ABC of anthropology simplified article by Proff Dr KN Reddy SV University, Tirupati, Anthropology refers to the study of man in total, i.e., man in nature; man and his works or cultural activities through time and space. More so, anthropology attempts to study man’s appearance in the evolutionary line of animal kingdom, his genetic nature and genetic links with closer and far off. Thus, anthropology covers the wide range of content of man, his society and culture with holistic approach. In short, anthropology covers the myths and truths of human societies and cultures and biological affinities or relations of them. Thus, Anthropology (A) embraces biology (B) and culture (C) of Man.
Anthropology In Revelation Of Scientific Facts
One of the myths cracked by the discipline of anthropology is about our belief and notion that we are created directly, as we are now, by the God. But the truth is that all beings are evolved ones through evolutionary processes with the change of beings through natural selection and genetic mechanisms and modifications. You can see this if you refer to Compact Oxford Dictionary, the details of schematic figure of animal kingdom, its divisions to the extent of emergence of man.
Anthropology And Its Founders
However, this scientific truth could not be taken or digested by man’s parallel cultural unit, the Religion. And it had influenced and tried to shun the idea of evolution and restricted to its faith that God created every being separately in the biotic world called Nature.
But truth cannot be hidden. Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution through natural selection and Gregor John Mendel’s laws of inheritance (Nature- Nurture Processes) are the foundations for the subject matter and content of anthropology. They strongly emphasize the origin of species through the processes of natural selection and genetic mechanisms.
Human Societies : Primitive To Modern
The works of anthropology reveal that there are as many as 12000 distinct human societies all around the world inhabiting various ecological regions that cover land, forest, mountain and sea environments, practicing varied cultures in their socio-economic milieu. Here, culture refers to ways of living that suit them to their environment and it also refers to the learned behavior of man. In the broadest sense, all these cultures inclusive under human culture and the progress of these cultures through time is described as human civilization.
Process Of Acculturation
Man is tradition bound within their cultures and at the same time culture is very dynamic in its nature as it absorbs the good content of other neighboring cultures for their better living and well-being. This is called the process of acculturation or getting accultured or transforming to modernity. Man is considered as a living museum of various cultures. We can see today, thus, communities or societies branded as primitive cultures representing their age-old traditions and keep themselves rigid in practicing them without being subject themselves to change.
We have before us many such groups or people, under primitive tribes, such as Todas of the Nilgiris(mountain dwellers); Onge, Jarawa, Sentinelese, and Andamanese of Andamans(sea coast inhabitant tribes), the Yanadi and Chenchu the forest dwellers from Andhra Pradesh who separate themselves from the mainstream population, i.e., the representatives of modern cultures. Anthropologists focus on all these backward and advanced human societies and get the living ways of them as they live in their own worlds.
BY K NIRMALANANDA REDDY (KN REDDY)
SV UNIVARSITY TIRUPATI
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