The following

outline Outline or outlining may refer to: * Outline (list), a document summary, in hierarchical list format * Code folding, a method of hiding or collapsing code or text to see content in outline form * Outline drawing, a sketch depicting the outer edge ...

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

Anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of be ...

– study of

human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, cultu ...

ity. Anthropology has origins in the

natural sciences Natural science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer review and repeatab ...

, the

humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture. In the Renaissance, the term contrasted with divinity and referred to what is now called classics, the main area of secular study in universities at the t ...

, and the

social science Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of so ...

s.Wolf, Eric (1994) ''Perilous Ideas: Race, Culture, People.'' ''

Current Anthropology ''Current Anthropology'' is a peer-reviewed anthropology academic journal published by the University of Chicago Press for the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research. Founded in 1959 by the anthropologist Sol Tax1907-1995. ''Current A ...

'' 35: 1-7. p.227 The term was first used by

François Péron François Auguste Péron (22 August 1775 – 14 December 1810) was a French naturalist and explorer. Life Péron was born in Cérilly, Allier, in 1775, the son of a tailor (not a harness maker as is frequently asserted). Although intended for ...

when discussing his encounters with

Tasmanian Aborigines The Aboriginal Tasmanians (Palawa kani: ''Palawa'' or ''Pakana'') are the Aboriginal people of the Australian island of Tasmania, located south of the mainland. For much of the 20th century, the Tasmanian Aboriginal people were widely, and ...

. Flannery, T.F. (1994) ''The Future Eaters: An ecological history of the Australasian lands and people'' Chatswood: New South Wales

What ''type'' of thing is anthropology?

Anthropology can be described as all of the following: *

Academic discipline An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...

– 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 The branches of science, also referred to as sciences, scientific fields or scientific disciplines, are commonly divided into three major groups: * Formal sciences: the study of formal systems, such as those under the branches of logic and mat ...

– 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 Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of so ...

– field of academic scholarship that explores aspects of human society.

History of anthropology

History of anthropology History of anthropology in this article refers primarily to the 18th- and 19th-century precursors of modern anthropology. The term anthropology itself, innovated as a New Latin scientific word during the Renaissance, has always meant "the study ...

Fields of anthropology

Archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific 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 landsca ...

Biological anthropology Biological anthropology, also known as physical anthropology, is a scientific discipline concerned with the biological and behavioral aspects of human beings, their extinct hominin ancestors, and related non-human primates, particularly from an e ...

, concerned with the biological and behavioral aspects of human beings *

Linguistic anthropology Linguistic anthropology is the interdisciplinary study of how language influences social life. It is a branch of anthropology that originated from the endeavor to document endangered languages and has grown over the past century to encompass mo ...

* Cultural anthropology, focused on the study of cultural variation * Social anthropology, the dominant constituent of anthropology throughout the United Kingdom

Archaeological and biological subfields

Outline of archaeology The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to archaeology: Archaeology – study of human cultures through the recovery, documentation, and analysis of material remains and environmental data, including architec ...

* Anthrozoological * Biocultural *

Evolutionary Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...

, studies the relation between hominids and non-hominid primates * Feminist, seeks to reduce male bias in research finding *

Forensic Forensic science, also known as criminalistics, is the application of science to criminal and civil laws, mainly—on the criminal side—during criminal investigation, as governed by the legal standards of admissible evidence and criminal p ...

, application of anthropology in judicial settings *

Maritime Maritime may refer to: Geography * Maritime Alps, a mountain range in the southwestern part of the Alps * Maritime Region, a region in Togo * Maritime Southeast Asia * The Maritimes, the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prin ...

* Palaeoanthropological

Linguistics subfields

Outline of linguistics The following outline is provided as an overview and topical guide to linguistics: Linguistics is the scientific study of natural language. Someone who engages in this study is called a linguist. Linguistics can be theoretical or applied. ...

, the interdisciplinary study of how language influences social life *

Descriptive In the study of language, description or descriptive linguistics is the work of objectively analyzing and describing how language is actually used (or how it was used in the past) by a speech community. François & Ponsonnet (2013). All acad ...

* Ethno- * Historical * Semiotic, an approach to semantics *

Sociolinguistics Sociolinguistics is the descriptive study of the effect of any or all aspects of society, including cultural Norm (sociology), norms, expectations, and context (language use), context, on the way language is used, and society's effect on languag ...

Socio-cultural anthropology subfields

Applied anthropology Applied anthropology is the application of the methods and theory of anthropology to the analysis and solution of practical problems. In ''Applied Anthropology: Domains of Application'', Kedia and Van Willigen define the process as a "complex of ...

, the application of the method and theory of anthropology to the analysis and solution of practical problems * Anthropology of art *

Cognitive anthropology Cognitive anthropology is an approach within cultural anthropology and biological anthropology in which scholars seek to explain patterns of shared knowledge, cultural innovation, and transmission over time and space using the methods and theor ...

, concerned with what people from different groups know and how that implicit knowledge, in the sense of what they think subconsciously, changes the way people perceive and relate to the world around them * Communication studies * Cultural studies *

Digital anthropology Digital anthropology is the anthropological study of the relationship between humans and digital-era technology. The field is new, and thus has a variety of names with a variety of emphases. These include techno-anthropology, digital ethnograp ...

, the study of the relationship between humans and digital-era technology *

Anthropology of development The anthropology of development is a term applied to a body of anthropological work which views development from a ''critical'' perspective. The kind of issues addressed, and implications for the approach typically adopted can be gleaned from a l ...

Ecological anthropology Ecological anthropology is a sub-field of anthropology and is defined as the "study of cultural adaptations to environments". The sub-field is also defined as, "the study of relationships between a population of humans and their biophysical envir ...

Economic anthropology Economic anthropology is a field that attempts to explain human economic behavior in its widest historic, geographic and cultural scope. It is an amalgamation of economics and anthropology. It is practiced by anthropologists and has a complex re ...

Historical anthropology Historical anthropology is a historiographical movement which applies methodologies and objectives from social and cultural anthropology to the study of historical societies. Like most such movements, it is understood in different ways by differe ...

* Anthropology of gender & sexuality * Kinship & family * Legal anthropology * Media anthropology *

Medical anthropology Medical anthropology studies "human health and disease, health care systems, and biocultural adaptation". It views humans from multidimensional and ecological perspectives. It is one of the most highly developed areas of anthropology and applie ...

Political anthropology Political anthropology is the comparative study of politics in a broad range of historical, social, and cultural settings. History of political anthropology Origins Political anthropology has its roots in the 19th century. At that time, thinkers ...

* Psychological anthropology, studies the interaction of cultural and mental processes * Public anthropology * Anthropology of religion *

Transpersonal anthropology Transpersonal anthropology is a subdiscipline of cultural anthropology and transpersonal studies. It studies the relationship between altered states of consciousness and culture. Definition and context According to Walsh and Vaughan,Walsh, R. and ...

, studies the relationship between altered states of consciousness and culture *

Urban anthropology Urban anthropology is a subset of anthropology concerned with issues of urbanization, poverty, urban space, social relations, and neoliberalism. The field has become consolidated in the 1960s and 1970s. Ulf Hannerz quotes a 1960s remark that trad ...

, concerned with issues of urbanization, poverty, and neoliberalism *

Visual anthropology Visual anthropology is a subfield of social anthropology that is concerned, in part, with the study and production of ethnographic photography, film and, since the mid-1990s, new media. More recently it has been used by historians of science a ...

, the study and production of ethnographic photography

Other subfields

Anthropological criminology Anthropological criminology (sometimes referred to as criminal anthropology, literally a combination of the study of the human species and the study of criminals) is a field of offender profiling, based on perceived links between the nature of ...

, a combination of the study of the human species and the study of criminals * Anthropological linguistics, the study of the relations between language and culture and the relations between human biology, cognition and language *

Anthropological theories of value Anthropological theories of value attempt to expand on the traditional Value theory, theories of value used by economics, economists or value theory, ethicists. They are often broader in scope than the theories of value of Adam Smith, David Ricar ...

, attempts to expand on the traditional theories of value used by economists or ethicists *

Cyborg anthropology Cyborg anthropology is a discipline that studies the interaction between humanity and technology from an Anthropology, anthropological perspective. The discipline offers novel insights on new technological advances and their effect on culture and ...

, studies the interaction between humanity and technology from an anthropological perspective *

Museum anthropology Museum anthropology is a domain of scholarship and professional practice in the discipline of anthropology. Characteristics A distinctive characteristic of museum anthropology is that it cross-cuts anthropology's sub-fields (archaeology, cultural ...

, a domain that cross-cuts anthropology's sub-fields *

Philosophical anthropology Philosophical anthropology, sometimes called anthropological philosophy, is a discipline dealing with questions of metaphysics and phenomenology of the human person. History Ancient Christian writers: Augustine of Hippo Augustine of Hippo ...

, dealing with questions of metaphysics and phenomenology of the human person * Theological anthropology, the study of the human as it relates to God

General anthropology concepts

Culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...

Society A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Soci ...

* Kinship and descent *

Marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

and

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...

* Material culture *

Race Race, RACE or "The Race" may refer to: * Race (biology), an informal taxonomic classification within a species, generally within a sub-species * Race (human categorization), classification of humans into groups based on physical traits, and/or s ...

and ethnicity *

Globalization Globalization, or globalisation (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English; American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), see spelling differences), is the process of foreign relation ...

and postcolonialism *

Socialization In sociology, socialization or socialisation (see spelling differences) is the process of internalizing the norms and ideologies of society. Socialization encompasses both learning and teaching and is thus "the means by which social and cul ...

Theories

Actor–network theory Actor–network theory (ANT) is a theoretical and methodological approach to social theory where everything in the social and natural worlds exists in constantly shifting networks of relationships. It posits that nothing exists outside those rela ...

Alliance theory The alliance theory, also known as the general theory of exchanges, is a structuralist method of studying kinship relations. It finds its origins in Claude Lévi-Strauss's ''Elementary Structures of Kinship'' (1949) and is in opposition to the ...

Cross-cultural studies Cross-cultural studies, sometimes called holocultural studies or comparative studies, is a specialization in anthropology and sister sciences such as sociology, psychology, economics, political science that uses field data from many societies th ...

* Cultural materialism *

Culture theory Culture theory is the branch of comparative anthropology and semiotics (not to be confused with cultural sociology or cultural studies) that seeks to define the heuristic concept of culture in operational and/or scientific terms. Overview In t ...

Feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

* Functionalism *

Interpretive __NOTOC__ An interpretive discussion is a discussion in which participants explore and/or resolve interpretations often pertaining to text (literary theory), texts of any medium containing significant ambiguity in meaning. Education Interpretiv ...

Performance studies Performance studies is an interdisciplinary academic field that uses performance as a lens and a tool to study the world. The term ''performance'' is broad, and can include artistic and aesthetic performances like concerts, theatrical events, ...

Political economy Political economy is the study of how economic systems (e.g. markets and national economies) and political systems (e.g. law, institutions, government) are linked. Widely studied phenomena within the discipline are systems such as labour ...

Practice theory Practice theory (or praxeology, theory of social practices) is a body of social theory within anthropology and sociology that explains society and culture as the result of structure and individual agency. Practice theory emerged in the late 20th c ...

* Structuralism *

Post-structuralism Post-structuralism is a term for philosophical and literary forms of theory that both build upon and reject ideas established by structuralism, the intellectual project that preceded it. Though post-structuralists all present different critiques ...

Systems theory Systems theory is the interdisciplinary study of systems, i.e. cohesive groups of interrelated, interdependent components that can be natural or human-made. Every system has causal boundaries, is influenced by its context, defined by its structu ...

Methods and frameworks

* Ethnography *

Ethnology Ethnology (from the grc-gre, ἔθνος, meaning 'nation') is an academic field that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationships between them (compare cultural, social, or sociocultural anthropology). ...

Cross-cultural comparison Cross-cultural studies, sometimes called holocultural studies or comparative studies, is a specialization in anthropology and sister sciences such as sociology, psychology, economics, political science that uses field data from many societies thr ...

* Participant observation *

Online ethnography Online ethnography (also known as virtual ethnography or digital ethnography) is an online research method that adapts ethnographic methods to the study of the communities and cultures created through computer-mediated social interaction. As mo ...

* Holism * Reflexivity *

Thick description In the social sciences and related fields, a thick description is a description of human social action that describes not just physical behaviors, but their context as interpreted by the actors as well, so that it can be better understood by an o ...

* Cultural relativism * Ethnocentrism *

Emic and etic In anthropology, folkloristics, and the social and behavioral sciences, emic () and etic () refer to two kinds of field research done and viewpoints obtained. The "emic" approach is an insider's perspective, which looks at the beliefs, va ...

Anthropology organizations

* American Anthropological Association, a professional organization of scholars and practitioners in the field of anthropology *

American Association of Physical Anthropologists The American Association of Biological Anthropologists (AABA) is an international professional society of biological anthropologists, based in the United States. The organization publishes the ''American Journal of Physical Anthropology'', a pe ...

, based in the United States *

American Ethnological Society The American Ethnological Society (AES) is the oldest professional anthropological association in the United States. History of the American Ethnological Society Albert Gallatin and John Russell Bartlett founded the American Ethnological Societ ...

Anthropological Society of London The Anthropological Society of London (ASL) was a short-lived organisation of the 1860s whose founders aimed to furnish scientific evidence for white supremacy which they construed in terms of polygenism. It was founded in 1863 by Richard Francis ...

, founded 1863 * Anthropological Society of Victoria, formed in 1934 *

Anthropological Survey of India Anthropological Survey of India (AnSI) is the apex Indian government organisation involved in anthropological studies and field data research for human and cultural aspects, working primarily in the fields of physical anthropology and cultura ...

, the apex Indian organisation involved in anthropological studies and field data research * Ardabil Anthropology Museum, a museum in Ardabil, Iran *

Australian Anthropological Society The Australian Anthropological Society (AAS) is the professional association representing anthropologists in Australia. History The Australian Anthropological Society is a recently formed organization, founded in 1973 "to promote the advancement ...

, the professional association representing anthropologists in Australia *

Center for World Indigenous Studies The Center for World Indigenous Studies (CWIS) is an independent, Nonprofit 501(c)3 founded in 1979 by Rudolph C. Ryser, PhD (Oneida/Cree) and Chief George Manuel (Secwepemc). CWIS is a global community of Indigenous Studies activists and scholars ...

Ethnological Society of London The Ethnological Society of London (ESL) was a learned society founded in 1843 as an offshoot of the Aborigines' Protection Society (APS). The meaning of ethnology as a discipline was not then fixed: approaches and attitudes to it changed over its ...

Indian Anthropological Society Indian Anthropological Association (IAA) is the representative body of the professional anthropologists in India. Established in 1969, its headquarters are situated within the Department of Anthropology, University of Delhi and associated with W ...

, the representative body of the professional anthropologists in India *

Institute of Anthropology and Ethnography The Institute of Anthropology and Ethnography or N.N. Miklukho-Maklai Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology (russian: Институт этнологии и антропологии им. Н.Н. Миклухо-Маклая; abbreviated as ИЭА ...

, Russian institute of research, specializing in ethnographic studies of cultural and physical anthropology * Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, a research institute based in Leipzig *

Maxwell Museum of Anthropology The Maxwell Museum of Anthropology is an anthropology museum located on the University of New Mexico campus in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The museum was founded in 1932 as the Museum of Anthropology of the University of New Mexico, becoming the firs ...

, an anthropology museum located on the University of New Mexico campus *

Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge The Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, also known as MAA, at the University of Cambridge houses the university's collections of local antiquities, together with archaeological and ethnographic artefacts from around the world. The museum ...

, the University's collections of local antiquities, together with archaeological and ethnographic artefacts from around the world *

National Anthropological Archives The National Anthropological Archives is a collection of historical and contemporary documents maintained by the Smithsonian Institution, which document the history of anthropology and the world's peoples and cultures. It is located in the Smi ...

, an archive maintained by the Smithsonian Institution *

Network of Concerned Anthropologists The Network of Concerned Anthropologists (NCA) is an independent ad hoc network of anthropologists seeking to promote an ethical anthropology. The network is concerned that the "war on terror" threatens to militarize anthropology in a way that un ...

* N. N. Miklukho-Maklai Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology *

Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Anthropology Centre Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Anthropology Centre (SAC) ( th, ศูนย์มานุษยวิทยาสิรินธร) is an academic institution under the Ministry of Culture in Taling Chan District, Bangkok, Thailand, established ...

, an academic institution in Thailand *

Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland The Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland (RAI) is a long-established anthropological organisation, and Learned Society, with a global membership. Its remit includes all the component fields of anthropology, such as biolo ...

, a long-established anthropological organisation *

Society for Anthropological Sciences The Society for Anthropological Sciences (SASci) is a scholarly association formed in 2004 to promote the development of empirical theory and methods in anthropology. Origin The impetus for forming the SASci lay in changes that have occurred in t ...

Society for Applied Anthropology The Society for Applied Anthropology (SfAA) is a worldwide organization for the Applied Social Sciences, established "to promote the integration of anthropological perspectives and methods in solving human problems throughout the world; to advocate ...

Society for Medical Anthropology The Organization of Medical Anthropology was formed in 1967 and first met on April 27, 1968, at the 27th Annual Meeting of the Society for Applied Anthropology (SfAA), during which the Medical Anthropology Newsletter was conceived and first publis ...

, an organization formed to promote study of anthropological aspects of health, illness, health care, and related topics * South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology, a University of South Carolina research institute * USC Center for Visual Anthropology, a center located at the University of Southern California

Books, journals, and other literature

* Bibliography of anthropology *

List of anthropology journals {{Anthropology Academic anthropological knowledge is the product of lengthy research, and is published in recognized peer-reviewed academic journals. As part of this peer review, theories and reports are rigorously and comparatively tested before ...

Anthropology scholars

* American ** Franz Boas **

Ruth Benedict Ruth Fulton Benedict (June 5, 1887 – September 17, 1948) was an American anthropologist and folklorist. She was born in New York City, attended Vassar College, and graduated in 1909. After studying anthropology at the New School of Social Re ...

Margaret Mead Margaret Mead (December 16, 1901 – November 15, 1978) was an American cultural anthropologist who featured frequently as an author and speaker in the mass media during the 1960s and the 1970s. She earned her bachelor's degree at Barnard C ...

Eric Wolf Eric Robert Wolf (February 1, 1923 – March 6, 1999) was an anthropologist, best known for his studies of peasants, Latin America, and his advocacy of Marxist perspectives within anthropology. Early life Life in Vienna Wolf was born in Vi ...

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

** Bronislaw Malinowski **

E.E. Evans-Pritchard Sir Edward Evan Evans-Pritchard, Kt FBA FRAI (21 September 1902 – 11 September 1973) was an English anthropologist who was instrumental in the development of social anthropology. He was Professor of Social Anthropology at the University ...

** Alfred Radcliffe-Brown **

Edmund Leach Sir Edmund Ronald Leach FRAI FBA (7 November 1910 – 6 January 1989) was a British social anthropologist and academic. He served as provost of King's College, Cambridge from 1966 to 1979. He was also president of the Royal Anthropologi ...

* French **

Marcel Mauss Marcel Mauss (; 10 May 1872 – 10 February 1950) was a French sociologist and anthropologist known as the "father of French ethnology". The nephew of Émile Durkheim, Mauss, in his academic work, crossed the boundaries between sociology and ...

Claude Lévi-Strauss Claude Lévi-Strauss (, ; 28 November 1908 – 30 October 2009) was a French anthropologist and ethnologist whose work was key in the development of the theories of structuralism and structural anthropology. He held the chair of Social An ...

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 : This is a chronologic list of representative anthropologically-minded films and filmmakers: *Alfred C. Haddon – UK **Torres Strait Expedition, 1898 * Edward S. Curtis – US **In the Land of the Head Hunters, 1916 *Zora Neale Hurston - US * ...

References

External links

American Anthropological Association (AAA): What is Anthropology?

National Association for the Practice of Anthropology (NAPA): The Profession of Anthropology
{{Outline footer

*outline Outlines of social sciences