Anthropology is the study of humans, past and present. It examines human cultures, societies, languages, and how humans have evolved over time. There are four main branches of anthropology: cultural anthropology studies existing cultures; archaeology studies past cultures through artifacts; biological anthropology studies human evolution and genetics; and social anthropology examines how humans behave in social groups. Anthropology takes a holistic perspective by considering biological, social, linguistic, and cultural factors that influence human behavior and development.

1. What is Anthropology? Anthropology is the study of humans in past and present.

2. It examines the cultures of mankind and how we all came to be where we are.

3. Anthropology is a science of humankind. It studies all facts of society and culture. It studies tools, techniques, traditions, language, beliefs, kinships, values, social institutions, economic mechanisms, cravings for beauty and art, struggles for prestige.Anthropology is holisticInterested in the whole of the human condition– Past, present, and future– Biology– Society– Language– Culture

4. There are 4 branches of anthropology,1.Cultural anthropology – examines cultural diversity of the present and recent past.Itis primarily concerned with existing human cultures, sub-cultures, and may focus on such concerns as gender, race, sex, ethnicity, politics, and any other number of aspects of human culture.

5. 2.Archaeology– Archaeologists study past peoples and cultures, from the deepest prehistory to the recent past, through the analysis of material remains, ranging from artifacts and evidence of past environments to architecture and landscapes.

6. 3.Biological anthropology – study of human fossils, genetics, and bodily growth and nonhuman primates. It plays an important part in paleoanthropology(the study of human origins) and in forensic anthropology (the analysis and identification of human remains for legal purposes).

7. 4. Social Anthropology: It studies about how contemporary human beings behave in social groups. This is also known as Applied Anthropology. Applied Anthropology uses anthropological knowledge and expertise to deal with modern problems. For example, it aids in impact studies of technological innovations, public health schemes, or economic development patterns.

8. Holism in AnthropologyHolism is the perspective on the human condition that assumes that mind, body, individuals, society, and the environment interpenetrate, and even define one another. In anthropology holism tries to integrate all that is known about human beings and their activities.

9. What is Culture?Culture is the patterns of learned and shared behavior and beliefs of a particular social, ethnic, or age group. It can also be described as the complex whole of collective human beliefs with a structured stage of civilization that can be specific to a nation or time period.

10. Culture is: •Learned•Shared•Patterned•Adaptive•Symbolic

11. Cultural Anthropology TodayEthnology:Ethnology is the comparative study of two or more cultures. Ethnology utilizes the data taken from ethnographic research and applies it to a single cross cultural topic.Ethnography: ethnography is a description of “the customary social behaviors of an identifiable group of people”.

12. TechnologyTechnology is an important aspect of Cultural Anthropology. Anthropologists have studied the examples of material life established in different human civilizations.Different cultures use technology in different ways. Western technology that is used in non-Western cultures are being used in new and creative ways.