AIM AND SCOPES OF ANTHROPOLOGY

 

“Anthropology is comprehending humanity in its totality”

                                    - Lipika Nath

The study of humans and their diversified features in relatively a fresh venture has been called as anthropology. Clyde Kluckhohn (1957) stated that ‘out of all the sciences which study various aspects of man, anthropology is the one which comes nearest to the total study of man’.  Thus, it may be considered a recipe of arts and science in equal proportion. It fundamentally reviews human beings’ own lives. Anthropology has also been defined as the study of Man And his works by M. J. Herskovits, 1952. It is thought to be the ‘most humanistic of the sciences and the most scientific of the humanities by A.L. Kroeber, 2003:144. Hence, it is a well-defined brand of science that deals with the life of man in all aspects from the time of his dawn till now. At present anthropology is the only branch of science that deals with man and his work including his physical, cultural, and social activities as a whole. In this regard, anthropologists are mainly concerned to find the answers like what, why, when, where, who, how, and what else behind each and every aspect of human life.  With the application of this disciplinary knowledge, researchers aim in discovering the origin, meaning, nature, and destiny of humans and humanity. Thus, three major key focuses of anthropological study are – Origin, Evolution, and Variation of human bio-cultural dimensions.

The concern of Anthropology presents interest in some of the following questions-

1.   where did the human species come from?

2.   Were human beings created in the image of God or there is an evolutionary process that has been nourished with scientific evidence?

3.   In what ways does man differ from other species?

4.   How did humankind arrive at the present stage of biological, intellectual, and socio-cultural development?

5.   How do human beings and their socio-cultural lifestyle differ in terms of time, space and context?

6.   How can we explain the diversity of human beings and diversity in their issues and possible solutions?

With all of its unique approaches like the emic view of documenting reality, the holistic principle of investigation, cultural relativism approach, comparative and interpretive description, emphasis on insider’s view, microfocus at the community level, and ultimately an interdisciplinary neutral approach of conclusion, Anthropology has four main branches:

A. Physical Anthropology which deals mainly with • Human biology • Human evolution • Human variation and • Human genetics and many more.

B. Cultural Anthropology which deals with learned behavioral characteristics of the past, present, and future of human societies including several areas of interest like Economic Anthropology, Demographic Anthropology, Ecological Anthropology, Political Anthropology, Legal Anthropology, Anthropology of Religion, Psychological Anthropology, Medical Anthropology, Urban Anthropology and many more.

C. Archaeological Anthropology that includes Prehistoric Archaeology, Historical Archaeology, Classical archaeology, Demographic Archaeology, Biblical Archaeology, Maritime Archaeology, Underwater Archaeology, etc.; and

D. Linguistics Anthropology which has several branches like Structural linguistics, Historical linguistics, Phonology, Morphology, Comparative syntax, Ethno-semantics, etc.

With all of these above, anthropology explored three major sectors of human life, mainly Society, culture, and Evolution (Bio-cultural). All of these sectors have their own scopes to explore as pictured in the following diagram.  

Alongside this, anthropological knowledge can be applied to solve the ultimate problems pertained in a society. Applied anthropology and action anthropology are other subdisciplines of this particular discipline that allows researchers to solve social issues by applying the theory and approaches studied throughout the disciplinary training.  

Thus, Anthropology gives us knowledge regarding human society in there all aspects from origin to current status including their evolution, work, and emotions, so we can understand our past and present very well. Human beings are the ruler of this planet at present due to their wisdom, intellectual ability, and communication skills. Anthropological studies are gradually serving humanity in terms of the solutions to diverse human problems including poverty, illiteracy, and disease to social issues like communalism, racism, regionalism, and opposing ethnocentrism with a good verse.  To save our long-lasting existence development of anthropology in its full swing is mandatory for us.