What are the branches of anthropology?

Question

What are the branches of anthropology?

Answer 1

I studied both cultural and physical anthropology. There are many sub divisions of both, Physical generally involves archaeology and the study of physical evidence such as pottery, tools etc. For example an archaeologist may be an expert in ceramic technology. Another may be able to take a skeleton and build a body on it (eg forensic technology). Cultural has many aspect such as language evolution, beliefs, laws, mores, religion etc.

Answer 2

4 branches....

Archaeology- study of human cultures through the material remains we leave behind.  Cultural Anthropology- study of modern cultures and interactions between them.  Physical Anthropology- study of bones, skeletons (human ancestor and modern).  Linguistics- the study of language, language development, changes and branching in languages, their history and movement etc.

Answer 3

Anthropology is a ‘four-field’ discipline, encompassing archaeology, social and cultural anthropology, biological anthropology, and even linguistics.

Within these 4 major areas of studies, various "sub-fields" diverge however remain in relationship to the others in their theoretical findings: These sub-fields consist of in:

Biological Anthropology: primatology, anthropometrics, forensic anthropology, osteology, nutritional anthropology, and human and population genetics.

Socio-Cultural Anthropology: psychological anthropology, folklore, anthropology of religion, ethnic studies, cultural studies, anthropology of media and cyberspace, and study of the diffusion of social practices and cultural forms.

Linguistic anthropology: Subfields include anthropological linguistics. Linguistic anthropologists often draw on related fields including sociolinguistics, cognitive linguistics, semiotics, discourse analysis, and narrative analysis.

Archaeology is usually regarded as a separate (but related) field outside North America, although closely related to the anthropological field of material culture, which deals with physical objects created or used within a living or past group as a means of understanding its cultural values.

A number of subfield or modes of anthropology cut across these divisions. For example, medical anthropology is often considered a subfield of socio-cultural anthropology; however, many anthropologists who study medical topics also look at biological variation in populations or the interaction of culture and biology. They may also use linguistic analysis to understand communication around health and illness, or archaeological techniques to understand health and illness in historical or prehistorical populations. Similarly, forensic anthropologists may use both techniques from both physical anthropology and archaeology, and may also practice as medical anthropologists. Applied anthropology is perhaps better considered an emphasis than a subfield in the same sense as the standard four; applied anthropologists may work for government agencies, nongovernmental agencies, or private industry, using techniques from any of the subfields to address matters such as policy implementation, impact assessments, education, marketing research, or product development.