IntroductionhtohCulturalhAnthropologyh–hSOC401 VU
Lessonh01
WHAThIShANTHROPOLOGY?
Anthropologyhcanhbehbesthdefinedhashthehstudyhofhthehvarioushfacetshofhwhathithmeanshtohbehhuman.hAnthro
pologyhishahmultidimensionalhsubjecthinhwhichhvarioushcomponentsharehstudiedhindividuallyhandhashahwholeht
ohdevelophahbetterhunderstandinghofhhumanhexistence.hInhthishlecturehwehwillhnothonlyhbehdevelopinghanhunde
rstandinghofhthehdefinitionhofhanthropology,hwehwillhalsohbehlookinghathwhathanhanthropologisthdoes.hInhadditi
onhtohthishwehwillhalsohbehlookinghaththehvarioushbrancheshofhanthropologyhwithhahfocushonhculturalhanthropo
logy.
DefinitionhofhAnthropology
AnthropologyhishderivedhfromhthehGreekhwordshanthroposhforhhumanhandhlogoshforhstudy,hsohifhwehtakehitshl
iteralhmeaninghithwouldhmeanhthehstudyhofhhumans.hInhonehsensehthishishanhaccuratehdescriptionhtohthehextentht
hathithraiseshahwidehvarietyhofhquestionshabouththehhumanhexistence.h Howeverhthishliteralhdefinitionhisn’thasha
ccuratehashithshouldhbehsincehahnumberhofhotherhdisciplineshsuchhashsociology,hhistory,hpsychology,hecono
micshandhmanyhothershalsohstudyhhumanhbeings.
Whathsetshanthropologyhaparthfromhallhthesehotherhsubjects?hAnthropologyhishthehstudyhofhpeople,htheirhori
gins,htheirhdevelopment,handhvariations,hwhereverhandhwheneverhtheyhhavehbeenhfoundhonhthehfacehofhthehear
th.hOfhallhthehsubjectshthathdealhwithhthehstudyhofhhumans,hanthropologyhishbyhfarhthehbroadesthinhitshscope.
h Inhshorthanthropologyhaimshtohdescribe,hinhthehbroadesthsense,hwhathithmeanshtohbehhuman.
ActivitieshofhanhAnthropologist
Ashwehalreadyhknow,hanthropologyhishthehstudyhofhwhathithmeanshtohbehhuman.hSohthehstudyhofhthehinfluencesht
hathmakehushhumanhishthehfocushofhanthropologists.hAnthropologistshstudyhthehvarioushcomponentshofhwhathi
tshmeanshtohbehhuman.
BrancheshofhAnthropology
A PhysicalhAnthropologyh–
Ishthehstudyhofhhumanshfromhahbiologicalhperspective.hEssentiallyhthishinvolveshtwohbroa
h
dhareashofhinvestigation.
a. Humanhpaleontologyh-:hthishsubhbranchhdealshwithhre-
constructinghthehevolutionaryhrecordhofhthehhumanhexistencehandhhowhhumanshevolvedhuphtohthehp
resenthtimes.
b. Humanhvariationh -
:h Theh secondhareahdealshwithhhow/hwhyhtheh physicalhtraitsh ofh contemporaryhhumanhpopulationshv
aryhacrosshthehworld.
B Archeologyh–
hstudyhofhliveshofhpeoplehfromhthehpasthbyhexamininghthehmaterialhculturehtheyhhavehlefthbehind
C AnthropologicalhLinguisticsh–hthehstudyhofhhumanhspeechhandhlanguage
D CulturalhAnthropologyh–hthehstudyhofhculturalhdifferenceshandhsimilaritiesharoundhthehworld
Nowhthathwehhavehbrieflyhdefinedhthehvarioushbrancheshofhanthropology,hletshushnowhtakehanhin-
depthhviewhofhculturalhanthropology.
©hCopyrighthVirtualhUniversityhofhPakistan 1
,IntroductionhtohCulturalhAnthropologyh–hSOC401 VU
Culturalh Anthropology:
Ashwehhavehdiscernedhabove,hculturalhanthropologyhconcernshitselfhwithhthehstudyhofhculturalhdifferenceshash
wellhashthehsimilaritiesharoundhthehworld.
Onhahdeeperhlevelhthehbranchhofhanthropologyhthathdealshwithhthehstudyhofhspecifichcontemporaryhculturesh(
ethnography)handhthehmorehgeneralhunderlyinghpatternshofhhumanhculturehderivedhthroughhculturalhcompar
isonsh(ethnology)hishcalledhculturalhanthropology.
Beforehculturalhanthropologistshcanhexaminehculturalhdifferenceshandhsimilaritieshthroughouththehworldhtheyh
musthfirsthdescribehthehfeatureshofhspecifichcultureshinhashmuchhdetailhashpossible.hThesehdetailedhdescriptionsh(
ethnographies)harehthehresulthofhextensivehfieldhstudieshinhwhichhthehanthropologistshobserves,htalkshtohandhliveshw
ithhthehpeoplehunderhstudy.hOnhthehotherhhandhethnologyhishthehcomparativehstudyhofhcontemporaryhculture
s,hwhereverhtheyharehfound.hThehprimaryhobjectivehofhethnologyhishtohuncoverhgeneralhculturalhprincipals/r
uleshthathgovernhhumanhbehavior.
AreashofhSpecializationhinhCulturalhAnthropology
I UrbanhAnthropologyh–
hstudieshimpacthofhurbanizationhonhruralhsocietieshandhthehdynamicshofhlifehwithinhcities
II Medicalh Anthropologyh –h studiesh biologicalh andh socio-
culturalh factorsh thath effecth healthh orhprevalencehofhillnesshorhdiseasehinhhumanhsocieties
III EducationalhAnthropologyh–
hstudieshprocesseshofhlearninghofhbothhformalheducationhinstitutionshandhinformalhsystemshwhichhca
nhusehstoryhtellinghorhexperientialhlearning
IV Economich Anthropologyh –
h studiesh howh goodsh andh servicesh areh produced,h distributedh andhconsumedhwithinhdifferenthcult
uralhcontexts
V Psychologicalh Anthropologyh –
h studiesh relationshiph betweenh culturesh andh theh psychologicalhmakeuphofhindividualshbelonging
htohthem
HolistichandhIntegrativehApproach
Culturalhanthropologistshconsiderhinfluenceshofhnaturehandhnurture,hacrosshallhlocationshandhacrosshdifferenth
periodshofhtime.
Whenhvarioushspecialtieshofhthehdisciplineharehviewedhtogether,htheyhprovidehahcomprehensivehviewhofhtheh
humanhcondition
CommonhResponseshtohCulturalhDifference:
A Ethnocentrismh–
hahbeliefhthathone’shownhculturehishnothonlyhthehmosthdesirablehbuthalsohsuperiorhtohthathofhothers.
B Culturalh relativismh –
h looksh ath theh inherenth logich behindh differenth culturesh andh practicesh inh thehattempthtohunderstandht
hem
RelevancehofhCulturalhAnthropology
Culturalhanthropologyhenhanceshunderstandinghofhdifferenceshandhpreventshoversimplifiedhgeneralizations.hIthi
ncreaseshself-
knowledgehabouthourhownhthinking,hvalueshandhbehaviorhandhhelpshdevelophcognitivehcomplexityhthroughh
integrationh(interconnectedness)handhdifferentiationh(differenthaspectshofhahsingular
©hCopyrighthVirtualhUniversityhofhPakistan 2
, IntroductionhtohCulturalhAnthropologyh–hSOC401 VU
entity).hCulturalhanthropologyhishalsohusefulhinhfacilitatinghmeaningfulhinteractionhwithhotherhcultureshandh
sub-cultures.
©hCopyrighthVirtualhUniversityhofhPakistan 3
, IntroductionhtohCulturalhAnthropologyh–hSOC401 VU
UsefulhTermshCom
ponents:hparts
Paleontology:hspecializedhbranchhofhphysicalhanthropologyhthathanalyseshthehemergencehandhsubsequenthevolu
tionhofhhumanhphysiology
Variation:hdegreehofhdifference
Archeology:hsubhfieldhofhanthropologyhthathfocuseshonhthehstudyhofhpre-
historichandhhistorichcultureshthroughhthehexcavationhofhmaterialhremains.
Contemporary:h current
Urban:hcityh based
Ethnocentrism:hthehpracticehofhviewinghthehcustomshofhotherhsocietieshinhtermshofhone’shown.
Suggestedh Readings
Studentsh areh advisedh toh readh theh followingh chaptersh toh developh ah betterh understandingh ofh theh varioushp
rincipalshhighlightedhinhthishhand-out:
Chapterh 1h inh ‘Culturalh Anthropology:h Anh Appliedh Perspective’h byh Ferrarroh and/orh Chapterh 13h inh ‘Anthropology’h byhE
mberhandhPergrine
InternethResources
Inh additionh toh readingh fromh theh textbook,h pleaseh visith theh followingh web-
pagesh forh thish lecture,h whichhprovidehusefulhandhinterestinghinformation:
HowhdohAnthropologistshWork?hhttp://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Para
ms=J1SEC782998
BracheshofhAnthropologyhhttp://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=J1S
EC782999
©hCopyrighthVirtualhUniversityhofhPakistan 4
Lessonh01
WHAThIShANTHROPOLOGY?
Anthropologyhcanhbehbesthdefinedhashthehstudyhofhthehvarioushfacetshofhwhathithmeanshtohbehhuman.hAnthro
pologyhishahmultidimensionalhsubjecthinhwhichhvarioushcomponentsharehstudiedhindividuallyhandhashahwholeht
ohdevelophahbetterhunderstandinghofhhumanhexistence.hInhthishlecturehwehwillhnothonlyhbehdevelopinghanhunde
rstandinghofhthehdefinitionhofhanthropology,hwehwillhalsohbehlookinghathwhathanhanthropologisthdoes.hInhadditi
onhtohthishwehwillhalsohbehlookinghaththehvarioushbrancheshofhanthropologyhwithhahfocushonhculturalhanthropo
logy.
DefinitionhofhAnthropology
AnthropologyhishderivedhfromhthehGreekhwordshanthroposhforhhumanhandhlogoshforhstudy,hsohifhwehtakehitshl
iteralhmeaninghithwouldhmeanhthehstudyhofhhumans.hInhonehsensehthishishanhaccuratehdescriptionhtohthehextentht
hathithraiseshahwidehvarietyhofhquestionshabouththehhumanhexistence.h Howeverhthishliteralhdefinitionhisn’thasha
ccuratehashithshouldhbehsincehahnumberhofhotherhdisciplineshsuchhashsociology,hhistory,hpsychology,hecono
micshandhmanyhothershalsohstudyhhumanhbeings.
Whathsetshanthropologyhaparthfromhallhthesehotherhsubjects?hAnthropologyhishthehstudyhofhpeople,htheirhori
gins,htheirhdevelopment,handhvariations,hwhereverhandhwheneverhtheyhhavehbeenhfoundhonhthehfacehofhthehear
th.hOfhallhthehsubjectshthathdealhwithhthehstudyhofhhumans,hanthropologyhishbyhfarhthehbroadesthinhitshscope.
h Inhshorthanthropologyhaimshtohdescribe,hinhthehbroadesthsense,hwhathithmeanshtohbehhuman.
ActivitieshofhanhAnthropologist
Ashwehalreadyhknow,hanthropologyhishthehstudyhofhwhathithmeanshtohbehhuman.hSohthehstudyhofhthehinfluencesht
hathmakehushhumanhishthehfocushofhanthropologists.hAnthropologistshstudyhthehvarioushcomponentshofhwhathi
tshmeanshtohbehhuman.
BrancheshofhAnthropology
A PhysicalhAnthropologyh–
Ishthehstudyhofhhumanshfromhahbiologicalhperspective.hEssentiallyhthishinvolveshtwohbroa
h
dhareashofhinvestigation.
a. Humanhpaleontologyh-:hthishsubhbranchhdealshwithhre-
constructinghthehevolutionaryhrecordhofhthehhumanhexistencehandhhowhhumanshevolvedhuphtohthehp
resenthtimes.
b. Humanhvariationh -
:h Theh secondhareahdealshwithhhow/hwhyhtheh physicalhtraitsh ofh contemporaryhhumanhpopulationshv
aryhacrosshthehworld.
B Archeologyh–
hstudyhofhliveshofhpeoplehfromhthehpasthbyhexamininghthehmaterialhculturehtheyhhavehlefthbehind
C AnthropologicalhLinguisticsh–hthehstudyhofhhumanhspeechhandhlanguage
D CulturalhAnthropologyh–hthehstudyhofhculturalhdifferenceshandhsimilaritiesharoundhthehworld
Nowhthathwehhavehbrieflyhdefinedhthehvarioushbrancheshofhanthropology,hletshushnowhtakehanhin-
depthhviewhofhculturalhanthropology.
©hCopyrighthVirtualhUniversityhofhPakistan 1
,IntroductionhtohCulturalhAnthropologyh–hSOC401 VU
Culturalh Anthropology:
Ashwehhavehdiscernedhabove,hculturalhanthropologyhconcernshitselfhwithhthehstudyhofhculturalhdifferenceshash
wellhashthehsimilaritiesharoundhthehworld.
Onhahdeeperhlevelhthehbranchhofhanthropologyhthathdealshwithhthehstudyhofhspecifichcontemporaryhculturesh(
ethnography)handhthehmorehgeneralhunderlyinghpatternshofhhumanhculturehderivedhthroughhculturalhcompar
isonsh(ethnology)hishcalledhculturalhanthropology.
Beforehculturalhanthropologistshcanhexaminehculturalhdifferenceshandhsimilaritieshthroughouththehworldhtheyh
musthfirsthdescribehthehfeatureshofhspecifichcultureshinhashmuchhdetailhashpossible.hThesehdetailedhdescriptionsh(
ethnographies)harehthehresulthofhextensivehfieldhstudieshinhwhichhthehanthropologistshobserves,htalkshtohandhliveshw
ithhthehpeoplehunderhstudy.hOnhthehotherhhandhethnologyhishthehcomparativehstudyhofhcontemporaryhculture
s,hwhereverhtheyharehfound.hThehprimaryhobjectivehofhethnologyhishtohuncoverhgeneralhculturalhprincipals/r
uleshthathgovernhhumanhbehavior.
AreashofhSpecializationhinhCulturalhAnthropology
I UrbanhAnthropologyh–
hstudieshimpacthofhurbanizationhonhruralhsocietieshandhthehdynamicshofhlifehwithinhcities
II Medicalh Anthropologyh –h studiesh biologicalh andh socio-
culturalh factorsh thath effecth healthh orhprevalencehofhillnesshorhdiseasehinhhumanhsocieties
III EducationalhAnthropologyh–
hstudieshprocesseshofhlearninghofhbothhformalheducationhinstitutionshandhinformalhsystemshwhichhca
nhusehstoryhtellinghorhexperientialhlearning
IV Economich Anthropologyh –
h studiesh howh goodsh andh servicesh areh produced,h distributedh andhconsumedhwithinhdifferenthcult
uralhcontexts
V Psychologicalh Anthropologyh –
h studiesh relationshiph betweenh culturesh andh theh psychologicalhmakeuphofhindividualshbelonging
htohthem
HolistichandhIntegrativehApproach
Culturalhanthropologistshconsiderhinfluenceshofhnaturehandhnurture,hacrosshallhlocationshandhacrosshdifferenth
periodshofhtime.
Whenhvarioushspecialtieshofhthehdisciplineharehviewedhtogether,htheyhprovidehahcomprehensivehviewhofhtheh
humanhcondition
CommonhResponseshtohCulturalhDifference:
A Ethnocentrismh–
hahbeliefhthathone’shownhculturehishnothonlyhthehmosthdesirablehbuthalsohsuperiorhtohthathofhothers.
B Culturalh relativismh –
h looksh ath theh inherenth logich behindh differenth culturesh andh practicesh inh thehattempthtohunderstandht
hem
RelevancehofhCulturalhAnthropology
Culturalhanthropologyhenhanceshunderstandinghofhdifferenceshandhpreventshoversimplifiedhgeneralizations.hIthi
ncreaseshself-
knowledgehabouthourhownhthinking,hvalueshandhbehaviorhandhhelpshdevelophcognitivehcomplexityhthroughh
integrationh(interconnectedness)handhdifferentiationh(differenthaspectshofhahsingular
©hCopyrighthVirtualhUniversityhofhPakistan 2
, IntroductionhtohCulturalhAnthropologyh–hSOC401 VU
entity).hCulturalhanthropologyhishalsohusefulhinhfacilitatinghmeaningfulhinteractionhwithhotherhcultureshandh
sub-cultures.
©hCopyrighthVirtualhUniversityhofhPakistan 3
, IntroductionhtohCulturalhAnthropologyh–hSOC401 VU
UsefulhTermshCom
ponents:hparts
Paleontology:hspecializedhbranchhofhphysicalhanthropologyhthathanalyseshthehemergencehandhsubsequenthevolu
tionhofhhumanhphysiology
Variation:hdegreehofhdifference
Archeology:hsubhfieldhofhanthropologyhthathfocuseshonhthehstudyhofhpre-
historichandhhistorichcultureshthroughhthehexcavationhofhmaterialhremains.
Contemporary:h current
Urban:hcityh based
Ethnocentrism:hthehpracticehofhviewinghthehcustomshofhotherhsocietieshinhtermshofhone’shown.
Suggestedh Readings
Studentsh areh advisedh toh readh theh followingh chaptersh toh developh ah betterh understandingh ofh theh varioushp
rincipalshhighlightedhinhthishhand-out:
Chapterh 1h inh ‘Culturalh Anthropology:h Anh Appliedh Perspective’h byh Ferrarroh and/orh Chapterh 13h inh ‘Anthropology’h byhE
mberhandhPergrine
InternethResources
Inh additionh toh readingh fromh theh textbook,h pleaseh visith theh followingh web-
pagesh forh thish lecture,h whichhprovidehusefulhandhinterestinghinformation:
HowhdohAnthropologistshWork?hhttp://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Para
ms=J1SEC782998
BracheshofhAnthropologyhhttp://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=J1S
EC782999
©hCopyrighthVirtualhUniversityhofhPakistan 4
