Have you ever wondered why human beings are specifically the way they are in a society? How is their decision-making and behaviour influenced by certain factors such as kinship, politics, religion or art?
These are one of the numerous questions that the science known as anthropology responds to.
From my point of view, anthropology is the coolest social science that there is. It is a highly complex subject, which analyses humanity in various contexts and tries to give an in-depth account on how diverse human life has been throughout history by examining how people live, communicate, interact and organize themselves. Moreover, it usually goes hand-in-hand with a lot of topics, varying from politics and economics to religion and art, meaning that anthropologists interact with researchers from other fields, which allows them to have an even better understanding of human life and evolution.
Ironically enough, I am pretty sure that you have never come across this impressive social science. For some reason, even though it plays a key role in understanding the diverse cultures and ways of life on this planet, it is not such a widely-known social science as sociology, for instance. Though underrated, without anthropology, human evolution and diversity across the globe would be virtually impossible to be comprehended. Furthermore, let’s face it, it’s really fascinating to learn about how factors such as music, language, tech, religion and many others have an impact on a society and humanity as a whole.
Have you ever considered who we should express gratitude to for providing us with valuable insights into African culture, for example?
John Layard, a British anthropologist and archaeologist. Of course, there are numerous scientists that have contributed to studies of African indigenous people, however, Layard was particularly impressive. He has done extensive fieldwork in South Africa, especially regarding their rock art, which he considered provided valuable insights on their culture and behaviour. He not only discovered artifacts dating back to the Middle Stone Age (which are super old, by the way), but his literary works have had a lasting impact on our knowledge of the continent’s rich cultural and historical heritage.
This is only one example, out of an incomprehensibly large number, of the discoveries in the field of anthropology. Even if you’re not keen on social sciences in general, there are many interesting things that you can learn about in the field of anthropology. Through these articles, I aim to share my passion for this social science with you by presenting its contributions to understanding human society and development in an informal manner, so as for you to both learn and have fun! :)
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