Why is Franz Boas famous in the study of anthropology?

His primary contribution to anthropology was his theory of cultural relativism. Boas worked to change this idea, saying that people think of other cultures based on the only culture they know, which is their own culture. His research demonstrated the many similarities between people of different races and ethnicities.

Why did Franz Boas establish the four fields of anthropology?

As part of his challenge to race theory, Boas advocated a four-field approach to anthropology, which included cultural anthropology to show that important human differences are cultural, not biological; archaeology to demonstrate that every culture has a history; biological anthropology to understand human biological …

Who is Franz Boas in anthropology?

Franz Boas was a German-born anthropologist who founded the relativistic, culture-centered school of American anthropology that dominated 20th century thought.

How does Franz Boas define culture?

Boas took years to develop a working definition of culture, but it is one that influences anthropologists to this day: culture is an integrated system of symbols, ideas and values that should be studied as a working system, an organic whole (Kuper 1999:56).

Did Franz Boas study the Inuit?

Education and Early Life. Boas was born the son of Germanic Jewish parents, and showed an interest in polar exploration from an early age. In June 1883, at the age of 24, Boas left Germany and embarked on a year of ethnographic research with the Inuit of the Eastern Arctic Archipelago.

What culture did Franz Boas study?

Soon after, in 1883, he began a yearlong scientific expedition—his first—to Baffin Island in northern Canada. Fascinated by the Inuit culture, Boas collected ethnographic data not directly related to the project at hand, and so began his lifelong interest in and study of the way people lived.

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