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Anthropologists trace the origin and evolutionary development of the human race
through the study of changing physical characteristics and cultural and social institutions.
Anthropological data, including that acquired by archeological techniques, may be
applied to solving problems in human relations such as race and ethnic relations and
education.
People have always been interested in their past history. Although anthropology
dates back to Aristotle, it is a commonly accepted fact that it became an established
science during the Victorian era or the era of exploration. Anthropology has developed
slowly since then with little real development until the 1930's when the use of applied
anthropological research began to be stresssed by a number of various governments.
Prior to the 19th century, anthropologists relied primarily on facts gathered from
travelers' reports and documents received from other nonprofessional observers. During
the early years of this century Scandinavian archaeologists developed a new approach to
artifacts. C.J. Thomsen classified the material on the basis of three successive
technological ages of stone, bronze, and iron. Then by the 20th century, much stress has
been placed on actual exploration by trained anthropologists.
Anthropologists constitute the smallest group of social scientists, yet they cover
teh widest range of subject matter. Cultural anthropology, the area in which the greatest
number of anthropologists specialize, deals with human behavior, both past and present,
as well as the beliefs people hold in relation to religion, language, and many other areas.
To study this effectively, cultural anthropologists often work with smaller, less complex,
and perhaps more easily understood societies including teh tribal societis of Asia.
Physical anthropologists are concerned primarily with the biology of human
groups. They study the differences between the members of past and present human
societies and are particularly interested in the geographical distribution of human
physical characteristics.
Bibliography
Works Cited
Cover, Lois. Anthropology For Our Times. New York: Oxford Book Company,
1971.
Hopke, William. The Encyclopedia of Careers. Illinois: J.G. Ferguson Publishing
Company, 1984.
Grolier Encyclopedia. Computer software. Grolier Electronic Publications, Inc.,
1993. IBM, 128k, CD-ROM.
Word Count: 298
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