Compare And Contrast The Four Approaches To The Study Of Anthropology

Improved Essays
Anthropology is the study of the human race throughout time. It is linked to many other social sciences especially human biology, sociology, psychology, etc. Although they may have things in common, anthropology focuses mainly on the connections and interrelationships of all human aspects. Also, anthropology focuses on non-western people and cultures while other social sciences tend to concentrate more on American and European areas. This holistic perspective allows anthropologists to make their cultural perceptions and beliefs from misleading them from their research.
Anthropology is an interdisciplinary subject that consists of four primary sub-fields; physical anthropology, cultural anthropology, linguistics and archaeology. These four approaches unite the sciences and humanities together. The two major goals of anthropology are understanding the uniqueness and the diversity in humans and to discover the shared similarities in every individual.
Physical anthropology is the first of the sub-disciplines. It is principally concerned with humans as a biological nature. It is also closely related to the natural and biological sciences. Today, there is a field of study called molecular anthropology that helps with the understanding of human evolution and adaption. These comparisons between
…show more content…
The traces left on these material products can reveal information about an individual. In addition, archaeologists also use these traces of skeletal remains and material products to investigate human migration patterns and life ways in broad areas. For example: the shallow cut on any material or skeletal remains can determined many characteristics of a certain individual. There are also sub-disciplines of archaeology and they are as follows: bioarchaeology, historical and pre-historical archaeology and contemporary

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    The most interesting is archology, which studies human remains and remains of society to study how individuals interacted with one another. With this interaction, there is a power struggle in all societies except a hunting and gathering society. Cultural anthropology is very similar to sociology and the lines between them are foggy. Cultural anthropology looks at Marx and Weber and other important theorists. The biggest idea that is in anthropology is kinship group is defined by the sociology textbook as “people related to one another by blood” (Harrison 73).…

    • 722 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The study of various aspects of humans within past and present societies. The definition clearly states that it studies the aspects of humans in the past linking itself to the very tools historians use to help prove and even justify why something happened and when did it happen. Archaeologist take physical items from the time they are trying to interpret to figure out a civilizations culture or religion. This is important because we can see a trail that eventually leads to today. Anthropology is just another tool to help piece together the lives of those who lived before…

    • 1284 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The Hadza Group Analysis

    • 1419 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Since I began studying the Hadza group it opened up my mind to so many things. I have seen indigenous tribes on television showing us how they live their lives. The things I envy most about them is how freely they live. Free from the responsibilities that we worry about on a daily basis like responsibilities, bills, work, money, I mean the list is endless. They live their lives with no apologies and I admire them for that purpose.…

    • 1419 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    There are so many different divisions of anthropology consider the fact of biological anthropology which is the study of people focusing primarily on the aspects that are genetically inherited. No matter what the study anthropology can answer many questions by studying what appeared in the past…

    • 1579 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Biological anthropology conduct systemic studies of all human biological characteristics that are genetically inherited. It studies biological diversity all over the world, and through time. This field of anthropology is further divided into many subfields. The common goal of all Physical/ Biological anthropology is to study biological and behavioral aspects of all human beings; our predecessors as well as present humans. Physical/ Biological anthropology studies all aspects of present and past humans; our behavior, adaptation , nutrition, genetics, and evolution.…

    • 246 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The study of forensic sciences is a huge part in applied anthropology as the anthropologist will use the facts they know to figure out the facts of the bones. In the video “FAFG English” the narrator says “Today in the 21st century, the scientists can make the bones speak” (1:03-1:08). This statement shows us how important the discovery of remains is to these scientists as they can tell everything about the past by the remains of a human. Discovering the remains of a human and figuring out who that person is, how that person died, when that person died, and who the person was connected to is applying academic anthropology to fill in the missing knowledge. Being able to tell a person exactly how their loved one died is what these anthropologists are all about as it helps people with the grieving process.…

    • 467 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Anthropology is regarded as “the study of human nature, human society, and the human past” (5). Anthropologist work to holistically define and reveal what it means to be human through comparison, cultural immersion, and research. Often misunderstood, culture includes learned behaviors and ideas that explain why humans act, think, and feel the way we do. To understand the present, anthropologists must work to understand the past which has influenced human nature in distinctive ways. A portion of this entails understanding present human actions and thoughts, such as those involving one’s surroundings and the imagination.…

    • 422 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Essay On Tohono Odham

    • 578 Words
    • 3 Pages

    For about the last four months I have learned a lot about anthropological study methods, various cultures and groups of people around the world, refugees and the organizations dedicated to assisting them. Also I have learned about the different fields of anthropology like cultural anthropology, linguistic anthropology, archaeology, and forensic anthropology. All this information has broadened my understanding of what anthropology is and it has captured my interest in learning more about this field of study. I will describe several things that I have learned and explain how this knowledge will be applicable to me in the future. Learning about the Tohono O'odham was one of the most interesting subjects for me because I was born and raised in southern Arizona.…

    • 578 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Prior to this course I had no idea what Anthropology was, in fact, I thought it was very similar to an archaeologist or philanthropist, but the term “globalization” made me have a peculiar interest. Anthropology focuses on the studies of humankind, past, present and the future of those residing in that community, tribe, or country. It is meant for those interested to understand in a clear manner the complications of cultures throughout history, to draw an understanding of the social, cultural, religious, and give a micro, macro, and mezzo approach. Although Anthropology has been around for many centuries, starting around the 5th-15th century, it wasn’t until recently that it’s becoming a well known term and a field of work, to be more specific…

    • 1800 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Observation is the most straightforward and convinced method in anthropology. When study the behavior of human beings, we want to figure out how friends communicate with each other without any conflict and how people get in touch with someone strange. By observing five people playing basketball on the court for 15 minutes, taking notes of their behaviors and conversations and making hypotheses of their thoughts and feelings, I get some gratifying feedback. People would like to get involve with others who have same hobbies, positions and characteristics to resonate. The strategy used by human beings forms different groups and, furthermore, various…

    • 102 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    As an anthropologist, one must understand the range of human behavior. There their knowledge and admits of discovering different perspective, anthropologist are able see how humanity should appear. They provide a frame of reference for understanding any aspect of life in any given community. However, community are ran by governments. Most issues of humanity originated in how the a government is treating its people and the rights of citizens all around the globe.…

    • 484 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The readings, “Understanding Other Cultures” and “Anthropology and Intercultural Relations” are based around understanding other cultures and how we can benefit from studying outside of our “norm.” By learning what shapes human behavior in different cultures, we can increase our cultural understanding. Our willingness to cross cultural thresholds can give us the opportunity to view a variety ways and styles of living. Understanding what sets each culture apart from each other can help government construct a more equal world. Anthropologist get to do this, and experience it first hand through participant observation.…

    • 251 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In Eduardo Kohn’s “How Dogs Dream”, Kohn delves into the life of the Upper Amazonian Runa and attempts to analyze dogs’ dreams by understanding the relationship of the Runa with other lifeforms. Unlike previous frameworks of anthropology, Kohn focuses not only on “the human” and their interpretation of their culture, but Kohn studies the interactions between humans and the nonhuman selves of the Amazon. The core mission of anthropology seeks to understand the differences of language, culture, society and history among a wide-range of groups of people. Anthropology utilizes those four characteristics of humans as analytics for study and observation.…

    • 839 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Biological anthropology, or physical anthropology, is the study of how humans have evolved into the biological organisms we are today. Cultural anthropology is the study of all of the different types of cultures currently thriving all over the world. Archaeology is the study of artifacts and material remains of past cultures, so that we can understand how those who came before us lived. Linguistic anthropology is the study of human communication throughout the ages, including how it orignated and how it has changed. Many anthropologists argue that there needs to be a fifth category, applied anthropology, or the use of anthropological studies to build policies or solve…

    • 811 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Since the late 19th century and 20th century, Anthropology has become a growing human science. It is the understanding of human experiences and social evolution that captivate the students of this science. As the field of Anthropology becomes increasingly studied, the tactics and methods of studying groups of people have changed to truly captivate their cultures. During the early 20th century, anthropologist Franz Boas created the term cultural relativity which was defined as, every culture and society must be understood on its own terms, not that of outsiders. This means that as an anthropologist, to truly study a society, immersing yourself with no biased thought and an open mind are the most important aspects.…

    • 1022 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays

Related Topics