Anthropology
The abstract noun anthropology first appeared in reference to history within the Oxford English Dictionary of 1859. Its present use emerged during Renaissance Germany through the works of Magnus Hundt and Otto Casmann. These scholars derived their Neo-Latin term from Greek words meaning human and study. Aristotle later utilized an adjectival form of this concept. The word began entering English usage possibly via French by the early eighteenth century. Sporadic application occurred throughout the nineteenth century for various subject matters. Étienne Serres used the term in 1839 to describe natural history or paleontology of man based on comparative anatomy. Jean Louis Armand de Quatrefages de Bréau created a chair in anthropology and ethnography at the French National Museum of Natural History in 1850.
Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species as an epiphany for theorists who had begun suspecting unknown laws behind similarities between animals, languages, and folkways. Paul Broca formed the Société d'Anthropologie de Paris meeting for the first time in Paris in 1859 after reading Darwin. He became an immediate convert to Transformisme as the French called evolutionism. His definition shifted to become the study of the human group considered as a whole in its details and relation to the rest of nature. Theodor Waitz wrote Die Anthropologie der Naturvölker between 1859 and 1864 with the title translated as The Anthropology of Primitive Peoples. Richard Francis Burton and James Hunt broke away from the Ethnological Society of London to form the Anthropological Society of London in 1863. This was the second society dedicated to general anthropology in existence. Edward Burnett Tylor joined as one of the first associates before later referring to himself as an anthropologist instead of an ethnologist.
Franz Boas developed the four field approach in the early twentieth century within the United States. These fields included biological or physical anthropology, social cultural or sociocultural anthropology, archaeological anthropology, and linguistic anthropology. Biological anthropology studies humans and other primates in their biological evolutionary and demographic dimensions. Cultural anthropology examines how people make sense of the world around them through comparative study. Archaeology explores human activity by examining physical remains often referred to as the anthropology of the past. Linguistic anthropology seeks to understand processes of human communications verbal and non-verbal across time and space. The Standard Cross-Cultural Sample includes 186 cultures for comparison across societies. Participant observation serves as a foundational method for social and cultural anthropology requiring long-term fieldwork within a community.
Anthropology became considered by some to have been a tool for colonizers studying their subjects to gain better understanding and control. Nineteenth- and twentieth-century America and Europe were formative periods where racism played a significant role motivating certain avenues of research including early bioarchaeology development. A major driver behind the field creation was the effort to establish intellectual superiority of the white race. Scientists treated Indigenous enslaved or otherwise socially marginalized individuals not as human beings but as scientific specimens when determining remains belonged to them. This racist foundation shaped attitudes for decades reinforcing belief among many anthropologists that they held inherent authority over human remains and burial sites they encountered. Franz Boas publicly objected to US participation in World War I and published an exposé condemning American archaeologists espionage in Mexico under cover as scientists after the war ended.
Professional anthropological bodies often object to use of anthropology for benefit of state through codes of ethics or statements. The Association of Social Anthropologists of UK and Commonwealth called certain scholarship ethically dangerous. Principles of Professional Responsibility issued by American Anthropological Association amended through November 1986 stated no secret research or debriefings should be agreed to given relation with own government and host governments. David H. Price documented pursuit and dismissal of several anthropologists from jobs for communist sympathies during Cold War years. Many served in armed forces while others worked in intelligence like Office of Strategic Services and Office of War Information against Axis powers. Counterinsurgency efforts focus on better grasping meeting local needs in Afghanistan under Human Terrain System program where HTS teams work with US military in Iraq. The Christian Science Monitor reported this strategy in September 2007 regarding engagement with security communities.
Cyborg anthropology originated as sub-focus group within American Anthropological Association annual meeting in 1993 exploring philosophical sociological ramifications of Donna Haraway Cyborg Manifesto published 1985. Digital anthropology studies relationship between humans and digital-era technology extending to various areas where anthropology and technology intersect. Ecological anthropology defined as study of cultural adaptations to environments focusing how cultural beliefs practices helped populations adapt to their environments changing across space and time. Melissa Checker became environmental justice advocate working directly organizing with people of Hyde Park regarding corporate exploitation land damage. Medical anthropology focuses six basic fields including development systems medical knowledge patient physician relationship integration alternative medical systems interaction social environmental biological factors influencing health illness critical analysis psychiatric services migrant population impact biomedicine biomedical technologies non-Western settings. Psychological anthropology examines interaction cultural mental processes shaping human cognition emotion perception motivation mental health within particular cultural groups.
Common questions
When did the word anthropology first appear in the Oxford English Dictionary?
The abstract noun anthropology first appeared in reference to history within the Oxford English Dictionary of 1859. Its present use emerged during Renaissance Germany through the works of Magnus Hundt and Otto Casmann.
Who established the chair in anthropology at the French National Museum of Natural History in 1850?
Jean Louis Armand de Quatrefages de Bréau created a chair in anthropology and ethnography at the French National Museum of Natural History in 1850. This position formalized the study of human groups as a whole in relation to nature.
What are the four fields of Franz Boas four field approach developed in the early twentieth century?
Franz Boas developed the four field approach in the early twentieth century within the United States including biological or physical anthropology, social cultural or sociocultural anthropology, archaeological anthropology, and linguistic anthropology. These fields cover biological evolution, comparative culture, physical remains, and communication processes.
Why was racism a significant factor in nineteenth- and twentieth-century American and European anthropology research?
Nineteenth- and twentieth-century America and Europe were formative periods where racism played a significant role motivating certain avenues of research including early bioarchaeology development. A major driver behind the field creation was the effort to establish intellectual superiority of the white race.
When did Cyborg anthropology originate as a sub-focus group within the American Anthropological Association annual meeting?
Cyborg anthropology originated as sub-focus group within American Anthropological Association annual meeting in 1993 exploring philosophical sociological ramifications of Donna Haraway Cyborg Manifesto published 1985. Digital anthropology studies relationship between humans and digital-era technology extending to various areas where anthropology and technology intersect.