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IGNOUPROJECT.COM 9958947060
lead to the development of completely new characteristics, resulting in the birth of a
new species.
Shrichakradhar.com
Q2. Write the Difference Between Archaeology and Anthropology?
Ans. Archaeology and Anthropology are both disciplines of Social science and study of
human societies. The main difference between archaeology and anthropology is that
archaeology is the study of past civilizations while anthropology is the study of both
contemporary cultures and their historical origins. In this article, we are going to look at
this difference between Archaeology and Anthropology.
The term, archaeology is derived from the Greek word “arkhaiologia” meaning the study
of old things. Archaeology explores the societies and lives of the people who lived in the
past, mainly ancient civilizations, by excavating and discovering remains from particular
periods, environments, and geographical areas. These remains include the ruins of
buildings, burial grounds and monuments, human fossils and artifacts or items made by
our human ancestors. They pay special interest to artifacts like weapons, jewelry,
furniture, pottery, coins, etc. These artifacts reveal many important information about
ancient civilizations like how they obtained and prepared food and who their enemies
were.
In the United States, archaeology is considered a sub-branch of anthropology while, in
Europe, it is considered as a discipline of its own. It is also divided into sub-disciplines
like Historical Archaeology (study of societies with some of writing), Ethnoarchaeology
(study of living people), Archaeometry (a study that aims to systematize archaeological
measurement). 9958947060
Anthropology is the study of humans. The term anthropology is derived from the two
Greek words ‘ánthrōpos’ (human) and lógos (study). The American Anthropological
Association has defined anthropology as a subject which study “humans, past and
present”. To understand the complex human culture, anthropology incorporates
theories and methods of social, biological, physical sciences and humanities.
Anthropological researches have been classified into four categories:
• Social anthropology – focuses on topics like customs, law and conflict resolution,
economic and political organization, kinship and family structure, patterns of
consumption and exchange)
• Cultural anthropology – the study of cultural variation among humans
• Linguistic anthropology – the study of how language influences social life
• Biological/Physical anthropology – scientific discipline concerned with the
biological and behavioral aspects of human beings, their related non-human
primates and their extinct hominin ancestors.
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