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Anthropology

<OpenstaxParagraph>
	Before learning about the hominin species that make up the category genus <OpenstaxEm>Homo</OpenstaxEm>, it will be helpful to become familiar with the key archaeological time periods with which <OpenstaxEm>Homo</OpenstaxEm> is associated. The species and cultural developments mentioned below will be explored in greater detail in the sections that follow.
</OpenstaxParagraph>
<OpenstaxUl>
	<OpenstaxLi>
		Lower Paleolithic (from roughly 3 million years ago to approximately 300,000 BCE): This period includes <OpenstaxEm>H. habilis</OpenstaxEm> and the Oldowan tool industry, followed by <OpenstaxEm>H. ergaster</OpenstaxEm> and the Acheulean tool industry.
	</OpenstaxLi>
	<OpenstaxLi>
		Middle Paleolithic (approximately 300,000–40,000 BCE): This period includes continued use of Acheulean tools by <OpenstaxEm>H. heidelbergensis,</OpenstaxEm> followed by <OpenstaxEm>H. neanderthalensis</OpenstaxEm> and the Mousterian tool industry.
	</OpenstaxLi>
	<OpenstaxLi>
		Upper Paleolithic (approximately 43,000–26,000 BCE): The Upper Paleolithic saw the emergence of cave art like that found in the famous Chauvet Cave in France (<a href="./cf0085c6-528c-4101-ad26-19c612c5a2fa@153910e:a6732ba6-2b86-4df0-8783-954749f0e2c7.xhtml#fig-00018">Figure 5.29</a>), Venus figurines (<a href="./cf0085c6-528c-4101-ad26-19c612c5a2fa@153910e:a6732ba6-2b86-4df0-8783-954749f0e2c7.xhtml#fig-00017">Figure 5.28</a>), and an increased use of bone and antler in tools and jewelry. The most recent ice age occurred during this time, with glaciers covering huge parts of the planet. The emergence of Paleoindians and the use of Clovis points, which were used to kill large game such as mastodons and mammoths, occurred near the end of this time period.
	</OpenstaxLi>
	<OpenstaxLi>
		Epipaleolithic/Mesolithic (approximately 13,000--8,000 BCE, depending on the location): Corresponding with the ending of the last ice age and the extinction of species such as mastodons, this period saw a further transition toward the hunter-gatherer cultures. It is characterized by the development of certain ceramics and especially of microliths, which are smaller, more precise stone tools. The mesolithic is not a defined period in all parts of the world, and its time boundaries vary significantly by geographic region.
	</OpenstaxLi>
	<OpenstaxLi>
		Neolithic (Agricultural Age) (8,000–3,000 BCE): New innovations appear during the agricultural age, or “Neolithic revolution,” as <OpenstaxEm>H. sapiens</OpenstaxEm> set up permanent settlements. Humans begin to transition from being hunters and gatherers to growing grow crops, owning land, and domesticating animals.
	</OpenstaxLi>
</OpenstaxUl>

5.1.1 Putting Homo into Context

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

4.2.1 Defining 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