Discussing Various Fields and Subfields of Anthropology

This essay discusses the four major subfields of anthropology - biological anthropology, cultural anthropology, linguistic anthropology, and archaeology. It explores the contribution of each subfield to the formation of an anthropological perspective.

Running head: SOCIOLOGY
DISCUSSING VARIOUS FIELDS AND SUBFIELDS OF ANTHROPOLOGY AND THE
FORMATION OF AN ANTHROPOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1SOCIOLOGY
Anthropology refers to the scientific study of the human beings, the behavior as is
demonstrated by the human beings as well as the human societies that have been existent in the
past and continue to do so in the present. The subject further facilitates the study of the primates,
the early hominids and the human beings (Fabinyi, Evans & Foale, 2014). The people who
involve themselves in the discipline of anthropology are known to be the anthropologists. The
anthropologists tend to develop their researches and base them on the factors like the biological
behaviors, culture, language that are used by the humans.
The anthropologists are also observed to have been dealing with the behavior as well as
the biological features of the primates who have been inhabiting the world along with the human
beings. The study of anthropology can be divided into four distinct fields which generally come
together to form an anthropological perspective (Hicks, 2013). The following essay attempts to
shed light on the four major sub-fields of anthropology. The essay nears a conclusion with the
discussion on the contribution of each of the sub-fields of anthropology towards the formation of
the anthropological perspective.

2SOCIOLOGY
One of the major sub-fields of anthropology is the biological anthropology. The
biological anthropology deals with the conduction of the systematic studies in the field of the
various aspects of the human beings as well as species that are close to human that are non-
cultural in nature. The non-cultural aspects generally refer to the factors that are inherited by the
concerned species or the human beings and are not acquired by them in the due course of their
lives. The species that are considered to belong to the group closer to the human beings include
the animals like the apes, the monkey and the other primates. The biological anthropology
further deals with the fossil ancestors of the human beings as well (Turner et al., 2018). The key
interest that drives the biological anthropologists is the changes that were faced by the ancestors
of the human beings.
The biological anthropologists tend to deal with the issues that are related to the evolution
mechanisms that have led to the evolution of the human beings from their ancestors who are
considered to be the primates. The biological anthropologists are often observed to deal with the
three separated areas of research. The three separated research fields include paleoanthropology,
primatology and the human biology. The biological anthropologists are known to have been
dealing in one of the three aforementioned research areas during their course of work. The
human biology consists of the research on the human beings (Willermet, 2016). Primatology
deals with the studies that are conducted on the non-human primates. The field of
paleoanthropology deals with the researches on the fossil ancestors of the human race.

3SOCIOLOGY
The other major subfield in the realm of anthropology refer to the field of the cultural
anthropology. The area of cultural anthropology refers to the study and the research that is
conducted on the various cultures that are present and are followed by the people from all over
the world. The major focus of the cultural anthropology lies in the matters that are related to the
political and the social organizations that tend to influence the human lives (Orlove, Crane &
Roncoli, 2016). The cultural anthropologists further deal with the patterns of marriage, the
various kinship bonds, the patterns of economy that are followed within the society as well as the
religious beliefs that are maintained and abided by the people belonging to different schools of
religious thoughts.
It is generally observed that the cultural anthropologists tend to study the happenings of
the present-day world and society rather than deal with the lifestyles that were followed within
the societies that existed in the ancient times. The cultural anthropologists tend to deal with the
various issues and the development that is faced by the world due to the ever-changing nature of
the society as well as the cultures that are followed by the residents of the world (Wolf, 2015).
The cultural anthropologists, through their study tend to reveal that the several isolated societies
within the world have lost their identities as well as their culture due to the influence of another
dominating culture.

4SOCIOLOGY
The realm of the linguistic anthropology is another such area within the larger field of
anthropology. This sub-field of anthropology, as is suggested by the nomenclature, refers to the
studies that are conducted on the communication processes that are undertaken by the human
beings. The linguistic anthropology tends to deal with the understanding of the various
communication phenomena that are used by the people who have been communicating with each
other (Nakassis, 2016). The major areas of discussion of the linguistic anthropologists refer to
the development of the devices of communication over the time immemorial, the difference that
exists among the various communication media that are verbal.
The linguistic anthropologists are also observed to be dealing with the non-verbal ways
of communication and the rules that govern the communication process among the human
beings. The linguistic anthropologists also attempt to put forth a discussion on the characteristics
of the language as well as the different functions and the structures that are maintained by the
various languages that exist within the world. The linguistic anthropologists claim that the
majority of the languages that are spoken or used within the world are found to have been
developed from the spoken version of the language (Kroskrity, 2016). They suggest that the
written language is just the symbolic representation of the spoken sounds that combine together
in several manners in order to form a meaningful structure that is used for the purpose of
communication within the human beings.

5SOCIOLOGY
Archaeology is also considered to be one of the subfields of anthropology. The field of
archaeology deals with the recovery of the various factors that had been present in the historic
times. The sub-field of archaeology, as stated by the experts refer to the studying of the factors
that were present in the prehistoric times (Schmidt & Pikirayi, 2016). The study of the subfield
of archaeology helps the concerned person to gain knowledge about the past occurrences within
the given society. The archaeologists help in the study of the prehistoric as well as the historic
factors that had shaped the mankind to the current state of the race.
The archaeologists are involved in the excavation of the various sites wherein the
presence of the remains of the prehistoric era are cited. The archaeologists help in the
understanding of the various factors that have been helpful in the shaping of the present-day
world. The archaeologists are observed to have been dealing with the various samples that are
found at the excavation sites and are often observed to have been studying the past activities as
well as the ways of living that were followed by the people of the past. They are known to have
been collecting the artifact as well as the environmental data that is required for the
reconstruction of the life styles that were followed by the people in those times (Boyd, 2017).
The archaeology also helps the concerned anthropologist to derive some little portions of the
human history that is found to be present in the prehistoric times and can only be reached by the
archaeologists.

6SOCIOLOGY
The above mentioned four fields of anthropology is known to have been contributing to
the development of the anthropological perspective. The biological anthropology deals with the
conduction of the systematic studies in the field of the various aspects of the human beings as
well as species that are close to human that are non-cultural in nature. The biological
anthropologists tend to deal with the issues that are related to the evolution mechanisms that
have led to the evolution of the human beings from their ancestors who are considered to be the
primates. This helps in the development of the ideas and the notions that are necessary for
conducting further studies and researches within the similar domain (Latour, 2017). The area of
cultural anthropology refers to the study and the research that is conducted on the various
cultures that are present and are followed by the people from all over the world.
The cultural anthropologists tend to study the happenings of the present-day world and
society rather than deal with the lifestyles that were followed within the societies that existed in
the ancient times. The cultural anthropologists tend to deal with the various issues and the
development that is faced by the world due to the ever-changing nature of the society as well as
the cultures that are followed by the residents of the world (Foucault, 2013). The incorporation
of the cultural anthropology within the field of study helps the researcher to have a better
understanding of the cultural practices and the values that are practiced within the given society.
The linguistic anthropology tends to deal with the understanding of the various
communication phenomena that are used by the people who have been communicating with each
other. The linguistic anthropologists are also observed to be dealing with the non-verbal ways of
communication and the rules that govern the communication process among the human beings.
The linguistic anthropologists also attempt to put forth a discussion on the characteristics of the
language as well as the different functions and the structures that are maintained by the various

7SOCIOLOGY
languages that exist within the world (Ingold & Palsson, 2013). This in turn provides the
concerned anthropologists and the future researchers with the understanding of the issues that
pertain to the linguistic prowess of the members of the society. The study of anthropology helps
the concerned person to gain knowledge about the past occurrences within the given society. The
archaeologists help in the study of the prehistoric as well as the historic factors that had shaped
the mankind to the current state of the race (Rapport, 2014). This in turn helps in the discussion
of the origination of the concerned society as well as the development of the concerned society
since the historical times.
In lieu of the above discussion, it might be concluded that the four sub-fields of
anthropology tend to be interconnected to each other in order to provide a proper and complete
picture of the society from an anthropological point of view. These separate field within the main
field of anthropology help in providing the clarity to the society and the norms that are being
followed within the given society. The anthropologists are known to be help in the study of the
prehistoric as well as the historic factors that had shaped the mankind to the current state of the
race. The anthropologists help in the understanding of the various factors that have been helpful
in the shaping of the present-day world.

8SOCIOLOGY
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