ASSEB HS Anthropology key terms

A research approach in which the anthropologist lives among a community for an extended period, observing daily life and often learning the local language, to describe culture from insiders' perspectives rather than through surveys or brief visits.

A fieldwork method where the researcher both takes part in and observes everyday activities, balancing involvement with systematic note-taking to grasp how people understand their own actions and social world.

The methodological stance of interpreting beliefs and practices within their own cultural context instead of judging them by the standards of the researcher's society; it is an analytical tool, not a claim that all practices are morally equal.

The tendency to evaluate other cultures by the standards of one's own and to treat one's own customs as normal or superior; anthropologists treat it as a bias to be guarded against during fieldwork and writing.

The principle that human life must be studied by connecting its parts, so that economy, kinship, religion, politics, biology and environment are examined together rather than as isolated domains.

The traditional organization of anthropology in North America into biological anthropology, archaeology, linguistic anthropology and cultural anthropology, unified by an interest in human variation across time and space.

The practice of examining how the researcher's own position, assumptions and relationships shape the data collected and the account produced, and making that influence visible in the final writing.

The ethical requirement that research participants understand the purpose, methods, risks and uses of a study and agree voluntarily, with the freedom to withdraw at any time without penalty.

The process by which heritable traits that improve survival or reproduction in a given environment become more common in later generations, while disadvantageous traits decline; it is the central mechanism of adaptive evolutionary change.

Any biological or behavioral feature that enhances an organism's ability to survive and reproduce in its environment; in humans these include physiological responses, such as sweating, and cultural practices, such as clothing.

The movement of genes between populations through migration and interbreeding, which tends to reduce genetic differences among groups and can introduce new variants into a population's gene pool.

Random change in allele frequencies from one generation to the next, especially strong in small populations; it is not driven by the usefulness of traits and can fix or eliminate variants by chance alone.

An analytical perspective treating human biology and culture as mutually shaping, so that, for example, dairy farming practices and the distribution of lactose tolerance are studied as a single intertwined process.

A member of the human lineage after the split from the chimpanzee line, including extinct species such as Australopithecus and Homo erectus as well as living humans; the term refers to the clade, not to any single fossil.

Habitual walking upright on two legs, evident in fossil anatomy such as the position of the foramen magnum and the shape of the pelvis and knee; it is a defining feature of the hominin lineage.

The study of layers of sediment and soil, in which lower deposits are generally older than upper ones, allowing archaeologists to establish relative sequences of occupation and to interpret disturbance of a site.

The position of an artifact or feature in relation to the surrounding deposits, structures and other finds; without recorded context, an object loses much of its interpretive and scientific value.

Any object made, modified or used by people, such as a stone tool, pot or bead; artifacts are distinguished from ecofacts, which are natural remains, and from features, which are non-portable constructions.

The study of living communities' material practices, such as discard patterns or tool making, in order to build better models for interpreting archaeological remains from past societies.

A method that estimates the age of organic remains, such as bone, wood or charcoal, by measuring the decay of carbon-14; it applies to material roughly up to fifty thousand years old and requires calibration.

Establishing the order of past events or objects without assigning calendar ages, for example by superposition of layers or by comparing artifact styles; it shows what is earlier or later, not how many years ago.

The long period of human prehistory characterized by chipped stone tool industries, hunting and gathering economies, and, in its later phases, the emergence of art and symbolic behavior.

A minimal unit of sound that distinguishes meaning in a particular language, such as the difference between /p/ and /b/ in English; phonemes are abstract categories realized by varying actual speech sounds.

The smallest meaningful unit of language, which may be a whole word such as 'dog' or a bound element such as the plural '-s'; morphemes combine according to a language's grammatical rules.

The analysis of a language's sound system, word structure and grammar on its own terms, without ranking it against other languages or prescribing how speakers ought to talk.

The proposal, associated with Sapir and Whorf, that the language a person speaks influences how they perceive and categorize experience; strong versions are widely criticized, while weaker effects on memory and attention have empirical support.

Alternating between two or more languages or language varieties within a conversation or even a sentence, often signaling group membership, topic shift or social setting rather than indicating confusion or deficiency.

The process by which people, especially children, acquire the knowledge, values and behaviors of their society through teaching, imitation and participation in everyday activities.

Something, such as a word, gesture, object or color, that stands for something else by convention within a particular culture; its meaning is learned rather than given by nature.

The capacity of individuals to act purposefully and make choices, even within structural constraints; anthropologists debate how much room for such choice exists relative to social and economic structures.

The rule or preference that a person marry outside a defined group, such as a clan, lineage or village; exogamy creates alliances between groups and is common in unilineal descent systems.

The requirement or preference that a person marry within a defined group, such as a religious community, caste or class, which tends to concentrate resources and reinforce boundaries between groups.

Tracing membership in a descent group through only one parent, either the mother (matrilineal) or the father (patrilineal); it organizes inheritance, residence and obligations across generations.

Goods or money transferred from the groom's family to the bride's family at marriage, often creating ongoing relationships between the two groups; it is not the same as buying a spouse.

Property brought by a bride, or given by her family, into a marriage; it often supports the new household and can be linked to inheritance patterns and women's status.

The exchange of goods or services between people, ranging from generalized giving with no immediate return expected to balanced exchange with clear expectations and to negative reciprocity aimed at advantage.

A system in which goods or resources flow toward a central authority or institution and are then allocated to members of the group, as in tribute systems or state taxation.

A livelihood based on herding domesticated animals such as cattle, camels, goats or reindeer, often involving seasonal movement of herds to reach water and pasture.

A social position gained through effort, choice or accomplishment, such as a professional role or elected office, as contrasted with a position assigned at birth.

The use of anthropological methods and findings to address practical problems outside academia, such as public health programs, heritage management, organizational design or community development.