How are anthropological field methods two-directional? Does culture need to be flexible? How did the Parthenon reflect Greek culture of a specific time and place? Is it appropriate that the British Mu

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Anthropology
Question one
Anthropology methods seek to build an explanation from the field experience about an identified problem in a cultural context. As such, they require to be two directional – be subjective as well as objective. By being subjective, they try to capture the way people under the study create and associate their meanings as they interact with the world around them (“Introduction to Anthropology”1). The way they observe phenomena and interpret it that is referred to as ethnography. By being objective, anthropology methods have to consider the scientific principles, involving the collection and analysis of the data according to the research goals (“Introduction to Anthropology”1). Here, and through examination, analysis, and comparison, researcher manage to understand the cultural, social and linguistic problems and their solution (Introduction to Anthropology” 3). Due to their ability to be both objective and interpretive, these methods are considered two directional.
Question two
Anthropology largely focuses on understanding humans and their behaviors in cultural and social settings. Specifically, cultural anthropology is dedicated to understanding human beliefs, values, practices, and technology. These aspects of culture do change, and they define differences between communities (diversity). People change as they try to adapt and transform to the physical, cultural, and biological factors for survival. For this reason, culture should be flexible to increase the survival and prominence of communities.

There are two ways that culture changes. One is when there is a need to change as a way of overcoming food shortage disease outbreak. The other way is through selective transmission, through hereditary factors. According to Schaller et al. (81), selective transmission ensures unique characteristics of individuals making up a certain population are passed on from one generation to another. Therefore, anthropologist needs to consider the diversity and change in culture when studying a population.
Question three
The Greece Temple Parthenon build in 447 BC (Glassman 12) used to house the goddess Athena, who was highly regarded and respected as the patron. The temple artistically represents the Greek way of living, the understanding of mathematics, and attention to details during its classical era. For example, the Temple reveals the mastery in symmetria, the definition of a part to another, and of the part to the whole structure (Fehlmann 363). In a cultural setting, this resembles the Greek notion that every citizen has a voice in the decision-making process when addressing the domestic, policy, and foreign matters (Sakoulas 9). Their knowledge of mathematics remains outstanding even to the modern scholars especially in the way the Parthenon sculptural decoration and dimensions are designed. These not only improved the visual illusion but also a response to the natural environment as the shiny services and the columns at the corners were designed to allow a fair distribution of light (Glassman 6).
Additionally, the temple was larger and more opulent than other in Greece, features that are interpreted of the dominance of Athens cultural, military, and political powers over the rest of Greece. The use of gold and Ivory, its position high on the Acropolis (the then highest point in Athens), and involvement of Athens in many battles (including the Trojan War) as recorded in history support this dominance (Glassman 3). Such self-conception of Athenians as represented in the Parthenon have remained important to anthropologists and researchers as they struggle to solve modern problems.
Question four
The argument on the rightful owner of endogenous artifacts between the local people whose cultural identify it holds or an authority that possess the custody of such items has been on the mainstream media for a long time. For example, the British Museum owns many artifacts including the Parthenon that belonged to ancient Greece, and it continues to resist the debated that call for a return of these items to their indigenous owners. Considering that these artifacts represent the culture, belief, practices, and technology of the indigenous people (Rose-Greenland 656), it then becomes inappropriate for the British Museum to keep them. However, and based on some external factors, British Museum ownership of such items can be considered appropriate based on the effort the institution or its country (Britain) made in preservation the item. For example, Rose-Greenwood notes that when a traveler, Lord Elgin, took the Parthenon marbles from Athens, the city was in ruins (Rose-Greenland 668). Elgin felt that Athens was not a safe place for the Parthenon marbles and leaving it there would have caused its destruction. For this reason, Rose-Greenland established ownership under such circumstances demonstrated a supra-nationalism. Supranationalism is the loyalty and devotion beyond boundaries. In this case, whether British’s ownership of an artifact is appropriate or not may be subject to different factors.
Works Cited
“Introduction to Anthropology.” Individual.Utoronto.Ca, 2018, http://individual.utoronto.ca/boyd/anthro.htm. Accessed 14 July 2018.
Fehlmann, Marc. “As Greek as It Gets: British Attempts to Recreate the Parthenon.” Rethinking History, vol. 11, no. 3, Sept. 2007, pp. 353-377. EBSCOhost, doi: 10.1080/13642520701353256
Glassman, Gary. “The Glorious Parthenon: Interview of Professor Jeffrey Hurwit.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, 29 Jan. 2008, www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ancient/glorious-parthenon.html.
Rose-Greenland, Fiona. “The Parthenon Marbles as Icons of Nationalism in Nineteenth-Century Britain.” Nations & Nationalism, vol. 19, no. 4, Oct. 2013, pp. 654-673. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1111/nana.12039. (655).
Sakoulas, Thomas. “The Parthenon.” Ancient Greece, 2018, www.ancient-greece.org/architecture/parthenon2.html.
Schaller, Mark, Conway I. I. I. L. Gideon, and K M. Peavy. “Evolutionary Processes.” (2010): 81-96. Print.