Applied Anthropology: What Studies and Fields of Application

The applied anthropology it is, in simple words, the fact of putting into practice the anthropological knowledge and methods to complete a research activity. It is any type of anthropological research that is executed in order to solve one or more practical problems.

Pure anthropology is the social science that studies the behavior of human beings, both in the past and in the present. By"applying"it seeks to solve problems that may be related to any area that involves human behavior, such as health, business, human rights, environmental problems and education, among others.

Applied anthropology requires the application of methods based on research and data collection to produce changes in certain given cultural systems. It is the praxis of anthropology, the fact of including research together with activism within the community or group of people who want to study.

What study?

Anthropology is the study of humans of the past and the present. Anthropologists take a broad approach to understand all aspects of human experience. They start from a holistic idea; that is to say, that all the attributes that make the human being are interconnected with each other.

Anthropology takes into consideration the past of human beings - through the study of archeology - to determine how they lived thousands of years ago and the things that mattered to humans. They also take into account what forms the human being biologically, be it the body, the bones, the genetics and the food that is consumed.

Similarly, studies that determine the similarities between people and animals are also encompassed by anthropology.

Anthropological studies are divided into four main branches, which are the areas of study in which this science specializes. All these areas of study can be applied, which means that they have practical uses that tend to have certain purposes, such as studies or research.

What does applied anthropology do?

Applied anthropology is one of the fundamental parts of anthropology, since the four subdivisions of anthropology can be used in studies. Basically, applied anthropology consists in putting into practice anthropological principles to solve problems that arise in the real world.

For example, applied anthropology can be used in local communities to solve problems present in these, which can be health, education or even the environment. It is also possible to find anthropologists working in history museums, to help determine the origin of certain historical aspects of humanity.

Applied anthropology is not limited to a single work; It encompasses a large number of aspects that can be related to each other to determine the results of the studies. The common characteristic that anyone who practices applied anthropology should have is to see the world in a holistic way.

Everything that affects humanity correlates with each other. That is, to be able to explain a problem in its entirety, all its parts must be studied, related and then developed based on this.

Fields of application

Anthropology can be applied in almost any field that involves the development of human beings, but it is mainly divided into four main branches. These are biology, archeology, culture and linguistics.

Biological anthropology

Biological anthropology, also known as physical anthropology, is that branch of applied anthropology that encompasses all human studies and their evolution. Studies in this branch of anthropology seek to understand why human beings are the way they are, but mainly focus on the wide diversity of the species.

It has a fairly broad scope and includes several practices, such as human paleontology, evolutionary biology and human genetics, among others. These studies are not limited to the past: they can also explain contemporary human biological attitudes, based on evolutionary facts.

Cultural anthropology

Cultural anthropology is a division of anthropology that is responsible for studying culture in all its aspects, using the methods and tools of ethnography, ethnology and folklore to determine the exact studies. It complies with analyzing and studying culture in the different societies of the world.

This branch of anthropology is closely related to archaeological anthropology. In many cases, experts from both areas collaborate with each other to obtain better results in the studies. In the same way, the cultural branch of this science is related to other social sciences, such as, for example, sociology.

Linguistic anthropology

Linguistic anthropology focuses specifically on the use of language as a social tool for humans.

The applied studies of this branch of science seek to study the functioning of languages ​​and other forms of communication worldwide. In addition, it explains the cultural understandings of the language and its variations in each society.

In applied studies, language is considered as a fundamental tool in the creation of culture in social life. This relates linguistic anthropology to cultural anthropology, creating again a holistic relationship between anthropological branches.

The studies seek to understand how each language can influence the way in which people perceive the world. For example, the availability of certain words in particular and their use in each language may mean that people understand objects or directions more simply or require more explanations.

Archeology

Archaeologists study the culture of human beings based on the objects they created in the past.

It is undoubtedly the most practical and applicable branch of anthropology; researchers carefully search buried objects of all kinds to identify their origin and characteristics. In addition, they create maps of villages and households to identify the way in which they lived.

The study of archeology is not limited to humans, because animals are also studied to determine the environment in which humans themselves evolved. This again highlights the importance of the holistic belief of applied anthropology.

This branch of anthropology covers all human existence that has been recorded, from the first steps that the ancestors took to this day.

References

1. What is anthropology?, American Anthropology Association, (n.d.). Taken from americananthro.org
2. What is Applied Anthropology?, University of North Texas, (n.d.). Taken from unt.edu
3. Biological Anthropology, Leslie Aiello, (n.d.). Taken from discoveranthropology.org.uk
4. Cultural Anthropology, The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica, (n.d.). Taken from Britannica.com
5. Anthropology, The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica, (n.d.). Taken from Britannica.com
6. What is Applied Anthropology?, Missouri State University, (n.d.). Taken from missouristate.edu