Select a tabLessonsVocabularyStatisticsLessonsVocabularyStatisticsClick on a lesson below to start learningWe recommend you to start with lesson 1, as lessons build on one another.1 What Is Anthropology?1.1 The Study of Humanity, or "Anthropology Is Vast"1.1.1 The Heart of Anthropology: Central Narrative and Commitments1.1.2 Central Commitment #1: Exploring Sociocultural Diversity1.1.3 Central Commitment #2: Understanding How Societies Hold Together1.1.4 Central Commitment #3: Examining the Interdependence of Humans and Nature1.2 The Four-Field Approach: Four Approaches within the Guiding Narrative1.2.1 Biological Anthropology1.2.2 Archaeology1.2.3 Cultural Anthropology1.2.4 Linguistic Anthropology1.2.5 How the Four Fields Work Together: The Example of Race1.3 Overcoming Ethnocentrism1.3.1 Enculturation and Ethnocentrism1.3.2 Primitivism and Orientalism1.4 Western Bias in Our Assumptions about Humanity1.4.1 Primitivism and Orientalism in Popular Culture1.4.2 The Bias of Backwardness1.5 Holism, Anthropology’s Distinctive Approach1.5.1 Society as an Integrated Whole1.5.2 Sources of Contradiction, Conflict, and Change1.6 Cross-Cultural Comparison and Cultural Relativism1.6.1 Relativism Is Not “Anything Goes”1.6.2 Morality, Activism, and Cultural Relativism1.7 Reaching for an Insider’s Point of View1.7.1 The Challenge of Representing Others1.7.2 Collaborative Methods of Representation1.7.3 Working across Cultures toward Common Goals1.7.4 Suggested Readings2 Methods: Cultural and Archaeological2.1 Archaeological Research Methods2.1.1 Archaeological Techniques2.1.2 Archaeological Dating Methods2.2 Conservation and Naturalism2.2.1 Early Efforts2.2.2 Salvage Anthropology2.2.3 Museum Collections2.2.4 Interpretation and Voice2.3 Ethnography and Ethnology2.3.1 The Development of Ethnography and Ethnology2.3.2 Perspective and Interpretation in Ethnography2.4 Participant Observation and Interviewing2.4.1 Participant Observation2.4.2 Interviewing Informants2.4.3 Ethical Considerations2.5 Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis2.5.1 Differences between Quantitative and Qualitative Information2.5.2 Modeling2.5.3 The Science of Anthropology2.6 Collections2.6.1 Archives2.6.2 Three-Dimensional Collections2.6.3 Ownership2.6.4 Suggested Readings3 Culture Concept Theory: Theories of Cultural Change3.1 The Homeyness of Culture3.2 The Winkiness of Culture3.3 The Elements of Culture3.3.1 Culture Is What We Make3.3.2 Culture Is What We Do3.3.3 Culture Is What We Think3.4 The Aggregates of Culture3.4.1 Symbols3.4.2 Ritual3.4.3 Social Structure3.5 Modes of Cultural Analysis3.5.1 Evolution, Adaptation, and Historical Particularism3.5.2 Functionalism3.5.3 Structuralism3.5.4 Ontology3.6 The Paradoxes of Culture3.6.1 Paradox 1: Culture Is Continuous, but It Changes3.6.2 Paradox 2: Culture Is Bounded but Mobile3.6.3 Paradox 3: Culture Is Consensual but Contested3.6.4 Paradox 4: Culture Is Shared, but It Varies3.6.5 Suggested Readings4 Biological Evolution and Early Human Evidence4.1 What Is Biological Anthropology?4.1.1 Looking to the Deep Past4.1.2 Exploring What It Means to Be Human4.2 What’s in a Name? The Science of Taxonomy4.2.1 Defining the Science of Taxonomy4.2.2 Defining a Species4.3 It’s All in the Genes! The Foundation of Evolution4.3.1 The Units of Life4.3.2 Gregor Mendel and the Laws of Heredity4.3.3 Mendelian Inheritance in Humans4.4 Evolution in Action: Past and Present4.4.1 Early Evolutionists and the Fixity of Species4.4.2 Charles Darwin’s Role in Changing Views of the Natural World4.4.3 Understanding Darwin’s Theory of Natural Selection4.5 What Is a Primate?4.5.1 What Is a Primate?4.5.2 Primate Behavioral Variation4.5.3 Explaining Primate Success4.5.4 Primate Classification and Taxonomy4.6 Origin of and Classification of Primates4.6.1 Understanding Concepts of Time4.6.2 Fossils and Dating Methods4.6.3 Making Sense of Fossils4.6.4 Relative Dating Techniques4.6.5 Absolute Dating Techniques4.7 Our Ancient Past: The Earliest Hominins4.7.1 Walking on Two Feet4.7.2 Miocene Hominids4.7.3 Pliocene Hominins4.7.4 Landmarks and Questions5 The Genus Homo and the Emergence of Us5.1 Defining the Genus Homo5.1.1 Putting Homo into Context5.1.2 The Challenge of Defining the Genus Homo5.2 Tools and Brains: Homo habilis, Homo ergaster, and Homo erectus5.2.1 The Toolmakers5.2.2 Homo ergaster5.2.3 Homo erectus : A Success Story5.2.4 The Homo ergaster and Homo erectus Debate5.3 The Emergence of Us: The Archaic Homo5.3.1 Defining the Archaic Homo5.3.2 Early Archaic Homo5.3.3 Late Archaic Homo5.3.4 Rethinking the Neanderthal5.3.5 The Denisovans5.3.6 New Homo Genus Discovery Homo longi, or Dragon Man5.3.7 Regional Evolutionary Adaptations: Homo floresiensis5.3.8 The Emergence of Us: Homo sapiens5.4 Tracking enomes: Our Human Story Unfolds5.4.1 Mitochondrial Eve5.4.2 How the Genome of Lice Can Fill in the Gaps5.4.3 Natural Selection and Human Variation: Are Humans Still Evolving?5.4.4 Additional Resources6 Language and Communication6.1 The Emergence and Development of Language6.1.1 Animal Communication6.1.2 A Waggle is Not a Word: The Complexity of Language6.1.3 Simple Signs and Pant-Hoots: Language in Primates6.1.4 Human Biology and the Emergence of Language6.1.5 Hominin Material Culture6.2 Language and the Mind6.2.1 Linguistic Relativism and the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis6.2.2 Linguistic Universals and Folk Taxonomies6.2.3 Meaning and Metaphor6.3 Language, Community, and Culture6.3.1 Language Acquisition and Language Socialization6.4 Performativity and Ritual6.4.1 The Performativity of Language: Speaking as Action6.4.2 The Performativity of Ritual Language6.4.3 Informal Back-Talk: Teasing, Grumbling, and Gossip6.5 Language and Power6.5.1 Gender and Language6.5.2 Race and Ethnicity6.5.3 Suggested Readings7 Work, Life, and Value: Economic Anthropology7.1 Economies: Two Ways to Study Them7.2 Modes of Subsistence7.3 Gathering and Hunting7.3.1 The Hadza: Gathering-Hunting as a Subsistence Strategy7.3.2 The Sociocultural Complex of Gathering and Hunting7.3.3 Contemporary Challenges to Gathering and Hunting Societies7.3.4 The Original Affluent Society: Comparing Ancient and Contemporary Foragers7.4 Pastoralism7.4.1 The Bedouin: Flexible Pastoralism7.4.2 The Sociocultural Complex of Pastoralism7.4.3 Contemporary Challenges to Pastoralism7.5 Plant Cultivation: Horticulture and Agriculture7.5.1 Two Methods of Cultivation: Extensive Horticulture and Intensive Agriculture7.5.2 The Kayapó: Flexible Horticulture7.5.3 The Sociocultural Complex of Plant Cultivation7.5.4 Contemporary Challenges of Farming Societies7.6 Exchange, Value, and Consumption7.6.1 Forms of Exchange7.6.2 Money7.7 Industrialism and Postmodernity7.7.1 Cloth, Factories, and Slavery: The Rise of Industrialism7.7.2 Colonialism and Global Capitalism7.7.3 Modernity, the Sociocultural Complex of Industrial Societies7.7.4 Postindustrialism and Postmodernity7.7.5 Environmental Impacts of Industrial and Postindustrial Societies8 Authority, Decisions, and Power: Political Anthropology8.1 Colonialism and the Categorization of Political Systems8.2 Acephalous Societies: Bands and Tribes8.3 Centralized Societies: Chiefdoms and States8.3.1 Chiefdoms8.3.2 Imperial Chiefdoms: Hawaii and Asante8.3.3 States8.3.4 Archaic States: The Aztecs8.3.5 Ideology and Hegemony8.4 Modern Nation-States8.4.1 Colonial and Postcolonial States8.4.2 “Fragile” States and “Failed” States: The Legacies of Colonialism8.4.3 Nation-States and Globalization8.5 Resistance, Revolution, and Social Movements9 Social Inequalities9.1 Theories of Inequity and Inequality9.1.1 Social Stratification9.1.2 Levels of Inequality9.1.3 Classic Theories of Social Inequality9.1.4 Power9.1.5 Agency9.1.6 Resistance9.2 Systems of Inequality9.2.1 Race and Racism9.2.2 Class9.2.3 Gender and Patriarchy9.3 Intersections of Inequality9.3.1 Intersectionality9.3.2 Global Inequalities9.3.3 Structural Violence9.4 Studying In: Addressing Inequities within Anthropology9.4.1 Suggested Resources10 The Global Impact of Human Migration10.1 Peopling of the World10.1.1 Early Hominin Migrations10.1.2 Controversies Surrounding the Peopling of the Americas10.2 Early Global Movements and Cultural Hybridity10.2.1 Colonialism and Migration as Global Forces10.2.2 Postcolonialism, Indigenous Identities, and Forced Migration10.2.3 Globalization in Motion10.2.4 Diaspora, Transnationalism, and Cultural Hybridity10.3 Peasantry and Urbanization10.3.1 Peasantry in Anthropology10.3.2 Internal Migration: Rural-Urban Continuum10.4 Inequality along the Margins10.4.1 Contemporary Types of Migration10.4.2 Labor Migration and Migrant Routes10.4.3 Refugees Beyond the Nation-State10.4.4 Pandemic as a Global Migration11 Forming Family through Kinship11.1 What Is Kinship?11.2 Defining Family and Household11.2.1 Reading and Using Kinship Charts11.2.2 Family Types across Cultures11.2.3 Fictive Kinship11.2.4 Adoption11.3 Reckoning Kinship across Cultures11.3.1 Types of Kinship Systems11.3.2 Descent11.3.3 A Matrilineal Society in the United States11.4 Marriage and Families across Cultures11.4.1 Anthropological Definition of Marriage11.4.2 Forms of Marriage11.4.3 Postmarital Residence Rules11.4.4 Marriage Compensation11.4.5 Remarriage Obligations11.4.6 Arranged Marriages12 Gender and Sexuality12.1 Sex, Gender, and Sexuality in Anthropology12.1.1 The Terms: Sex, Gender, and Sexuality12.1.2 Evidence from Biological Anthropology12.1.3 Evidence from Archaeology12.2 Performing Gender Categories12.2.1 Nature, Culture, and the Performance of Gender12.2.2 Women and Feminist Theories of Gender12.2.3 Men and Masculinities12.2.4 Intersex and the Ambiguities of Identity12.2.5 Multiple Gender and Variant Gender12.3 The Power of Gender: Patriarchy and Matriarchy12.3.1 Patriarchy: Ideology and Practice12.3.2 Matriarchy: Ideology and (Not) Practice12.3.3 Gender and Power in Everyday Life12.4 Sexuality and Queer Anthropology12.4.1 Early Anthropological Studies of Sexuality12.4.2 Same-Sex and Queer Studies12.4.3 Transgender Studies12.4.4 The End of Gender?12.4.5 Suggested Readings13 Religion and Culture13.1 What Is Religion?13.1.1 Defining Religion, Spirituality, and Worldview13.1.2 Witchcraft, Sorcery, and Magic13.1.3 Supernatural Forces and Beings13.1.4 Religious Specialists13.1.5 Shamanism13.1.6 The Institutionalization of Religion13.2 Symbolic and Sacred Space13.2.1 Symbolism in Religion13.2.2 Religious Places13.3 Myth and Religious Doctrine13.3.1 The Role of Myth in Religion13.3.2 A Brief Structural Analysis of a Myth13.3.3 Oral and Written Religious Traditions13.4 Rituals of Transition and Conformity13.4.1 The Varieties of Ritual Experience in Religion13.4.2 Rites of Intensification13.4.3 Rites of Passage13.4.4 Rites of Affliction13.5 Other Forms of Religious Practice13.5.1 Utopian Religious Communities13.5.2 Secular Religion14 Anthropology of Food14.1 Food as a Material Artifact14.1.1 Food Artifacts14.1.2 Early Archaeological Sites and Food Utensils14.1.3 Ancient Foodways and Food Reconstructions14.1.4 Food as Cultural Heritage14.1.5 Cherokee Ramps14.2 A Biocultural Approach to Food14.2.1 Food and the Biocultural Approach14.2.2 Subsistence and Biocultural Adaptation14.2.3 Food, Fads, Diets, and Health14.3 Food and Cultural Identity14.3.1 Food and Cultural Identity14.3.2 Food Prescriptions and Proscriptions14.3.3 Food and Gender14.4 The Globalization of Food14.4.1 Globalization of Food14.4.2 Food Deserts and Oases15 Anthropology of Media15.1 Putting the Mass into Media15.2 Putting Culture into Media Studies15.3 Visual Anthropology and Ethnographic Film15.4 Photography, Representation, and Memory15.4.1 The Gaze of Photography15.4.2 Photography and the Colonial Gaze15.4.3 The Modernity of Postcolonial Photography15.5 News Media, the Public Sphere, and Nationalism15.6 Community, Development, and Broadcast Media15.7 Broadcasting Modernity and National Identity15.8 Digital Media, New Socialities15.8.1 Digital Socialities: Personal and Political15.8.2 Digital Shadowlands: Illicit Media15.8.3 Suggested Readings16 Art, Music, and Sport16.1 Anthropology of the Arts16.1.1 How Do Anthropologists Approach Art?16.1.2 Studying Prehistoric Art16.1.3 Interpreting Art16.1.4 Spiritual Art16.1.5 Visual Anthropology16.1.6 The Appreciation of Art16.1.7 Pottery16.1.8 Body Art16.2 Anthropology of Music16.2.1 Music16.2.2 Ethnomusicology16.2.3 Musical Instruments in Prehistory16.2.4 The Structure and Function of Music in Different Societies16.2.5 The Importance of Sociocultural Context in Understanding Music16.2.6 Music as a Basis for Subculture and Community16.2.7 Cultural Appropriation16.3 An Anthropological View of Sport throughout Time16.3.1 The Anthropology of Sports16.3.2 The Evolution of Sports16.3.3 Youth Sports16.4 Anthropology, Representation, and Performance16.4.1 Cultural Identities16.4.2 Art as Resistance16.4.3 Music as Resistance16.4.4 Sports as Resistance16.4.5 Integral Features16.4.6 Resources17 Medical Anthropology17.1 What Is Medical Anthropology?17.1.1 Social Construction of Health17.1.2 History of Medical Anthropology17.2 Ethnomedicine17.3 Theories and Methods17.3.1 The Importance of Cultural Context17.3.2 Methods of Medical Anthropology17.3.3 Theoretical Approaches to Medical Anthropology17.4 Applied Medical Anthropology17.4.1 Evolutionary Medicine and Health17.4.2 Culture and the Brain17.4.3 Reproduction17.4.4 The Inequalities of Health17.4.5 Resources: Explore Medical Anthropology18 Human-Animal Relationship18.1 Humans and Animals18.1.1 The Human-Animal Continuum18.1.2 Multispecies Ethnography18.1.3 A Case Study: Domestication of Dogs18.2 Animals and Subsistence18.2.1 Human-Animal Empathy in Subsistence18.2.2 Animal Relationships among Indigenous Hunters18.2.3 A Case Study: Rock Cree Hunters18.2.4 Animal Relationships among Nomadic and Transhumant Pastoralists18.3 Symbolism and Meaning of Animals18.3.1 Totemism18.3.2 Animals in Oral Tradition18.3.3 Animals in Religion18.4 Pet-Keeping18.4.1 Pets as Cultural Artifacts18.4.2 Pet Keeping in Indigenous Societies18.4.3 The Making of Pets18.5 Animal Industries and the Animal Trade18.5.1 Zoos18.5.2 Ecotourism18.5.3 Animals and the Medical Industry18.5.4 Animals in Our Lives18.5.5 Suggested Films19 Indigenous Anthropology19.1 Indigenous Peoples19.1.1 Minorities in Their Own Lands19.1.2 Membership in a Tribal Community19.1.3 Tribal Groups and Communities19.1.4 20th-Century Challenges19.1.5 Perspectives19.2 Colonization and Anthropology19.2.1 Deloria’s Critique19.2.2 The Othering of Indigenous Peoples19.2.3 Cultural Experts and Authority19.2.4 Indigenous Societies as Colonial Societies19.2.5 Decolonizing Anthropology19.3 Indigenous Agency and Rights19.3.1 Treaties and Removal19.3.2 Domestic Dependent Nations19.3.3 Water, Fishing, and Agency19.3.4 Culture and Language19.3.5 Traditional Material Culture19.3.6 Indigenous Philosophy and Worldviews19.3.7 Indigenous Critique: Rights, Activism, Appropriation, and Stereotypes19.3.8 Stereotypes19.4 Applied and Public Anthropology and Indigenous Peoples19.4.1 Suggested Readings20 Anthropology on the Ground20.1 Our Challenging World Today20.1.1 Critical Global Challenges20.1.2 The Ethnosphere20.2 Why Anthropology Matters20.2.1 A Uniquely Relevant Discipline20.2.2 Anthropological Values20.3 What Anthropologists Can Do20.3.1 What Anthropologists Do Today20.3.2 Anthropological Skills and Resources20.3.3 How Anthropology Can Lead in the Future