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Think Like an Anthropologist: #NoThumbsChallenge

July 18, 2020

By Celia Du /

We thank Jodi Schmidt for providing resources and input for this activity and the information that follows about anthropology.

Challenge

This week, we challenge you to think like an anthropologist with the #NoThumbsChallenge! Bioanthropologists look at how humans have evolved and sometimes that means studying modern and ancient human traits, like opposable thumbs! Tape your thumb to the side of your hand and try to do some tasks around the house. What do you notice?

If you want an additional challenge, time yourself doing the same tasks several times with and without thumbs and record it in this table!

What is anthropology?

Anthropology studies humans, past and present, as well as our closest related species, the primates, including lemurs, monkeys and apes.

“Anthropologists want to know why things happen…[and] tackle big human problems, such as overpopulation, warfare and poverty.”

American Anthropological Association

Anthropology is divided into 5 subfields:

Social and cultural anthropology: focuses on culture and societies around the world
Archaeology: studies human societies through material remains
Biological anthropology: examines human evolution and biology
Linguistic: investigates human language with specialized methods that record and analyze languages around the world and how it’s used in everyday life
Applied: Uses anthropology and applies it to tasks in public and private sectors

As a career, anthropologists can work in a variety of settings and workplaces. Here are some examples:

Federal, provincial and local governments
Healthcare centers
Research institutes
Businesses
Excavation sites
Cities
Schools
Underwater archaeological sites
Disaster areas
Museums
Police Departments

Anthropologists also conduct a lot of research using a variety of different specialized methods, depending on which sub-field they work in. They all rely on fieldwork, such as excavation of ancient societies or interacting with modern social groups. This is why training is very important in becoming an anthropologist. The methods anthropologists use include:

Fieldwork, often living with the communities you are studying with for a year or more to establish good relations and to be thorough and accurate in recording what people say and do
Observation, often daily and detailed, as well as important events and situations such as economic activities, social relationships and spiritual acts. Observation involves participant-observation, where anthropologists participate in the everyday life of the people they are studying–this enhances understanding and reveals the purpose of local institutions, culture and practices
Interviewing to gain information with accurate detail and completeness
Documenting with textual, visual, auditory records
Studying skeletal remains, and remains of objects that people created, modified or used through excavation
Mapping the locations of houses, trash pits, and burials
Collecting the remains of plants, animals, and soils from the places where people have lived
Using CT scanners, which are essentially taking X-rays from different angles
Analyzing DNA
Studying new media platforms and digital technologies, such as Facebook and YouTube
Learning about other primates and the fossils of human ancestors
Accurately recording and classifying data
Writing accurate and appropriate scientific reports
Collaborating with people using different skills to gain a more comprehensive understanding.

Anthropologists must have strong social skills, be honest and courteous, and follow the ethical principles of anthropology and of the people group they are living with and studying. It is very important to be aware of biases, particularly the habit of seeing all cultural groups as inferior to another, usually their own, cultural group.