The term anthropology has been coined from two Greek words anthropos which means 'man' and

logy which stands for ' the science of'. It involves the study of the human species at any place on earth, at any given time; be it in the busy neighborhood of Los Angeles or the dense forests of the Amazon. There are anthropologists who study fossils to solve the riddles of human evolution, whereas there are others who try to understand the effect of modernization on contemporary societies. While subjects like economics and biology focus on specific aspects of human life, anthropology is the only discipline that addresses all facets of human existence. Branches of Anthropology Cultural Anthropology Culture is an important tool for human survival. It is a complex whole of knowledge, morals, traditions, arts and customs, that we have learned as being part of a society. It is transferred over generations nonbiologically, through words and symbols. Cultural anthropologists try to understand the logic behind cultural norms. They believe that no tradition or cultural practice is wrong. For example, scarring of the body might seem bizarre to us. However, a study of the culture of the African tribes that follow this ritual has shown that this is a highly relevant practice. During their research, cultural anthropologists live within a community, observe their customs, and try to understand them in comparison to the practices of other societies. Cultural anthropologists may study a society living on the far end of the globe, or may concentrate on certain segments of our own society, like the corporate sector, laborers, or slum dwellers. Linguistic Anthropology Language is an important agent of transmission of culture. It is an accomplishment of the human species that has given it an edge over the rest of the animals in the living world. In their endeavor to understand the origin and evolution of a language and oral traditions, linguistic anthropologists gain valuable insights into the culture of a community. They understand prehistoric links between various societies and explore the meaning of verbal concepts to learn about the conditions that existed in the past, and how humans adjusted to those. Besides studying language in a cultural aspect, linguistic anthropologists also try to understand the biological implications of language. This involves studying changes in the human brain and body, that enabled us to organize sounds in a meaningful way, to evolve language. Archeology Archeology deals with studying the tangible remains of a culture. Fortunately, human beings leave clues about their ways of life, not only in words and alphabets, but also in the form of material remains like potsherds, foundation of houses, stone tools and burials. These reveal important information about the beliefs and traditions of a particular civilization or community. For example, paintings on walls of tombs may throw light on the status of the person buried there. Such paintings often depict practices prevalent in a society. Study of burial sites can help archaeologists understand the religious beliefs of a group of people. Biological Anthropology Biological anthropology, also known as physical anthropology, deals with tracing the biological origins, evolutionary changes, and the genetic diversity of the human species. In the process, biological anthropologists study primate behavior, and anatomical variations between primates and human beings in order to understand physical changes that have taken place in humans during their evolutionary journey from apes. They may also take up genetic analysis and anthropometric studies to find reasons behind the physical differences between people of various groups. Besides these major branches, anthropology also has other divisions like forensic anthropology, medical anthropology, and ecological anthropology. Although each branch is a specialized field of study, they are inter-related. This gives anthropologists an edge over researchers from other fields in addressing human problems, as they study human existence not in isolation but in totality.

Economic Anthropology The economic anthropologists concentrate on the economic transactions and processes covering production, consumption, distribution and exchange of products in the primitive and peasant societies. They focus on the modes of exchange including ceremonial exchanges. The concepts of reciprocity and redistribution including the nature of trade and market systems are also studied. The processes of economic growth and development in societies in the light of socio-cultural factors that influence and determine the economic activity in the society is also closely studied. Political Anthropology The focus of political anthropology is on political process and functioning of authority, law, justice and sanctions in simple societies, political organization in egalitarian and stratified societies, focus of power and leadership, political processes emerging among nations and complex societies, political culture and the nation-building processes Ethno Archaeology The term ethnic refers to a group distinguished by common cultural characteristics .The word ethnography means study of individual cultures. It is primarily a descriptive and non-interpretative study. It means the study of culture on a comparative basis and theory of culture. It is often called cultural anthropology. Ecological Anthropology Ecological anthropology attempts to understand the relative influence of environment on human societies and how it is used by different societies. The ecological perspective is based on the assumption that constant interplay takes place between man and his environment and these two are not two distinct spheres. However the ecological perspective in anthropology was expressed by Steward in the 1930s through his most important concept cultural ecology which recognize that environment and culture are not separate spheres but are involved in a dialectic interplay or reciprocal causality. According to this view sometimes culture plays a more active role and sometimes environment has the upper hand. Steward believes that some domains of a culture have stronger environmental relationships than others and these form the culture core and he insists that ecological analysis could be used to explain cross-cultural similarities only in this culture core.