Global Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences

Significant Role of Anthropology in 20th Centuary

Tessa Elizabeth^* Department of Anthropology, Division of Social Sciences, University of Hawaii- West Oahu, HI, USA
^*Correspondence: Tessa Elizabeth, Department of Anthropology, Division of Social Sciences, University of Hawaii- West Oahu, HI, USA, Email:

Received: 01-Mar-2023, Manuscript No. GJISS-23-20297; Editor assigned: 06-Mar-2023, Pre QC No. GJISS-23-20297(PQ); Reviewed: 20-Mar-2023, QC No. GJISS-23-20297; Revised: 27-Mar-2023, Manuscript No. GJISS-23-20297(R); Published: 03-Apr-2023, DOI: 10.35248/2319-8834.23.12.043

Description

Anthropology is the scientific study of people, focusing on human biology, cultures, communities, linguistics, and behaviour in both the present and the past, including other human species. Whereas cultural anthropology examines cultural meaning, including norms and values, social anthropology explores patterns of behaviour. The term "sociocultural anthropology" is widely used as a portmanteau in modern language. Language's impact on social life is the subject of linguistic anthropology. In biological or physical anthropology, the biological development of humans is investigated.

While studying human behaviour, archaeological anthropology, also referred to as "anthropology of the past," looks at tangible evidence. It is classified as a branch of anthropology in North America and Asia, but in Europe it is treated as a separate study or grouped with other closely related disciplines like palaeontology and history.

In the 20^th century, this low statistic grew to include thousands of anthropological departments in the majority of higher education institutions around the globe. Nowadays, anthropology has dozens of distinct primary subfields. It is now possible to utilise anthropological theory and methods to solve particular problems; for instance, the discovery of buried victims may prompt the use of a forensic archaeologist to reconstruct the crime's conclusion. The organisation has grown to a global level. The World Council of Anthropological Associations (WCAA), for instance, has members from roughly thirty different countries and describes itself as "a network of national, regional, and international groups that aspires to foster worldwide communication and cooperation in anthropology."

Since the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries, cross-cultural comparisons, extensive in-depth analysis of context, and emphasis on participant-observation or experiential immersion in the field of study have set social anthropology in the UK and cultural anthropology in the US apart from other social sciences. Particularly in cultural anthropology, emphasis has been placed on cultural relativism, holistic thinking, and using results to create critiques of other cultures. From Boas' critiques of 19^th century racial ideologies, to Margaret Mead's support for sexual liberation and gender equality, to current critiques of postcolonial oppression, this has been especially prevalent in the United States. Ethnography, which also refers to the literature generated as a result of anthropological fieldwork, is one of its primary research methodologies.

The British tradition of social anthropology has a tendency to predominate in Great Britain and the Commonwealth countries. The four fields of anthropology founded by Franz Boas in the early 20^th century have generally been recognised in the United States of America; biological or physical anthropology; social, cultural, or sociocultural anthropology; archaeological anthropology; and linguistic anthropology. Even while these fields commonly overlap, they frequently employ various strategies and techniques.

The study of the past of humanity through its physical remnants is called archaeology.

The cultural and material life of previous societies are documented through artefacts, faunal remnants, and altered landscapes.

In order to infer patterns of earlier human behaviour and cultural traditions, archaeologists analyse material artefacts.

Ethnoarchaeology is a branch of archaeology that examines the customs and physical remnants of currently existing human groups in order to better comprehend the artefacts that prehistoric human cultures who are assumed to have lived similarly left behind. Ethnology was more prevalent in European nations with colonies abroad. In areas of the world influenced by European tradition, it is sometimes referred to as sociocultural anthropology.