ethnology
Comparative cultures discipline
Ethnology is the branch of anthropology that compares and analyzes cultures, examining patterns of social organization, religion, technology, and customs across different peoples.
Where ethnography describes individual cultures through fieldwork, ethnology draws broader conclusions by comparing them: Her ethnology of Pacific Island societies revealed common migration patterns.
Collective social practices
- ethnographerScholar of cultures
- ethnographicDescribing cultures systematically
- indigenousOriginating in a region
- peoplesDistinct cultural or ethnic groups
kinship · clan · tribe · linguistics · mythology · folklore · cosmology · subsistence
Ceremonial repeated practices
- ceremoniesFormal observances with ritual
- ritesFormal ceremonial acts
- festivalsOrganized communal celebrations
- traditionsLong-established customs passed down
taboos · beliefs · myths · superstitions · mores · etiquette · costumes · cuisine
Family line of descent
- lineageDescent from progenitors
- genealogyStudy of family descent
- inheritanceProperty received from ancestors
- legacyWhat's passed down
artifacts · heirlooms · provenance · oral-history · preservation · repatriation
Formal evaluative conversations
- informantsPeople providing secret intelligence
- rapport-buildingDeveloping comfortable professional connection
- qualitativeRelating to characteristics, not quantities
- monographSingle-topic scholarly work
Belief one's culture superior
- functionalismTheory emphasizing purposes and roles
- structuralismAnalysis through underlying systems
- evolutionismTheory of species transformation
- particularismPrioritizing specific group interests
Malinowski · Lévi-Strauss · Morgan · Frazer
culture
Collective social practices
- ethnographerScholar of cultures
- ethnographicDescribing cultures systematically
- indigenousOriginating in a region
peoples · kinship · clan · tribe · linguistics · mythology · folklore · cosmology · subsistence · nomadic
rituals
Ceremonial repeated practices
- ceremoniesFormal observances with ritual
- ritesFormal ceremonial acts
- festivalsOrganized communal celebrations
traditions · taboos · beliefs · myths · superstitions · mores · etiquette · costumes · cuisine · music
ancestry
Family line of descent
- lineageDescent from progenitors
- genealogyStudy of family descent
- inheritanceProperty received from ancestors
legacy · artifacts · heirlooms · provenance · oral-history · preservation · repatriation
interviews
Formal evaluative conversations
- informantsPeople providing secret intelligence
- rapport-buildingDeveloping comfortable professional connection
- qualitativeRelating to characteristics, not quantities
ethnocentrism
Belief one's culture superior
- functionalismTheory emphasizing purposes and roles
- structuralismAnalysis through underlying systems
- evolutionismTheory of species transformation
particularism · Malinowski · Lévi-Strauss · Morgan · Frazer
- humanitiesphilosophy, history, literature, philosophy class, novels
- ologiesbiology, geology, psychology, sociology, ecology
- anthropologyanthropology, fieldwork, social anthropology, cultural anthropology, paleoanthropology
- Victorian scholarshipphilology, classics, natural history, antiquarianism, classical studies
- folklorefairy tales, fairytales, folktales, folk tales, folk tale
- sociologysocial structure, social class, social institutions, social norms, social mobility
ethnologyarchaeology
Study of physical remnants
paleoanthropology · prehistory · paleontology · ancient history · ethnography
ethnologypsychology
Study of mind, behavior
case study · monograph · sociobiology · human biology · cognitive science
ethnologyhuman biology
Study of bodily systems
genetics · craniometry · anthropometry · forensic anthropology · sociobiology