This document provides an overview of key concepts and theories in anthropology. It discusses anthropology as the scientific study of humans, their origins, behavior, and cultures. The main subfields of anthropology are described as cultural anthropology, archaeology, linguistics, and biological/physical anthropology. Cultural anthropology studies human cultures and societies through ethnographic and ethnological research. Archaeology examines human remains and artifacts to reconstruct past ways of life. Linguistics analyzes the relationship between language and culture. Biological anthropology studies humans from evolutionary and biological perspectives, including paleoanthropology and primatology.

1. ANTHROPOLOGY- CONCEPTS AND
THEORIES
Presented by,
KAVI

2. ANTHROPOLOGY
• Anthropology-“anthropos” - man.
“logos”-science or study.
• Scientific study of the origin, the
behaviour, the physical, social
and cultural development of
humans.

3. Definitions
• “Anthropology is the science of
man” - A L Kroeber
• “Anthropology is the study of
man and his works” -Melville J
Herskovits
• “Out of all the sciences which
study various aspects of man,
anthropology is the one which
comes nearest to the total study
of man” –Clyde Kluckhohn

4. Anthropology provides a
window to our past, a
mirror to our present and a
lens through which we
look to the future.
Anthropologists research,
observe, analyze and
apply what they learn
toward an understanding
of the many variations of
the human condition.

5. Goals
Describing , explaining and analyzing human
cultural similarities and differences
Describing and assessing the cultural
development of our species as revealed in the
archaeological record
Describing and analyzing the biological
evolution of the human species as evidenced
in the fossil record.
Describing and explaining human biological
diversity today.

6. .
Anthropology
cultural Ethnographic studies
Archaeology
1.Pre historic
2. Historical
3.Cultural resource
management
4.Experimental
5. Ethno archaeology
linguistics
1.Descriptive
2.historical
3.ethnolinguistics
4.sociolinguistics
Biological
1. Paleoanthropology
2. Primatology
3.Contemporary human
variation studies.

7. • Cultural anthropology studies human cultures. It is
description and comparison of the adaptations made by
human groups to the diverse eco system of the earth.
• Cultural anthropology studies human customs, mores,
traditions, social life, religion, art, science, literature and
economic and political organization.
• According to E.A. Hoebel. “The phase of anthropology
that devotes its attention to the customs of mankind, is
called cultural anthropology”.
• Traditional areas of focus within cultural anthropology
include ethnographic and ethnological research.

8. ETHNOGRAPHY
• The use of the term "qualitative" is
meant to distinguish this kind of
social science research from more
"quantitative" or statistically oriented
research.
• It is descriptive study of one culture,
subculture, or micro culture based on
fieldwork.
• The field situations can be quite
diverse – in your own city or on the
other side of the world; a whole
community, a neighborhood, or a
workplace.

9. ETHNOLOGY
• The comparative study of
cultures, presents analytical
generalizations about human
culture. Ethnology studies
human races.
• The process leading to these
generalizations involves
explaining the similarities and
differences in cultures.
• Ethnology classifies human
races and studies their physical
characteristics.

10. 2.Archaeology
• It is systematic study of the
remains of previous cultures as a
means of reconstructing the life
ways of people who lived in the
past.
• Archaeologists focus on culture,
the culture of people.
• Archaeologists use to study how
peoples adapted to their natural
and socio cultural environments
and how culture spread and
changed through time.

11. .
• Pre historic archaeology : literally
speaking, archeology is the study of
ancient time. Thus it studies ancient
things.
• Archeology studies the ancient history
which has no written records.
• Things and articles discovered by
archeological excavations give us an idea
about the culture of the people using
them.
• It records cultural successes of a
particular era and also area of its
expansions.
• Historical archaeology : It is the study
of the remains of cultures and
subcultures that have written records but
about which little if anything was
recorded.

12. .
It is growing field for individuals
with degrees in archaeology.
CRM specialists work on
threatened archaeological sites,
produce environmental impacts
reports, and do salvage digs on
sites that will be destroyed by
contemporary building.

13. .
Experimental archaeology: it is plays an
important part in the analysis of prehistoric
artifacts and technology.
For example, researchers try to duplicate the
prehistoric techniques of manufacturing
stone tools and other artifacts to better
understand and appreciate the technological
knowledge of prehistoric peoples.

14. .
Ethno archaeology: it is also contributes to the
analysis of artifacts and eco facts by observing
present-day societies behaviors and uses of
material objects.
Example, studying how contemporary hunters
and gatherers butcher and transport meat to their
camps helps the archaeologist to interpret bones
and their distribution in prehistoric sites.

15. 3. LINGUISTICS
• Linguistics is the study of language.
• Anthropological linguists do not necessarily speak
several languages(such a person is called a polyglot.)
• Rather, linguists study language – how language formed
and how it works, the history and development of
language, and its relationship to other aspects of culture.
• Linguistics became a part of anthropology for two
reasons.
• First, language is the cornerstone of culture.
• Second, dictionaries and grammars of a native
language.

16. .
Descriptive linguistics focuses on the
mechanics of language. The linguistics must
first describe the sounds used in the language
under study (called phonology).
Historical linguistics works to reconstruct the
history of languages, including their
development and relationship to other
languages.
Ethno linguistics is a specialized field that
analyzes the relationship between a language
and culture. It investigates questions such as
does your language create your reality?
Sociolinguistics evaluates the relationship
between language and culture with a focus on
how people speak in social contexts such as in
the workplace or at home.

17. 4. Biological anthropology
• It is also called physical anthropology
studies homo sapiens as biological beings
both in the present and in the past. As the
name indicates, it studies the biological
and physical characteristics of humans.
• Paleoanthropology is the study of human
biological evolution through an examination
of the fossils of our ancient ancestors and
relatives. It is relies heavily on comparative
anatomy and evolutionary biology.
• This helps in the classification and
comparison of the fossils of different stages
to determine the link between the modern
humans and their ancestors.

18. .
Primatology is the study of our nearest animal relatives –
the primates.
This area of biological anthropology includes an
investigation of the anatomy, physiology, genetics, and
behaviors of apes, monkey and prosimians.
Contemporary human variations studies, another area
of research in biological anthropology, focus on living
humans and how our anatomy and physiology vary.
Genetics, including DNA research, contributes greatly to such studies,
the long-range goal of which is to account for and offer explanations for
the variation among humans, as well as to demonstrate our many
similarities and shared biological adaptations.

19. Forensic Anthropology:
• The knowledge of Forensic Anthropology
is applied to solve the issues related to
criminal and legal matters.
• Forensic anthropologists are called upon
by police and other authorities to identify
the remains of murder victims, missing
cases or people who die in disasters.
• From the analysis of DNA, hair with root,
blood stains, drops of semen, body fluids,
skin cells, cells of bone- marrow, finger
prints, skeletal remains etc., forensic
anthropologists are able to identify such
persons.
• With some specialized techniques they
can also identify age, sex and other
morphological features of the victims.

20. CONCEPTS OF ANTHROPOLOGY
Human universalism this is the view
that all people today are fully and equally
human.
An implications is that people from all
societies of the world are equally
intelligent, complex and interesting to
study.
It may be surprising that this needs to be
stated, but historically it was not widely
accepted and still is not in many parts of
the world.
It has been common for people to
consider those from other societies to be
somehow different and inferior.

21. .
Integration that is the view that all
aspects of a culture are interrelated and
that an understanding of any cultural trait
or institution requires knowing how it
impacts and is in turn impacted by other
institutions.
Likewise, human biological traits do not
evolve and functions in isolation. In order
to understand them, it is necessary to
grasp how they are interrelated with other
genetically inherited characteristics and
how environmental factors might select
for or against them.

22. .
• Adaptation physically, humans
are not particularly impressive
members of the animal kingdom.
• Our ability to acquire knowledge
and create technology to adapt to
new environments.
• Any successful behaviour, strategy
or technique for obtaining food and
surviving in a new environment
provides a selective advantage in
the competition for survival with
other life forms.

23. .
Culture is a unique possession of man. It is one of the
distinguishing traits of human society.
Culture does not exist at the sub-human level. Only man
is born and brought up in a cultural environment.
Culture is very broad term that includes in itself all our walks
of life, our modes of behavior, our philosophies and ethics,
our morals and manners, our customs and traditions, our
religious, political, economic and other types of activities.
Culture includes all that man has acquired in his
individual and social life.

24. .
• B.Malinowski has defined culture as the
‘cumulative creation of man’. He also regards culture
as the handiwork of man and the medium through
which he achieves his ends.
• Edward B. Tylor, a famous English anthropologist,
has defined culture as ‘that complex whole which
includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom,
and any other capabilities and habits acquired by
man as a member of society’.
• Robert Bierstedt is of the opinion that ‘culture is
the complex whole that consists of all the ways we
think and do and everything we have as members of
society’.