This was the homepage for Introduction to Anthropology 2020 with two books:
- Robert J. Muckle and Laura Tubelle de González, Through the Lens of Anthropology: An Introduction to Human Evolution and Culture, 2nd edition. 2019.
- Tim Ingold, Anthropology: Why It Matters. 2018.
Here is the YouTube Lecture Playlist:
Introduction to Anthropology 2020
Part 1: Evolving
Perspective
- Chapter 1 (part 1 of 2), “Introduction: Viewing the World” (1-14)
History
- Chapter 1 (part 2 of 2), “Introduction: Viewing the World” (14-27)
- Horace Miner, “Body Ritual Among the Nacirema,” American Anthropologist (1956)
Primates
- Chapter 2, “We Are Primates” (29-53)
- Barbara Smuts, “What are Friends For?” Natural History (1987)
Evolutionary
- Chapter 3, “Evolutionary Thought and Theory” (55-72)
- Agustin Fuentes, “Human niche, human behaviour, human nature.” Interface Focus (2017)
Hominins
- M&G chapter 4, “Human Biological Evolution” (73-97)
- Berger, Lee R., et al. “Homo naledi and Pleistocene hominin evolution in subequatorial Africa.” eLife (2017)
Part 2: Growing
Tools
- Chapter 5, “Diversity: 2.5 million to 20,000 Years Ago”
- April Nowell and Melanie Chang, “Science, the Media, and Interpretations of Upper Paleolithic Figurines.” American Anthropologist (2014)
- Fuentes on the “Human niche” (5-8)
Paleo
- M&G chapter 6 (part 1 of 2), “Food: 20,000 to 5,000 Years Ago” (121-139)
- Jared Diamond, “The Worst Mistake in the History of the Human Race.” Discover (1987).
Settlements
- M&G ch. 6 (part 2 of 2), “Organization: 20,000 to 5,000 Years Ago” (139-145)
- Melinda Zeder, “Domestication as a model system for the extended evolutionary synthesis.” Interface Focus (2017)
- Fuentes on the “Human niche” (8-10)
Collapse?
- M&G chapter 7, “Archaeology of the Last 5,000 Years” (147-169)
- Michael Wilcox, “Marketing conquest and the vanishing Indian: An Indigenous response to Jared Diamond’s Guns, Germs, and Steel and Collapse.” Journal of Social Archaeology (2010)
Part 3: Knowing
11. Race & Culture
- Muckle and González chapter 8 (part 1 of 2), “Culture” (171-186)
12. Enculturation
- M&G chapter 8 (part 2 of 2), “Culture 2” (186-198)
- Meredith Small, “Our Babies, Ourselves.” Natural History (1997).
13. Language
- M&G chapter 9, “Language and Culture” (199-223)
- Laura Bohannan, “Shakespeare in the Bush.” Natural History (1966).
14. Food-Getting
- M&G chapter 10, “Food-Getting and Economics” (225-252)
- Richard Borshay Lee, “Eating Christmas in the Kalahari.” Natural History (1969).
15. Marriage & Family
- M&G chapter 11 (part 1 of 2), “Marriage, Family, and Gender” (253-266)
- Film Ongka’s Big Moka
16. Kinship & Gender
- M&G chapter 11 (part 2 of 2), “Marriage, Family, and Gender” (266-281)
- Alexandra Kralick, “What Our Skeletons Say About the Sex Binary.” Sapiens (2018).
17. Organization
- M&G chapter 12, “Political Organization” (283-304)
- Film: Masai Women
18. Supernaturalism
- Muckle and González chapter 13, “Supernaturalism” (305-327).
- George Gmelch, “Baseball Magic” (2000).
19. Sustainability
- Muckle and González chapter 14, “Anthropology and Sustainability” (329-354)
Part 4: Doing
Anthropology: Why It Matters
- Ingold, “On Taking Others Seriously” (1-25)
- “Similarity & Difference” (26-51)
- “A Discipline Divided” (52-78)
Future
- Ingold, “Rethinking the Social” (79-105)
- “Anthropology for the Future” (106-131)
This course is part of a series of Intro-to-Anthropology courses online. My latest attempt from 2022 is one that outlines Human Problems & Human Potential. There were four courses that used the textbook Anthropology: What Does it Mean to Be Human? (2021, 2018, 2017, and 2016).
For a full recorded lecture series from 2021, see the YouTube Playlist: