anthropology
Study of peoples
Anthropology is the study of humans—their cultures, societies, biology, and evolution.
The field divides into branches: cultural anthropology examines social practices and beliefs, physical anthropology studies human biology and origins, linguistic anthropology focuses on language, and archaeology investigates past societies through material remains.
She majored in anthropology to understand how different cultures organize family life.
Research conducted on location
- informantsPeople providing secret intelligence
- ethnographerScholar of cultures
- fieldnotesOn-site written observations
- interviewsFormal evaluative conversations
immersion · rapport · reflexivity · narrative · Malinowski · monograph · qualitative · observation
Organized communal human existence
- communityCollective of connected people
- institutionsEstablished organizations or practices
- kinshipState of being related
- marriageFormal union between partners
caste · class · stratification · networks · roles · status · hierarchy · power
Act of unearthing
- artifactsHuman-made historical objects
- digUnearth by shoveling
- ruinsDecayed structural remains
- prehistoricBefore documented civilization
potsherds · carbon-dating · tomb · pyramids · neolithic · paleolithic · fossils · mummies
Traditional practices or import taxes
- traditionsLong-established customs passed down
- ritualsCeremonial repeated practices
- folkloreInherited cultural narratives
- mythologyBody of traditional tales
taboos · norms · cuisine · dress · ceremonies · kinship · symbolism · rites
Species changing over generations
- primatesOrder of higher mammals
- homininHuman or direct ancestor
- bipedalismWalking on two limbs
- morphologyStudy of structural forms
osteology · genetics · adaptation · skull · skeleton · Neanderthal · Lucy · DNA
Analysis through underlying systems
- functionalismTheory emphasizing purposes and roles
- postmodernismSkepticism toward universal truths
- relativismContext-dependent truth doctrine
- Lévi-StraussFrench structural anthropologist
Durkheim · Marx · Foucault · agency · structure · discourse · deconstruction · colonialism
Progress toward maturity
- policyAdopted principle of action
- advocacyPleading for a cause
- NGOIndependent charitable organization
- consultingGiving expert advice professionally
intervention · ethics · globalization · refugees · urban · medical · corporate · activism
System of symbolic communication
- dialectRegional language variety
- grammarLanguage's structural rules
- phonologyScience of language sounds
- semanticsStudy of linguistic meaning
syntax · sociolinguistics · discourse · translation · bilingualism · pidgin · creole · speech
fieldwork
Research conducted on location
- informantsPeople providing secret intelligence
- ethnographerScholar of cultures
- fieldnotesOn-site written observations
interviews · immersion · rapport · reflexivity · narrative · Malinowski · monograph · qualitative · observation · insider
society
Organized communal human existence
- communityCollective of connected people
- institutionsEstablished organizations or practices
- kinshipState of being related
marriage · caste · class · stratification · networks · roles · status · hierarchy · power · gender
excavation
Act of unearthing
prehistoric · potsherds · carbon-dating · tomb · pyramids · neolithic · paleolithic · fossils · mummies · sarcophagus
customs
Traditional practices or import taxes
- traditionsLong-established customs passed down
- ritualsCeremonial repeated practices
- folkloreInherited cultural narratives
mythology · taboos · norms · cuisine · dress · ceremonies · kinship · symbolism · rites · worldview
evolution
Species changing over generations
- primatesOrder of higher mammals
- homininHuman or direct ancestor
- bipedalismWalking on two limbs
morphology · osteology · genetics · adaptation · skull · skeleton · Neanderthal · Lucy · DNA · ancestry
structuralism
Analysis through underlying systems
- functionalismTheory emphasizing purposes and roles
- postmodernismSkepticism toward universal truths
- relativismContext-dependent truth doctrine
Lévi-Strauss · Durkheim · Marx · Foucault · agency · structure · discourse · deconstruction · colonialism · critique
development
Progress toward maturity
consulting · intervention · ethics · globalization · refugees · urban · medical · corporate · activism · sustainability
language
System of symbolic communication
- dialectRegional language variety
- grammarLanguage's structural rules
- phonologyScience of language sounds
semantics · syntax · sociolinguistics · discourse · translation · bilingualism · pidgin · creole · speech · communication
- ologiesbiology, geology, psychology, sociology, ecology
- Victorian scholarshipphilology, classics, natural history, antiquarianism, classical studies
- fields of studyart, music, mathematics, history, biology
- sciencesbiology, chemistry, physics, astronomy, geology
- social studiescivics, social studies, maps, economics, community
- school subjectsmath, English, science, history, reading
anthropologypsychology
Study of mind, behavior
neuroscience · microbiology · cognitive science · cellular biology · psychiatry
anthropologyzoology
Study of fauna
botany · astronomy · astrophysics · geology · physics
anthropologyphysics
Science of matter and energy
econometrics · mathematics · chemistry · statistics · hard science
- cultural anthropologyStudy of human societies
- forensic anthropologySkeletal analysis for legal cases
- forensic anthropologistAnalyzes human remains for investigations
- social anthropologyAcademic study of cultures
anthropologist, anthropological, anthropologists, anthropologically