Human survival is extremely important today, but how did our social adaptations come to have such an outsized role, when compared to other animals?

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‘Survival of the fittest’

Evolution is about the ‘survival of the fittest’, but successful survival strategy often entails group dynamics rather than simple individual superiority over others. On one hand, genes survive into successive generations if an individual organism is successful at passing those genes onto offspring, but survival and mating also requires negotiating social adaptations as well. In other words, humans evolved biologically, but also culturally.

Humans and our ancestors developed biological features through adaptation to environmental and reproductive factors, but human success and adaptation also relies heavily on acting as a group. This social aspect of human survival is extremely important today, but how did our social adaptations come to have such an outsized role, when compared to other animals? Or is biology still the major factor that dominates over social aspects of evolution?

Discuss the seeming dichotomy between biology and culture and how it relates to human evolution.

Describe the form that each of these takes in Homo sapiens and what that says about our behavior, biology, or evolution.

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Primate taxa are dental characteristics,

The traits used to distinguish between primate taxa are dental characteristics, behavioral adaptations, and locomotion adaptations. Describe the form that each of these takes in Homo sapiens and what that says about our behavior, biology, or evolution. In other words, if an alien scientist were studying a human skeleton, what would they be able to tell about our diet, behavior, and locomotion?

Examine how the Iroquois were treated during the negotiation process. Were they treated fairly? Explain how this goes against the concept of democracy. When was it recognized that the Iroquois contributed to the founding of democracy?

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Reflection 3

Watch the following YouTube Video

Iroquois Confederacy: First Democracy of the Americas (22:20) at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4_vwKyeG58

 

Write a 3-to-4-page reflective paper on the question, “Is democracy the best to govern?” Include supporting information from the video.

Use these questions and statements below as some guidelines for the reflective paper:

Give a brief history of the Iroquois confederacy. Explain what you think made it work.

 

Demonstrate how important it is to use holism when trying to set up a society and the way that society will be governed.

 

Discuss why the long house is such an important concept. What does it symbolize?

 

In addition, discuss what was so significant about the way they planted their main crops and what does that represent metaphorically?

 

Explain how the Iroquois passed down history and learning about their culture? Include why it is so important to hear this emic view and why language is important to this way of transmitting history.

 

Retell when the way of life for the Iroquois began to change and what type of changes this brought. Explore if you think language also changed as these changes occurred. Why would that be important?

 

Illustrate ways in which more gender equality might influence the decisions about conflict resolution. Discuss how gender roles were divided.

 

Examine how the Iroquois were treated during the negotiation process. Were they treated fairly? Explain how this goes against the concept of democracy. When was it recognized that the Iroquois contributed to the founding of democracy? Discuss problems that still exist.

 

In the video a point about conflict resolution comes about when they mention Lacrosse. Explain what significance that would have?

 

Describe the concept of “everyone has a gift” mentioned in the video.

 

Explore situations you see today that might benefit from these concepts being applied today.

Describe the form that each of these takes in Homo sapiens and what that says about our behavior, biology, or evolution.

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The traits used to distinguish between primate taxa are dental characteristics, behavioral adaptations, and locomotor adaptations. Describe the form that each of these takes in Homo sapiens and what that says about our behavior, biology, or evolution. In other words, if an alien scientist were studying a human skeleton, what would they be able to tell about our diet, behavior, and locomotion?

Discuss why the long house is such an important concept. What does it symbolize? In addition, discuss what was so significant about the way they planted their main crops and what does that represent metaphorically?

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Reflection 3

Watch the following YouTube Video

Iroquois Confederacy: First Democracy of the Americas (22:20) at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4_vwKyeG58

Assignment

Write a 3-to-4-page reflective paper on the question, “Is democracy the best to govern?” Include supporting information from the video.

Use these questions and statements below as some guidelines for the reflective paper:

Give a brief history of the Iroquois confederacy. Explain what you think made it work.

 

Demonstrate how important it is to use holism when trying to set up a society and the way that society will be governed.

 

Discuss why the long house is such an important concept. What does it symbolize?

 

In addition, discuss what was so significant about the way they planted their main crops and what does that represent metaphorically?

 

Explain how the Iroquois passed down history and learning about their culture? Include why it is so important to hear this emic view and why language is important to this way of transmitting history.

 

Retell when the way of life for the Iroquois began to change and what type of changes this brought. Explore if you think language also changed as these changes occurred. Why would that be important?

 

Illustrate ways in which more gender equality might influence the decisions about conflict resolution. Discuss how gender roles were divided.

 

Examine how the Iroquois were treated during the negotiation process. Were they treated fairly? Explain how this goes against the concept of democracy. When was it recognized that the Iroquois contributed to the founding of democracy? Discuss problems that still exist.

 

In the video a point about conflict resolution comes about when they mention Lacrosse. Explain what significance that would have?

 

Describe the concept of “everyone has a gift” mentioned in the video.

 

Explore situations you see today that might benefit from these concepts being applied today.

Have anthropologists written about this? Can they give you any insight into what you’ve seen? How can you relate this practice/belief to the larger culture? What does it tell you about your culture in general terms?

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Familiar strange

One of the ways to describe anthropology is a discipline that, “makes the strange familiar and makes the familiar strange”. That is, it encourages you to look at practices you don’t know about and might think are a little odd in such a way that you begin to understand, and sometimes relate to, them (“make the strange familiar”). It also encourages you to look at things you or people in your culture do and believe as if they are alien to you, so you can work out why you do and believe those things; you are encouraged to use anthropological thinking and tools to understand your own culture (“make the familiar strange”). This second aspect of anthropology is what this assignment will focus on.

You are going to find an aspect of your culture to focus on. Just as Horace Miner did in his Nacirema article, you are going to describe a ritual/belief/practice/all of these common in your culture, describe it, explain why it is done/believed in the minds of the people who believe/do it, what conclusions you as an anthropologist can draw about the practice based on what you have found out, and what anthropological work you have read relating to the belief/practice.
Here are some guidelines to help you:
1. Think carefully about the practices you see around you every day, and/or about beliefs that people express regularly.
2. Can you focus on a belief/practice/ritual etc that you have identified?
3. How would you describe it? Depending on what you have chosen, you might need to observe it. You might need to simply talk to people about it if it’s a belief.
4. What do people say about it: how do they describe it, why do they do/believe it?
5. Can you sum up what you’ve found with about 4 or 5 statements?
6. Can you take photographs that will help understand the phenomenon and/or illustrate those 4 or 5 statements you’ve made?
7. Have anthropologists written about this? Can they give you any insight into what you’ve seen?
8. How can you relate this practice/belief to the larger culture? What does it tell you about your culture in general terms?

How would you describe it? Depending on what you have chosen, you might need to observe it. You might need to simply talk to people about it if it’s a belief. What do people say about it: how do they describe it, why do they do/believe it?

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Familiar strange :

One of the ways to describe anthropology is a discipline that, “makes the strange familiar and makes the familiar strange”. That is, it encourages you to look at practices you don’t know about and might think are a little odd in such a way that you begin to understand, and sometimes relate to, them (“make the strange familiar”). It also encourages you to look at things you or people in your culture do and believe as if they are alien to you, so you can work out why you do and believe those things; you are encouraged to use anthropological thinking and tools to understand your own culture (“make the familiar strange”). This second aspect of anthropology is what this assignment will focus on.

You are going to find an aspect of your culture to focus on. Just as Horace Miner did in his Nacirema article, you are going to describe a ritual/belief/practice/all of these common in your culture, describe it, explain why it is done/believed in the minds of the people who believe/do it, what conclusions you as an anthropologist can draw about the practice based on what you have found out, and what anthropological work you have read relating to the belief/practice.
Here are some guidelines to help you:
1. Think carefully about the practices you see around you every day, and/or about beliefs that people express regularly.
2. Can you focus on a belief/practice/ritual etc that you have identified?
3. How would you describe it? Depending on what you have chosen, you might need to observe it. You might need to simply talk to people about it if it’s a belief.
4. What do people say about it: how do they describe it, why do they do/believe it?
5. Can you sum up what you’ve found with about 4 or 5 statements?
6. Can you take photographs that will help understand the phenomenon and/or illustrate those 4 or 5 statements you’ve made?
7. Have anthropologists written about this? Can they give you any insight into what you’ve seen?
8. How can you relate this practice/belief to the larger culture? What does it tell you about your culture in general terms?

The hardest part is probably identifying a phenomenon (because it’s so familiar!). In the online textbook (The Art of Being Human), the writer gives some guidance. Clearly, you can’t choose the ideas he presents, but the quote below should give you an idea of how to think of what to focus on:
“Start by thinking of things that are done in your culture that might strike an Anthropologist from Mars as strange. For example, the Nacirema keep small animals called teps, heal themselves through the ritual of gnippohs, spend lots of time obsessing over their bodies while they ezicrixe, spend 13 to 25 years of their lives simply training for the complexity of their lives in special places called loohcs, etc.” (Wesch 2018, p. 63)
Here’s some more guidance. In order to identify a phenomenon to study you have to have:
“the ‘willingness to be puzzled,’ especially by things that do not seem puzzling at all. Everyone else is busy trying to figure out things that do already seem puzzling. But what about the things that don’t? What about things that are just sort of assumed as uncontroversial?” (Nathan Robinson 2020

When you picture a scientist, what does that person look like? When you were a child, how did you picture scientists? What role does gender stereotyping play in the tendency for girls to grow up to be scientists? How does this vary around the world?

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What We Learn From 50 Years of Kids Drawing Scientists and Understanding Why Girls Underperform at Science

When you picture a scientist, what does that person look like?
When you were a child, how did you picture scientists?
What role does gender stereotyping play in the tendency for girls to grow up to be scientists?
How does this vary around the world?
What kind of cultural messages do we send to children by the way different professions are portrayed in the media, books, movies, and television?
How can we help all children overcome stereotypes that may influence their educational performance?

Explain what the linguistic anthropology subfield focuses on, and how anthropologists in this subfield study evolution. Describe the research project and its impact in our understanding of evolution.

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Evolution

Explain what the linguistic anthropology subfield focuses on, and how anthropologists in this subfield study evolution. Find at least one scholarly source that identifies a specific research project in which anthropologist from this subfield study evolution. For example, an archaeologist may look at how tools have changed through time, and what has caused that change (conduct your own original research, do not use this example). Describe the research project and its impact in our understanding of evolution.

Provide an argument as to why anthropologists might be uniquely positioned to study gender in any society.

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Cultural background

Using your own cultural background, give an example of a gender role, a gender stereotype, and gender stratification. Provide an argument as to why anthropologists might be uniquely positioned to study gender in any society. Use concepts from the textbook to support your answers.

Use sources from Brown, Nina, Thomas McIlwraith, and Laura Tubelle de González, eds. 2020. Perspectives: An Open Invitation to Cultural Anthropology. 2nd edition