Anthropology

Anthropology /æ n θ rɵ ˈp ɒ lə dʒ i/ is the study of humans, past and present,
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that draws and builds upon
knowledge from the social sciences and biological sciences, as well as the humanities and the natural sciences.
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"ince the work of #ran$ %oas and %ronis&aw 'alinowski in the late 1(th and earl) 2*th centuries, social
anthropolog) in +reat %ritain and cultural anthropolog) the ," has been distinguished from ethnolog)
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and
from other social sciences b) its emphasis on cross.cultural comparisons, long.term in.depth e/amination of
conte/t, and the importance it places on participant.obser0ation or e/periential immersion in the area of
research. 1ultural anthropolog) in particular has emphasi$ed cultural relati0ism, holism, and the use of findings
to frame cultural criti2ues.
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4his has been particularl) prominent in the ,nited "tates, from %oas5s arguments
against 1(th.centur) racial ideolog), through 'argaret 'ead5s ad0ocac) for gender e2ualit) and se/ual
liberation, to current criticisms ofpost.colonial oppression and promotion of multiculturalism. 6thnograph) is
one of its primar) research designs as well as the te/t that is generated from anthropological fieldwork.
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9hile in +reat %ritain and the 1ommonwealth countries, the %ritish tradition of "ocial :nthropolog) tends to
dominate, in the ,nited "tates anthropolog) is traditionall) di0ided into the four field approach de0eloped b)
#ran$ %oas in the earl) 2*th centur); biologicalor physical anthropolog)< social, cultural, or sociocultural
anthropolog)< archaeolog)< and anthropological linguistics. 4hese fields fre2uentl) o0erlap, but tend to use
different methodologies and techni2ues.
=n those 6uropean countries that did not ha0e o0erseas colonies, where ethnolog) >a term coined and defined b)
:dam #. ?oll@r in 178A was more widespread, social anthropolog) is now defined as the stud) of social
organi$ation in non.state societies and is sometimes referred to as sociocultural anthropolog) in the parts of the
world that were influenced b) the 6uropean tradition.
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Types of Anthropology?
%iological :nthropolog)
%iological anthropolog), also known as physical anthropology, studies the evolution of the human body and
the racial difference between the different populations of humans. : lot of their work is with bones ..
especiall) teeth. 4his is largel) because these hard parts of the bod) are all we ha0e from ancient humans. :n
e/pert in ph)sical anthropolog) can tell from a single tooth if the tooth came from a human or an ape .. human
teeth ha0e a distinct - lobe face .. called the B- pattern. =n some cases the anthropologist can e0en tell the race
of the person the tooth came from. #or e/ample, 6skimos and :merican =ndians ha0e a distinct groo0e in the
backs of their incisors.
1ultural :nthropolog)
1ultural anthropologists are interested in things like kinship structures and the wa) people .. especiall) ancient
and primiti0e people .. go0ern themsel0es. 1ultural anthropologist are interested in things like marriage
customs and relationships between parents and children .. things that do not lea0e artifacts. 1ultural
anthropolog) tends to in0ol0e anthropologists li0ing with the societ) the) are stud)ing .. learning the language,
eating the food and often wearing the clothes. 4he 2uestion of how much to integrate into the societ) and how
aloof the anthropologist should remain is a constant concern.
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Cinguistic :nthropolog)
Cinguistic anthropologists study language. 4he) are interested in the evolution of particular languages and
how different languages are related. #or e/ample, consider the pu$$le of the %as2ue language. 4he Domance
languages .. "panish, #rench, =talian, Eortuguese, etc. .. are usuall) a mi/ture of primiti0e indigenous languages
and Catin .. dating from the time of the Domans con2uest of the world. 4he %as2ue are located between #rance
and "pain .. completel) surrounded b) the countries that the Domans con2uered. 4he %as2ue language has no
relation to Catin or an) other language. 4his, plus certain ph)sical characteristics, suggest to some
anthropologists that the %as2ue are the remnants of Feanderthals. 4he linguistic e0idence lends weight to this
intriguing theor).
:rchaeolog)
:rchaeolog) is the popular face of anthropology. :rchaeologist are the anthropologists who go to exotic
locations and dig things up. 4he di0iding line between histor) and archaeolog) is usuall) taken as the
beginning of writing. GbHects that date from a time after the written record begins in a culture are historical
obHects. GbHects that date from a time before the ad0ent of literac) are considered archaeological obHects.
:rchaeologists stud) a period that comprises (( percent of human histor). 4)picall), archaeologists are
interested in buildings, art, artifacts and obHects manufactured b) humans.
4he term sociological imagination was coined by the :merican sociologist 1. 9right 'ills in 1(-( to describe
the t)pe of insight offered b) the discipline of sociolog). 4he term is used in introductor) te/tbooks in
sociolog) to e/plain the nature of sociolog) and its rele0ance in dail) life.
"ociologists differ in their understanding of the concept, but the range suggests se0eral important
commonalities.
1harles 'ills defined sociological imagination as Ithe vivid awareness of the relationship between personal
experience and the wider society.I
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"ociological =magination; 4he application of imaginati0e thought to the asking and answering of
sociological 2uestions. "omeone using the sociological imagination Ithinks himself awa)I from the familiar
routines of dail) life.
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:nother wa) of describing sociological imagination is the understanding that social outcomes are based on
what we do. 4o e/pand on that definition, it is understanding that some things in societ) ma) lead to a certain
outcome. 4he factors mentioned in the definition are things like norms and moti0es, the social conte/t are like
countr) and time period and the social action is the stuff we do that affects other people. 4he things we do are
shaped b); the situation we are in, the 0alues we ha0e, and the wa) people around us act. 4hese things are
e/amined to how the) all relate to some sort of outcome. "ociological imagination can also be considered as the
capacit) to see things sociall), how the) interact, and influence each other.
4hings that shape these outcomes include >but are not limited toA; social norms, what people want to gain out of
something >theirmoti0es for doing somethingA, and the social conte/t in which the) li0e >e/.. countr), time
period, people with whom the) associateA. %asicall), as an aspect of sociological imagination, what people do is
shaped b) all these things that result in some sort of outcome.
4he sociological imagination is the ability to see things socially and how they interact and influence each
other. 4o ha0e a sociological imagination, a person must be able to pull awa) from the situation and think from
an alternati0e point of 0iew. =t re2uires to Ithink ourselves away from our daily routines and look at them
anewI. 4o ac2uire knowledge, it is important to break free from the immediac) of personal circumstances and
put things into a wider conte/t, rather than following a routine. 4he actions of people are much more important
than the acts themsel0es.
"ociological imagination is the capacit) to shift from one perspective to another.
'ills belie0ed in the power of the sociological imagination to connect Ipersonal troubles to public issues."
4here is an urge to know the historical and sociological meaning of the singular indi0idual in societ),
particularl) in the period in which he has his 2ualit) and his being. 4o do this one ma) use the sociological
imagination to better understand the larger historical scene in terms of its meaning for the inner self and e/ternal
career of a 0ariet) of indi0iduals.
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:nother perspecti0e is that 'ills chose sociolog) because he felt it was a discipline that J...could offer the
concepts and skills to e/pose and respond to social inHustice.K
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Le e0entuall) became disappointed with his
profession of sociolog) because he felt it was abandoning its responsibilities, which he critici$ed in his classic
The Sociological Imagination. =n some introductor) sociolog) classes, the sociological imagination is brought
up, along with 'ills and how he characteri$ed the sociological imagination as a critical 2ualit) of mind that
would help men and women Ito use information and to develop reason in order to achieve lucid
summations of what is going on in the world and of what may be