Reflection On Anthropology

Lanyae Flax
02/23
Anthropology 202
Professor Davis
Reflection #1

Franz Boas, German-American scientist, was the first to use the scientific method in the study of human and cultures. Using the scientific method to further understand the differences in cultures and societies, Boas was able to identify four fields of anthropology, and introduced the idea of cultural relativism in the 19th century. Anthropology is the study of humans and human behaviors in societies, past and present. Anthropologist use fields to sort the research of the human studies that are conducted to understand the human species. Cultural relativism refers to one not judging a group’s culture and practices in comparison to their own standards of what is right or wrong,

In the article titled “Ancient African Cocktail: Beer and a Shot of Antibiotic” author Wynne Parry explains how anthropologist, George Armelagos, was able to study the remains of ancient Nubians using archaeological anthropology and discover that they had already been introduced to the drug released in 1948, tetracycline. Tetracycline is an antibiotic in the modern world, the Nubians brewed it in a sour beer. It is believed that the Nubians possibly used the brew to treat symptoms such as, bacterial infections and diarrhea. Archaeological anthropology is important in the study of the human species because unlike history, artifacts, features, and ecofacts collected gives one the physical parts of culture and understandings of the human anatomy years and generations before today. We can thank the archaeologists for the remains that may be found in museums or in library. Archaeologists allow us to understand not only where and when people lived, but why and how they may have lived this

Humans have always used words, sounds, drawing pictures, and symbols to express our ideas or trains of thought. Over time a universal form of communication comes about in local communities, this is where linguistic anthropology comes into the fields. Linguistic anthropologists study language and how it is used to understand culture. In this field anthropologists study language of particular groups in different places and compare the native language to the language spoken by locals of the community. In this field there is an acknowledgement of language variations, formal and informal. For example, an American tourist visiting Mexico, may have some understanding of formal terms taught in the sophomore spanish or latin class. However, the Spanish taught in an American classroom can be quite different from the informal spanish spoken in and around the Mexican streets. Another example of linguistic anthropology is the article “Rapport vs. Report Talk”. In this article the way men and women communicate is studied. It became clear that women were more likely to speak in private, using communication for emotional connections while, men preferred to speak in public settings exchanging information with little emotion rather aggression. This study of the differences between language amongst gender can also be reviewed under the sociological and cultural anthropology