Skeletal biology concentrates on the study of anatomically modern humans, primarily from archaeological sites, and aims to understand the diseases and conditions these past people experienced prior to dying. Forensic anthropologists use the study of skeletal biology to assist in the identification and analysis of more recently deceased individuals. Such cases often involve complex legal considerations.
Human biologists concentrate on contemporary humans, examining not only their anatomy and physiology but also their reproduction and the effects of social status and other factors on their growth and development.
Evolutionary perspectives encompass the origins of modern humans and of modern human diversity; the relationship between climate and human evolution; the evolution of language and cognition. What underlies all of these areas is the interpretation of archaeological and palaeontological evidence. Such evidence is considered within the broader theoretical context of evolutionary biology and furthermore draws on evidence from comparative morphology and behavioural research on both humans and non-human primates.
Evolutionary studies also extend to modern human biological and behaviour variation. One fascinating area of current interest is the degree to which human behaviour is rooted in biology rather than culture. It is common to find biological anthropologists working with cultural anthropologists to examine things such as disease patterns and archaeologists to look at migration patterns in the past.
Biological anthropology is the study of the biology of humans and their nearest biological relatives. Biological anthropologists fall under 3 major categories:. These are the topics we'll be studying in this course. Each unit follows each of the 3 major categories found in biological anthropology. Basic tenets of anthropology: Holism : Holism means that a part of something can only truly be understood if examined within relation to the whole of it. For anthropologists, this means that they try to understand humankind through the interrelationships of all aspects of human existence -- for example, human biology has to be examined within the context of human cultures and vice versa.
In addition, all of this must be examined within the context of the environment and historical processes. In an effort to be holistic, anthropology is often an interdisciplinary field that crosses over into other fields such as history, geology, and ecology. Relativism : Relativism means that judgments, truths, or moral values have no absolutes, and can only be understood relative to the situation or individuals involved. For anthropologists, this means that they accept that all cultures are of equal value and must be studied from a neutral point of view.
A good anthropologist must disregard their own beliefs, morals, and judgments when examining another culture.
They must, instead, examine each culture within the context of its own beliefs. This site was the territory of Old Prussians, a pagan peoples who resisted conversion into Christianity for many centuries to be finally conquered by the Teutonic Knight Order. The Bezlawki mortuary dates to around the 13th century AD, which is within about years of the conversion to Christianity. Accordingly, burials have the potential of representing an interesting mix of Pagan and Christian rituals. From two previous field seasons, the site has already yielded adult, juvenile and infant skeletons with a variety of pathologies and trauma.
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