Antropology, archeology and egyptology?

Question

now anthropology is well to study and interesting also i think. But i want to ask those people who study anthropology or who are anthropologists, is it an easy subject? Well all the subjects are easy the moment you keep in touch every-time but my meaning is is there any future in this domain?

Why do people do anthropology? And i would also like to get some knowledge about egyptology also? That is the study of the history of egypt, the history of mommies etc.

I would also like to have some views on archeology? What is there really in archeology?

Answer 1

Sorry, I know some of my answer overlaps with what has already been said, but I feel I am also expanding a little of a few points.

First off, Anthropology is not necessarily an easy subject, understanding human nature and culture can be extremely complex sometimes. That said, level of ease is a personal thing, I do not find it particularly difficult, some do. It happens to be a good fit for me skill and interest-wise.

Anthropology is the study of humanity, past, present, and projectable future.

The four subdisciplines are:

    ~sociocultural -the study of human culture (simplistically, shared knowledge, beliefs, values and behavior systems characteristic of a certain age, geographical, ethnic, social, etc, group)

    ~linguistics -the study of language

    ~physical -the study of fossils, human remains, biological evolution, genetics, etc.

    ~archaeology -the study of 'human cultures through the recovery, documentation, analysis and interpretation of material remains and environmental data, including architecture, artifacts, features, biofacts, and landscapes.' (wikipedia's definition) so not specifically fossil remains.

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Anthropology is an extremely important field of study. There are a myriad of potential applications for knowledge in the area. From further detailing and documenting history, to increasing understanding of the innumerable variety of cultures in the world (which is influential in too many ways to list), analyzing social change in the world today (and attempting to predict future changes), researching virtually any topic you can imagine, working in a museum, working with refugees, teaching, etc.

There is definitely a future in Anthropology. It is one of those subjects that will always be around and always be important. No question.

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Egyptology is typically referring to the archaeological study of ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, and art from the 5th millennium BC until AD 4th century. (googling Egyptology will bring up several interesting and informative websites)

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I hope that helped.  

Answer 2

I just want to add on to what the first guy said. I am also an anthropology major at Richmond University. But I also major in international studies. Anthropology has a number of concentrations. As you already know archeology.

There's Cultural anthropology, or the study of the lived experiences of human beings anywhere in the world. Think of ethnography as an example.

Physical anthropology (biological anthropology), or the study of humans as physical, biological beings. Think of human evolution as an example.

Linguistic anthropology (my concentration), or the study of human language in its context and considering its impact on the whole human experience.

The point is they all are the STUDY of something applied to humans. It is not easy. But a good student wouldn't find it difficult either. Just more so challenging. There's A LOT of research involved in anthropology and it is continuous throughout school and your career. They are scientist and are always trying to find explanations the why something is the way it is.

Your college professor will teach you how to properly do research so pay close attention and take as many research assistant internships as you possibly can.

One thing is for sure. A Bachelor of arts in anthropology can open the door to a lottttt of great careers all over the world! And simply looks d**n good on a resume. An MAA or PhD is like gold!

Answer 3

I have been a professional archaeologist for 21 years, and have been both a college professor and a consultant, so I know the job market fairly well.

There are many different answers to your question. If you want to earn a living doing archaeology, there are two routes that your career might take - you can either be a consultant or an academic (think college professor). To do either professionally, you will need, minimally, a Masters degree, and to teach full time at a university you will need a PhD.

Neither route is more challenging, realistically (I have done both), but even with all of the credentials in the world, getting a job in the academic world is very difficult and more a matter of luck than anything else. I generally do not recommend pursuing academic archaeology to people who are not independently wealthy. But either way, you will be in college for a fairly long time and finding a job after school may be more of a challenge than your professors say. Realistically, fewer that 50% of the PhDs cranked out each year by anthro departments land jobs that are directly related to their field of study. Regardless of what college professors say about the job market for anthropologists in order to keep their enrollments up, the reality is that there are almost no jobs in anthropology outside of archaeology.

If you really want to specialize in Egyptology, you would have to pursue the academic route - a specialty like this would be too narrow for a consulting archaeologist. Egyptology is a separate, though related, field which has more to do with the study of ancient languages and classical history than contemporary forms of archaeology or anthropology.

If archaeology as a whole interests you, then you should consider learning about how it is practiced in the private sector by consultants. The job oppurtunities for consultants are better, the variety of projects is wider, and there is simply more money in it.

Patience and the ability to travel are key to either path.

Best of luck! I don't mean to sound discouraging - after all, if I have done it, so can you! And archaeology is a fun and very rewarding way of life. Be ready to work hard though, and don't expect everything to be as interesting as what you see on TV.

Answer 4

I am an anthropology major at lehigh university so i know a little bit about this subject. Anthropology is the study of all human beings, their cultures and societies, and the history of their physical and cultural evolution. Archeology is the study of ancient things through fossil and physical remains. You can study almost anything from dinosaurs to ancient fishes to humans in archeology, so its not as specific as anthropology but there is lots of overlap. Egyptology is like anthropologybut specifically on ancient egypt. It involves both anthropology and archeology but specifically on egypt.

As an anthro major i can say its not easy, but its very very interesting. Im taking a class on native american indians right now and it is fun every day. But the books you have to read are very deep and sometimes difficult. My other anthro class im in right now i honsetly couldn't explain what its about in less than three pages. So i'll just say its about cultural comparison. Anthropology is one of the broadest subjects you can study, with many branches. Therefore its very difficult to generalize about it. If you enjoy thinking about the origins of our species and our cultural practices then you may enjoy anthro.