The Relevance of Anthropology - Part I

 

 

The word Anthropology is derived from two Greek words “anthropos” means ‘Man’ as human being and “logy” means ‘Study’. Anthropology is the scientific study of the origin, the behaviour, and the physical, social, and cultural development of humans. Of all the disciplines that examine aspects of human existence and accomplishments, only Anthropology explores the entire panorama of the human experience from human origins to contemporary forms of culture and social life. In recent decades Anthropology has become more self-reflexive and involved with communities and with social conflicts as anthropologists increasingly apply their findings to real world social issues and engage their subjects as colleagues and collaborators. There are classic four branches in Anthropology.

 

 

Biological Anthropology: It seeks to understand human behavior from a biological base especially focusing upon human evolutionary history and biological variation among human populations. Biological anthropologists want to know where humans as a species come from, how our bodies evolved to their present form, and what makes humans unique. Some examples of biological anthropology are Paleoanthropology; Primatology; Human biological variation.

 

 

Cultural Anthropology: Cultural anthropologists study both current and past civilizations and groups and attempt to trace the evolution or development of their unique aspects. They ask questions such as: How does language affect and express culture? What can we learn about a culture from what the people leave behind? Researchers attempt to answer these questions by immersing themselves in a culture for months or years while conducting interviews and taking detailed notes as they study the history and structure of languages and the physical remains of past cultures.

 

 

Archaeological Anthropology: Archaeology is the study of past cultures through the material (physical) remains people left behind. These can range from small artefacts, such as arrowheads, to large buildings, such as pyramids. Archaeologists use these remains to understand and re-create all aspects of past culture, from the daily lives of ordinary people to the grand conquests of emperors. Often, these objects are buried and have to be carefully uncovered or excavated before they can be studied. In many cases, they are the only clues archaeologists have to help them reconstruct the lives of ancient people.

 

 

Linguistic Anthropology: Linguistic anthropologists study human languages and how language affects and expresses culture. It seeks to understand how human language evolved and the relationship between language and culture, written and non-written, spoken and non-verbal, cognitive and biological aspects of language, and other symbolic forms.

 

 

 

Applied Anthropology began to grow in the 1970s as anthropologists found jobs with international organizations, governments, businesses, and schools. Government sector, private institutions, NGOs, self help groups and voluntary organisations, international bodies, have embedded social scientists in their intervention strategies and programs and applied the inferences of their micro-studies in outreach programs and developmental activities. Applied anthropologists continue to transform their role as experts into one of collaborators, giving much more attention to how community members can shape a research agenda and become equal participants and how anthropologists can help build the skills and capacities of local populations through their participation in the research process.

 

 

Medical anthropology: Medical Anthropology draws upon social, cultural, biological, and linguistic anthropology to better understand those factors which influence health and well being (broadly defined), the experience and distribution of illness, the prevention and treatment of sickness, healing processes, the social relations of therapy management, and the cultural importance and utilization of pluralistic medical systems.

 

 

Forensic anthropology: A forensic anthropologist can assist in the identification of deceased individuals whose remains are decomposed, burned, mutilated or otherwise unrecognizable, as might happen in a plane crash. Forensic anthropologists are also instrumental to the investigation and documentation of genocide and mass graves. Using physical markers present on a skeleton, a forensic anthropologist can potentially determine a victim's age, sex, stature, and ancestry. In addition it determines the cause of death, past trauma such as broken bones or medical procedures, as well as diseases such as bone cancer.

 

 

Business Anthropology: Business anthropology, applies anthropological theories and methods in exploring and solving problems in the real business world. It studies how to improve business efficiency and work processes by observing how people perform in their workplace. It can help business people to understand the culture of an organization by studying group behaviour. Business anthropologists can provide suggestions on marketing strategies by studying consumer behaviour, they can help in product design by discovering what consumers want and assist multinational corporations understand the cultures of the many countries in which they operate in the trend of globalization and diversity that has involved the business world.

 

 

Economic Anthropology: Economic anthropologists study processes of production, circulation and consumption of different sorts of objects in social settings. While the settings and processes that are studied vary tremendously, most economic anthropologists approach them in two main ways. One approach is concerned with social context: what sorts of people make, give, take or consume which sorts of things, and in what sorts of situations do they do so? Another approach is concerned with cultural context: how do different sorts of people understand their economic activities, the objects involved and the people with whom they carry out those activities? When an artisan sells something to a buyer, how does each party think about their relationship and the objects that they exchange?

 

 

Development Anthropology: Development Anthropology focuses on social issues in, and the cultural dimension of, economic development. Ethical issues are often confronted by developmental anthropologists. One example involves the distribution of foreign aid. At times, instead of giving foreign aid to the neediest countries, it will go towards countries that leaders have political, economic, or strategic priorities. Another issue is whether the aid truly helps the economy of the intended country or not. Therefore, developmental anthropologists deal with a lot of ethical issues within societies, and what is really happening to help these societies prosper.

 

 

Museum Anthropology: The formation of collections as early as the 17th century spurred the study of the cultures that produced the objects destined for display. Eventually, the collections became the foundation for research and documentation of the life ways, material circumstances, and human ecology of diverse cultures. For more than a century, anthropologists situated in museums curate the collections by documenting them through catalogues and publications and by creating public displays. However, after the 1970s, museum anthropology became more research oriented, moving beyond collections-based documentation to an emphasis on field research.

 

 

Symbolic Anthropology: Symbolic anthropology studies how symbols and ideas are formed and gain meanings among different societies and cultures. In every society, certain activities and ideas stand for many things. To understand another people’s way of life, one has to learn the meanings of their symbols and the occasions and situations when they are appropriately used. Symbols are often demonstrated in their behaviour but they can be more abstract. An anthropologist’s job is to understand the meaning and interpretation of symbols.

    Urban Anthropology: To study the urban and industrial establishment and developments is the major task of urban anthropology. During sixties and seventies, anthropologists who were primarily concerned with tribal studies initiated and promoted several significant researches on urban industrial centres. After decolonization of third world countries by the foreign rulers, there was a spate of industrialization in an effort to develop their economies. Despite financial constraints and lack of infrastructure the efforts on the part of their people picked up gradually. Establishment of industrial units necessarily led to the growth of Urban Centres around them.