Outline of anthropology

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to anthropology:

Anthropology – study of humankind. Anthropology has origins in the natural sciences – humanities – and the social sciences.[1] The term was first used by François Péron when discussing his encounters with Aboriginal Tasmanians.[2]

What type of thing is anthropology?

Anthropology can be described as all of the following:

  • Academic discipline – body of knowledge given to – or received by – a disciple (student); a branch or sphere of knowledge, or field of study, that an individual has chosen to specialise in.
  • Field of science – widely recognized category of specialized expertise within science, and typically embodies its own terminology and nomenclature. Such a field will usually be represented by one or more scientific journals, where peer-reviewed research is published. There are many sociology-related scientific journals.
  • Social science – field of academic scholarship that explores aspects of human society.

History of anthropology

History of anthropology

Fields of anthropology

  • Archaeology – study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes.
  • Biological anthropology – concerned with the biological and behavioral aspects of human beings.
  • Linguistic anthropology – interdisciplinary study of how language influences social life.
  • Sociocultural anthropology – focus on the study of society and culture. Includes Cultural anthropology and Social anthropology.

Archaeological subfields of anthropology

An archaeological site in Rome, Italy
  • Biocultural anthropology – scientific exploration of the relationships between human biology and culture.
  • Feminist archaeology – interprets past societies from a feminist perspective.
  • Maritime archaeology – studies human interaction with the sea, lakes and rivers through the study of associated physical remains, be they vessels, shore-side facilities, port-related structures, cargoes, human remains and submerged landscapes.

Biological subfields of anthropology

  • Anthrozoology – subset of ethnobiology that deals with interactions between humans and other animals, such as quantifying the positive effects of human–animal relationships.
  • Evolutionary anthropology – interdisciplinary study of the evolution of human physiology and human behavior, and of the relation between hominids and non-hominid primates.
  • Forensic anthropology – application of the anatomical science of anthropology and its various subfields, including forensic archaeology and forensic taphonomy, in a legal setting.
  • Paleoanthropology – study of the evolutionary development of ancient humans.

Linguistic subfields of anthropology

Socio-cultural anthropology subfields

Other subfields

  • Anthropological criminology – a combination of the study of the human species and the study of criminals
  • Anthropological linguistics – study of the relations between language and culture and the relations between human biology, cognition and language
  • Anthropological theories of value – theories that attempt to expand on the traditional theories of value used by economists or ethicists
  • Cyborg anthropology – studies the interaction between humanity and technology from an anthropological perspective
  • Museum anthropology – domain that cross-cuts anthropology's sub-fields
  • Philosophical anthropology – dealing with questions of metaphysics and phenomenology of the human person
  • Theological anthropology – study of the human as it relates to God

General anthropology concepts

A diagram of globalization

Theories

Intellectual genealogy of theories about cultural dimensions

Methods and frameworks

Ethnographers in Slovakia

Anthropology organizations

The Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia in Canada
  • American Anthropological Association – professional organization of scholars and practitioners in the field of anthropology
  • American Association of Physical Anthropologists – based in the United States
  • American Ethnological Society
  • Anthropological Society of London – short-lived organisation of the 1860s whose founders aimed to furnish scientific evidence for white supremacy which they construed in terms of polygenism.
  • Anthropological Society of Victoria – formed in 1934
  • Anthropological Survey of India – apex Indian organisation involved in anthropological studies and field data research
  • Ardabil Anthropology Museum – a museum in Ardabil, Iran
  • Australian Anthropological Society – professional association representing anthropologists in Australia
  • Center for World Indigenous Studies
  • Ethnological Society of London
  • Indian Anthropological Society – representative body of the professional anthropologists in India
  • Institute of Anthropology and Ethnography – Russian institute of research, specializing in ethnographic studies of cultural and physical anthropology
  • Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology – research institute based in Leipzig
  • Maxwell Museum of Anthropology – anthropology museum located on the University of New Mexico campus
  • Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge – university's collections of local antiquities, together with archaeological and ethnographic artefacts from around the world
  • National Anthropological Archives – archive maintained by the Smithsonian Institution
  • Network of Concerned Anthropologists
  • N. N. Miklukho-Maklai Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology
  • Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Anthropology Centre – academic institution in Thailand
  • Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland – long-established anthropological organisation
  • Society for Anthropological Sciences
  • Society for Applied Anthropology
  • Society for Medical Anthropology – organization formed to promote study of anthropological aspects of health, illness, health care, and related topics
  • South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology – University of South Carolina research institute
  • USC Center for Visual Anthropology – center located at the University of Southern California

Books, journals, and other literature

Anthropology scholars

Anthropology lists

  • List of members of the National Academy of Sciences (Anthropology)
  • List of museums with major collections in ethnography and anthropology
  • List of visual anthropology films

See also

Related fields

References

  1. ^ Wolf, Eric (1994) Perilous Ideas: Race, Culture, People. Current Anthropology 35: 1-7. p.227
  2. ^ Flannery, T.F. (1994) The Future Eaters: An ecological history of the Australasian lands and people Chatswood: New South Wales ISBN 0-8021-3943-4
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