Study of Anthropology
                     Study of 
Anthropology
What is 
Anthropology?
Anthropology is the study of what 
makes us human. Anthropologists 
take a broad approach to 
understanding the many different 
aspects of the human experience, 
which we call holism. 
They consider the past, through 
archaeology, to see how human 
groups lived hundreds or thousands of 
years ago and what was important to 
them. 
Source: www.americananthro.org
Applied and 
Practicing 
Anthropology
Applied or practicing anthropologists 
are an important part of anthropology. 
Each of the four subfields of 
anthropology can be applied. Applied 
anthropologists work to solve real 
world problems by using 
anthropological methods and ideas.
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Anthropology 
Around the 
World
While anthropologists devote much of 
their attention to what human groups 
share across time and space, they 
also study how these groups are 
different. 
Just as there is diversity in the ways 
people physically adapt to their 
environment, build and organize 
societies, and communicate, there are 
also many ways to do anthropology. 
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Employment
Anthropologists are employed in a 
number of different sectors, from 
colleges and universities to 
government agencies, NGOs, 
businesses, and health and human 
services. 
Within the university, they teach 
undergraduate and graduate 
anthropology, and many offer 
anthropology courses in other 
departments and professional schools 
such as business, education, design, 
and public health. Anthropologists 
contribute significantly to 
interdisciplinary fields such as 
international studies and ethnic and 
gender studies, and some work in 
academic research centers.
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The Four 
Subfields
Archaeology
Archaeologists study human culture 
by analyzing the objects people have 
made. 
They carefully remove from the 
ground such things as pottery and 
tools, and they map the locations of 
houses, trash pits, and burials in order 
to learn about the daily lives of a 
people. 
They also analyze human bones and 
teeth to gain information on a 
people’s diet and the diseases they 
suffered. 
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Biological 
Anthropology
Biological anthropologists seek to 
understand how humans adapt to 
different environments, what causes 
disease and early death, and how 
humans evolved from other animals. 
To do this, they study humans (living 
and dead), other primates such as 
monkeys and apes, and human 
ancestors (fossils). They are also 
interested in how biology and culture 
work together to shape our lives.
Source: www.americananthro.org
Cultural 
Anthropology
Sociocultural anthropologists explore 
how people in different places live 
and understand the world around 
them. 
They want to know what people think 
is important and the rules they make 
about how they should interact with 
one another. 
Even within one country or society, 
people may disagree about how they 
should speak, dress, eat, or treat 
others. 
Source: www.americananthro.org
Linguistic 
Anthropology
Linguistic anthropologists study the 
many ways people communicate 
across the globe. They are interested 
in how language is linked to how we 
see the world and how we relate to 
each other. This can mean looking at 
how language works in all its different 
forms, and how it changes over time.
Source: www.americananthro.org
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