ANTHROPOLOGY

•Anthropology is…the study of the lives and culture of human beings, alive or dead

• Anthropologists:• Study how humans live, think, communicate, produce, & interact with their social & physical environment

• Seek to understand how people are alike & how they are different

• 2 major divisions in Anthropology:• 1. Physical Anthropology• Biological Anthropology • How diseases & illnesses are genetically transmitted

• How these diseases are caused by environmental & social conditions

• Primatology• The thinking & communication patterns of primates from our distant evolutionary past

• Jane Goodall• Gombe Stream, Tanzania, 1960’s• Jane Goodall: A Retrospective - YouTube

• Forensic Anthropology• The discovery of clues in physical injuries, the wear on bones or teeth, the chemical composition of bones or teeth

• The analysis of DNA to establish the familial identity of a dead person

• Work with police on homicide cases

• ‘Murders from the past’

• 2. Social or Cultural Anthropology• Archaeology• The excavation & study of human construction & artifacts, such as weapons, clothing, cooking utensils, storage containers, garbage, to see how humans lived in their culture

• Linguistics• How a people’s language is linked to their culture

• The structure of language• The connections among language, the brain & cultural behaviourism

An Activity

• Generate a list of short forms used in text messages in your table groups

• So…• What does our language say about our culture?

Remember…

• Culture refers to the abilities, ideas, & behaviours people have acquired to become members of society

An Activity …

• Generate a list of customs and traditions used in marriage ceremonies here in Canada.

INTERNATIONAL MARRIAGE CUSTOMS

Armenia

• Two white doves are released at the wedding ceremony.

• The bride dresses in red silk and wears cardboard wings with feathers on her head.

• Small coins may be thrown at her.

Bermuda

• Islanders top their tiered wedding cake with a tiny sapling (tree) which is then planted at their home so they can watch it grow, as does their marriage.

China

• Chinese brides receive pocketbooks filled with gold jewelry from female relatives, which bestows status on the bride

• Traditionally, the colour red symbolized love & joy & was used on many of the wedding items

Egypt

• Families, rather than just the grooms, propose to the bride.

• Marriages are arranged.• The ‘zaffa’, or wedding

march, is a musical procession of drums, bagpipes, horns, belly dancers, & men carrying flaming swords.

Korea

• Ducks are included in the wedding procession because they mate for life.

• The groom may travel to the bride’ house on a white pony carrying gifts of a goose and a gander (also mate for life).

Latin America

• ‘Padrinos’ and ‘Madrinas’ are the wedding sponsors.

• There may be several sponsors - a pair for each part of the wedding (i.e. pay for the music, food, church)

Pakistan

• The bride’s family strings hundreds of brightly coloured lights around the house.

• The holy Qu’aran is held over the bride’s head when she leaves her family to join her husband.

Sweden

• The bride may place a silver coin from her father in her left shoe and a gold coin from her mother in her right shoe. And she wears her shoes unfastened.

• Swedish wives wear 3 wedding rings.

Discussion

• What are some similarities among all the marriage customs previously described?

• Does your family, or a family you know well, still follow marriages customs of their country (or countries) of origins?