Problem
Learning Objectives
1. Define religion and explain its significance in human cultures.
2. Summarize theories developed by anthropologists to explain the importance of supernatural beliefs in human communities.
3. Identify the four elements of religion (cosmology, belief in the supernatural, rules of behavior, and rituals) and explain how each element contributes to religious practices.
4. Define rites of passage, rites of intensification, and rites of revitalization and explain the purpose of each type of ritual
Task
1. If anthropology is the study of humans, why do some anthropologists study primates?
2. What is the nature of interactions between primates and other members of their broader ecological communities, including other species of primates?
3. What is the difference between a social system and a mating system? Describe the variety of social and mating systems observed in primates. How do primatologists use the distribution of food, females, and males to understand this variation, including the fact that two species can have the same mating system but different social systems? Compare and contrast male and female mating strategies. Why and how, do females choose a potential mate? Why and how do males compete for potential mates?
4. What are the costs and benefits of group living? If living in a group is beneficial for most primates, why do some individuals disperse and leave their group? How do the costs and benefits of dispersal differ for males and females?
5. Discuss the variation in primate communication. How is communication between primates similar to and different from communication between humans?
6. What is the evidence for cultural variation in primates? How do primatologists think cultural transmission occurs in primates? How do you think this process compares to cultural transmission in humans?