Meaning, Scope and development of Anthropology

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Social Sciences

Behavioural Sciences

Life Sciences

Medical Sciences

Earth Sciences

Humanities

(a) Social-cultural Anthropology.

(b) Biological Anthropology.

(c) Archaeological Anthropology.

(d) Linguistic Anthropology.

(a) Biological and Cultural factors in human evolution.

(b) Theories of Organic Evolution (Pre-Darwinian, Darwinian and Post-Darwinian).

(c) Synthetic theory of evolution; Brief outline of terms and concepts of evolutionary biology (Doll’s rule, Cope’s rule, Gause’s rule, parallelism, convergence, adaptive radiation, and mosaic evolution).

(a) Plio-preleistocene hominids in South and East Africa—Australopithecines.

(b) Homo erectus : Africa (Paranthropus), Europe (Homo erectus (heidelbergensis), Asia (Homo erectus javanicus, Homo erectus pekinensis.

(c) Neanderthal man—La-chapelle-aux-saints (Classical type), Mt. Carmel (Progressive type).

(d) Rhodesian man.

(e) Homo sapiens—Cromagnon, Grimaldi and Chancelade.

(b) Cultural Evolution—Broad Outlines of Prehistoric cultures :

(i) Paleolithic

(ii) Mesolithic

(iii) Neolithic

(iv) Chalcolithic

(v) Copper-Bronze Age

(vi) Iron Age

2.1 The Nature of Culture

The concept and Characteristics of culture and civilization;

Ethnocentrism vis-a-vis cultural Relativism.

Concept of Society;

Society and Culture;

Social Institution;

Social groups;

Social stratification.

Evolutionary Trend and Primate Taxonomy;

Primate Adaptations;

(Arboreal and Terrestrial) Primate Taxonomy;

Primate Behaviour;

Tertiary and Quaternary fossil primates;

Living Major Primates;

Comparative Anatomy of Man and Apes;

Skeletal changes due to erect posture and its implications.

Definition and universality;

Laws of marriage (endogamy, exogamy, hypergamy, hypogamy, incest taboo);

Type of marriage (monogamy, polygamy, polyandry, group marriage). Functions of marriage;

Marriage regulations (preferential, prescriptive and proscriptive);

Marriage payments (bride wealth and dowry).

Definition and universality;

Family, household and domestic groups; functions of family;

Types of family (from the perspectives of structure, blood relation, marriage, residence and succession);

Impact of urbanization, industrialization and feminist movements on family.

Consanguinity and Affinity;

Principles and types of descent (Unilineal, Double, Bilateral Ambilineal);

Forms of descent groups (lineage, clan, phratry, moiety and kindred);

Kinship terminology (descriptive and classificatory);

Descent, Filiation and Complementary Filiation;

Descent and Alliance.

Meaning, scope and relevance of economic anthropology;

Formalist and Substantivist debate;

Principles governing production, distribution and exchange (reciprocity, redistribution and market), in communities, subsisting on hunting and gathering, fishing, swiddening, pastoralism, horticulture, and agriculture;

Globalization and indigenous economic systems.

Band, tribe, chiefdom, kingdom and state;

Concepts of power, authority and legitimacy;

Social control, law and justice in simple Societies.

Anthropological approaches to the study of religion (evolutionary, psychological and functional);

Monotheism and polytheism; sacred and profane;

Myths and rituals;

Forms of religion in tribal and peasant Societies (animism, animatism, fetishism, naturism and totemism);

Rreligion, magic and science distinguished;

Magico-religious functionaries (priest, shaman, medicine man, sorcerer and witch).

(a) Classical evolutionism (Tylor, Morgan and Frazer)

(b) Historical particularism (Boas) Diffusionism (British, German and American)

(c) Functionalism (Malinowski); Structural— Functionalism (Radcliffe-Brown)

(d) Structuralism (L’evi-Strauss and E. Leach)

(e) Culture and personality (Benedict, Mead, Linton, Kardiner and Cora-du Bois)

(f) Neo—evolutionism (Childe, White, Steward, Sahlins and Service)

(g) Cultural materialism (Harris)

(h) Symbolic and interpretive theories (Turner, Schneider and Geertz)

(i) Cognitive theories (Tyler, Conklin)

(j) Postmodernism in anthropology.

Nature, origin and characteristics of language;

Verbal and non-verbal communication;

Social context of language use.

(a) Fieldwork tradition in anthropology

(b) Distinction between technique, method and methodology

(c) Tools of data collection : observation, interview, schedules, questionnaire, case study, genealogy, life-history, oral history, secondary sources of information, participatory methods.

(d) Analysis, interpretation and presentation of data.

Methods for study of genetic principles in man-family study (pedigree analysis, twin study, foster child, co-twin method, cytogenetic method, chromosomal and karyo-type analysis),

Biochemical methods, immunological methods, D.N.A. technology and recombinant technologies.

Mendelian population, Hardy-Weinberg law;

Causes and changes which bring down frequency-mutation, isolation, migration, selection, inbreeding and genetic drift.

Consanguineous and non-consanguineous mating, genetic load, genetic effect of consanguineous and cousin marriages.

(a) Numerical and structural aberrations (disorders).

(b) Sex chromosomal aberration- Klinefelter (XXY), Turner (XO), Super female (XXX), intersex and other syndromic disorders.

(c) Autosomal aberrations- Down syndrome, Patau, Edward and Cri-du-chat syndromes.

(d) Genetic imprints in human disease, genetic screening, genetic counseling, human DNA profiling, gene mapping and genome study.

Biological basis of morphological variation of non-metric and characters.

Racial criteria, racial traits in relation to heredity and environment;

Biological basis of racial classification, racial differentiation and race crossing in man.

ABO, Rh blood groups, HLA Hp, transferring, Gm, blood enzymes.

Physiological characteristics-Hb level, body fat, pulse rate, respiratory functions and sensory perceptions in different cultural and socio-economic groups.

Bio-cultural Adaptations

Genetic and Non-genetic factors. Man’s physiological responses to environmental stresses: hot desert, cold, high altitude climate.

Stages of growth—pre-natal, natal, infant, childhood, adolescence, maturity, senescence.

Factors affecting growth and development genetic, environmental, biochemical, nutritional, cultural and socio-economic.

Ageing and senescence. Theories and observations

Biological and chronological longevity. Human physique and somatotypes. Methodologies for growth studies.

Anthropology of sports,

Nutritional anthropology,

Anthropology in designing of defence and other equipments,

Forensic Anthropology,

Methods and principles of personal identification and reconstruction,

Applied human genetics—Paternity diagnosis, genetic counselling and eugenics, DNA technology in diseases and medicine, serogenetics and cytogenetics in reproductive biology.