An Introduction

What is Anthropology?
Anthropos - man, human
Logos - study
Anthropology - Study of man
Anthropology is the study of humankind everywhere,
throughout time.
The Field of Anthropology
Relatively new discipline
Study began only in late 1800s
Incorporates other disciplines: sociology, psychology,
political science, economics, history, human biology,
philosophy and literature.


What do Anthropologists Want to
Understand?
When, where and how humans appeared on earth
How and why they have changed since then
How and why modern human populations vary in
certain physical features
How and why societies, past and present, have
varied their customary ideas and practices

Practical Applications
Use anthropological methods, information and results
Solving practical problems
To alleviate misunderstandings between different
cultural groups
To understand physical differences

Anthropology
There are 2 broad classifications of Anthropology:

Biological (physical)

Cultural
Physical Anthropology
One major field of Anthropology
It seeks to answer 2 distinct sets of questions
Questions about the emergence of humans and their evolution -
Paleoanthropology.
Questions about how and why contemporary human populations vary
biologically - Human Variation.
Biological anthropology is the systematic study of humans as biological
organisms.
Molecular anthropology looks at genes and genetic relationships.

Cultural Anthropology
Is divided into 3 major subfields:
Archaeology
Linguistics
Ethnology
In addition there is a cross-cutting field known as
Applied or Practicing Anthropology.
Archaeology
It seeks to reconstruct the daily life and customs of
peoples in the past and to trace cultural changes.
Deals with Pre-historical (before written history)
and Historical (after recorded history) artifacts
Bio-archaeology looks at human skeletal remains
They try to understand and connect the past to the
present
Linguistics
The study of human languages, written and
unwritten
Historical Linguistics studies how languages
change over time and how they are related
Descriptive or Structural Linguistics study how
contemporary languages differ in construction
Sociolinguistics study how language is used in
social contexts
Cultural Anthropology
The study of customary patterns of human
behavior
Seeks to understand how and why people today
and in the recent past differ in their customary
ways of thinking and acting
It has two main components - ethnography and
ethnology

Applied Anthropology
Uses anthropology in settings outside of schools
Forensic anthropologists, economic anthropologists,
political anthropologists, psychological anthropologists,
medical anthropologists, etc.
Anthropology is used in many settings and for a variety of
purposes
Why is Anthropology Important?
If we want to understand humans, we need to study
humans in all times and places
We need to understand the biology of humans, their
culture and their differences
The world is becoming more global
In Absence of Historical Records
How Do We Discover The Past?
Anything made or modified by humans is an artifact
that can be studied
Lithics - stone tools
Ceramics - pots and items made of clay
Wood and bone tools
Textiles and hides
Metal and glass
Ecofacts
Natural objects that have been used or affected by
humans
Bones, shells, seeds, pollen, insects, animal pests
These were from food eaten or stored
Insects or pests together at human site
Pollen carried there by humans from other sites
Features
Are a kind of artifact that can not easily be moved
from site
Hearths, pits, postholes, middens, buildings, stone
rings, etc. are examples of features
They leave distinctive records behind that can be
useful for study in-situ (on site) but normally can
not be moved

Human Remains
Studied for evidence of diet, health and work habits
Examined for bone evidence of disease and injuries
May be studied for a variety of reasons
May be uncovered on purpose or through construction
Finding the Evidence with No
Historical Record
Evidence is all around us but finding it is not
always easy nor productive
Sites are known or suspected as locations of
human activity in the past can contain a record of
that activity
They can be an overnight camp or a huge city
They can reveal many things about life in the past
How Do We Research When
There is a Written Record?
First we study the available records of a potential site
Then we go to the site and use one of a variety of
methods to examine and excavate the site
Sites can help prove, enrich or disprove known history
of past events
How Sites are Found
There are multiple methods for finding sites
Pedestrian Survey - walking around and looking for sites,
systematic surveying
Remote Sensing - using equipment to scan what is
underneath the ground and looking for anomalies -
geomagnetics using a magnetometer - Soil interface radar
or Ground penetrating radar
Satellite Technology - using scans of earth to locate sites -
heat, color, photo


How are Artifacts, Ecofacts and
Features Recovered?
Only one way to recover - excavation
2 goals: to find all evidence of the past the site holds
and to record the horizontal and vertical location of
that evidence with precision
Excavation is not simply digging holes and few sites
are fully excavated
How Archaeologists Conduct
Sampling
Sites are mapped out on a grid
Test holes or trenches are dug on a regular basis across
the site
All items are recovered from each sampling and
decisions are made whether or where to expand
Excavation destroys the site in the process
When is Excavation Done?
When a site is to be destroyed by development
Work is done in a systematic manner by trained
professionals
Archaeologists prefer undisturbed sites but
Paleoanthropologists prefer disturbed sites
What Happens After the
Excavation?
Once artifacts are collected they begin to process
and read the information from that material
Much of what is has survived is fragmented and
very fragile
Only a small portion of what was once there
survives
Before analysis they must conserve and reconstruct
the materials found
What Is This Unit About?
We will be exploring the region known as Greater
Illinois
We will look at the pre-history of the region and
the historic period through 1860.
Our focus will be disease during these time periods
and the causes and effects of those diseases and
the cultural implications
How Will We Explore?
We will use known archaeological evidence to study
the pre-historical period
We will use a variety of written resources to study the
historical past

Unit Plan
Lesson 1 - Introduction
Lesson 2 - Exploring Illinois in the prehistoric period
Lesson 3 - Exploring Illinois in the early historic period
Lesson 4 - Exploring Illinois in the period of early
statehood to 1860
Lesson 5 - Research Day for Paper