What is a physical anthropologist?
... (Show more) physical anthropology, branch of anthropology concerned with the origin, evolution, and diversity of people. Physical anthropologists work broadly on three major sets of problems: human and nonhuman primate evolution, human variation and its significance ( see also race ), and the biological bases of human behaviour.
What is the other name of Biological Anthropology?
Alternative Title: biological anthropology. Physical anthropology, branch of anthropology concerned with the origin, evolution, and diversity of people. Physical anthropologists work broadly on three major sets of problems: human and nonhuman primate evolution, human variation and its significance ( see also race ), ...
Why is Boas called the father of American anthropology?
Boas is often referred to as the "Father of American Anthropology" because, in his role at Columbia, he trained the first generation of U.S. scholars in the field. Famous anthropologists Margaret Mead and Ruth Benedict were both his students, as was the writer Zora Neale Hurston .
Who is the founder of cultural anthropology?
Cultural anthropology in the United States was influenced greatly by the ready availability of Native American societies as ethnographic subjects. The field was pioneered by staff of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Smithsonian Institution's Bureau of American Ethnology, men such as John Wesley Powell and Frank Hamilton Cushing .
Who created dental anthropology?
Further, professions such as dental anthropology, as conceived by Albert A. Dahlberg (1908–93), cut across all subareas of physical anthropology.
What do physical anthropologists study?
In order to explain the diversity within and between human populations, physical anthropologists must study past populations of fossil hominins as well as the nonhuman primates.
What are the problems of human evolution?
Concepts such as orthogenesis have been replaced by adaptive radiation (radiant evolution) and parallel evolution. Fossil hominins of considerable antiquity have been found in Africa, Asia, Australia, and Europe, and few areas lack interesting human skeletal remains. Two problems requiring additional research are (1) the place, time, and nature of the emergence of hominins from preceding hominoids and (2) the precise relationship of fully anatomically modern Homo sapiens to other species of Homo of the Pleistocene Epoch (i.e., about 2,600,000 to 11,700 years ago), such as the Neanderthal.
What is the branch of anthropology concerned with the origin, evolution, and diversity of people?
Alternative Title: biological anthropology. Physical anthropology, branch of anthropology concerned with the origin, evolution, and diversity of people. Physical anthropologists work broadly on three major sets of problems: human and nonhuman primate evolution, human variation and its significance ( see also race ), ...
How do anthropologists assess growth?
Methods to assess rates of growth, skeletal age compared with chronological age, and the genetic, endocrinologic, and nutritional factors that affect growth in humans and other primates are foci of research by physical anthropologists in medical and dental schools, clinics, primate centres, and universities. The relation between growth and socioeconomic status and other cultural factors receives considerable attention. The sequential emergence of teeth provides an index of development. Growth studies have tracked children through morphological and biochemical changes to discern why they grow. Physical anthropologists are also involved in studies of aging, particularly with regard to skeletal changes such as osteoporosis.
What are the processes that anthropologists use to determine the unity of Homo sapiens?
The processes responsible for the differentiation of people into geographic populations and for the overall unity of Homo sapiens include natural selection, mutation, genetic drift, migration, and genetic recombination. Objective methods of isolating various kinds of traits and dealing mathematically ...
Why is the study of inherited traits important?
The study of inherited traits in individuals and the actions of the genes responsible for them in populations is vital to understanding human variability. Although blood groups initially constituted the bulk of data, many other molecular traits, particularly DNA sequences, have been analyzed. At the turn of the 21st century, geographic populations were described in terms of gene frequencies, which were in turn used to model the history of population movements. This information, combined with linguistic and archaeological evidence, helps to resolve puzzles on the peopling of continents and archipelagoes. Traits that were used for racial classifications do not group neatly in patterns that would allow boundaries to be drawn among geographic populations ( see race ), and none endows any population with more humanity than others. The concept of biological races (subspecies) of Homo sapiens is invalid; biologically meaningful racial types are nonexistent, and all humans are mongrels.
Who is the father of physical anthropology?
Perfecting his studies in literature, rhetoric, and natural history (archaeology), Blumenbach finished his remaining medical studies at the University of Gottingen. Under the auspices of Heyne and Buttner, Blumenbach was offered the office of assistant, whose primary responsibility was to both lecture and organize the university’s natural history collection. After the successful completion of his remaining studies, he received his degree in 1775, a tutor in 1776, and professor of medicine in 1778. In the year of 1778, he married into the influential Brandes family. During his professional career at the university, he was elected to the faculty of honors and a senior of the medical faculty. He was also the director of the natural history museum.
Who wrote the book "On the natural varieties of mankind"?
Blumenbach, J. F. (1969). On the natural varieties of mankind. New York: Bergman.
What did Blumenbach do to the study of our species?
During Blumenbach’s time, science in general and the future of anthropology in particular owes much to the contributions of Buffon, Linneaus, and Cuvier; yet the systematic study of our own species was left under the auspices of philosophers and theologians. The influence of Aristotle and Christianity upon scientific investigation at this time was certainly profound. Blumenbach, whose own Christian ideas influenced the formulation the unity of our species, sought to refine the system of classification set forth by Linneaus. Blumenbach redefined our species’ place in nature using three criteria: (1) distinction of mutable characteristics among our species from the rest of the animal kingdom, (2) consider only evidence and facts supported by rational speculation, (3) after comparing extremes, search for intermediate segments between the known extremes. Though philosophical in nature, this systematic approach, in conjunction with his intelligence and keen eye for detail, resulted in the classification of the variation found with our own species.
What are the five species of humankind?
Acknowledging this taxonomical problem, including the philosophical implications, Blumenbach stated that there are five varieties of humankind, but one species. These varieties are as follows: Caucasian, Mongolian, Ethiopian, American, and Malay. These categories are based on morphology and phenotypic expressions. Blumenbach, contrary to our modern-day evaluation skewed by a disjointed philosophical system within the discipline of anthropology, never asserted racist ideology within the context of his evaluation, though bias in opinion could be seen concerning the beauty of symmetry found within the Caucasian variety. Based on phenotypic expressions, Blumenbach’s categories and their common expressions can be seen below:
Who is the father of physical anthropology?
Samuel George Morton, anatomist, physician, and “ethnologist,” has been called the father of physical anthropology in America. Morton was born in Philadelphia, and his Irish immigrant father died when the boy was only six months old. His mother enrolled him in Friends’ boarding schools for his education. The visits of many doctors during his mother’s illness in 1817 brought Morton into contact with the medical profession. After her death, he entered the service of Philadelphia physician Dr. Joseph Parrish and earned his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1820 (Hrdlička 1943). At the same time, he was elected into the Philadelphia-based Academy of Natural Sciences.
What was the first major work of anthropology?
Morton’s first major work of anthropological import was the book Crania Americana (1839), in which he investigated the craniological characters of present and ancient Americans in relation to the races of the Old World. This book is notable for Morton’s conclusions that all the indigenous peoples of the Americas shared a common origin, that their features at once join them together and render them distinct from the races of the Old World and that these craniological differences were present in ancient specimens from the Mound Builders. Because of the antiquity of these cranial characters, Morton inferred that racial differences must have been inherent from creation, not induced by the environment or climate later in history. Crania Americana is notable for Morton’s relatively neutral approach to measurement and comparison, as he did not interpret the features in phrenological terms, although he did include an essay on this subject by George Combe, who held that Native Americans but not blacks were naturally “savage” and impervious to training.
Who wrote the Synopsis of the Organic Remains of the Cretaceous Group of the United States?
Morton, Samuel G. 1834. Synopsis of the Organic Remains of the Cretaceous Group of the United States. Philadelphia: Key and Biddle
What is the history of anthropology?
History of anthropology in this article refers primarily to the 18th- and 19th-century precursors of modern anthropology. The term anthropology itself, innovated as a New Latin scientific word during the Renaissance, has always meant "the study (or science) of man".
When was anthropology first used?
The first use of the term "anthropology" in English to refer to a natural science of humanity was apparently in Richard Harvey's 1593 Philadelphus, a defense of the legend of Brutus in British history, which, includes the passage: "Genealogy or issue which they had, Artes which they studied, Actes which they did.
How did anthropology impact Britain?
In Britain, anthropology had a great intellectual impact, it "contributed to the erosion of Christianity, the growth of cultural relativism, an awareness of the survival of the primitive in modern life, and the replacement of diachronic modes of analysis with synchronic, all of which are central to modern culture.".
How did Claude Lévi-Strauss influence anthropology?
Along with the enormous influence that his theory of structuralism exerted across multiple disciplines, Lévi-Strauss established ties with American and British anthropologists. At the same time, he established centers and laboratories within France to provide an institutional context within anthropology, while training influential students such as Maurice Godelier and Françoise Héritier. They proved influential in the world of French anthropology. Much of the distinct character of France's anthropology today is a result of the fact that most anthropology is carried out in nationally funded research laboratories ( CNRS) rather than academic departments in universities
What is the meaning of the word "anthropology"?
The term anthropology ostensibly is a produced compound of Greek ἄνθρωπος anthrōpos, "human being" (understood to mean "humankind" or "humanity"), and a supposed -λογία -logia, "study". The compound, however, is unknown in ancient Greek or Latin, whether classical or mediaeval. It first appears sporadically in the scholarly Latin anthropologia of Renaissance France, where it spawns the French word anthropologie, transferred into English as anthropology. It does belong to a class of words produced with the -logy suffix, such as archeo-logy, bio-logy, etc., "the study (or science) of".
Why did Franz Boas create anthropology?
Franz Boas established academic anthropology in the United States in opposition to this sort of evolutionary perspective. His approach was empirical, skeptical of overgeneralizations, and eschewed attempts to establish universal laws. For example, Boas studied immigrant children to demonstrate that biological race was not immutable, and that human conduct and behavior resulted from nurture, rather than nature.
What did Harris believe about the 19th century?
According to Harris, the 19th-century anthropologists were theorizing under the presumption that the development of society followed some sort of laws. He decries the loss of that view in the 20th century by the denial that any laws are discernable or that current institutions have any bearing on ancient. He coins the term ideographic for them. The 19th-century views, on the other hand, are nomothetic; that is, they provide laws. He intends "to reassert the methodological priority of the search for the laws of history in the science of man". He is looking for "a general theory of history". His perception of the laws: "I believe that the analogue of the Darwinian strategy in the realm of sociocultural phenomena is the principle of techno-environmental and techno-economic determinism", he calls cultural materialism, which he also details in Cultural Materialism: The Struggle for a Science of Culture.
Who studied the generative, reproductive and creative power of the organism?
One of Blumenbach's contemporaries, Samuel Hahnemann, undertook to study in detail how this generative, reproductive and creative power, which he termed the Erzeugungskraft of the Lebenskraft of living power of the organism, could be negatively affected by inimical agents to engender disease.
Who relied on Blumenbach's biological concept of formative power in developing his idea of organic purpose?
Blumenbach and Kant on Bildungstrieb. Kant is said by several modern authors to have relied on Blumenbach's biological concept of formative power in developing his idea of organic purpose. Kant wrote to Blumenbach in 1790 to praise his concept of the formative force ( Bildungstrieb ).
What is the name of the chimpanzee in Blumenbach's dissertation?
In his dissertation, Blumenbach mentioned the name Simia troglodytes in connection with a short description for the common chimpanzee. This dissertation was printed and appeared in September 1775, but only for internal use in the University of Göttingen and not for providing a public record.
What was the contribution of Blumenbach?
His central contribution was in the conception of a vis formativus or Bildungstrieb, an inborn force within an organism that led it to create, maintain, and repair its shape.
What is the scientific name of Pan troglodytes?
However, the commission did not know that Blumenbach had already mentioned this name in his dissertation. Following the rules of the ICZN Code the scientific name of one of the most well-known African animals, currently known as Pan troglodytes, must carry Blumenbach 's name combined with the date 1776.
Where did Blumenbach study medicine?
Blumenbach was educated at the Illustrious Gymnasium in Gotha before studying medicine, first at Jena and then at Göttingen. He was recognized as a prodigy by the age sixteen in 1768. He graduated from the latter in 1775 with his M.D. thesis De generis humani varietate nativa ( On the Natural Variety of Mankind, University of Göttingen, which was first published in 1775, then re-issued with changes to the title-page in 1776). It is considered one of the most influential works in the development of subsequent concepts of "human races ." It contained the germ of the craniological research to which so many of his subsequent inquiries were directed.
What physical characteristics depended on geography, diet, and mannerism?
Blumenbach argued that physical characteristics like skin color, cranial profile, etc., depended on geography, diet, and mannerism.
Why is Boas called the Father of American Anthropology?
Boas is often referred to as the "Father of American Anthropology" because, in his role at Columbia, he trained the first generation of U.S. scholars in the field.
Who is the most innovative anthropologist?
Boas was arguably the most innovative, active, and prodigiously productive of the first generation of anthropologists in the U.S. He is best known for his curatorial work at the American Museum of National History in New York and for his nearly four-decade career teaching anthropology at Columbia University, where he built ...
What was Franz Boas's education?
Interesting Facts: Boas was an outspoken opponent of racism, and used anthropology to refute the scientific racism that was popular during his time.
How did Franz Boas die?
Franz Boas died of a stroke in 1942 at the Columbia University campus. A collection of his essays, articles, and lectures, which he had personally selected, was published posthumously under the title "Race and Democratic Society.".
What is the main organization of anthropologists?
Boas was also a key figure in the founding and development of the American Anthropological Association, which remains the primary professional organization for anthropologists in the U.S.
When did Franz Boas work at the Museum of Natural History?
Franz Boas was curator of the American Museum Of Natural History from 1896 to 1905.
Where did Boas research?
Research. In 1883, after a year of service in the military, Boas began field research in Inuit communities in Baffin Island, off the northern coast of Canada . This was the beginning of his shift toward studying people and culture, rather than the external or natural worlds, and would alter the course of his career.
