Theories Presented by Elman Service and Timothy Essay

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theories presented by Elman Service and Timothy Earle on the evolution of chiefdoms.

There were many different things that Franz Boas did to help improve the field of anthropology at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. A number of the advancements he made were in the field of physical anthropology. Even more advancements pertained to improvements in this science as a whole which helped it to become much more rigorous and, on the whole, trustworthy. Many of these improvements that Boas made in this field helped to repudiate the notions of Western superiority that had previously occupied a central role in anthropology.

In terms of his contributions to physical anthropology, Boas effectively challenged and disproved the idea of scientific racism. By examining the skeletons of a number of different people of varying socio-economic backgrounds, the anthropologist was able to disprove the notion that head size is immutably related to race. Prior to his efforts in this branch of anthropology there was a general consensus that size and shape of one's head was based on one's race or ethnicity, and that the larger size and more desirable shape of Westerners was the basis for the belief of Western superiority to those of other ethnicities. Boas was able to disavow this notion by showing that there were a number of factors that could influence head shape and size, including environmental factors such as nutrition.

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The effects of this revelation in the field of physical anthropology reverberated throughout this academic discipline. Most importantly, the pseudoscience that was utilized to uphold notions of Western superiority to other races was shown to be unfounded, which resulted in anthropologists attempting to be much more diligent about their proofs and conclusions. Some utilize this movement within the field to search harder to find ways to anthropologically illustrate Western superiority. Others, such as Boas used the momentum from his revelation to ensure that mankind was considered as a whole with a degree of parity that was previously reserved only for Westerners.

The other eminent way that Boas helped anthropology to become more rigorous -- which stemmed from his work in physical anthropology -- was that he illustrated how important culture was to this field. Many of the environmental factors that he demonstrated affected the size and shape of an individual's cranium pertained to culture. Anthropology was always related to culture (which was why many scientists sought to substantiate their viewpoint that Western culture was superior to others). However, Boas demonstrated that there are cultural specifications that determine certain consistencies with groups of people. Before his assertions in this facet of anthropology, there was a prevailing assumption that culture could be ranked and that certain cultures (in particular Westernized ones) were better, intrinsically, than others were.

Boas was able to repudiate this notion as well.….....

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