How and why is darwin's theory of natural selection important to anthropology?

Question

How and why is darwin's theory of natural selection important to anthropology?

Answer 1

The answers given are good answers, but they may be a little bit more specific than you were looking for.  

Generally speaking, Anthropology is the study of mankind of human culture.  Evolution, based on Darwin's theory of natural selection, explains the evolution of mankind and therefore of human culture.

Answer 2

Evolution has the power to explain every adaptation of every organism alive by explaining it as the result of forces of selection.  That would include human beings, with which anthropology is concerned.  If you ask "Why?" about human instinct, human physiology, human difference, human emotions, etc. etc., evolution has some light to shed on it.

(a note made the next day in response to the next answer:)

I've never claimed that evolution explained all there was to anthro, like culture.  The question simply asked about one side of the issue, so I addressed that one side.

Answer 3

It's EXACTLY what it says:  the strong live and have kids  and the weak die off and have no kids.

Answer 4

Electropath has already given you a stereotyped answer from an evolutionists perspective. That might be enough for you. But your question deserves some extra thinking.

- As far as physical anthropology is concerned, in as much as homo sapiens does come from 4 million years behind, natural selection must have played an importan role: Bypedalism, oposing thumb, speach, stereoscopic sight, all are a result of evolution, and natural selection is always its driving force.

- But, when you are speaking about cultural anthropology, then trying to apply natural selection as a scientific dogma, will lead you to inadecuate conclusions: selecting a mate, dwelling conditions, developing weapons, food preferences, all of this are most likely chosen independently from "natural selection". Culture takes over.

- Now, in linguistics, I expect evolutionists will disagree but, tell me, exactly what advantage is there in speaking English instead of Russian or Hindi? How did a word like "eau" survive in french if it only represents one sound? How did "h" survive in Spanish if it has no sound at all?

Natural selection exists and plays a part in human evolution, but it is not a solo.