Ritual practices are of interest to anthropology.
Anthropology is the science that studies human reality through a holistic approach (in which the whole determines the behavior of the parts). The term has its origins in the Greek language and comes from anthropos ( “man” or “human” ) and logos ( “knowledge” ).
This science analyses man in the cultural and social context of which he is a part. Thus, it analyses the origin of the human being, his development as a social species and the changes in his behaviour over time.
History of Anthropology
Georges-Louis Leclerc is said to have been the first scholar to propose anthropology as an independent discipline in 1749. Its development was based on two positions: the study of the various physical characteristics of human beings and the descriptive comparison of different peoples.
However, there are many other anthropologists who, throughout history, have left their indelible mark on this discipline . This would be the case, for example, of Herbert Spencer . He was a very respectable figure within the scientific field who expounded his theories based on concepts such as natural laws, the adaptation of the being to the environment or the transmission of certain factors from generation to generation.
Economic anthropology studies how the economic subject is constructed.
Contributions from Morgan, Harris and other experts
Likewise, one cannot overlook the figure of Lewis Henry Morgan , who is considered one of the true fathers of modern anthropology. In his case, he stood out because he presented advances and theories regarding family relations that for him were fundamental to achieving closer ties between a group and for the individuals who formed it to feel like a vital part of it.
To these two characters of great historical, anthropological and philosophical significance we should add, among many others, the name of Marvin Harris . Of North American origin, he is known worldwide for being the key figure of cultural materialism, a theory or movement that is fundamentally based on material issues to determine the sociocultural differences or similarities that exist between various groups.
WHR Rivers, Edith Turner,Clifford Geertz,Sherry Ortner y Ulf Hannerz son otros de los muchos antropólogos que durante la history han jugado un papel fundamental en el estudio del ser humano, de sus características individuales y de sus relaciones sociales.
For anthropology, ethnocentrism is the tendency to interpret the behavior of another community based on one's own culture.
Branches of Anthropology
By the end of World War II , most of the world's most powerful countries had already managed to develop a professional-level anthropology that allowed them to reinforce their identity as a nation.
Today, anthropology can be divided into four main subdisciplines: social anthropology (also known as cultural anthropology or ethnology ), which studies cultural characteristics, behaviors and the structuring of social ties); biological anthropology (or physical anthropology ), which analyzes the changes in the human body throughout history; linguistic anthropology (or anthropological linguistics ), which specializes in the study of human languages); and archaeology , dedicated to tracing and interpreting the ways of life of those communities that have become extinct.
It should be noted that paleoanthropology , medical anthropology , urban anthropology , gender anthropology , political anthropology , forensic anthropology and sports anthropology are some of the specializations of this science.
Main features
Anthropology uses ethnography as a qualitative research method. In this way, anthropologists observe and describe various features of a certain community or culture.
What anthropology does is compare different societies , analyzing their customs , traditions, rites and myths. In this way, it investigates beliefs, ceremonies, festivals and folklore, for example.
Social structure, human migration, writing systems, dialects and cosmologies are just some of the topics of interest to anthropology, whose field research often resorts to observational participation (the researcher collects data in the natural environment).
In a broad sense, anthropology provides insights into human evolution . Physical anthropologists, in this framework, may study hunter-gatherer clans and tribes and the agricultural revolution of the Neolithic to examine biological changes. The scope of anthropology is so broad that it also encompasses multiculturalism driven by the globalization of recent decades, to name one possibility.
It must be considered, however, that anthropology faces various ethical conflicts in its development. There are those who point out that the professionals of this science have greater power than the communities they analyze. For this reason, it is often said that the practices of anthropology constitute a form of colonialism .
Beyond these types of assessments, anthropology is a discipline valued for its contributions to the understanding of religion, taboos, gender roles, narratives and power systems, among other issues that affect the identity of peoples.