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commongene pool.” (Cited in Sarkar: 1997: 53). Population studies provides
anunderstanding of the processes of evolution i.e., natural selection, geneticdrift,
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gene flow and mutation. The process of development of new speciesand their
adaptation through the study of the frequency, distribution andchange in allele in
populations are also taken into consideration in suchstudies.
6. Molecular Anthropology: Anthropology is the study of the origin and
development of the human species. Molecular anthropology uses the tools and
techniques of molecular genetics to answer anthropological questions, especially
those concerning the origins and spread of humans across the globe. These
questions mainly fall under the heading of physical or biological anthropology, as
opposed to cultural anthropology, which studies social relationships, rituals, and
other aspects of culture.
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7. Human Variation: Human biology essentially means the study of human
variation. Variation isproduced by the inheritance of particular characteristics
from ancestors andby the action of environment. Thus, the effects of genes and
environment aretaken into account in the study of human variation.
8. Forensic Anthropologists: Forensic anthropology is a special sub-field of
physical anthropology (the study of human remains) that involves applying
skeletal analysis and techniques in archaeology to solving criminal cases. When
human remains or a suspected burial are found, forensic anthropologists are
called upon to gather information from the bones and their recovery context to
determine who died, how they died, and how long ago they died. Forensic
anthropologists specialize in analyzing hard tissues such as bones. With their
training in archaeology, they are also knowledgeable about excavating buried
remains and meticulously recording the evidence.

Q3. Describe the social-cultural anthropology in detail.
Ans. Sociocultural anthropology is one of the four main branches of anthropology.
Sociocultural anthropologists focus on the study of society and culture, while often
interested in cultural diversity and universalism. Additionally, sociocultural
anthropology is often split into social anthropology and cultural anthropology.
The methods of sociocultural anthropology are primarily ethnographic, through means
of qualitative data. This contrasts with quantitative data, which is the type of data often
used in other anthropological fields, such as archaeology and physical anthropology.
Ethnography is a holistic examination of culture, including aspects such as economy,
political structure, ritual, and much more. It is often conducted through participant-
observation, a technique in which an anthropologist resides in a cultural group and
makes observations. This must be done with ethical considerations in mind.
History and Development: A distinctive “social” or “cultural” anthropology emerged
in the 1920s. It was associated with the social sciences and linguistics, rather than with
human biology and archaeology. In Britain in particular social anthropologists came to

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