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What is Anthropology 2

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What is Anthropology 2

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ravdeep146chahal
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What is Anthropology?

 we can define anthropology as the systematic study of humankind (it comes from the
Greek words anthropos, humans, and logia, the knowledge or study of)
 this definition does not necessarily distinguish anthropology from other disciplines that
study humans (such as sociology or biology or history)
 anthropology is distinctive in that it combines four very different fields that bridge the
natural sciences, the social sciences and the humanities (although as a discipline it is
usually classified as a social science)
 the goals of all four fields are the same: to understand the uniqueness and diversity of
human behaviour around the world, and to discover the fundamental similarities of
human beings (in the past and in the present)
 the four fields provide anthropologists with a broad cross-cultural perspective in the
study of humanity everywhere (a good foil to ethnocentrism); all four fields study
culture, all are comparative in viewpoint, and all involve fieldwork
 anthropology is global in perspective

Cultural Anthropology: cultural similarities and differences among contemporary peoples


around the world; cultural anthropologists undertake ethnographic fieldwork and practice
ethnology; importance of the ethnographic moment

Linguistic Anthropology: the relationship between language and culture; areas include
historical, descriptive, socio-linguistics, and cultural relativity

Biological Anthropology: humans as bio-cultural beings (also called Physical Anthropology);


areas include human evolution, Primatology, human variation, and applied biological (such as
forensic anthropology)

Archaeology: past cultures through their material remains; goals are to reconstruct culture
history, reconstruct past lifeways, and study culture process/culture change

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