SOCIOCULTURAL

ANTHROPOLOGY
 CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION

Learning Objectives:
After completing this Chapter, the students are expected to:
 Define anthropology and describe its basic concerns and subject
matter;
 Describe the different sub-fields of anthropology;
 Explain how and why sociocultural anthropology as a science
emerged;
 Appreciate the contributions and applications of anthropology in
personal and professional lives; and
 Compare and contrast anthropology with other related behavioral
or social sciences.

What is Anthropology?
The term anthropology is a combination of two words derived from
Greek language: anthropos and logos. The term anthropos is equivalent
to the word mankind or human being, while logos means study or
science. So putting the two words together, anthropology is the study or
science of mankind or humanity. The following are two important,
simple, definitions of anthropology:

A simple definition of anthropology:

“Anthropology is the study or science of mankind or humanity”

Anthropology is the study of humanity.

Anthropology is a broad scientific discipline dedicated to the
comparative study of humans as a group, from its first appearance on
earth to its present stage of development.

In a more specific term, anthropology is science which:

Investigates the strategies for living that are learned and shared by people
as members of human social groups; Examines the characteristics that
human beings share as members of one species (homo sapiens) and the
diverse ways that people live in different environments; and Analyzes the
products of social groups: material objects (tools, cloths, houses, etc) and
non- material creations (beliefs, values, practices, institutions, etc).
(World Book Encyclopedia. Vol.1 PP. 545-548. It should further be stressed
that anthropology focuses on (1) the origin of humans, (2) the
evolutionary development of humans, (3) human physical, bio- chemical
and cultural variations, and (4) the material possessions and cultural
heritages of humans.

Anthropology seeks to explain how and why people are both similar
and different through examination of our biological and cultural past and
comparative study of contemporary human societies (Howard and
Dunaif- Hattis, 1992:3). Howard and Dunaif-Hattis (1992) further note
that: Anthropology’s ultimate goal is to develop an integrated picture of
humankind—a goal that encompasses an almost infinite number of
questions about all aspects of our existence. We ask, for example, what
makes us human? Why do some groups of people tend to be tall and
lanky, while others tend to be short and stocky? Why do some groups of
people practice agriculture, while others hunt for a living?
Anthropologists are interested in all things human. (P.3)

Anthropology has a strong affinity with natural sciences as well. In

fact, anthropology is well known by that aspect of it which is mainly
concerned with the biological/ physical dimensions of mankind as a
biological being in group context. Hence, it may be inappropriate to say
that anthropology is only a social science. It is also a natural science, not
in the sense that it deals with the natural phenomenon or man as an
individual entity per se, but in the sense that one of its main interests is to
study man and man's behavior as a product of the natural processes, and
in the context of the animal kingdom (Scupin and DeCorse, 1995).

Misconceptions about Anthropology

There are a number of misconceptions associated with
anthropology due to lack of appropriate awareness of its nature. The
following are some of the misconceptions (adapted from lectures by
my undergraduate anthropology instructor):

One misconception about anthropology is related to the area of its

study. It is said that anthropology is limited to the study of
"primitive" societies. Indeed, most of the works done by
anthropologists during early periods focused on isolated,
"primitive", small- scale societies. However, anthropologists
nowadays study the advanced, complex societies as well.
 Another misconception is that anthropologists only study the rural
people and rural areas. True, most of the works conducted focused
on rural areas. But now, anthropologists are also interested in the
study of urban people and urban areas. There is a distinct sub-
discipline devoted to the study of urban societies -urban
anthropology-which focuses on small-scale society in a complex
city.

It is claimed that anthropologists are only interested in the study of

far away, remote exotic communities living isolated from the
influences of modernization. True, most anthropologists go to
fieldwork to an isolated people in a distant corner. But now
anthropologists are interested in home anthropology, studying
anthropology at home, i.e., in one's own society.

It is also said that the purpose of anthropology is to study in order

to keep and preserve primitive, defunct cultural practices in
museums and anthropologists are advocates of defunct, obsolete
culture. True, when anthropologists study "primitive" society, they
study the culture of the people, to reconstruct it, to give meaning to
the peculiar behaviors of people. However, anthropologists do not
defend "primitiveness"; they play a great role in bringing about
positive change and development in the lives of people.

Four misconceptions about anthropology:

1. Anthropology is limited to the study of "primitive" societies.
2. Anthropologists only study the rural people and rural areas.
3. Anthropologists are only interested in the study of far away, remote
exotic communities living isolated from the influences of
modernization.
4. Anthropology wants to keep and preserve primitive, defunct
cultural practices in museums and anthropologists are advocate of
defunct, obsolete culture.
Brief Historical Overview of Anthropology
The facts of the incredibly diverse and at the same time essentially
similar nature of humans over time and space have intrigued curious-
minded people over the century. The history of anthropological thought
is replete with many and varied ideas, some of which often were wild
extremes resulting from ethnocentric attitudes. Before anthropology
attained the status of scientific discipline curious-minded persons from
ancient to medieval times have speculated a lot about the issues and
problems that concern anthropologists today (Hodgen, 1964). That is, the
present academic anthropology has its roots in the works and ideas of the
great ancient and Medieval Greek, Roman, and Hebrew philosophers and
social thinkers. These people were interested in the nature, origin and
destiny of man, and the morality and ethics of human relationships

While the roots of (socio-cultural) anthropology can be generally

traced through the history of western culture as far back as ancient
Greek social philosophical thinking, the discipline did not emerge as
distinct field of study until the mid-nineteenth century. Anthropology as
an academic discipline was born during the 19th century (see The New
Encyclopedia Britannica (Macropedia). Vol. 27 PP.326-331).

Anthropology as academic discipline was born out of the

intellectual atmosphere of that is called the Enlightenment, which is the
eighteenth century social philosophical movement that emphasized
human progress and the poser of reason, and based on Darwinian
Theory of Evolution (Scupin and DeCorse, 1995).

According to Howard and Dunaif-Hattis (1992:362): By the late

1870s, anthropology was beginning to emerge as a profession. A major
impetus for its growth was the expansion of western colonial powers and
their consequent desire to better understand the peoples living under
colonial domination. In the United States, for example, the government
sought information on Native American peoples who were being subdued
and placed on reservations. As the tribes were subdued, anthropologists
were employed to help devise means to administer these people. …
[H]owever, many anthropologists were motivated by the desire to record
local customs before they disappeared and were forgotten….
Anthropology became a profession primarily in museums, During the
1870s and 1880s many museums devoted to the study of humankind were
founded in Europe, North America and South America…. Anthropology’s
link with museums influenced its development throughout the late
nineteenth and early twentieth centuries… Professionalization during the
latter part of nineteenth and early twentieth centuries made great
breakthroughs in the quality and quantity of ethnographic research….

Early anthropologists mainly studied small communities in

technologically simple societies. Such societies are often called by various
names, such as, traditional, non- industrialized or simple societies.
Anthropologists of the early 1900s emphasized the study of social and
cultural differences among human groups. Here, many of the indigenous
peoples of the non-western world and their social and cultural features
were studied in detail and documented. This approach is called
ethnography. By the mid-1900, however, anthropologists attempted to
discover universal human patterns and the common bio- psychological
traits that bind all human beings. This approach is called ethnology.
Ethnology aims at the comparative understanding and analysis of
different ethnic groups across time and space (Kottak, 2002; Scupin and
DeCorse, 1995).

Difference between ethnography and ethnology:

 Ethnography: description of the culture of a certain group of
people.
 Ethnology: Anthropological attempt to discover universal human
patterns and the common bio- psychological traits that bind all
human beings

Subject Matter and Scope of Anthropology

The subject matter of anthropology is very vast. The subject
covers all aspects of human ways of life and culture, as humans live in
a social group relationship. Discovering the meaning, nature, origin,
and destiny of humanity is one of the key concerns of anthropology.
According to the present stage of scientific knowledge attained in
anthropology, the term humanity or mankind is a very difficult term to
define. Anthropologists seem to be unsure whether humanity is
absolutely dichotomous with other lower forms of animals. Some may
even tend to regard humanity and non-humanity as something that is
best understood in the form of continuum. This sense of continuum may
be particularly in terms of time scale. Thus, the farther we go in time
backwards, the narrower becomes the difference between humanity and
non- humanity.

It has now become a generally accepted fact in anthropology,

although no full evidences are forthcoming, that humanity is a product of
the evolutionary processes, and that humans have evolved from their
closest living primates (Bryan, 1997; Behe, 1996).

Anthropology is interested in some of the following questions and

issues about humans:
 Where did human species come from (i.e. what are the origins
of mankind)?
 Were human beings created in the image and likeness of God,
or were they just the products of millions of years of the
natural, evolutionary process?
 In what ways does man differ from other animal species?
 How did mankind arrive at the present stage of biological,
intellectual, and cultural development?
 Is there a common human nature, and if so, what is it like?
 In what ways do humans who live in various times and places
differ?
 How can we explain why cultures vary?
Such and many other related questions are the concerns of anthropology.

Anthropologists try to know and explain about the technological,

economic, political and intellectual development of humanity. They
attempt to discover the extent to which different human populations vary
in their biological and social characteristics and to understand why these
differences exist.

Anthropologists are, for example, interested to know and explain

why a pregnant woman in Gumuz goes to a bush to give birth during
labor, how the Nuer practice birth control methods and why they put
horizontal line marks on their forehead, or why the Wolayta put a circular
body mark on their cheek while the Tigreans put a cross mark on their
foreheads, etc.

Although anthropologists investigate the distinctive features of

different cultures, they also study the fundamental similarities among
people throughout the world (Scupin and De Corse, 1995). They try to find
out what factors account for the similarities in certain beliefs, practices
and institutions that are found across cultures. They grapple with
explaining why cultural universals exist. Are these cultural similarities
results of diffusion (i.e., a certain material culture or non-material culture
created in a certain society diffuses to other societies through contact,
war, trade, etc)? Or are they due to independent creation (i.e., certain
cultural items created by two or more societies without one copying from
the other)? Anthropologists have debated taking different sides while
attempting to answer these questions.

Distinguishing Features of Anthropology

We may identify five distinguishing marks of
anthropology:

 Its Broad Scope

The main distinguishing characteristic of anthropology, the thing
that makes it different from the many other fields that also include
people as their subject mater is its broad scope. A good way to
emphasize this broad scope is to say that anthropologists are
interested in all human beings, whether living or dead, ''primitive''
or '' civilized'' and that they are interested in many different aspects
of humans, including their skin color, family lives, marriages,
political systems, tools, personality types, and languages. No place
or time is too remote to escape the anthropologist's notice. No
dimension of human kind, from genes to art styles, is outside the
anthropologist's attention (Kottak, 1994, 2002; Howard and
Dunaif-Hattis, 1992)

 Its Unique Approaches

Anthropology is Holistic: Studying one aspect of the ways of life of
a group of people by relating it to other complex related aspects of
life.
Anthropology is Relativistic: Anthropology tries to study and
explain a certain belief, practice or institution of a group of people
in its own context. It does not make value judgment, i.e.,
declaring that ‘this belief or practice is good’ or ‘that is bad.’
Anthropology is Comparative: Anthropology studies certain
aspects of the culture of a group of people by comparing it across
societies and different times; i.e., the present with the past, the
modern with the traditional, etc.
  Emphasis on Insiders' View: Anthropologists focus on how the
people themselves understand about their world, how a particular
group of people explains about the world, etc. This is what
anthropologists call emic perspective.

 The Micro-focus: This is another distinguishing mark of

anthropology. Anthropology focuses on small-scale society or
community. The kinds of social groups or communities
anthropologists study, whether they are in traditional or modern
world, are usually small scaled in their social organization,
economic and political structure, and tend to be homogenous in
their overall character.

 Its Method of Research: The hallmarks of anthropology are

qualitative research methods such as extended fieldwork, focus-
group discussion, participant observation, in-depth and key
informant interviews. Although these methods are now practiced in
other behavioral sciences as well, no other discipline seems to be
so associated with and employs such methods as anthropologists

Distinguishing features of anthropology

1. Its broad scope
2. Its unique approaches: Holism, relativism and comparativism
3. Emphasis on insider’s view
4. The micro-focus
5. Its methods of research: emphasis on extended field work
6. Sub-fields of Anthropology
7. As indicated earlier, the interests and subject- matter of
anthropology are wide-ranging. This broad discipline is usually
divided in four main sub-fields. These are: physical anthropology,
sociocultural anthropology, linguistic anthropology and
archaeological anthropology. Sometimes, applied anthropology is
added as a fifth sub-field. A brief discussion of the four major sub-
fields is as follows.
8. Physical Anthropology
9. Physical anthropology is the branch of anthropology most closely
related to the natural sciences, particularly biology; that is why it is
 often called biological anthropology (Scupin and DeCorse, 1995;
Howard and Dunaif-Hattis, 1992). It studies the biological
dimensions of human beings, including biological evolution, the
physical variations between contemporary populations, and the
biology and behavior of non-human primates. Physical
anthropology itself is further divided into three special fields of
study: paleoanthropology, primatology and anthropometry.

Paleoanthropology: is a subspecialty in physical anthropology which is

interested in the search for fossil remains from prehistoric times to trace
the development of outstanding human physical, social and cultural
characteristics. Paleoanthropology is the study of human evolution
through analysis of fossil remains. Paleoanthropologists use a variety of
sophisticated techniques to date, clarify and compare fossil bones to
determine the links between modern humans and their biological
ancestors (ibid. p3) Despite the highly acclaimed Darwinian theory of
human origins, that humans are evolved from lower life forms, it may be
appropriate to state that many writers in the evolutionary circle argue
that there are limits to fossil evidences and paleoanthropology has many
problems to tackle (Behe, 1996). As Bryan (1995) suggests, the great theory
of Darwinian Evolution rests on so little evidence. Paleoanthropologists
are aware of this limitation but textbook accounts of origins of human
beings tend to neglect them.

Primatology: The study of the biology and behavior of primates, that is,
the animals that most closely resemble human beings in terms of
physiological and anatomical structure, is an important field in
physical anthropology. Primatologists observe primates such as gorillas,
chimpanzees, gibbons, and orangutans in their natural habitats to
ascertain the similarities and differences between these other primates
and humans (ibid, same page). Primatological research helps us
understand what human beings share with other animals, what
makesthem part of the natural world and their unique characteristics
(Howard and Dunaif-Hattis, 1992).

Anthropometry: The study of human variations within and among

different populations in time and space, human ecology, population
genetics, etc make up the central concerns of this sub-branch of physical
anthropology. These physical differences may be in terms of blood types,
skin colors, skull shape, facial shape, hair texture, and the like.
Anthropometry shades some light on how differing physical
characteristics have helped human groups adapt different geographical
environments. Population genetics, the study of biological inheritance
plays an important role in anthropometry, what is sometimes termed as
biological anthropology (Scupin and DeCorse, 1995; Howard and Dunaif-
Hattis, 1992).

The investigation of human variations among living populations has led

to the application of the knowledge in solving practical problems. The
development of a specialty known as forensic anthropology is one of the
results of these attempts. Forensic anthropology is the identification of
human skeletal remains for medical and legal purposes. Forensic
anthropologists work often with other forensic specialists in aiding
criminal investigations. Forensic anthropologists attempt to determine
the sex, age at death, ancestral background, and stature of the deceased
individual. Using this knowledge, forensic anthropologists identify crash
victims, war causalities, homicide victims, and skeletal remains in
unmarked graves (Howard and Dunaif-Hattis, 1992; Scupin and DeCorse,
1995; Kotttak, 2002).

Sociocultural Anthropology
This is also often called social anthropology or cultural
anthropology. It is concerned with the social and cultural dimensions of
the living peoples (Pritchard 1995); and with the description and analysis
of people’s lives and traditions (Podolefsky and Brown, 1997). Socio-
cultural anthropology studies the social, symbolic or non- material and
material lives of contemporary and historically recent human societies,
taking the concept of culture central to its goal (Howard and Dunaif-
Hattis, 1992).

Cultural anthropologists conduct studies of living peoples, most

often by visiting and living among aparticular people for an extended
period of time, usually a year or longer (Keesing 1981). They conduct
fieldwork among the people they study and describe the results of their
investigations in the form of books and articles called ethnographies.
Cultural anthropology is also concerned with making generalizations
about, and seeking explanations for, similarities and differences among
the world's people. Those who conduct comparative studies to achieve
these theoretical goals are called ethnologists. Thus, two important
aspects of social/cultural anthropology are ethnography and ethnology.
The former is more of empirical study or description of the culture and
ways of lives of a particular group of people, while the latter is more of a
theoretical study of the similarities and differences among the human
groups of the world, past or present.

There are many other specialized fields of study in social or cultural

anthropology. Some of these include: anthropology of art, medical
anthropology, urban/rural/economic anthropology, political
anthropology, development anthropology, anthropology of religion, legal
anthropology, demographic anthropology, ecological anthropology,
psychological anthropology, ethnomusicology, etc.

Archaeological Anthropology
Archaeology studies the ways of lives of past peoples by excavating
and analyzing the physical remains they left behind. Artifacts are the
material remains of human societies (Scupin and DeCorse, 1995).
Archeologists also study ecofacts, the footprints on the ecology by the
past societies. This helps reveal the way human societies interacted
with their local ecosystems. Tools, ornaments, pottery, animal bones,
human skeletal material, and evidence of how people lived in the distant
past are collected, and systematically analyzed. Archeological
anthropology has three major goals: 1) classifying and sequencing material
culture; 2) reconstructing ancient ways of life; and 3) explaining and
delineating cultural processes (Howard and Dunaif- Hattis, 1992).

Some branches of study in archeology include:

Prehistoric archeology: Prehistoric archeology investigates human
prehistory; that is the periods of time in a region before the art of writing
developed. Many anthropological archeologists study societies that did
not leave behind any written records. Prehistoric archeology uses material
remains to reconstruct prehistoric life ways; it also studies contemporary
peoples whose styles of life are analogous and or comparable to those of
ancient peoples. For example, by studying the ways of life of present
hunter and gatherer societies, prehistoric archeologists can gain insights
into the ways in which the ancient foraging peoples lived (Ibid. P. 11)

Ethnoarcheology: This may be regarded as an aspect of prehistoric

archeology. It is an approach to ethnographic analogy in which
archeologists make their own observation of the contemporary cultures
rather than relying on information provided by cultural anthropologists.
Historical archaeology: uses the evidence provided by excavated remains
to enhance our understanding of historic peoples; that is, peoples who
had writing and about whom written records are available. Historical
archeologists study sites dating from historic times. Much of the work of
historical archeologists has been to help preserve historical sites (Ibid.
p12).

Classical archeology: Is an aspect of historic archeology; it deals

primarily with the ancient civilizations and empires of Europe and the
Middle East, including Egypt, Greece, Roman and Persia, Axum, etc.

There are several other specialized areas of study and research in

archeology such as industrial archeology, underwater archeology, marine
archeology, cognitive archeology, experimental archeology, biblical
archeological, cultural resource management, and so on.

Linguistic Anthropology
Linguistics is the scientific study of language. Linguists describe and
analyze the sound patterns, combinations of sounds, meanings and
structure of sentence in human languages (Kottak, 1994). They also
attempt to determine how two or more languages are related. Historically,
modern linguists are especially interested in whether all human
languages share any universal common feature. Some recent work
suggests that human infants are born with knowledge of a set of
generalized rules that allow them to discover the specific rules of language
around them and to formulate new sentences by applying these rules.

The terms linguistic anthropology anthropological linguistics, and

ethnolinguistics are often used interchangeably in the linguistic
anthropology literature. However, the more preferred term is linguistic
anthropology. It is defined as “the study of speech and language within
the context of anthropology…. It is the study of language as a cultural
resource and speaking as a cultural practice.” (Durnati, 1997:1).

Linguistic anthropology usually focuses on unwritten languages (i.e.,

those languages which have no form of writing, languages used by
indigenous peoples of the non-western societies). It is especially
concerned with relations between language and other aspects of human
behavior and thought. Linguistic anthropologists might describe and
analyze a language so far unknown to linguistic science. The branch of
linguistic anthropology, called sociolinguistics is interested in how the
language is used in various social contexts. For example, what speech
style must one use with people of higher social standing? How does a
local political leader use language to earn people's allegiance? What can
the naming of various parts of the natural and social environment tell us
about people's perception of their environments?

A second important branch called historical linguistics focuses on

the comparison and classifications of different languages to discern the
historical links between them. This historical linguistic research is
particularly useful in tracing the migration routes of various societies
through time (Scupin and De Corse, 1995).

Another branch, called structural linguistics, studies the structure

of linguistic patterns. Structural linguists compare grammatical patterns
and other linguistic elements to find out how contemporary languages are
similar to and different from one another.

Applied Anthropology
Applied anthropology, the application of anthropological
knowledge, methods and approaches to the solving of human problems, is
often now seen as a fifth major branch of anthropology, although it is not
well-established as the traditionally known four fields. Applied
anthropology involves the use of data gathered in other subfields of
anthropology in an endeavor to tackle contemporary societal problems.
Anthropologists have increasingly become concerned with practically
dealing with human problems (Bodley, 1996; Podolefsky and Brown,
1993). The problems may include: environmental, technological,
economic, social, political or cultural. Applied anthropologist now work
in quite many areas of relevance such as education, mass medical,
medicine, development, business, agriculture, crime and urban poverty,
etc (Scupin and DeCorse, 1995; Kottak, 2002).

Major branches and specializations in anthropology

 Five major branches of anthropology: physical anthropology,

Sociocultural anthropology, archeological anthropology,
 linguistic anthropology and applied anthropology
 Specializations in physical anthropology: primatology,
paleoanthropology, anthropometry, population genetics,
forensic anthropology
 Specializations in sociocultural anthropology: medical
anthropology, urban anthropology, anthropology of religion,
ecological anthropology, demographic anthropology,
development anthropology, economic anthropology, etc.
 Specializations in archeological anthropology: historical
archeology, prehistoric archeology, Ethnoarcheology, classic
archeology, underwater archeology, biblical archeology, cultural
resource management, et.
 Specializations in linguistic anthropology:
sociolinguistics, historical linguistics, structural linguistics.

Contributions of Anthropology
The contributions of anthropology may be categorized in to the
following (World Book Encyclopedia 1994, Vol. 1, Howard and Dunaif-
Hattis 1992; Aoyagi, 1999):
Anthropology gives us an insight into different ways and modes of
life of a given society, to understand the logic behind and justification for
human activities and behavior. Anthropology also helps us understand
our own ways of lives. Many aspects of our lives seem to us normal, so we
don't know the logic behind. Eating injera, for example, is assumed to be
normal to those whose staple (main) food item is injera. By studying
anthropology, we look into ourselves through the others' ways of lives. As
we study anthropology, we encounter a different way of lives from
ourselves, and hence we get opportunity to appreciate and understand
ourselves.
Anthropology helps us fight against prejudices and discriminations.
It helps us fight against ethnocentrism; the attitude that one's own culture
and one's own way of life is the center of the worldand the best of all.
This arises from ignorance about other ethnic groups and their ways of
lives.

Anthropology is also used as a tool for development. Applied

anthropology, here, is the application of anthropological knowledge and
research results in the solution of some social problems or in the
implementation of project plans.

In addition to the aforementioned points, we may substantiate the

contributions of anthropology as follows:

 Because of its broad scope, anthropology allows us to understand

the biological, technological and cultural development of humanity
over long period of time in human evolution.
 Because of its comparative approach to humanity, anthropology
allows us to separate what is unique to our way of life from what is
general to all people.
 Because of its relativistic approach, anthropology helps us to be
more sensitive and appreciative of cultural diversity and variability.
It helps us to avoid some of the misunderstanding that commonly
arises when individuals of different cultural traditions come into
contact. Anthropology reduces ethnocentrism by instilling an
appreciation of cultural diversity. Anthropology can help us be
aware that when we interact with people from other cultural
traditions, their actions are not always intended to mean what we
take them to mean, and therefore much miscommunication can be
avoided. Health workers involved in health care provision in various
cultural settings will find it very helpful if they develop this
mentality.

Anthropologists bring a holistic approach to national and

international development agencies.

Anthropologists use their expertise in particular subjects to

formulate practical ways of coping with immediate social problems.
Medical anthropologists, for example, investigate the interrelationship
between human health, nutrition, and cultural beliefs and practices.
In general, anthropology more than any other sciences, can reveal the
alternative ways of living developed by diverse segments of humanity.

Before closing this section, it is important to note why health/

medical sciences students need to take a course in sociocultural
anthropology. The following are some of the arguments for the necessity
of such a course: Health, disease and illness are as much sociocultural in
their nature as they are physical.

So far, despite certain steps being taken, the dominant trend in the
medical/ health sciences training is to highly focus on the biomedical and
ecological dimensions of health and disease. However, given the bio-
psycho-social nature of human being and health, this is very partial. This
restricted approach to health disease does not provide the students with
appropriate and whole picture about the issue. Such highly narrow focus
in the training of health professionals and design of health policies and
strategies is not appropriate. In the objective realties of developing
societies such as Ethiopia human health and wellbeing are deeply linked
to sociocultural factors such as the entrenched poverty, the roles of
traditional values and institutions in shaping people’s worldviews about
health and disease.

The Relationship between Anthropology and Other Disciplines

Similarity between Anthropology and Other Disciplines

Anthropology is similar with other social sciences as to its subject
matter. All the social sciences such as sociology, psychology, political
sciences, economics, history, etc, study, in one way or another, the human
society and its ways of lives. Anthropology greatly overlaps with other
disciplines that study human society. For example, anthropological field
workers are likely to collect information on a society's agriculture,
leadership patterns, and beliefs about the universe (physical world), music
and art forms. They might find it useful to be acquainted with the works
of economists, geographers, political scientists, philosophers,
mythologists, and artists or art historians. They may read the works of
historians, sociologists, novelists, economists, psychologists, and political
scientists who also write about the region. Anthropology thus cuts across
many disciplines, encompassing many of the subjects that other scholars
consider their special province: law, religion, politics, literature, art, and
so on (World Book Encyclopedia 1994, Vol. 1).
Differences between Anthropology and Other Disciplines
Anthropology differs from other social sciences and the humanities
by its broad scope, approach, unit of analysis and methods used. It
studies mankind in its entirety. In its approach, anthropology studies and
analyzes human ways of life holistically, comparatively and relativistically.
Its unit of analysis is small-scale society. That is, it is interested in a group
of people with more or less simple, homogenous ways of life. In its
method of research, it is unique in that extended fieldwork among the
studied community and developing intimate knowledge of the life worlds
of the community with participant observation.

Chapter Summary
Anthropology is broad scientific discipline, which was born lately in
th
the 19 century, with the major aim of scientific study and documentation
of the physical, socio-cultural and other diversities among people, past
and present. It specially studies simple, small-scale societies in the non-
western world. Its holistic, comparative and relativistic approaches, its
unit of analysis and method of study along with its broad scope make it
unique. However, it shares many things with the other sciences. The
science of anthropology has many theoretical and practical importance
and contributions. The four main branches of anthropology are physical
anthropology, sociocultural anthropology, linguistic anthropology and
archeological anthropology. Applied anthropology is sometimes regarded
as a fifth sub-filed. Each of the major branches of anthropology has several
specialized areas of study within it. Anthropology as a science has as its
major goal the making, accumulation and dissemination of scientific
knowledge on society and culture.

Review Questions
1. What is anthropology?
2. Discuss the historical backgrounds of sociocultural anthropology.
3. What is the difference between ethnography and ethnology?
4. What is forensic anthropology? Discuss its
applicability in Ethiopia.
5. Why do anthropologists study primate behavior?
6. What common characteristics does anthropology share with the
other sciences?
7. Why do anthropologists use emic approach in their research?
8. What distinguishes anthropology from other human sciences?
9. What are the personal and professional uses of anthropology to
you?
10. Define paleoanthropology. What are its limitations?
11. Distinguish between historical archeology, prehistoric
archeology and ethnoarcehology.