Physical Anthropology
Chapter One
Introduction to Anthropology 
Lecture Outline

I.  Introduction to anthropology.
A. What is anthropology?
B. What is the human condition?

II.  How is anthropology different from other disciplines that study humans?
A.  It is different in its scope of study.
1. The goal of anthropology is to describe and explain similarities and differences in biology and culture of all humans (and their ancestors and closest living relatives) in all places and all times
a.  What is biology?
- refers to those aspects of the human condition influenced by genes and genetic makeup.
b. What is culture?
- Culture is the learned, shared knowledge of meanings by which we interpret experience and generate behavior.
- Culture shapes our worldview.
c. To what does the term "biocultural" refer?
- refers to the interaction of human culture and human biology: our biology makes our culture possible and our culture influences the direction of our biological evolution
d. Given its biocultural nature, how do anthropologists perceive the human condition?
- as an integrated system made of biological and cultural parts that interact and affect each other.

B.  It is different in its unique approach.
1. Holistic approach
2. Relativistic Approach
a. Ethnocentrism
b. Cultural relativism: The idea that the culture of others should not be judged through comparison with one’s own culture, but that the beliefs or behaviors of others should always be viewed within the cultural context of which they are a part.
3. Four-field approach
a. Cultural Anthropology: study of human culture and behavior
b. Linguistic Anthropology: study of human speech and language
c. Archaeology: study of human behavior and culture through recovery, analysis and interpretation of material culture (artifacts, features, etc.)
d. Physical Anthropology: study of human biology within an evolutionary framework, including evolutionary change through time and variation between and within modern populations
4. Scientific Approach
a.  What is science?
b. What are the basic assumptions on which science depends?
c. What is the scientific method?
d. Why is the scientific method so important?

III. The Scientific Method

A. What are the steps of the scientific method?
1.  Make observations
2.  Form hypothesis
3.  Test hypothesis / Collect data
4.  Use data to evaluate hypothesis
5.  Revise hypothesis if necessary
6.  Publication and Replication
B.  Misconceptions regarding the scientific method
C. What is a theory?

IV.  Science and Religion