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Anthropology

<OpenstaxParagraph>
	<OpenstaxTerm>Taxonomy</OpenstaxTerm> is defined as the classification and naming of things. <OpenstaxTerm>Taxonomy</OpenstaxTerm> organizes things into groups based on predefined criteria. The criteria can be as simple as color or height or as complex as the presence or absence of a trait, gene, or behavior. Taxonomy is a critical component of biological anthropology because it helps anthropologists organize humans and their evolutionary ancestors both spatially (by location) and temporally (through time).
</OpenstaxParagraph>
<OpenstaxParagraph>
	<OpenstaxTerm>Taxon</OpenstaxTerm> refers to a specific subgroup, such as the genus. <OpenstaxTerm>Taxa</OpenstaxTerm> is the plural form of taxon, used to refer to all groups. The classification system used for organizing living organisms was originally developed in the 18th century by Swedish botanist Carolus <OpenstaxTerm>Linnaeus</OpenstaxTerm>. His system, which he called the <OpenstaxTerm><OpenstaxEm>Systema Naturae</OpenstaxEm></OpenstaxTerm>, uses a structure known as <OpenstaxTerm>binomial nomenclature</OpenstaxTerm>. <OpenstaxTerm>Binomial nomenclature</OpenstaxTerm> assigns two Latin names to each organism. The first is termed the <OpenstaxTerm>genus name</OpenstaxTerm>. The second is the <OpenstaxTerm>specific or the trivial name</OpenstaxTerm>, commonly called the <OpenstaxTerm>species name</OpenstaxTerm>. In print, genus and species names are italicized. The first letter of the genus is capitalized, while the species or trivial name is lowercase. For example, the scientific name for the house cat is <OpenstaxEm>Felis catus</OpenstaxEm>, and the name for modern human beings is <OpenstaxEm>Homo sapiens</OpenstaxEm>. Linnaeus’s binomial nomenclature established a shared scientific language that would become universal across countries and cultures, avoiding the confusion caused by regional and colloquial names.
</OpenstaxParagraph>
<OpenstaxParagraph>
	In addition to establishing a shared language, Linnaeus’s naming system groups organisms that share common traits. For example, he grouped together animals with mammary glands into the category mammals. Mammals were further broken down according to other traits. For example, mammals that have opposable thumbs were grouped together as primates, and those without opposable thumbs were grouped as non-primates. This is a hierarchical classification scheme, meaning that organisms are grouped into successive levels from the broadest category of domain to the more specific level of species.
</OpenstaxParagraph>
<OpenstaxParagraph>
	When Linnaeus first created his <OpenstaxEm>Systema Naturae</OpenstaxEm>, he built five hierarchical levels into his taxonomy: <OpenstaxTerm>kingdom</OpenstaxTerm>, <OpenstaxTerm>class</OpenstaxTerm>, <OpenstaxTerm>order</OpenstaxTerm>, <OpenstaxTerm>genus</OpenstaxTerm>, and <OpenstaxTerm>species</OpenstaxTerm>. Humans are in the kingdom Animalia, the class Mammalia, the order Primates, the genus <OpenstaxEm>Homo</OpenstaxEm>, and the species <OpenstaxEm>sapiens</OpenstaxEm>. Over time, many levels have been added to the Linnaean system of classification, including domain, phylum, subclass, superorder, family, and tribe. The addition of these taxon groups has enabled biological anthropologists to better understand the variations present in various groups of organisms. However, biological anthropologists spend the majority of their time trying to understand the species level.
</OpenstaxParagraph>
<OpenstaxFigure id="fig-00001" src="https://openstax.org/apps/archive/20240226.174525/resources/4655c3c041d36f658722d88f5ac76a9874de6be2" alt="Chart containing the following information, beginning with the most general classification and moving to the most specific: 1) Life; 2) Domain - Eukaryota; 3) Kingdom - Animalia; 4) Phylum - Arthropoda; 5) Class - Insecta; 6) Order - Lepidoptera; 7) Family - Nymphalidae; 8) Genus - Danaus; 9) Species - plexippus." mediaType="image/png" width="733" height="1124" />
<OpenstaxFigureText width="733">
	<strong>Figure 4.5</strong> This chart details the Linnaean hierarchical classification for the monarch butterfly. The broadest category, “Life”, appears at the top of the chart, with classifications of increasing specificity at each level that follows. “Species” is the most granular level. (attribution: Copyright Rice University/OpenStax, under CC By 4.0 license)
</OpenstaxFigureText>

4.2.1 Defining the Science of Taxonomy

1 What Is Anthropology?

1.1 The Study of Humanity, or "Anthropology Is Vast"

1.1.1 The Heart of Anthropology: Central Narrative and Commitments

1.1.2 Central Commitment #1: Exploring Sociocultural Diversity

1.1.3 Central Commitment #2: Understanding How Societies Hold Together

1.1.4 Central Commitment #3: Examining the Interdependence of Humans and Nature

1.2 The Four-Field Approach: Four Approaches within the Guiding Narrative

1.2.1 Biological Anthropology

1.2.2 Archaeology

1.2.3 Cultural Anthropology

1.2.4 Linguistic Anthropology

1.2.5 How the Four Fields Work Together: The Example of Race

1.3 Overcoming Ethnocentrism

1.3.1 Enculturation and Ethnocentrism

1.3.2 Primitivism and Orientalism

1.4 Western Bias in Our Assumptions about Humanity

1.4.1 Primitivism and Orientalism in Popular Culture

1.4.2 The Bias of Backwardness

1.5 Holism, Anthropology’s Distinctive Approach

1.5.1 Society as an Integrated Whole

1.5.2 Sources of Contradiction, Conflict, and Change

1.6 Cross-Cultural Comparison and Cultural Relativism

1.6.1 Relativism Is Not “Anything Goes”

1.6.2 Morality, Activism, and Cultural Relativism

1.7 Reaching for an Insider’s Point of View

1.7.1 The Challenge of Representing Others

1.7.2 Collaborative Methods of Representation

1.7.3 Working across Cultures toward Common Goals

1.7.4 Suggested Readings

2 Methods: Cultural and Archaeological

2.1 Archaeological Research Methods

2.1.1 Archaeological Techniques

2.1.2 Archaeological Dating Methods

2.2 Conservation and Naturalism

2.2.1 Early Efforts

2.2.2 Salvage Anthropology

2.2.3 Museum Collections

2.2.4 Interpretation and Voice

2.3 Ethnography and Ethnology

2.3.1 The Development of Ethnography and Ethnology

2.3.2 Perspective and Interpretation in Ethnography

2.4 Participant Observation and Interviewing

2.4.1 Participant Observation

2.4.2 Interviewing Informants

2.4.3 Ethical Considerations

2.5 Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis

2.5.1 Differences between Quantitative and Qualitative Information

2.5.2 Modeling

2.5.3 The Science of Anthropology

2.6 Collections

2.6.1 Archives

2.6.2 Three-Dimensional Collections

2.6.3 Ownership

2.6.4 Suggested Readings

3 Culture Concept Theory: Theories of Cultural Change

3.1 The Homeyness of Culture

3.2 The Winkiness of Culture

3.3 The Elements of Culture

3.3.1 Culture Is What We Make

3.3.2 Culture Is What We Do

3.3.3 Culture Is What We Think

3.4 The Aggregates of Culture

3.4.1 Symbols

3.4.2 Ritual

3.4.3 Social Structure

3.5 Modes of Cultural Analysis

3.5.1 Evolution, Adaptation, and Historical Particularism

3.5.2 Functionalism

3.5.3 Structuralism

3.5.4 Ontology

3.6 The Paradoxes of Culture

3.6.1 Paradox 1: Culture Is Continuous, but It Changes

3.6.2 Paradox 2: Culture Is Bounded but Mobile

3.6.3 Paradox 3: Culture Is Consensual but Contested

3.6.4 Paradox 4: Culture Is Shared, but It Varies

3.6.5 Suggested Readings

4 Biological Evolution and Early Human Evidence

4.1 What Is Biological Anthropology?

4.1.1 Looking to the Deep Past

4.1.2 Exploring What It Means to Be Human

4.2 What’s in a Name? The Science of Taxonomy

4.2.2 Defining a Species

4.3 It’s All in the Genes! The Foundation of Evolution

4.3.1 The Units of Life

4.3.2 Gregor Mendel and the Laws of Heredity

4.3.3 Mendelian Inheritance in Humans

4.4 Evolution in Action: Past and Present

4.4.1 Early Evolutionists and the Fixity of Species

4.4.2 Charles Darwin’s Role in Changing Views of the Natural World

4.4.3 Understanding Darwin’s Theory of Natural Selection

4.5 What Is a Primate?

4.5.1 What Is a Primate?

4.5.2 Primate Behavioral Variation

4.5.3 Explaining Primate Success

4.5.4 Primate Classification and Taxonomy

4.6 Origin of and Classification of Primates

4.6.1 Understanding Concepts of Time

4.6.2 Fossils and Dating Methods

4.6.3 Making Sense of Fossils

Question	Answer
the scientific naming system developed by Carolus Linnaeus that represents two parts of a taxonomic name. The name is italicized, the genus is always capitalized, and the species is always lowercased. For example: Homo sapiens.	binomial nomenclature
a class of individuals that have some common characteristics or qualities.	species
the plural form of taxon, used to signify all taxonomic groups.	taxa
a specific group or subgroup of organisms.	taxon
the science or technique of naming and classifying life.	taxonomy