Note that most anthropological observations are done through experience and ethnology. This throws the profession into turmoil and casts a doubt in upcoming intellectuals as what kind of profession they are in and what is it classified as. However this debate is more centralized around methodology rather the context of the debate which is to what extent is anthropology a science. Exploiting the methodological side of anthropology as to how anthropologists reach their findings does not mean that anthropology should not be acknowledged as a science, rather it should be used to give much credit to this exceptional form of
Similar to other natural sciences, Malinowski argued that anthropologists should make their exact research methods clear and strive to reduce bias. In order to achieve this, one must cut himself “off from the company of other white men, and remain in as close as contact with natives as possible” (Malinowski, 1961, 6). Malinowski looks at fieldwork through scientific lens, although this may be an accurate method, he fails to study the issues of rituals and
Provide an example. (10 points) Anthropology is the study of humans over the millions of years of our existence, from all over the planet. There are four sub-fields of anthropology, which are: biological anthropology, archaeology, linguistic anthropology, and cultural anthropology. The first, biological anthropology, studies the interaction between human culture and biology, as well as the study of human evolution. This sub-field includes the study of human fossils (paleoanthropology) and the study of primates (primatology).
Anthropology is the holistic scientific study of human kind (Park. 2014 p.12). There are countless ways in which we can learn about humankind as a whole but in order to do so we first must recognize how anthropology and its four-subfields help us study species with a holistic approach. It would be difficult to fully comprehend our species and all it entails with a simple one subfield approach. Park (2014) said it himself, “Thus, affiliation with one of the traditional subfields of anthropology should be no more than a starting point to the scholarly investigation of the nature of our species.
Some of the overlapping areas of the subfields of anthropology are that forensic anthropology and osteology are connected because a forensic anthropology relies on processes that osteologists use to determine how an individual died, weather it was from diseases, natural causes, or other causes. Forensic anthropologists used the same methods when human remains are found in an archeological site, forensic anthropologists determine if the remains are recent or the remains of a hominin. Another overlapping area would be primate paleontology and primatology. These two subfields are similar because on focuses on the habits, environment, and lifestyles of fossilized primates while the other subfield focuses on the behavior patterns of primates and how they differ from the behavior of humans and other non-human primates. It is important to understand humankind from a holistic perspective because it will show how humans developed and evolved and adapted to their environments
There are a few processes that must accomplish by the anthropology when they are called to the scene. Firstly, the anthropologist must do on-site identification of scattered corpses as they are found to determine either they are human nor not. This detection is to allow the anthropologist to proceed with search strategy in response to emerging anatomical scatter patterns then they will inform to the search team when the remains are complete and the search can be discontinued. Any crime scene is delicate in nature and continuous contamination more likely to occur and this can be an issue. It is caused by the destruction of corpses by the perpetrator, animal or time that makes the identification process difficult to do.
What are the methods or tools for ethnography? How long to stay in one particular place? What is the reason to conduct ethnography in which apparently it consumes lots of time? Further literature reveal that basically “ethnography is a research process based on fieldwork using a variety of research techniques (observation, interview, collection of objects & artefacts) which includes engagement in the lives of those being studied over an extended period of time. The eventual written product ethnography – draws its data primarily from this fieldwork experience and usually emphasises descriptive detail as a result” (Davis, 1999).
Just like many other working fields archaeology is another that has gone through theoretical and philosophical changes over the years. There are many ethics that need to be taken into account for archaeologists. They have to be responsible for their own choices. Although there have been professional organizations set up for example World Archaeological Congress (WAC), First Code of Ethics, the Register of Professional Archaeologists, the society for American Archaeology (SAA), Code of ethics, Code of Professional standards, Code of conduct and standards of research performance, Principles of Archaeological Ethics and European Association of Archaeology. There is also the institute of field archaeologists in Britain that have also put forward a code of ethics.
After considering the multiple contemporary societal concerns in our world today, many potential research topics come to mind. However, even though each may have equal value of concern, it is fairly difficult to relate many of them to my chosen major of anthropology. According to the American Anthropology Association (2016), “Anthropology is the study of humans, past and present. To understand the full sweep and complexity of cultures across all of human history, anthropology draws and builds upon knowledge from the social and biological sciences as well as the humanities and physical sciences” (homepage). Therefore, I have decided to approach a subject related more toward sociocultural anthropology.
Both enterprises require knowledge of schools as interpreted contexts for action and inquiry, both require knowledge of alternatives to existing school practice; and both require knowledge of the full range of interaction effects between educational research and practice.” “Ethnographers can play a special role in developing this kind of knowledge by conducting detailed studies of how researchers and practitioners perceive and perform their work, both individually and collectively. They can also play a special role in initiating and examining alternative forms of social organization for researchers and practitioners. With this in mind, extending inquiry beyond the ethnography of education to include the ethnogra phy of ethnogra phy and education represents an important next step for school ethnographers, educational administrators, and their many and varied colleagues.” Proposal of evolving ideas adversities