Anthropology is the systematic and scientific study of humanity, which encompasses a wide range of fields. Its interests can span from mere human biology to human culture and societies. Anthropologists also study linguistics and ethnography with the main focus on humans. It is a highly important and essential field, which means that a degree in anthropology is not useless. As a single area, it attempts to understand humans are four different levels, such as linguistic, archaeological, biological, and sociocultural, which cannot be done with any other profession. Therefore, anthropology is an invaluable degree, which advances the overall comprehension of humanity and can have an impact almost everywhere.
One should be aware of the fact that, unlike other scientific fields, anthropology is multifaceted, where it is centered around humans. It does not limit itself with certain boundaries or principles, which is why it can utilize biology alongside linguistics. In other words, anthropologists can be proficient in an array of disciplines, which are not directly related to each other. However, it is necessary because humans are complex creatures who need to be studied at various angles. For example, physical anthropology studies typology, differences in body size, and shape using multiple methods and techniques (Fedorak 79). The descriptive process was called anthroposcopy, and the measuring technique was called anthropometry.
Statistical methods play an essential role in the processing of anthropometric material. Important methods of anthropological research are craniology, osteology, odontology, and anthropological photography. It also involves taking prints of skin patterns of the palms and plantar surfaces of the feet, removing plaster face masks, obtaining plaster prints of the internal cranial cavity. Visual anthropology has been developing methods and techniques for studying physical anthropology. It is increasingly used in research and other types of the field. Visual anthropology is a cultural activity in which screen art, humanitarian knowledge, and modern information technologies interact intending to study little-known aspects of the life of people.
The most important reason is that anthropology primarily focuses on humans, who are the most influential shapers of the world. It is especially relevant today, when cultural and social values, norms, and assumptions are shifting and clashing with one another (Ingold 42). Cultural anthropology considers social relations taking into account the anthropological characteristics of a person, as well as the social environment within which he exists, lives, and acts. Therefore, sometimes cultural anthropology is also called the anthropology of organization or social anthropology, implying that a person, along with physical ones, also has spiritual characteristics that are manifested through his organizational relations, social environment, activities, and culture. Social ties are rooted in the distant past, and certain forms of sociality can be traced even in the communities of higher animals. The scientific discipline that studies political-power relations in a wide variety of societies, which acts as a private form of cultural anthropology, is commonly called political anthropology.
In conclusion, anthropology is a critically relevant and necessary profession, which requires a unique set of skills and knowledge. Such a specialist might be either interested in a certain aspect of humanity or wish to learn the general picture. The given scientific study addresses the roots of the human species through analysis of the remain and fossils. It also illuminates the issues of culture and societies, which serve as the basis of ethnography. Anthropologists also increase knowledge of how people communicate, which is primarily used with linguistics.
Works Cited
Fedorak, Shirley. Anthropology Matters. University of Toronto Press, 2017.
Ingold, Tim. Anthropology: Why It Matters. Polity, 2018.