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What is Anthropology

Anthropology is the study of humans and humanity past and present. Anthropology focuses on the evolution of humans and various aspects of their culture over time. Anthropology has a broad range of subcategories: archaeology, linguistic anthropology, biological anthropology, and sociocultural anthropology. These subgroups allow for more specialization, while also providing a space for things to be looked at holistically, from all subclasses. Keep in mind that you can combine various aspects of these fields as they suit your interests! After all, anthropology tries to include everyone!

The Four Sub-Fields

Credit: Lauren Malone

Socio-Cultural Anthropology

The study of society and cultures, past and present, from across all countries and peoples. Sociocultural anthropologists attempt to find common practices between cultures and societies and try to understand where they come from and what they mean.

"Social and Cultural Anthropology in Perspective."

Credit: Dana González Zavala

Archaeology

The study of people, past and present, through the stuff they left behind. The things people own connect to their beliefs, ideas, society, and culture. This what archaeologists study! We also focus on including the public in our research, like other anthropologists.

"What is Archaeology? How exploring the past enriches the present."

Credit: Flickr

Linguistic Anthropology

Linguistic anthropology studies how language is used in making social lives, and activities of individuals and community. We record how language is used, what it means, and what parts of language (like grammar) are used in making a language.

"Linguistic Anthropology: History, Ideas, and Issues."

Credit: Google Images

Biological Anthropology

The study of physical human evolution, meaning we are interested in how we adapted to have the skeletons we have today. We use this information to determine the height, weight, and sex of human bones. We also study the genetic relations between humans and our ancestors. "A Companion to Biological Anthropology Chapter 1."