* a free alternative to expensive Introduction to Cultural Anthropology textbooks

* includes a full textbook and several original videos

* includes 10 "challenges" (assignments)

* a hub of original and found resources for teaching and learning anthropology

* a “connected course” of many faculty around the world sharing instructional materials

* an open course freely available to anyone online

* an emerging producer of original anthropological videos and other digital content

This online database of our African Ethnographic collection includes artifacts that were found throughout the continent of Africa, from The Gambia to Madagascar, from Algeria to South Africa. The database allows you to see all artifacts for a country by clicking on a map or list of country names, search by object type, culture, and keyword find out what items are currently on display, and learn about recently acquired artifacts. There are two ways to search the collection as a picture-only gallery, or as a catalog that describes each artifact's provenance (country, locale, culture), materials, dimensions, and year of acquisition.

This is a collection of mini lectures created by anthropologists and those in conversation with anthropology as supplimental material to assist college and university instructors who were made to shift their courses online because of COVID19.For more information, see here.To contribute, please create an OER author account and send your name and OER registered email to AnthropologyTeaching@gmail.com.

ANTH 150 World Archaeology
Introduction to archaeology and cultural change from the earliest times to the advent of state-level societies.

Course Description:
• When did we become fully modern humans?
• When (and why) did we stop being hunter-gatherers?
• When did inequality emerge?
• Why did some people decide to start living in cities?
• What led to the development of complex state-level
societies?
These are important questions about what it means to
be human that archaeologists address. In this course,
we’ll consider these topics while providing an
introduction to archaeology and the study of world
prehistory. The course provides an overview of human
prehistory from modern humans up to the
development of literate civilizations. The approach will
be problem oriented and comparative. We will
consider ancient cultures from around the world in
order to foster an appreciation for human cultural
diversity. Explaining why cultural developments
occurred is often hotly debated among archaeologists,
and different perspectives will be explored critically
throughout this course.

The Antiquities of Wisconsin, Increase A. Lapham's most important published work, includes 92 pages of text, illustrated with 61 wood engravings, and 55 lithographed plates and was the result of his research into the Indian effigy mounds found on Wisconsin's Landscape.

This online database of our Asian Ethnographic collection includes artifacts that were found throughout the continent of Asia, from Russia to Indonesia, from Turkey to Japan. The database allows you to see all artifacts for a country by clicking on a map or list of country names, search by object type, culture, and keyword, find out what items are currently on display and learn about recently acquired artifacts. There are two ways to search the collection as a picture-only gallery, or as a catalog that describes each artifact's provenance (country, locale, culture), materials, dimensions, and year of acquisition.

Becoming Human is a fast-paced, irreverent introduction to evolutionary theory, especially human origins. The book is based on the Open2Study MOOC, 'Becoming Human,' created by Dr. Greg Downey and Open Universities Australia. The book discusses traces of evolution in our bodies, basic evolutionary theory from Darwin to the genomic revolution, sexual selection and reproduction, and how human brain development affects our evolution, including into the future. Copiously illustrated, with some interactive diagrams, videos of Dr. Downey presenting the material are also available through Open2Study.

Becoming Human is an interactive documentary experience that tells the story of human origins. Multimedia, research and scholarship are presented to promote greater understanding of the course of human evolution. This site includes classroom materials, subject-designed exercises, games and activities to help make connections between the concepts that are presented and student learning. PDF versions of the resources may be downloaded from the site.

Students learn about material culture in this Moveable Museum lesson plan by taking a firsthand look at how culture influences the kinds of things we do. The 12-page PDF guide has educator materials including background information, teacher strategies, assessment guidelines, and detailed notes about the curriculum standards addressed. The Becoming a Cultural Researcher activity worksheet has a series of questions that prompts students to reflect on the material culture of daily activities, customs, or ceremonies. There is a kid-friendly glossary of related terms.

Nancy Scheper-Hughes, a noted Anthropology Professor at UC Berkeley and author of numerous award-winning works joins UC Berkeley's Harry Kreisler. (59 min)

This is a quick activity that shows how large amounts of rock and sediment are added to the edge of continents during subduction. You may ask, how can such a huge phenomenon be demonstrated quickly and cheaply? The answer is simple: with a cookie!

This 10-minute video lesson discusses chronometry and the relatively recent changes in our ability as a species to shine light on our deep past. [Cosmology and Astronomy playlist: Lesson 81 of 85]

This 13-minute video lesson discusses collective learning and how symbolic language drives collective learning and how this is one of the truly differentiating aspects of human beings relative to the rest of the animal kingdom. [Cosmology and Astronomy playlist: Lesson 82 of 85]

This 13-minute video looks at the development of agriculture and writing in the Paleolithic and Neolithic eras of the Stone Age. [Cosmology and Astronomy playlist: Lesson 67 of 85]

This 14-minute video lesson considers energy consumption required for tilling land. [Cosmology and Astronomy playlist: Lesson 84 of 85]

This 8-minute video lesson looks at Firestick Farming and how the indigenous Australians used fire to change their environment. [Cosmology and Astronomy playlist: Lesson 76 of 85]

This 12-minute video lesson provides an overview of evolution from from the extinction of the dinosaurs to humanity. [Cosmology and Astronomy playlist: Lesson 64 of 85]

This 13-minute video lesson ponders how we get calories from the land and the limits of human population density. [Cosmology and Astronomy playlist: Lesson 83 of 85]

In this activity, learners use crayons to draw conclusions about rocks and the rock cycle. Learners form crayons ((which can be "weathered"--heated, compressed and cooled--like rocks) into models of sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous rocks.

In this unit, you will explore globalization and development and its effects on indigenous peoples. Modern economic and political development is driven by the assumption that the results will be benefical for all people; however, cultural differences are not taken into consideration, leading often to the destruction of indigenous cultures. Understanding the context of modern development students become versant in the current debate about globalization.

By the end of the unit, you should be able to answer the following questions:

What is globalization?

How did the modern era of globalization develop?

What is the relationship between culture and globalization?

Dr. Stephen O'Brien of the National Cancer Institute discovers a 700-year-old mutation that makes a person resistant to HIV infection. From Evolution: "Evolutionary Arms Race."

In this video segment from Religion & Ethics Newsweekly, learn how Muslims in America celebrate Eid al-Fitr, the Ű_í_Ű__Ű_ŒŰ_ŒŒŰ‹_Feast of Breaking the Fast.Ű_í_Ű__Ű_ŒŰ_ŒŰ_í_Ű_Œ

This video from Evolution explores the evolution of humans from a common ancestor of humans, chimpanzees, and other apes.

In this video from Evolution, an exploration of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis in the Russian prison system highlights one reason it is important to understand evolution.

The first comprehensive, peer-reviewed open access textbook for biological anthropology courses. Produced with support from the Society for Anthropology in Community Colleges (a section of the American Anthropological Association) and a grant from Minnesota State. Available free of charge for use in any setting.

In February, 2020 ancillary materials will be published, including test banks, PowerPoint slides and study guides. If you (adopting faculty) develop any ancillary materials you would be willing to share as open access materials on this website, please contact us at: explorationstextbook@gmail.com

If you adopt part of all of this textbook, please let us know by filling out our Adoptions survey. This information will help us report back to our funding agencies and, ultimately, help us develop more high quality, open access educational materials.

In this video segment from Religion & Ethics Newsweekly, learn about Muslims in Lawrenceville, Georgia, their plans to build an Islamic cemetery and the stiff objections from their Christian neighbors.

This Evolution video segment depicts the landmark hominid fossil finds by Don Johanson and his team in Ethiopia.

This video segment adapted from NOVA shows how scientists use the fossil record to trace when early human ancestors and related species began walking on two legs instead of four, and to determine whether they were more apelike or human in appearance.

Our early human ancestors began migrating across the globe tens of thousands of years ago. Some left behind archaeological evidence of their travels. But as you'll hear in this Science Update, another record of where we come from and where we've been might be found right in our DNA.

This is the first unit in a high school course that is designed to be used in lieu of the traditional textbook based Government class in public high schools.

In this video segment from Religion & Ethics Newsweekly, meet an American Muslim as he prepares for Hajj, the pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca that commemorates the Abrahamic roots of Islam.

Performed with over two million other Muslims, the rites of Hajj, the required pilgrimage to Mecca, have a profound personal impact on each pilgrim. In this video from Religion & Ethics Newsweekly, a Muslim from America experiences Hajj for the first time.

Students learn about an American Muslim's impressions of his first pilgrimage to Mecca in this video segment from Religion & Ethics Newsweekly.

A dining hall at Dartmouth College accommodates the religious dietary requirements of Muslims, Jews and Hindus as explained in this video from Religion & Ethics Newsweekly.

Where did we come from? What were our ancestors like? Why do we differ from other animals? How do scientists trace and construct our evolutionary history? The History of Our Tribe: Hominini provides answers to these questions and more. The book explores the field of paleoanthropology past and present. Beginning over 65 million years ago, Welker traces the evolution of our species, the environments and selective forces that shaped our ancestors, their physical and cultural adaptations, and the people and places involved with their discovery and study. It is designed as a textbook for a course on Human Evolution but can also serve as an introductory text for relevant sections of courses in Biological or General Anthropology or general interest. It is both a comprehensive technical reference for relevant terms, theories, methods, and species and an overview of the people, places, and discoveries that have imbued paleoanthropology with such fascination, romance, and mystery.

This video segment, adapted from NOVA, explores reasons why Homo sapiens had an advantage over Neanderthals in the pursuit of territory and natural resources.

In this video segment adapted from NOVA: Judgment Day: Intelligent Design on Trial, learn how modern genetics and molecular biology offer compelling support for evolution. The video features an interview with biologist Ken Miller.

Almost everywhere on the world, international migration is a hot topic. Most of the time the debate about migration is fierce and charged with prejudices and fears. At the political level, this has far-reaching consequences, ranging from electoral victories of populist right-wing parties to the increasing isolation policy of Europe and the United States. But what exactly is migration? What are its causes? And what are problems and opportunities?

Introduction to Biological Anthropology OER Text and Reading List

ATH 101. Introduction to Biological Anthropology.

Introduces biological anthropology and the study of evolution in the context of modern genetics and primate behavior studies. Examines human fossil record, diversity, and commonality of present and past populations of humankind.

Introduction to Cultural Anthropology course calendar using the open textbook Perspectives: http://sacc.americananthro.org/publication/open-source-textbook/

Course Description
Considers contemporary human cultures from an anthropological perspective. Covers fieldwork, language, race, gender, sex and marriage, kinship, politics, world view, religion, economics, and globalization from a cross-cultural perspective. This course compares cultures found around the globe, focusing closely upon at least two specific cultures, with extended discussion of additional cultures and societies as appropriate. Greater understanding of particular cultures will be achieved through an application of the comparative method.

Upon completion of the course students should be able to:

Describe basic concepts, methods, and theories associated with cultural anthropology.
Use an understanding of anthropology to identify and compare values, beliefs, norms, economic systems, and social organization or institutions in a variety of societies in different world regions.
Examine systems of power and social justice issues related to U.S. society and other cultures from an anthropological perspective.
Explore fieldwork methods and ethical considerations of doing anthropological fieldwork.

An Introduction to Cultural Anthropology: Perspectives on Humanity Reading List and Schedule

ANTH 213

Introduces a comparative study of human culture. Covers kinship systems, politics, economics, language, ritual, cultural change, ecological adaptations, and ethnographic methodology. Explores cultural similarities and differences and the linkages among cultural, social, political, and economic institutions.

This unit is an introduction to the study of material culture. It asks why we should study things and outlines some basic approaches to studying objects.

Introduction to Paleoanthropology covers the various species and subspecies that gave rise to human beings. Paleoanthropology is a subdiscipline of physical anthropology that focuses on the fossil record of humans and non-human primates.

A textbook for introductory physical or biological anthropology classes, designed for community college students in San Diego, California.
Topics include: intro to anthropology, intro to biology, paleontology/phylogeny, primatology, paleoanthropology, and human variation. The content mixes existing OER sources, popular summaries, a selection of journal articles, videos, and other media.
I am currently cleaning up graphics and old html code, improving accessibility issues, updating links, and filling gaps in content. I plan to format a printable version in the near future and work on more instructor resources. I welcome your feedback.

Members of the Islamic Center of Washington, DC discuss the religious and spiritual significance of Ramadan and the celebration that concludes it, Eid al-Fitr, in this video segment from Religion & Ethics Newsweekly.

This Web site celebrates the centenary anniversary of the Jesup North Pacific Expedition and reports on the museum's project to return photographs to the communities visited and documented during the 1897 expedition. It includes:background information about the original expedition and its goals, a brief overview of the 2002 project, including a map of the cities and villages visited and black-and-white photographs from each of the eight small exhibits.

A unique perspective on the confluence of the three basic conceptual frameworks in human experience. Contains several studies, with data, of remarkable world views of disparate cultures based on their specific cultures language. The premise is that how people experience the world, then think about it, then create a language around it, alters their perception of the world in very fundamental ways. The radical notion is that thought and language, creates the circumstances of, and contribute to significantly different realities for different peoples.

The internalization and realization of this concept is significant and can possibly radically alter and change how different cultures assess their ability to, at the most basic levels, understand other cultures realities.

This Evolution video segment describes how the famous track fossils known as the Laetoli footprints might have been formed and what they can reveal about the creatures who left them.

Students learn about the subjective value of objects in this Moveable Museum lesson plan by "interpreting" each other's important cultural artifacts. The 11-page PDF guide has educator materials with background information, teacher strategies, assessment guidelines, and detailed notes about the curriculum standards addressed.

In this activity, learners explore the "nuts and bolts" of gene chips. Learners construct a simple model of a DNA microarray (also known as gene chips) and learn how microarrays can be used to identify and treat disease--including cancer. This resource includes references and an explanation of microarrays.

This video from Religion & Ethics Newsweekly gives a primer on the history and evolution of madrasahs, institutes of higher learning in Islamic studies.

This presentation talks about anthropological perspectives of relevance to mass drug administration. Anthropology is a social science discipline focused on studying culture, including norms, values, perceptions and practices and how people enact these in their daily lives.

Egyptian mummies have given us great insight into an important ancient culture. They've also inspired a number of horror stories. For example, it's said that anyone who dared enter a mummy's tomb would die a horrible, premature death. In this Science Update, you'll hear about a scientific investigation that tested this legend.

In this video segment from Religion & Ethics Newsweekly, learn about the daily prayer rituals of the Muslim faith and their significance in the life of a Muslim living in America.

Native Peoples of North America is intended to be an introductory text about the Native peoples of North America (primarily the United States and Canada) presented from an anthropological perspective. As such, the text is organized around anthropological concepts such as language, kinship, marriage and family life, political and economic organization, food getting, spiritual and religious practices, and the arts. Prehistoric, historic and contemporary information is presented. Each chapter begins with an example from the oral tradition that reflects the theme of the chapter. The text includes suggested readings, videos, and classroom activities.

The Norman Miller Archive is a multimedia collection of photos, scholarly articles, film, books, and unpublished field notes gathered by Norman Miller (1933-Present), one of the first American field workers who spent long periods of time in remote regions of Kenya and Tanzania. It covers a variety of topics, including rural local government, decolonialism, environmental conservation, the role of women in rural societies, HIV/AIDS, and Witchcraft.

This online database of our North American Ethnographic collection includes artifacts from every Native American cultural region in North America, from Achomawi and Acoma to Zia and Zuni. The database allows you to see all artifacts for a specific culture, search by object type, material, locale, and donor, find out what items are currently on display and learn about recently acquired artifacts. There are two ways to search the collection as a picture-only gallery, or as a catalog that describes each artifact's provenance (country, locale, culture), materials, dimensions, and year of acquisition.

This Ology website for kids focuses on Anthropology. It includes activities, things to make, quizzes, interviews with working scientists, and more to help kids learn about Anthropology.

Catalog description for ANTH 180 (Language and Culture): This course provides answers to these provocative questions by exploring the anthropological disciplines of descriptive, historical and ethno linguistics: How does language work? Where is it in the brain? How do children acquire it? How does language affect thought and our perception of the world? How is our language different from that of other animals? How did human language evolve and develop throughout history?