The 4 main branches of Anthropology: what they are like and what they investigate

Anthropology is a science that arises from the need to understand, on the one hand, the diversity of the physical characteristics of human beings, and on the other, to compare different human groups in a descriptive way.

However, as its development and scientific recognition has progressed, Anthropology has extended and systematized its practices in different branches. Next we will explain what it is and what they are the four main branches of Anthropology.

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What is Anthropology?

Anthropology is the scientific discipline that is responsible for understanding what makes us human. To do this, it analyzes both the physical and the sociocultural manifestations of different groups and in different periods.

Specifically, anthropologists are interested in studying how and why people behave and interact in certain ways; question that can be analyzed from very different perspectives.

Many anthropologists work, for example, analyzing the area of ​​economics or politics, others health, education or law. But there may be many more. For Anthropology,

fields of study are as varied as human diversity.

Likewise, the forms that Anthropology has created to study this vary according to the place and the specific context where they have arisen. For example, there are traditions of anthropology that are not applied the same in the United States as in Latin America. This is because the needs and lifestyles of are different depending on the context, and that is precisely what Anthropology seeks to understand.

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Main branches of Anthropology

Initially, Anthropology was dedicated to studying non-Western practices and worldviews of different groups, such as ceremonies, rituals, divination, among others. However, their fields of study have become much more diverse as the same discipline has progressed.

Thus, the object of study of Anthropology covers a wide range of possibilities. That is why it is usually divided into different fields.

According to the American Anthropological Association, there are four main branches of this discipline. In turn, each of these branches of Anthropology can be subdivided into different topics and according to specific interests.

1. Biological anthropology

Biological anthropology (in some places it is known as Physical Anthropology) is responsible for understanding how humans have adapted to different environments. More specifically, it is responsible, for example, to study what are the causes of diseases or how we have evolved differently from other species.

They are also interested in understanding how biology and culture shape lifestyles and human behavior in general.

2. Cultural anthropology

Cultural Anthropology, which in some places is known also as sociocultural anthropology or ethnology, explore how people from different places live and understand the world. They wonder how the norms that establish the forms of interaction are generated in a great diversity of contexts.

To do this, they analyze people's points of view. These points of view allow them to understand the perspective, practices, values ​​and social organization of human groups.

3. Linguistic anthropology

Those who study linguistic anthropology are interested in analyzing the different ways of establishing communication that exist between human beings. That is, understand how language is linked to ways of understanding the world and relating to it.

More specifically, it is about looking at how language manifests itself in different ways and how its uses are modified over time, creating meanings and even changing identities and relations. These two concepts, language and communication, are the keys to understanding society and culture.

4. Archeology

Archeology is responsible for studying human culture through analyze the objects, materials, tools and constructions that people have made throughout history and in different places.

To do this, the most common practice is to remove these objects from the ground, and map the location of the buildings, with the objective of better understand what people's daily life was like, as well as understand the differences and similarities between human societies through the weather.

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How are these branches of study applied?

The different branches of Anthropology can be applied in very different contexts. For example, at the local level, in communities, trying to understand their problems related to health, or to education.

Or also, can be applied in museums or archaeological sites, helping to reconstruct the past. In this same sense, it can be applied in large cities, that is, in the analysis of the practices and spaces of the present.

They can also be applied in the business or technological field, since the latter can give many clues about how we have evolved and how our needs and lifestyles are transformed constantly.

Bibliographic references:

• American Anthropological Association. (S / A). What is Anthropology?. Retrieved May 23, 2018. Available in http://www.americananthro.org/AdvanceYourCareer/Content.aspx? ItemNumber = 2150 & navItemNumber = 740
• Barfield, T. (2000). Dictionary of Anthropology. Siglo XXI Editores: México.