Anthropology

Subject classification: this is a anthropology resource.

Completion status: this resource is just getting off the ground. Please feel welcome to help!

Educational level: this is a tertiary (university) resource.

Anthropology literally translates as the study of humanity, with an emphasis toward a holistic approach. It is an holistic scientific discipline concerned with all aspects of human kind: Social behaviour, languages, attitudes, values, personality, government, kinship, history, prehistory, art, illness, healing, religion, economics, technology, clothing, etc. Sociology, psychology, economics, political science, history and lots of other disciplines contribute to anthropology. This is exemplified by the four-field approach in the United States: sociocultural anthropology, linguistics, archaeology, and physical anthropology. Sociocultural anthropology examines contemporary societies and culture. Archaeology is the study of material artifacts in order to better understand history and past societies. Linguistics is the study of language and its effects on social relations and culture. Physical anthropology is the study of comparative physiology within and across the primate species.

Anthropologists tend to study large groups of people like villages, tribes, cities, and nations. One of its main tools of social analysis is participant-observation and ethnography, which has traditionally been a first-hand description of a culture, or aspects of a culture but has expanded to include multi-media and integration with other social science tools such as statistics. Applied Anthropology is the practice of anthropological knowledge to practical use. There are many places where anthropology is used to improve people's lives, such as formulating diets, easing tensions between different cultures and nationalities.

• MIT: Anthropology Courses
• African Journals Online
• Science Daily: Anthropologists Develop New Approach To Explain Religious Behavior