Anthropology on the Ground - Anthropological Values

Anthropology on the Ground ANTH 2301 Anthropological Values The anthropological viewpoint is based on moral precepts and behavioural norms deemed critical to comprehending different cultures and their ways of life. These include the relevance of biological and cultural diversity, the value of all cultures, the significance of change throughout time, the significance of cultural relativism, and the recognition of the inherent worth of every human being. The foundation of our discipline is these anthropological ideals. Every one of the four subfields is touched by the study of culture, which emphasises the value of variety. Humans have applied creativity to solve issues and find solutions to difficult situations from the beginning of time. Anthropologists examine and cherish this remarkable human creative process, which is recorded in extant and historical cultures, our languages and symbol systems, and even our skeletal structures. Examples of these cultural practices include the stretching or elongation of women's necks (as observed by the Kayan people of Myanmar) and people's heads (as carried out by the Chinookan peoples of North America). Our cultural artefacts of adaptation, including our meals, are etched into our bones. For instance, the amount of maize consumed may be measured by looking at the carbon isotopes in human bone. Understanding that diverse ways of being are humanity's greatest legacy—a foundation expressed in the idea of the ethnosphere— anthropology embraces this human uniqueness and diversity. Documentation from anthropological investigations is of great value. Anthropological study gathers, conserves, and disseminates human artefacts, locations, and bodies in addition to the narratives of live people. When combined, these files provide a useful database. The early anthropologists left behind field notes and artefacts that record a variety that has since vanished. In order to record the physical variety of various groups of people, Franz Boas taught his pupils how to create life masks of the individuals they were researching (A. Singer 1986). The Smithsonian Institution now houses this enormous collection of almost 2,000 life masks as an archive resource for comprehending environment, culture, and biological adaptations. Numerous masks depict now-extinct ethnic groupings. In order to collect, preserve, and make available anthropological records for the purpose of studying human variability as well as serving as a historical record for the field, the Council for the Preservation of Anthropological Records, or CoPAR, collaborates with anthropologists, librarians, and archivists. The organization's two main objectives are. First, anthropologists need to be made aware of the importance and necessity of document preservation. In addition to helping them ensure that the material is accessible to academics worldwide, the second goal is to assist in educating archivists and information experts on best practices for managing the occasionally extremely sensitive information included in these papers (Silverman and Parezo 1995). Diversity is the result of gradual change and adaptation. Cultural groups employed creativity and resourcefulness to overcome the various obstacles they faced in their surroundings, occasionally adapting solutions from other cultures where appropriate. The sheer mountainous inclines of South America's high Andes imply that there isn't much flat land for food cultivation. The Inca farmers employed terrace farming as a solution to this problem, creating regions with flatter surfaces for crop growth by erecting step-like terraces into the mountainside. Terrace farming is used across Asia and certain areas of Africa, with local cultures customising the usage of terraces to suit particular crop requirements and climatic circumstances (e.g., paddy rice production requires tiny earthwork boundaries to allow for flooding). In other words, every solution is tailored to specific requirements; there is no one right way to accomplish anything. Architects are already building homes to satisfy customer needs for net-positive homes, or homes that create more energy than they consume through solar power and lower-energy appliances, as the need to reduce our carbon footprints grows (Stamp 2020). The building and architectural sectors are starting to adjust to these shifting demands as we strive to lessen our reliance on fossil fuels. Anthropology is about more than just variety and culture; it's about the ability of humans to adapt. The human body has developed alongside human civilizations via adaptation, evolution, and even acclimatisation (short-term adaptation to environmental change), making us a species that is uniquely able to adapt to practically any environmental or social situations. Even in very hostile places, like space (where humandesigned technology powers the International Space Station) and the polar regions (where human-built buildings and protective gear allow living at McMurdo Station in Antarctica), humans may live. Additionally, people have survived historical disasters like slavery and war as well as health emergencies like the COVID-19 epidemic. Throughout history, the capacity to adapt, reroute, reevaluate, reinvent, and innovate has allowed our species to flourish. More than ever, diversity important. Innovation and teamwork have more potential in environments that encourage variety. Anthropologists' emphasis on translating—that is, sharing what is learned across cultures in order to spread it more widely—as well as comprehending other cultures and ways of life is a fundamental value of the discipline, which is demonstrated in both research and practical work across communities. Cultural relativism, or holding off on passing judgement on other cultures until one has a firm grasp of the significance and meaning of their actions and beliefs, is the most crucial anthropological principle, nevertheless. According to cultural relativism, before determining the legitimacy of cultural traditions and knowledge, we must comprehend its underlying assumptions, goals, and significance. Additionally, it has important benefits for improving interpersonal comprehension: • It enables the first communication and cooperation between "us" and "them," enabling us to recognise the value, respect, and dignity of every individual. In doing so, it reduces ethnocentrism by serving as a reminder to approach the study of different cultures with an open mind, recognising the potentials and possibilities inherent in our own species. The field of anthropology, which would investigate what it means to be human in all its many manifestations, was founded on the theoretical framework of cultural relativism, which was first publicly proposed by Franz Boas. In order to chronicle the rich cultural traditions of immigrants, minority groups, and Indigenous peoples, Boas and his students tried to apply cultural relativism across racial, ethnic, language, and socioeconomic divides. However, since the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, there has been much discussion over the idea. Is something acceptable just because a culture says so? Does the concept of cultural relativism have limits? Is it essential to embrace every action taken by a culture, or may an anthropologist finally determine that a practice is detrimental, hurtful, and not worthy of respect and continuation? Anthropologists continue to embrace cultural relativism (and the importance of other peoples and civilizations) despite these ongoing arguments, albeit maybe in a modified version known as cultural relativism 2.0, according to anthropologist Michael Brown. According to Brown, cultural relativism 2.0 is "a call to widen one's views before narrowing them, to listen before speaking, and to pause before judging" (2008, 380). Put differently, give them a chance first. Today's anthropology may be even more significant than it was when it was first studied some 150 years ago. According to French anthropologist Maurice Godelier, anthropology and history are two of the social science fields that can most effectively assist us in comprehending the intricacies of our increasingly interconnected world as well as the nature of the conflicts and crises we are currently facing. It would be reckless and impolite for anthropologists [to] give up on attempting to comprehend other people in such a society. (2016, 75–76)