Anthropology

◎英國大使館文化教育處

Anthropology is the study of different societies in the present and past.This includes the things people do, how they talk about their feelings, and what they think is important.It is also about how all these things can be seen in the languages they speak.

When the earliest kinds of humans started walking on two legs 6 million years ago, their brains were the same size as a chimpanzee’s.Now our brains are twice as big.

The highest number of people that we can talk to, remember or do other things with at the same time is 150.When there are more people, we do not think of them as people any more, but more like “things” without feelings.

Around 660,000 years ago humans started using simple sounds and moving their hands to say things to each other.

For thousands of years, humans lived without jobs, countries, writing or money.That is why it is sometimes difficult for us to understand how these things work in the world today.

Neanderthals, humans that lived until 40,000 years ago, had red hair.Africa is the area with the most different kinds of humans, and Neanderthals were just one of them.In the rest of the world people have mixed with each other, so they are almost the same.

Humans from different parts of the world have different skin, hair and eye colour, because the weather is different in each area.

While all humans around the world feel happy, sad, angry or afraid,many anthropologists—people who study anthropology—think that these feelings are different in every society.

Humans and monkeys are different by only one percent, but that one percent is very important!

Activity 1 Decide which numbers or words (a-f) complete each sentence(1-6).

1.Humans’ brains are _____ as big as chimpanzees’ brains.a.1%

2.Humans started using simple sounds _____.b.twice

3.Humans started walking on two legs _____.c.150 people

4.Monkeys and humans are different by _____.d.40,000 years ago

5.Neanderthals lived until _____.e.660,000 years ago

6.We can only talk to or remember _____ at the same time.f.6 million years ago

Activity 2 Answer the questions.

1.What do you know about people who lived thousands of years ago?

2.How are people the same or different in different parts of the world?

3.Are people and monkeys very different?