what exactly is anthropology?

Question

I need a long and detailed answer,that's informative. best will get 10points!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 1

Anthropology, the study of all aspects of human life and culture. Anthropology examines such topics as how people live, what they think, what they produce, and how they interact with their environments. Anthropologists try to understand the full range of human diversity as well as what all people share in common.Much of the work of anthropologists is based on three key concepts: society, culture, and evolution. Together, these concepts constitute the primary ways in which anthropologists describe, explain, and understand human life.

Most anthropologists also believe that an understanding of human evolution explains much about people’s biology and culture. Biological evolution is the natural process by which new and more complex organisms develop over time. Some anthropologists study how the earliest humans evolved from ancestral primates, a broader classification group that includes humans, monkeys, and apes. They also study how humans evolved, both biologically and culturally, over the past several million years to the present.

Humans have changed little biologically for the past 100,000 years. On the other hand, today’s worldwide culture, characterized by the rapid movement of people and ideas throughout the world, is only a few hundred years old. Today’s global-scale culture differs vastly from that of the small-scale societies (nonindustrialized societies, with small populations) in which our ancestors lived for hundreds of thousands of years. Understanding these kinds of societies and their cultures can help us make more sense of how people cope with life in today’s culturally diverse and complex world.
Because anthropology is a very broad field of study, anthropologists focus on particular areas of interest. In the United States, anthropologists generally specialize in one of four subfields: cultural anthropology, linguistic anthropology, archaeology, and physical anthropology. Each of the subfields requires special training and involves different research techniques. Anthropology departments in colleges and universities in the United States usually teach courses covering all of these subfields.

In many other countries it is common for the subfields to be found in their own academic departments and to be known by different names. For example, in Britain and other parts of Europe, what Americans call cultural anthropology is commonly called social anthropology or ethnology. Also in Europe, archaeology and the field of linguistics (including what American anthropologists study as linguistic anthropology) are often considered as fields distinct from anthropology

Answer 2

Anthropology, the study of humans and human ancestors, is traditionally divided into four subfields in the United States: social or cultural anthropology, physical anthropology, archaeology and linguistic anthropology. The linguistic anthropology subfield, which focused on how humans communicate with one another, has been somewhat absorbed by the sociocultural subfield in recent decades. Studies in sociocultural anthropology have in the past included comparisons of kinship systems, descriptive ethnographic work, symbolic studies, etc. Physical anthropologists have also been called biological anthropologists. They study the biological aspects of humans and other primates. Archaeologists study the material remains of past societies (or the material remains of past incarnations of current societies). Today, professional anthropologists often combine expertise from more than one subfield in order to strengthen their research.

Answer 3

Anthropos=Man Ology=study

Answer 4

It is the study of humanity.

Some of the sub-disciplines are:

Archaeology (study of peoples past and their artifacts)
Cultural Anthropology (current peoples and their lives)
Applied Anthropology (demographics, marketing, etc)
Linguistics (languages and origins, phoenetics, deciphering)
Physical/Biological Anthropology (how physical effects cultural)
Primatology (primates and their attributes)
Medical Anthropology (immunology, epidemiology and cultural factors)
Forensic Anthropology (dead people and surrounding situations)
Paleoanthropology (prehistoric protohuman development)
Paleobotanical Anthropology (prehistoric plant life in its relationship to humanity)
Paleozoological Anthropology (prehistory animal life in its relationship to humanity)

and from there you get into specifics like gender studies, GLBT studies, specified location ethnography, specific language study, and so on and so forth.

It is also an umbrella study - under it falls anything relating to humanity... psychology, sociology, geographical studies, economics, all languages, etc. Though often considered their own areas of expertise - which they are - in as much as they relate to humanity, the are still human studies.

Answer 5

Anthropology is the study of humans, their behaviour, lifestyle, history, evolution, physical characteristics, and those sorts of things. It deals with origins of humankind, and social customs and beliefs. I guess Anthropology is used for Archaeology, Forensics, and other human investigation studies. Is that good enough for you??!!

Answer 6

Anthropology is the science of human beings; especially: the study of human beings and their anscestors through time and space and in relation to physical character, enviormental and scoial relations, and culture.

But I prefer this explanation:

Theology dealing with the origin, nature, and destiny of human beings.

Answer 7

the study of humanity - our physical characteristics as animals, and our unique non-biological characteristics we call culture. The subject is generally broken down into three subdisciplines: biological (physical) anthropology, cultural (social) anthropology, and archaeology.

Answer 8

Long answer:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropology

Answer 9

anthropology, is the language and etiquette used when communicating your remorse and disdain for saying or being unkind to the species of insects known as the Ants, a six leggeded insect of red and or brown colored hard bodied Ovoularian.

Answer 10

It is the study of human culture throughout history, including modern culture. Anthropologists study world cultures of today, as well as world cultures from throughout history. They also compare these cultures to each other and find the relationship between them.