Anthropology Lecture Notes

Four Fields of Anthropology

Anthropology is divided into four distinct fields:

1. Cultural Anthropology

• Definition: Study of living people and their cultures.
• Common Perception: Often thought of as anthropologists observing cultures in remote locations.
• Key Outcome: Produces an ethnography, which is a detailed descriptive study of a culture.
  • Ethnography Contents:
    • Religion
    • Clothing
    • Food
    • Social system
• Applications: Not limited to exotic locations, can include modern environments like a hospital.

2. Biological Anthropology

• Also Known As: Physical Anthropology
• Focus: The study of humans as biological organisms.
• Characteristics:
  • Gained a science credit due to its scientific approach.
  • Strong use of the scientific method.
• Three Key Areas:
  1. Genetics and evolution.
  2. Study of primates, the closest living relatives to humans.
  3. Human fossil record and recent human evolution.
• Forensic Anthropology: A subset that ties into biological anthropology, relevant to fields like CSI.

3. Linguistic Anthropology

• Definition: The study of language development and evolution.
• Details:
  • Examines how languages change and relate to each other.
  • Focuses on the structure and function of language, including phonemes and allophones.
• Importance: Language is crucial for transmitting information and forming societal connections, playing a key role in human evolution.

4. Archaeology

• Definition: Study of past cultures through their material remains.
• Comparison with Cultural Anthropology:
  • Both examine cultural organization, food, living conditions, and religion.
  • Archaeology deals with the past and dead cultures, unlike cultural anthropology, which deals with the present.
• Challenge: More difficult because it deals with non-living subjects.

Summary

Anthropology is a comprehensive field that studies human beings from various perspectives: cultural practices, biological traits, language, and historical contexts. Each field offers unique insights into human life and evolution, contributing to our understanding of human diversity and history.