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anthropology

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anthropology

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Also known as anthropological

Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity that crosses biology and sociology, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behaviour, while cultural anthropology studies cultural meaning, including norms and values. The term sociocultural anthropology is commonly used today. Linguistic anthropology studies how language influences social life. Biological (or physical) anthropology studies the biology and evolution of humans and their close primate relativ

OverviewAI-generated

Anthropology is an academic discipline and major within the social sciences that serves as the study of humanity. It is practiced by anthropologists and is distinct from ethnology. The field encompasses several sub-disciplines, including archaeology, applied anthropology, biological anthropology, and cultural anthropology. Its native label derives from the term ἄνθρωπος.

Significant figures in the discipline include Lewis H. Morgan, Edward Burnett Tylor, James George Frazer, and Franz Boas. The subject is covered by the Portal:Anthropology and the Category:Anthropology on Wikimedia projects. It is described by sources such as the Jewish Encyclopedia of Brockhaus and Efron, the Explanatory Dictionary of the Living Great Russian Language, the Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary, and The Nuttall Encyclopædia. The topic has a dedicated template and is maintained by WikiProject Anthropology and WikiProject Primates.

The field has a documented history of anthropology. It is referenced by 7,423 other encyclopedia articles. In PubMed, the query for anthropology yields a count of 278,234. The subject holds a position on the Wikipedia:Vital articles/Level/4 focus list.

Synthesized by Vinony from 21 facts across 3 sources: Wikidata, PubMed, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Research

278,234 papers

via PubMed

~55 min read

Encyclopedic overview

67 sections
Contents
  • Etymology
  • Origin and development of the term
  • Through the 19th century
  • 20th and 21st centuries
  • Fields
  • Sociocultural
  • Biological
  • Archaeological
  • Linguistic
  • Ethnography
  • Key topics by field: sociocultural
  • Art, media, music, dance and film
  • Art
  • Media
  • Music
  • Visual
  • Economic, political economic, applied and development
  • Economic
  • Political economy
  • Applied
  • Development
  • Kinship, feminism, gender and sexuality
  • Kinship
  • Feminist
  • Medical, nutritional, psychological, cognitive and transpersonal
  • Medical
  • Nutritional
  • Psychological
  • Cognitive
  • Transpersonal
  • Political and legal
  • Political
  • Legal
  • Public
  • Nature, science, and technology
  • Cyborg
  • Digital
  • Ecological
  • Environment
  • Historical
  • Religion
  • Urban
  • Key topics by field: archaeological and biological
  • Anthrozoology
  • Biocultural
  • Evolutionary
  • Forensic
  • Palaeoanthropology
  • Organizations
  • List of major organizations
  • Ethics
  • Cultural relativism
  • Military involvement
  • Post-World War II developments
  • Basic trends
  • Commonalities between fields
  • See also
  • Lists
  • Notes
  • References
  • Works cited
  • Further reading
  • Dictionaries and encyclopedias
  • Fieldnotes and memoirs
  • Histories
  • Textbooks and key theoretical works
  • External links

Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity that crosses biology and sociology, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behaviour, while cultural anthropology studies cultural meaning, including norms and values. The term sociocultural anthropology is commonly used today. Linguistic anthropology studies how language influences social life. Biological (or physical) anthropology studies the biology and evolution of humans and their close primate relatives.

Archaeology, often referred to as the "anthropology of the past," explores human activity by examining physical remains. In North America and Asia, it is generally regarded as a branch of anthropology, whereas in Europe, it is considered either an independent discipline or classified under related fields like history and palaeontology.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “anthropology” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

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