructed.

 No group of humans is biologically
different from another.
 Humans have an equal capacity for
culture.
Racism

 The idea that characteristics are caused

by racial inheritance.
 Differences among human groups are
the result of culture.
 Humans belong to the same species
with the same features essential to life.
Racialism

 Ideology that claims there are biologically

fixed races with different moral, intellectual,
and physical characteristics that determine
individual aptitudes and that such races can
be ranked on a single hierarchy.
Cultural Relativism

 Understanding values and customs in terms

of the culture of which they are a part.
Emic and Etic Views of
Culture
 Emic: Describes the organization and
meaning a culture’s practices have for
its members.
 Etic: Tries to determine the causes of
particular cultural patterns that may be
beyond the awareness of the culture
being studied.