Linguistic Anthropology Essay

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Ever since Medieval scholars began studying different civilizations centuries ago, culture has been considered an elusive and controversial concept—while some believe that culture is carried with us, like an invisible charm, others believe that it exists in the air around us, living in the things we say and the foods we eat and the traditions we pass down to our children. Some even believe that it doesn’t exist at all, or that it has all melted together into one incomprehensible mass of beliefs and values shared among all of us. Anthropology exists to study and explain how and why culture exists. Additionally, it helps to explain how humankind has created cultures which are so diverse and rich in tradition, and yet still somehow are strikingly …show more content…
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 …show more content…
Learning about how humans evolved helps us to understand how our bodies work, and how they were meant to function. Studying the communication of the human race helps to bridge cultural and linguistic gaps, both between different cultures and between modern civilizations and those that came before us. Finding the personal belongings of people who lived thousands of years ago can tell us how they lived, what they valued most, and even, in some cases, how and why they died. Studying how modern culture affects us today, as a civilization made up of all sorts of different cultures, helps us to solve problems in our society and to make the world better for the people who will inherit the earth after

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