Southern New Hampshire University
ATH-101 Introduction to Anthropology
Module 1 Overview
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
By the end of Module 1, you will meet these learning objectives.
Identify basic concepts of anthropological methods that explain the human condition
Explain the relevance of anthropological events
INTRODUCTION TO ANTHROPOLOGY
When people think of an anthropologist, an image of an individual studying an isolated tribe in
the Amazon Forest might come to mind. Or they may think of pop culture characters such as
Temperance Brennan from the show Bones or the intrepid archaeologist Indiana Jones. While
these are memorable examples, they are not the only examples of what anthropologists do and
study. For example, anthropologists might study prescription matters among U.S. doctors in their
hometown, what ancient civilizations ate in South America, or how language changes between
generations in China. This course serves as an introduction to anthropology and the topics that
anthropologists share an interest in.
What is anthropology and what do anthropologists study? Anthropology, in short, refers to the
study of humans in both the past and the present. Marks (2011) adds that while other fields study
humans as individuals, “anthropology focuses on clusters of people” (p. 1). Anthropology
consists of four main subfields: biological/physical anthropology, archaeology, linguistic
anthropology, and cultural anthropology.
Biological- Focuses on human physiology, diseases and other traumas, adaptions, and variations.
Archaeological- Devoted to the study of material remains of past cultures.
Linguistics- Focuses on language, how it is used, and how it changes through time.
Cultural- Focuses on social or cultural habits of humans.
Biological, or physical, anthropology focuses on “the human body, including its physiology,
diseases and other traumas, and its adaptations to and variations in different social and ecological
contexts” (Heider, 2007, p. 3). Biological anthropologists also specialize in the study of
nonhuman primates such as monkeys, apes, and lemurs.
Archaeology is a branch of anthropology that is devoted to the study of material remains of past
cultures. Material remains or artifacts include stone tools, bones, house remains, potsherds, and
coprolites. While most archeologists study remains thousands of years old, archaeologists also
study the material culture of present cultures. For example, Dr. William Rathje and his students
have spent years examining the garbage and trash bins in Tucson, Arizona, to understand the
process of how Americans discard things (Rathje & Murphy, 1992).
Linguistic anthropologists focus on language, how it is used, and how it changes through time.
Linguistic anthropologists are also interested in preserving languages (especially indigenous
languages) that are going extinct.
Cultural anthropologists study the social or cultural habits of humans, such kinship, marriage,
cultural patterns, religion, and politics.
Applied anthropology, or practicing anthropology, refers to anthropologists taking theories
within anthropology and applying them to real-life situations. Applied anthropologists come
from all the subfields of anthropology and work for a variety of organizations such as tribal or
state governments, hospitals, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). There is some debate
among anthropologists whether applied anthropology should be considered a separate subfield or
an anthropological concept that ties all the subfields together.
Medical anthropology is not considered a subfield but is a fast-growing segment of
anthropology. Medical anthropology specifically looks at the health of populations, how illness
is experienced, healers, and how “health related beliefs and practices fit within and are shaped by
encompassing social and cultural systems and contexts” (Singer & Baer, 2007, p. 11).
While anthropology is considered a four – or five – field approach, each sub-discipline is not a
separate inquiry but interconnects with the other sub-disciplines at various points. In this way,
anthropology is considered holistic. For example, how a family organizes rooms in the home
may be related to marriage or kinship patterns, which may be also related to economics
(Bonvillain, 2010). Anthropology is also comparative, as anthropologists are also interested in
whether patterns are culturally specific or universal among human populations.
Anthropologists use a variety of research methods, including questionnaires, surveys, interviews,
archival research, and focus groups. One research method that is particular to anthropology is
called ethnography. To conduct ethnographic research, anthropologists engage in participant
observation, which means that the anthropologists live with or regularly visits the group being
studied. Participant observation can occur in a remote village in Africa, but it can also occur in
prisons, medical clinics, restaurants, schools, churches, and governmental and nongovernmental
organizations anywhere in the world.
REFERENCES
Bonvillain, N. (2010). Cultural anthropology (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Heider, K. G. (2007). Seeing anthropology: Cultural anthropology through film (4th ed.). Boston,
MA: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon.
Marks, J. (2011). The alternative approach to biological anthropology. New York, NY: Oxford
University Press.
Rathje, W., & Murphy, C. (1992). Rubbish: The archaeology of garbage. New York, NY:
Harper Collins Publishers Inc.
Singer, M., & Baer, H. (2007). Introducing medical anthropology: A discipline in action.
Lanham, MD: Altamira.
