Socio-Cultural

Anthropology

Michael P. Vale
 ANTHROPOLOGY
• ETYMOLOGY:
– ANTHROPOS- mankind, human-being
– LOGOS- Study
• Study of man
• Study/Science of mankind and humanity
• A broad scientific discipline dedicated to
the comparative study of humans as a
group, from its first appearance on earth to
its present stage of development.
 ANTHROPOLOGY
• A science which:
• Investigates the human strategies of living
• Examines the characteristics that human
beings share as specie (homo sapiens)
and the diverse way that people live in
different environments; and
• Analyze the function of social groups
 ANTHROPOLOGY
• Focuses:
• Origin of humans
• Evolutionary development of humans
• Human physical, bio-chemical and cultural
variations, and
• Material possessions and cultural heritage
of humans
 MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT
ANTHROPOLOGY
• Anthropology is limited to the study of
primitive societies
• Anthropologist only study the rural people
and rural areas
• Anthropologists are only interested in the
study of far away, remote exotic
communities
• The purpose of anthropology is to study in
order to keep and preserve primitive,
defunct cultural practices.
 HISTORY OF ANTHROPOLOGY
• Born out of “enlightenment” in the middle 19th
century (1850’s)
• Emphasized human progress and the poser of
reason
• Formally started in the late 1870’s when colonizers
started to want to study their colonies and it’s
people
• First anthropologists wanted to record local
customs before they were forgotten or
disappeared
• Later on, they became professionals in museums
 EARLY APPROACHES OF
ANTHROPOLOGY
• ETHNOGRAPHY- Description of culture of a certain
group of people.
• Early anthropologists study and document the social
and cultural features of the indigenous non-western
people.
• ETHNOLOGY- Anthropological attempt to discover
universal human patterns and the common bio-
psychological traits that bind human beings
(similarities among people throughout the world)
• Aims to comparatively understand through analysis
the different ethnic groups across time and space.
HUMAN ISSUES THAT INTEREST
ANTHROPOLOGY
• Where did human species came from?
• Where human beings created in the image and
likeness of God, or were they just the products of
millions of years of natural, evolutionary process?
• In what way does a man differ from other animal
species?
• How did mankind arrive at the present stage of
biological, intellectual and cultural development? Is
there a common human nature? What is that?
• In what ways do humans who live in various time
and places differ?
• How can we explain why culture varies?
FEATURES OF ANTHROPOLOGY
1. BROAD SCOPE- Anthropology is
interested in all human being, living or
dead, primitive or civilized.
• Interested in all aspects of being a human
(color, life, marriage, political system,
tools, personality, languages, etc.
• NOTE: No dimension of humankind is
outside the Anthropologists attention.
FEATURES OF ANTHROPOLOGY
2. UNIQUE APPROACHES
– Anthropology is Holistic
• Studies one simple aspect of human life and
relates it to the complex aspects of life.
– Anthropology is Relativistic
• Studies and explain belief, practice or institution in
it’s own context.
• Does not made value judgment “that is good or
bad, correct or wrong”
– Anthropology is Comparative
• Studies certain aspects of culture by comparing it
across societies and times
FEATURES OF ANTHROPOLOGY
3. EMPHASIS ON INSIDERS VIEW
– EMIC PERSPECTIVE
– Focus on how the people themselves understand
their “world” and how that particular group of people
explains about the world in their own understanding.
4. THE MICRO-FOCUS
– SMALL SCALE SOCIETY (COMMUNITY)
– Focus on the social organization of the smallest scale
of society which is homogenous in character.
5. METHOD OF RESEARCH
– QUALITATIVE
– Extended fieldwork, focus-group discussion,
observation, key-informant interview.
PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
LINGUISTIC ANTHROPOLOGY
ARCHEOLOGICAL
ANTHROPOLOGY
SOCIO-CULTURAL
ANTHROPOLOGY
 PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
• Branch of Anthropology that is closely related to
biology; often called Biological Anthropology
• Studies biological dimensions of humans;
evolution, variations among population and
behavior.
• SPECIAL FIELDS OF STUDY:
– Paleoanthropology
– Primatology
– Anthropometry
 PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
• PALEOANTHROPOLOGY
• Search for fossil remains from prehistory
• Study of human development and evolution
through the analysis of fossil remains.
 PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
• PRIMATOLOGY
• Study of biology and behavior of primates-
animal that is closely related to human
• Primatologists observe primates (gorillas,
chimpanzees, gibbons and orangutans) in their
natural habitat to ascertain the differences and
similarities they possess against a human.
• Primatologists help us understand what we
share with other animals, what makes them part
of the natural world and what makes them
unique.
 PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
• ANTHROPOMETRY
• Studies about the physical characteristics and
differences of human through genes.
– POPULATION GENETICS
• Studies how differing physical characteristics
(blood type skin color, skull shape, facial shape,
hair texture, etc) of humans helped them adapt to
different geographical environments.
– FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGY
• Identification of human skeletal remains for
medical and legal purposes.
• Aids in criminal investigations
 LINGUISTIC ANTHROPOLOGY
• LINGUISTICS- Scientific study of language
• Describe and analyze sound patterns,
combination of sounds, meanings and sentence
structures.
• LINGUISTIC ANTHROPOLOGY- The study of
speech and language in the context of
anthropology; language as a cultural resource
and speaking as a cultural practice
LINGUISTIC ANTHROPOLOGY
– SOCIOLINGUISTICS- Usually focus on
“unwritten, dying language”
– HISTORICALINGUISTICS- Comparison and
classification of different language to discern
to historical links between them.
– STRUCTURALINGUISTIC- Studies the
structure of linguistic patterns to find out how
contemporary languages are similar and
different with each other.
 ARCHEOLOGICAL
ANTHROPOLOGY
• ARCHEOLOGY- Studies the ways of lives of past
people by excavating and analyzing their physical
remains.
• ARTIFACTS- material remains of societies
• ECOFACTS- Footprints on the ecology by past societies
• THREE MAJOR GOALS:
– Classify and sequence material culture
– Reconstruct ancient way of life
– Explain and delineate cultural processes
 ARCHEOLOGICAL
ANTHROPOLOGY
• PREHISTORIC ARCHEOLOGY- Study societies that did
not leave behind written records.
• HISTORICAL ARCHEOLOGY- Study of societies which
left behind written records
• CLASSICAL ARCHEOLOGY- Deals with ancient
civilizations and empires of Europe, Middle east, Egypt,
Greece, Persia, Rome, and other classic civilizations.
 SOCIO-CULTURAL
ANTHROPOLOGY
• Also called “Social Anthropology”
• Studies the social, material and non-material lives of the
contemporary and historical societies, taking the concept
of culture as central to its goals.
• Conduct studies of living people by visiting and living
among them for about a year or more.
• ETHNOGRAPHIES- Books, magazines and articles
accounting the results of the Anthropologists
investigation.
• Uses both Ethnology and Ethnography
 APPLIED ANTHROPOLOGY
• Application of Anthropological knowledge, methods and
approaches to the solving of human problems.
• The fifth branch of anthropology
• Uses data from other fields of Anthropology and uses it
to address present societal problems.
 CONTRIBUTIONS OF
ANTHROPOLOGY
• Gives us insight into the different ways and modes of life
of different societies
• Helps us understand our own culture
• Helps us fight against prejudices and discriminations
(ethnocentrism)
• Used as a tool for development (Applied Anthropology)
MARAMING SALAMAT PO!
“WHEN YOU ARE
TIRED WITH WHAT
YOU’RE DOING,
ALWAYS GO BACK
TO YOUR REASON
WHY.”
BREAK THE
ODDS,
CONQUER YOUR
FEARS,
BE THE NEXT LET
TOPNOTCHER!

-MICHAEL P. VALE
Licensed Professional
Teacher (LPT)
September 2016 LET,
4th National Placer