The Development of Anthropology

1
The Development of Anthropology
2
The Three Types of Anthropology

• Cultural Anthropology
• Cultural Anthropologists examine and compare the
  cultures of living peoples

3
The Three Types of Anthropology

• Social Anthropology
• Social Anthropologists focus on the social
  organization of living peoples

4
The Three Types of Anthropology

• Physical Anthropology
• Physical Anthropologists have links to the
  natural sciences like biology and genetics. They
  examine the evolution of humankind over the last
  few million years, and compares the genetic
  characteristics of humans with other biologically
  similar animals, such as apes, gorillas, and
  chimpanzees

5
Anthropology Skills and Methods

• The basic tool of cultural anthropologists is
  Participant Observation which involves living
  with a subject group for an extended period of
  time.
• The researcher makes detailed notes about what is
  going on and draws conclusions about what has
  been observed

6
Anthropology Skills and Methods

• The researcher may carry out interviews with
  members of the subject group, administer
  questionnaires, or even carry out psychological
  tests

7
Fieldwork Challenges Participant Observation

• Researchers must adjust to sometimes unfamiliar
  conditions. For example, fieldwork in tropical
  climates can be draining. Both dietary practices
  and hygiene standards can be different from what
  a scientist is accustomed to.

8
Observing and Note-Taking

• A cultural anthropologists field notes will be
  referred to over a research period of many months
  to years, so no aspect of a described event
  should go unrecorded.

9
Types of Notes

• Vague Notes are made to merely describe
  something that happened and who was involved.
• Concrete Notes describe all the necessary
  elements The tone of the incident, who was
  involved, where it took place, an example of what
  was said, a physical action, and how the incident
  ended

10
Gender Issues-Participant Observation

• An anthropologist of the opposite gender of the
  subject group, will likely affect the behaviour
  of the participants, making the data unreliable.
  In some cases, the anthropologist may be refused
  entry altogether.