Sociocultural anthropology

It is the subfield that focuses on the study of human behavior, culture, and structure.
of social relationships, describing and explaining, analyzing and interpreting the similarities and
cultural differences

To study and interpret cultural diversity, cultural anthropologists carry out two types of
ethnography (based on fieldwork) and ethnology (based on comparison)
transcultural.

Ethnography provides a description of a particular group, society, or culture.

During fieldwork, the ethnographer collects data which is then organized, described, analyzed and
interpret to build and present that description that can take the form of a book, a
article or a movie.

Ethnology examines, analyzes, and compares the results of ethnography - the data collected in
different societies -. Use such data to compare and contrast and arrive at generalizations
about society and culture.

Ethnologists try to identify and explain cultural differences and similarities, to test
hypothesis and build a theory that expands our understanding of how they work
social and cultural systems.

Bioanthropology

Physical or biological anthropology is the branch that deals with studying and analyzing diversity.
what has traversed the body of man in the past and present, that is, the evolution that
it corresponded to anatomy, as well as the differences and relationships between contemporary peoples and their
adaptations to the environment. Sometimes, it includes the evolution of primates. In the past it was
called physical anthropology, although with a slight disparity of concepts.

Biological anthropologists collaborate with archaeologists in the reconstruction of both aspects

cultural and biological aspects of human evolution. Frequently, fossils appear alongside
tools that suggest habits, customs, and lifestyles of the hominids that
They used. Human biology and cultural evolution have been interrelated and are
complementary, and humans continue to adapt both biologically and culturally.

Archaeology
It is responsible for studying the human race that populated the earth in the past, that is to say, it is the one that us
it allows us to know what they did, what they ate, what those extinct primitive peoples were dedicated to.

This discipline is similar to that of historians, but Archaeology goes much further in the
time. Historians only deal with societies that have left written remains, which
that makes them contemplate only a past of approximately the last 5,000 years of the
history of humanity. But human societies have existed for at least a
million years, of which only a small proportion of years, 5,000, have left remains
writings. To study these societies that left written remains, there are historians. To
they lack written remains to study, archaeologists have to try to reconstruct history
from the rest of the cultures, some of which can be as large as the Mayan culture,
samples of which are the great temples discovered in Chichén Itzá (in Yucatán, Mexico).

Linguistics

It is the part of anthropology that will focus on the study of human languages, more than anything.
of the development that was achieved over time and the influences it has had on
issues such as migration and the overwhelming spread of information that has occurred in
our planet.

It is a discipline older than Anthropology itself, although the first linguists

they focused on the study of languages that have left written testimonies for a long time
time (like English, which has written references dating back almost a thousand years). Anthropologists
Linguists began to dedicate themselves to the study of languages that had not yet started to be written down.
still, which means that these anthropologists could not consult either a dictionary or a
grammar that would help them understand a language. Instead, they had to first develop a
dictionary or grammar as a tool to learn it. In this way, they would be in a position
to study the structure and history of that language. Some linguistic anthropologists study the
appearance of language and also the divergence of languages over thousands of years. The study
The change of languages over time is called Historical Linguistics.

According to the history of anthropology, what are the main theoretical approaches of the discipline?
explain each one.

Evolutionism
Main representatives of anthropological evolutionism Tylor (1832-1917), Morgan (1818-
1881) and Frazer (1854-1941).

Around 1830, some theories began to emerge in Europe that would attempt to explain similarities and differences.
among socio-cultural phenomena in such a way that a general theory of humanity thus emerged,
disconnected from mythical or religious conditioning. The guiding thread was the concept of
evolution whose central idea was that it is possible to arrange in series the forms of natural life in such a way
so that the transition from one form of life to another can be intuitively inferred. They were precursors in
this line of thinkers of the stature of Montesquieu, Turgot, Hume, Smith and others.

We can say from this point then that scientific anthropology begins with the
evolutionism and is therefore the first of the anthropological schools.

Some notable features of this movement are: + Anticreationist naturalism + Progress

undefined + Natural selection + The line of evolution starts from the simple and reaches the complex; from the
homogeneous to the heterogeneous + Use the comparative method

Thus, for Taylor, human culture is the product of a natural evolution, subject to laws that
regulate the mental faculties of the human animal in its social state. In this way, evolution
the culture could be the subject of scientific study and that was its objective. For this reason, it focused its
working methodology in the classification and comparison of anthropological facts. Indeed, it was
a pioneer in conducting quantitative fieldwork in ethnology.

Morgan focused his interest on the social evolution of the family, from casual partnerships.
up to monogamy, considered characteristic of civilization. Morgan established three successive stages
and graduals:

Savage: which in turn was divided into lower-middle (identified by fishing and the domain of
fire) and superior (with mastery of weapons such as the bow and arrow).

2. Barbarism: at the lower level only with the mastery of pottery and domestication; in the
medium, with the conquest of agriculture and iron, at the upper level.

3. Civilization: stage corresponding to the peoples who developed the phonetic alphabet and that
they have literary records.
Thus, I determine that there were different types of families that evolved until reaching the family.
patriarchal in its polygamous and monogamous forms.

Many have shown errors in Morgan's theoretical models, but the fact that Engels,
takes his concept of "ancient society" as the basis for his work "The Origin of the Family, the
"private property and the State" gave Morgan notable prestige within anthropology.
Indeed, for Engels, this theoretical development by Morgan demonstrated that the family was a
established institution and therefore institutions were not eternal but rather for the
they were the result of socioeconomic situations.

American School

Main representatives of the American school Boas (1858-1881)

Franz Boas marked basic lines of orientation that anticipated functionalism. The central idea
It was to consider culture as a whole, a set of integrated elements. The
methodology sought concrete evidence of cultural contact and the comparison of traits that
they must be considered contextually. On the other hand, they emphasized avoiding the limitation of only
point out similarities to also look for differences.

Wissler's notion of cultural area, a concept that describes a core of influence,

this is a wide area where it is observed how a cultural trait leaves its mark in different
Cultures. Universal psychological elements of culture are thus incorporated.

Diffusionism

Main representatives of anthropological diffusionism Graebner (1877-1942), Smith (1864-

1922), Rivers (1864-1922).

Diffusionism is conceptually a reaction to the unidirectional evolutionary ideas. This

It is the universal evolutionism according to determined laws. Thus, this school focused on the
similarity of objects belonging to different cultures and speculations about the diffusion of
these objects between cultures. Thus, an object had been invented only once in a society in
particularly and from there it expanded through different towns.
In short, diffusionism, in contrast to evolutionism which postulates a development
parallel between civilizations, diffusionism emphasizes cultural contact and exchange,
in such a way that cultural progress itself is understood as a consequence of exchange.

In this way, when a contact occurs between two cultures, an exchange of traits is established.
associates who become part of the culture that has taken them as a 'loan'.

The concept of cultural loan is the transfer of cultural elements through a process.
selective after which the traits that best adapt to the culture are assimilated in such a way that
they even transform into their function.

Contributions of diffusionism are considered to the importance given to the interrelationship between the
cultural phenomena, the notable accumulation of ethnographic information and the insistence on the
fieldwork.

French sociological school

Main representatives of the French school Durkheim (1858-1917), Mauss (1852-1950),

Levy-Brhul (1857-1939), Ch. A.van Gennep (1873-1957).

Durkheim, founder of the French sociological school, pointed out precisely the
interdependence of all social phenomena, any fact had to be studied
taking others into account through a holistic vision. Indeed, this line is a
clear precedent of functionalism.

Marcel Mauss for his part will point out that no human discipline could build concepts or
classifications to interpret them in isolation, the direct consequence of this idea would be the
rejection of the comparative method.

Functionalism

Principales representantes el funcionalismo Malinowski (1884-1943), Radcliffe-Brown (1881-1955)

Malinowski argued that institutions exist insofar as they perform specific functions.
(each one their own) and thus, they contribute to sustaining social order.

Functionalism emphasized the organic interconnection of all parts of a culture highlighting

foregrounds the idea of totality. In this way, a functional university is proposed that
opposes diffusionism.

In functional analysis, it is an explanation of anthropological facts at all levels of

development according to the role they play within the total system of culture, by the way in
that are interrelated within the system and by the way that system is linked
to the physical medium. The concept of function, according to Malinowski, refers to the role that a
aspect in relation to the rest of the culture and ultimately always oriented towards satisfaction
of human needs, that is, survival.

Radcliffe-Brown's work will be a step forward in this line, emphasizing the concept.
of social structure. Indeed, for this author there is no function without structure. By structure one
understands a series of unified relationships, where continuity would be preserved through a
vital process composed of the activities of the constituent units.

Merton will add that there are prerequisites or a series of necessary conditions for the
survival of a society or the maintenance of a structure. Thus, certain forms
Cultural or social factors are essential for certain functions to be performed.

The consequences of the theoretical model proposed by functionalism manifest in the

priority granted to synchronic and ahistorical analysis, the integrated notion of society with a certain
tendency to conceive it as a closed complex system and the abandonment of interest regarding
What was the origin of the culture that characterized earlier schools.

Structuralism

Main representatives of anthropological structuralism Levi-Strauss, Needham, Douglas,

Turner, Dumont.
Structuralism arises to try to overcome those deficiencies observed in other schools.
with the intention of reaching an explanation of the logic of social organizations in their
synchronous dimension without forgetting the diachronic dimension. The methodology of structuralism is
it is particularly due to linguistics developing the notion of structure.

Structuralism opens the second half of the century and serves to mark the beginning of the
modernity. In this sense, the contribution of Levi-Strauss is essential as it emphasizes the
mental structure that underlies institutions and that would be determined by the
specific functioning of the human brain.

In this line, social facts could be understood as defined communication processes.

by rules, some of these conscious (although only superficially as they may be
hiding aspects of reality) and others at a deep level, at an unconscious level. In
Ultimately, this means that there is a significant order behind the apparent disorder and that the
structures operate on an unconscious level and at the same time universal common to all "molds"
humans of the unconscious.

Structural analysis is not a superficial schematization but a deep understanding of the

objective reality and involves understanding unconscious activity by observing each institution or
each social phenomenon in its different manifestations to uncover the hidden rules. In this
line, Piaget's thought will say that there is hope of intrinsic intelligibility in so far as this
It is based on the postulate that a structure is self-sufficient and does not need anything else to exist.
captured.

The most common criticisms of anthropological structuralism focus on the selective use of the
secondary ethnographic sources and that often theory is forced as it does not fit in with
empirical reality.

Dynamism

Main representatives of dynamism Gluckman, Leach.

While functionalism and structuralism are static views of society and

they consider that if something is necessary for it to work or is basic in its institutional structure or
mental, it must be quite stable, or the society in question would not exist. Among the criticisms
more frequent to these conceptions is that change is evidence and marginalize its influence
it represents a limited analysis of reality. From the 1950s onwards, in this vein, a
a series of studies that attempt to analyze change and its consequences.

Dynamism is therefore an internal phenomenon of every society and is starting to be considered as a

fundamental element in its cohesion. Gluckman developed the notion of 'conflict' along these lines.
to describe the tensions within a society and Leach, the one of 'cycles' to describe the
periodic and changing developments.

Neoevolutionism

Main representatives of neoevolutionism: White, Steward, Childe.

Unlike the 19th-century evolutionism, which took development as its central principle
progressive and the change in a unidirectional sense that became more complex and perfected through the
time, the neoevolutionism of the mid-20th century sought to explain the development of culture in
function of the energy available per individual, this is considering the evolution with the increase
progressive of the techniques for their acquisition.

Cultural Ecology

Main representatives of Cultural Ecology Fried, Harris, Sahlins.

Even within the framework of neo-evolutionism, Steward will point out the importance of relationships.
between the environment and society, especially the conditions under which production takes place.
This trend will ultimately lead to the current of cultural ecology.

Marxist structuralism
Main representatives of Marxist structuralism Godelier.

In the 1960s, Marxist structuralism would attempt to explain wild thought based on
of the dialectic and the struggle for the means of production, highlighting the importance of the
economic infrastructure for the understanding of social, material, and superstructures
symbolic. Thus, the most frequent topics of Godelier's works were the economy,
fetishism and religion.

Neodiffusionism

Main representatives of neodiffusionism Wallerstein.

In the 1970s, Wallerstein would be the representative of a reaction against the

neoevolutionism. The central point of this current is to consider written history as
an essential source for studies is the consideration of the enormous and extensive repercussions
of economic facts in remote societies. The idea is to highlight that the interdependence between
economy and society arises from the fact that it is the same people who act in different
spheres, that is, the family, political, religious, and economic spheres.

From the anthropological perspective, what is understood by culture?

It is the set of beliefs, customs, ideas, and values, as well as the objects and instruments.
materials that individuals acquire as members of that group or society. Concepts
acquired and inherited by humans in society:

Culture is that complex totality that encompasses knowledge, beliefs, art, morality, law,
the customs, and any other skills and habits acquired by man as
member of society.

For cultural anthropology, it is said that it is necessary for social phenomena to be explained.
both from a social point of view and from a cultural one, as social behaviors and
artifacts reflect the values and social norms of the society to which they belong. That is why
that anthropologists try to explain every element of a specific culture by its relationship with
the others; for which social anthropologists try to show how the patterns of
Behavior is related to the values and norms of the culture in which they are integrated.