What is Anthropology?
Anthropology concerns itself with humans as complex social beings with a capacity for language, thought and culture. The study of anthropology is about understanding biological and cultural aspects of life among peoples throughout the world. All humans are born with the same basic physical characteristics but, depending on where they grow up, each individual is exposed to different climates, foods, languages, religious beliefs, and so on. However, human beings are not simply shaped by their environment, they also actively shape the worlds in which they live. A key aim of anthropology is to understand the common constraints within which human beings operate as well as the differences which are evident between particular societies and cultures. Given such concerns, the potential subject matter of anthropology is truly vast. Researchers nowadays tend to specialise in one or another branch of the discipline. Some, called physical or biological anthropologists, investigate such topics as ho
Anthropology is the broad study of humankind around the world and throughout time. It is concerned with both the biological and the cultural aspects of humans. Included in anthropology are four main subdivisions: Biological (or Physical) Anthropology Mechanisms of biological evolution, genetic inheritance, human adaptability and variation, primatology, and the fossil record of human evolution. Cultural Anthropology Culture, ethnocentrism, cultural aspects of language and communication, subsistence and other economic patterns, kinship, sex and marriage, socialization, social control, political organization, class, ethnicity, gender, religion, and culture change. Archaeology Prehistory and early history of cultures around the world; major trends in cultural evolution; and techniques for finding, excavating, dating, and analyzing material remains of past societies. Linguistic Anthropology The human communication process focusing on the importance of socio-cultural influences; nonverbal co
Anthropology is the scientific study and analysis of human beings and humanity. Anthropologists seek to understand all the world’s cultures, customs, artifacts, knowledge, habits, history, etc. Anthropology emerged as a distinct academic discipline in England and America in the late 19th and early 20th century. Anthropology grew primarily out of natural history initially, and has since come to depend upon archaeology, paleontology, biology, psychology, the humanities, social science, and other areas. Since WWII, anthropology has increasingly modeled itself after the natural sciences, relying more on empirical evidence and less on subjective analysis. Anthropology is composed of four closely interrelated fields. The first is biological or physical anthropology, which simply tries to understand the human being as a living organism. Population genetics and primatology comes in handy here. The second, and largest field, is socio-cultural anthropology, involving field studies comparing or r
Anthropology is the study of human diversity around the world. Anthropologists look at cross-cultural differences in social institutions, cultural beliefs, and communication styles. They often seek to promote understanding between groups by “translating” each culture to the other, for instance by spelling out common, taken-for-granted assumptions.
Study of Humankind The word anthropology itself tells the basic story — from the Greek anthropos (“human”) and logia (“study”) — it is the study of humankind, from its beginnings millions of years ago to the present day. Nothing human is alien to anthropology. Indeed, of the many disciplines that study our species, Homo sapiens, only anthropology seeks to understand the whole panorama — in geographic space and evolutionary time — of human existence. Though easy to define, anthropology is difficult to describe. Its subject matter is both exotic (e.g., star lore of the Australian aborigines) and commonplace (anatomy of the foot). And its focus is both sweeping (the evolution of language) and microscopic (the use-wear of obsidian tools). Anthropologists may study ancient Mayan hieroglyphics, the music of African Pygmies, and the corporate culture of a U.S. car manufacturer. But always, the common goal links these vastly different projects: to advance knowledge of who we are, how we came t
