Cultural anthropologists specialize in the study of culture, including the beliefs and practices, and the cognitive and social organization of human groups. Researchers study how people sharing a common cultural system, organize and shape the physical and social world around them – and are in turn – shaped by those ideas, behaviors, and physical environments. This practice involves making observations, forming conclusions, and (especially in the past) collecting objects as examples of material culture. Much of this artifactual bounty has been preserved in museum and university collections and we’re going to explore anthropology by looking at some of these collections!

Visit ONE (1) of the following anthropology museums and complete the task below:

Ethnologisches Museum at Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
http://www.smb.museum/en/museums-institutions/ethnologisches-museum/home.html (Links to an external site.)

Canadian Museum of History in Quebec
http://www.historymuseum.ca/ (Links to an external site.)

Hudson Museum at the University of Maine
http://umaine.edu/hudsonmuseum/ (Links to an external site.)

The Task:

1. Identify an object related to this week’s topic – include the URL.
2. Provide an image and a brief description of the artifact you selected. Identify the purpose and origin of the artifact – explain what it is and where it comes from. Your post should be a minimum of 250+ words.