Grade levels: Adult

This video succinctly presents a portrait of what it is to be a primate with adaptation to an arboreal environment. The suite of traits that distinguish primates are presented along with a comparison to other types of mammals. Then the video delves into the adaptations and traits that distinguish the various type of primates from one another. Prosimians, tarsiers, New World monkeys, Old World monkeys, and hominoids are all adroitly described and distinguished. The types of locomotor patterns, diets, and habitats used by primates are interwoven throughout.

This lesson tackles why we study the behavior of nonhuman primates and how their behavior patterns can be related to human behavior and evolution. Experts discuss their field study experiences and what they learned about the behavior of their subjects. Social structure and social organization are related to impact on reproductive success. The central mother-infant bond is explored, along with patterns of affiliative and aggressive behaviors in social groups. Nonhuman capacities for language and culture are also addressed in interesting ways.

Experts at the cutting edge of paleoanthropological research show how it?s done. In this video, students are introduced to the ways researchers gather data in order to answer the basic human question: Who are we and where do we come from? The multidisciplinary approach to this research is shown through interviews with established paleoanthropologists and with researchers in related areas such as archaeology, geology, the reconstruction of paleoenvironments, geomorphology, paleontology, and paleobotany. There is a strong focus on Koobi Fora, one of the most important field sites in paleoanthropology. In the last segment, relative and chronometric dating methods are explained in ways that will demonstrate state-of-the-art methods for discerning how old a specimen is.

The key trait that makes a hominoid a hominin is evidence for bipedalism. In this video experts discuss the physical changes that must occur for the transition to bipedalism including the more forward positioning of the foramen magnum, the large hole through which the spinal cord passes into the skull, a pelvis that becomes more bowl-shaped rather than the long blade-like pelvis of a chimpanzee, a longer leg, and a foot with springy arches. Important discoveries are examined in the time period from four to one million years ago including East African discoveries such as Australopithecus anamensis and the famous ?Lucy? specimen. The history of discovery in South Africa is reviewed starting with the first Australopithecus, the Taung child, and the more rugged genus Paranthropus. Finally, you will learn about the first member of our genus, Homo habilis.

About 1.8 million years ago, a new species of Homo appears in East Africa, a species that will exist longer than any other hominin. This lesson focuses on that new species: Homo erectus, the first hominin to leave Africa. In this lesson, you will follow the migrations of this species. You will explore the history of what paleoanthropologists have discovered concerning this widespread hominin in Java and in China and learn how the recent discoveries in the Republic of Georgia have turned much of what we knew about Homo erectus on its head. Finally, you will learn about a new type of tool industry that lasts for more than a million years.

This program explores the phenomenon of globalization, its complex forms, and its impact on the cultures of the world, as well as the contributions that anthropology can make toward a better understanding of it. Wal-Mart?s operations in China are shown as an example of how giant global corporations use structural power to expand business and profit in developing countries. The collaboration of the Bolivian government with another U.S.-based global corporation, Bechtel, and the World Bank illustrates how such partnerships can act against the best interests of the people. Finally, a Bangladeshi immigrant to the United States is interviewed, giving a personal perspective on the record high levels of external and internal migration occurring worldwide.

The video begins with the anthropological definition of applied anthropology; that this field of study refers to the application of method and theory to the analysis and solution of practical problems and that it can be used, or ?applied,? within the four subdisciplines of anthropology?physical (or biological), cultural, linguistic and archaeological. The video shows how a cultural anthropologist, Professor Mikel Hogan, practices applied anthropology within a hospital setting to help resolve some of the on-the-job problems that nurses face at this time of crises within the health-care system in the United States. As the video progresses, viewers also see how linguistic anthropologist Breesha Maddrell works on the Isle of Man to help the culture there preserve and maintain the Celtic language of Manx Gaelic. Finally, the third segment of the video shows how physical anthropologists Amy Mundorff and Diane Cockle work in the area of forensics.

Cultural Anthropology: Our Diverse World explores the various ways in which the human species has responded to the fundamental challenges of survival, and students will gain a greater appreciation for the ways in which anthropologists works to study the cultural and biological aspects of humankind within the widest possible context–a mix of theoretical perspectives and methodologies.

The video for Lesson 9 begins with Helen Mendoza and Pam Privett explaining that families can take many forms today. They are partners in a same-sex marriage, raising children of their own. Lesson 8 explained why some cultures find polygamy a preferred marriage arrangement, and the video for Lesson 9 highlights the familial and household benefits of the polygynous system. However, the video points out that not all such marriages are cooperative. Under some circumstances, competition among wives can cause serious tensions. The terms consanguinal family, conjugal family, and fictive kin are defined and varying family forms such as nuclear family, extended family, and blended family are illustrated.

The video explains that kinships, or the strong familial networks within which individuals function on a daily basis, are made up of groups of family members and that they provide the essentials for survival. The video explains descent groups and lineages and points out that not all lineages trace descent the same way. Several different kinds of descent groups are illustrated and Chinese patrilineal descent is featured. Particular attention is given to explaining this complex system; that a lineage in this system goes back only four to six generations because households become very large over time and conflicts arise, that brothers splinter off and begin lineages of their own. The concept of clan (tsu) is defined and discussed at length. Different systems of kinship are illustrated, and that each group establishes varying methods of defining relatives. The video explains the Eskimo system, the Iroquois System, and the Hawaiian system.