How is Anthropology the scientific study of being human?

Question

How is Anthropology the scientific study of being human?

Answer 1

Anthropology is more of a historical science based on the study of all things that, when come together, make us who we are today.  Although many anthropologists also continue to do research on the modern people that populate the earth, as well.  One of the key points to anthropology is human evolution and how we've evolved over time into modern man.  Many questions can be answered through anthropology from simple questions like, "Why do we eat meat?" or "Why do I have fair skin and she has black skin?" to more complex questions such as, "What drives many people to violence and when and how many religions started (and some of the reasons humans across the globe have felt drawn to some form of spirituality or another."  It also studies cultural differences across the globe, especially (but not limited to) more "primitive" tribal cultures.  It's a fascinating field of study for anyonesageerested in figuring out just what makes human beings tick.  If you have yet to really get into it, I highly suggest doing so.  If for nothing else just out of sheer curiousity.

Answer 2

cultural anthropology looks at how cultures evolve to adapt to change and through that adaptation preserve the species in much the same way as physical changes occur for the same adaptive reasons.  The study of totems and taboos are studies of adaptive cultural beliefs that promolgated survival in their contexts.  It could be argued that cultural evolution is the evolution of the mind and how the environment is perceived versus the physical evolution to change the body with in response to environmental changes.

Answer 3

Although there's much contention about the viability of the scientific aspect in cultural anthropology, I'm pretty sure that there'd be a general consensus on the assertion that physical or biological anthropology is the most "scientific" in that it uses quantifiable data to make inferences about variations amongst primates.

Answer 4

Anthropology is the scientific study of ancient human origins, based on DNA evidence, which is occasionally supported by fossil evidence!

Answer 5

Anthropology is the scientific study of being human because it encompasses these four aspects of human identity:The four fields are:

1.  Biological or physical:  seeks to understand the physical human being through the study of human evolution and adaptability, population genetics, and primatology.

2.  Cultural anthropology:  the study of the culture and social organization of a particular people: language, economic, social and political organization, kinship and family structure, religion, and the like.

3. Linguistic anthropology:  studies the processes of human communications, verbal and non-verbal, variation in language across time and space, the social uses of language, and the relationship between language and culture. It is the branch of anthropology that brings linguistic methods to bear on anthropological problems, linking the analysis of linguistic forms and processes to the interpretation of sociocultural processes.

4.  Archaeology:  the excavation and study of artifacts (materials modified human activities). Although archaeologists predominantly study materials produced by prehistoric groups, they also study modern, historical and ethnographic populations.