Interesting things about Anthropology

Anthropology is the study of human races, societies, origins, and cultures. To the individual, anthropology focuses on understanding yourself in relation to others. It finds reasoning behind why people behave the way they do and what factors affect this. Anthropology has contributed in advances in the medical field, business world, and education. The more we learn about human interactions, the easier it becomes to progress as a society and stay clear of miscommunication. A plethora of concepts in Anthropology help explain how and why certain things came to be. Evidently, language has been one of humankind’s necessities for survival. Language is incredibly powerful in communication. As we know, communication is the reason we’re able to connect with others to transfer ideas which is vital in everyday life and in result, stimulating cultural development. Without it, it would be almost impossible to get anything done. Culture exists in every society yet so many different cultures exist in the world that misconceptions are easily made. Social Linguistics, which focuses on the way language is used and its effects on society, clears up these misconceptions so that people can co-exist. Social Linguistics analyzes how people speak differently in different contexts. It includes the concepts of rules of verbal politeness and manners, sensitivity, feelings, attitudes, and even body language. For personal benefits, knowledge of this concept serves as a good reminder to an individual who may be interacting with someone of a different culture to learn what characteristics of their own behavior may be acceptable or not acceptable to the other person. Another thing to keep in mind is language is always changing; therefore, the field of sociolinguistics is an ongoing study. Every culture is ethnocentric. Ethnocentrism is the reason for unification within a culture. Though this trait is understandable for the reason of cultural preservation, it blinds the members of that society into thinking that their culture is the best one. For this matter, it is useful for cultures to accept the concept of cultural relativism- the prospective that every culture works best for itself and no one is better than the other. Sociolinguistics promotes cultural relativism so that varying cultures can understand one another better.
To further understand social interaction and motivations in society, understanding kinship is beneficial. Kinship describes family relationship (how people are considered to be related and who can marry whom). It usually serves as the main social organizing principle along with gender and age. It is also used as a means of transmitting status and property from generation to generation. Close observation has shown that inheritance rights correlate with the closeness of kinship links. A good example of this can be seen in the history of the United States presidency. Looking back, history tells us that in American society, the male was expected to be the patriarch of the family while the women was expected to stay and home and fulfill domestic duties. Though woman are supposedly supported to also run for office, tradition has influenced society to determine who actually succeeds. Furthermore, kinship rules can affect who a person can marry. Today, in most cultures, it is immensely looked down upon to marry someone within your own family. However, who is in your “family” differs from culture to culture. So while it might be unacceptable to marry a third cousin in America, it may be a little less of an obscurity in other areas of the world. Anthropologists realize that how people choose to classify the people they are related to have a strong influence on their interactions with others. Going hand-in-hand with this theory, clarification of kinships demonstrates each society’s cultural norms which can relieve confusion in people that are of another culture.
Looking at the bigger picture, Elman Service was capable of defining the stages of social evolution. This organization method was effective in highlighting differences in sociopolitical organization. These levels include: 1) Bands, 2) Tribes, 3) Chiefdoms, and 4) States. A major factor determining what level a society is is population. Band societies are characterized as small kin-based groups found among foragers. Tribes lived in villages and were larger kin groups based on lineages and descent. Their economy concentrated on horticulture and little government existed (development). Chiefdoms were also kin-based groups yet they are different because of a development in hierarchies. States consist of a formal government and definite socioeconomic stratification. This shift in government structure is believed to have occurred as a result of environmental changes as well as increasing population. Nowadays, modern nations have replaced old empires. Social, political, and economic inequality still exists, however. The process of social evolution in government structure does not cease. Societies continue to grow and interconnect globally. In the future, population growth will demand a surplus of resources which may cause scarcity (including food). As a result, the distribution of resources shall be taken with more caution. Societies will have to come up with new political solutions in addition to technological solutions to effectively deal with the decrease of resources.