Practical Computing

Abstract

Anthropologists now have a substantial collection of data that can be used to test hypotheses about humankind's diversity over space and time and can provide the basis for more refined and sophisticated theoretical explanations of human behavior. Advances in microcomputer technology have made it increasingly feasible to use such cross-cultural data sets for teaching and learning anthropological principles. Some data sets, such as those from World Cultures electronic journal or the new cd-Rom data sets from the Human Relations Area Files, Inc., can double as both research and instructional resources. In this article James Hamill and Linda Marchant of Miami University (Oxford, Ohio) review four programs that can enhance our capacity to teach archaeological and sociocultural anthropology. These programs can be effective not only in traditional college classrooms, but also in workshops and presentations designed to introduce non-anthropologists to the usefulness of anthropological perspectives.