What is Anthropology?

Anthropology is the study of humanity, of the ancient and modern people

and their ways of life.
- Marvis Harris.

Physical anthropology: It studies the physical characteristics of humans

through the fossils found and the distinctive features of contemporary
groups. Here, you can recognize primatology, human paleontology,
forensic anthropology, and population genetics.
Archeology: It is devoted to the study of material remains of past cultures.
By reconstructing extinct forms of life, it seeks to know the ecological
environment and the causes that led to its demise. Among the most
widespread branches have historical and industrial archeology.
Anthropological linguistics: It studies the diversity of languages spoken by
the existing human groups, attempts to reconstruct the history of their
origin, as well as the role of the relationship between language and the
development of the groups that speak it. The branches in which this aspect
is divided include historical linguistics, descriptive linguistics and
sociolinguistics.
Cultural anthropology: Also known as social anthropology. It refers to the
analysis and description of cultures, both from the past and from human
groups of today. This includes applied, medical, urban, development, and
religion anthropologies, as well as politics, anthropology and indigenous,
among other themes.

Evolutionist school argues that the societies shall pass through states of
development, in that way they could be able to place in some of them. The
work of the social scientist is to discover and present the stages that
spanned all cultures to reach the highest level of development, generally
associated with the European societies of that time.
Lower savagery: Characterized by the subsistence through the collection of
wild food, promiscuity, nomadic horde as a basic unit of this type of
societies, and common property of resources.
Higher savagery: They already had utensils for hunting (bow and arrows),
banned marriage among siblings, and family relationships were recognized
exclusively through women.
Barbarism: Recognizable by the invention of agriculture and pottery, the
prohibition of incest was extended to all female offspring, and the clan and
village formed the basic units of organization.
Higher stage of barbarism: When metallurgy was being developed, family
relationships were traced by the male line, men married several women
(which is known as polygyny) and private property appears.
Civilization: When writing developed, the civil government, and the
monogamous couple as the basis of the family.