Anthropology - I

 1.1 Meaning, Scope and development of Anthropology. 

1.2 Relationships with other disciplines : Social Sciences, behavioural Sciences, Life 

Sciences, Medical Sciences, Earth Sciences and Humanities. 

1.3 Main branches of Anthropology, their scope and relevance : 

(a) Social-cultural Anthropology. 

(b) Biological Anthropology. 

(c) Archaeological Anthropology. 

(d) Linguistic Anthropology. 

1.4 Human Evolution and emergence of Man : 

(a) Biological and Cultural factors in human evolution. 

(b) Theories of Organic Evolution (Pre-Darwinian, Darwinian and Post-

Darwinian). 

(c) Synthetic theory of evolution; Brief outline of terms and concepts of 

evolutionary biology (Doll’s rule, Cope’s rule, Gause’s rule, parallelism, 

convergence, adaptive radiation, and mosaic evolution). 

1.5 Characteristics of Primates; Evolutionary Trend and Primate Taxonomy; 

Primate Adaptations; (Arboreal and Terrestrial) Primate Taxonomy; Primate 

Behaviour; Tertiary and Quaternary fossil primates; Living Major Primates; 

Comparative Anatomy of Man and Apes; Skeletal changes due to erect posture 

and its implications.

1.6 Phylogenetic status, characteristics and geographical distribution of the 

following : (a) Plio-preleistocene hominids inSouth and East Africa—

Australopithecines. 

(b) Homo erectus : Africa (Paranthropus), Europe (Homo erectus 

(heidelbergensis), Asia (Homo erectus javanicus, Homo erectus pekinensis. 

(c) Neanderthal man—La-chapelle-aux-saints (Classical type), Mt. Carmel 

(Progressive type). 

(d) Rhodesian man.

(e) Homo saoiens—Cromagnon, Grimaldi and Chancelede.

1.7 The biological basis of Life : The Cell, DNA structure and replication, Protein Synthesis, 

Gene, Mutation, Chromosomes, and Cell Division. 

1.8 (a) Principles of Prehistoric Archaeology. Chronology : Relative and Absolute Dating 

methods. 

(b) Cultural Evolution—Broad Outlines of Prehistoric cultures : 

(i) Paleolithic 

(ii) Mesolithic 

(iii) Neolithic

(iv) Chalcolithic 

(v) Copper-Bronze Age 

(vi) Iron Age 

2.1 The Nature of Culture : The concept and Characteristics of culture and civilization; 

Ethnocentrism vis-a-vis cultural Relativism. 

2.2 The Nature of Society : Concept of Society; Society and Culture; Social Institution; 

Social groups; and Social stratification. 

2.3 Marriage : Definition and universality; Laws of marriage (endogamy, exogamy, 

hypergamy, hypogamy, incest taboo); Type of marriage (monogamy, polygamy, 

polyandry, group marriage). Functions of marriage; Marriage regulations 

(preferential, prescriptive and proscriptive); Marriage payments (bride wealth and 

dowry). 

2.4 Family : Definition and universality; Family, household and domestic groups; 

functions of family; Types of family (from the perspectives of structure, blood 

relation, marriage, residence and succession); Impact of urbanization, 

industrialization and feminist movements on family. 

2.5 Kinship : Consanguinity and Affinity; Principles and types of descent (Unilineal, 

Double, Bilateral Ambilineal); Forms of descent groups (lineage, clan, phratry, 

moiety and kindred); Kinship terminology (descriptive and classificatory); Descent, 

Filiation and Complimentary Filiation;Decent and Alliance (Alliance theory by Claude Levi Strauss). 

3. Economic Organization : Meaning, scope and relevance of economic 

anthropology; Formalist (proposed by Herskovitz, Salisbury, Schneider etc) and Substantivist (Polanyi, Bohanan and Dalton) debate; Principles governing 

production, distribution and exchange (reciprocity (classified by Marshall Sahlins and criticized by Ingold), redistribution (defined by Polanyi), ceremonial (Kula exchange (Malinowski)) and market (classified by Karl Polanyi, Dalton and Bohanan in Africa (tribal society, in USA market in modern society)), in communities, subsisting on hunting and gathering, fishing, 

swiddening (also known as shifting cultivation), pastoralism, horticulture, and agriculture; globalization and 

indigenous economic systems. 

4. Political Organization and Social Control : Band, tribe, chiefdom, kingdom 

and state; concepts of power, authority and legitimacy; social control, law and

justice in simple Societies. 

5. Religion : Anthropological approaches to the study of religion (evolutionary, 

psychological (or symbolic approach advocated by Sigmund Freud) and functional); monotheism and polytheism; sacred and 

profane (dichotomy between these two was demonstrated by Emile Durkheim); myths and rituals; forms of religion in tribal and peasant Societies 

(animism, animatism, fetishism, naturism and totemism); religion, magic and 

science distinguished; magico-religious functionaries (priest, shaman, 

medicine man, sorcerer and witch). 

6. Anthropological theories : 

(a) Classical evolutionism (Tylor, Morgan and Frazer) 

(b) Historical particularism (Boas) Diffusionism (British, German and 

American) 

(c) Functionalism (Malinowski); Structural—Functionlism (Radcliffe-Brown) 

(d) Structuralism (L’evi-Strauss and E. Leach) 

(e) Culture and personality (Benedict, Mead, Linton, Kardiner and Cora-du Bois) 

(f) Neo—evolutionism (Childe, White, Steward, Sahlins and Service)

(g) Cultural materialism (Harris) 

(h) Symbolic and interpretive theories (Turner, Schneider and Geertz) (i) 

Cognitive theories (Tyler, Conklin) (j) Post-modernism in 

anthropology. 

7. Culture, Language and Communication : 

Nature, origin and characteristics of language; verbal and non-verbal 

communication; social contex of language use. 

8. Research methods in Anthropology : 

(a) Fieldwork tradition in anthropology 

(b) Distinction between technique, method and methodology 

(c) Tools of data collection : observation, interview, schedules, questionnaire, 

case study, genealogy, life-history, oral history, secondary sources of 

information, participatory methods. 

(d) Analysis, interpretation and presentation of data. 

9.1 Human Genetics : Methods and Application : Methods for study of genetic principles 

in man-family study (pedigree analysis, twin study, foster child, co-twin method, 

cytogenetic method, chromosomal and karyo-type analysis), biochemical methods, 

immunological methods, D.N.A. technology and recombinant technologies. 

9.2 Mendelian genetics in man-family study, single factor, multifactor, lethal, sub-lethal 

and polygenic inheritance in man. 

9.3 Concept of genetic polymorphism and selection (Background, Mutation vs Polymorphism, Heterozygote advantage, Balanced Polymorphism, Types of Polymorphism, Application, Polymorphic vs Monomorphic with case study, Selection and Genetic Polymorphism), Mendelian population (Concept, Gene Frequency, Population Genetics, Application of Mendelian Population), Hardy-

Weinberg law  (Law, Problem Solving , Applicability of HWL, Factors Influencing HWL); causes and changes which bring down frequency-mutation, isolation, 

migration, selection, inbreeding and genetic drift. Consanguineous and non-

consanguineous mating, genetic load, genetic effect of consanguineous and cousin marriages. 

9.4 Chromosomes and chromosomal aberrations in man, methodology. 

(a) Numerical and structural aberrations (disorders). 

(b) Sex chromosomal aberration- Klinefelter (XXY), Turner (XO), Super female 

(XXX), intersex and other syndromic disorders. 

(c) Autosomal aberrations- Down syndrome, Patau, Edward and Cri-du-chat 

syndromes. 

(d) Genetic imprints in human disease, genetic screening, genetic counseling, 

human DNA profiling, gene mapping and genome study. 

9.5 Race and racism, biological basis of morphological variation of non-metric and 

characters. Racial criteria, racial traits in relation to heredity and environment; 

biological basis of racial classification, racial differentiation and race crossing in man. 

9.6 Age, sex and population variation as genetic marker :ABO, Rh blood groups, HLA 

Hp, transferring, Gm, blood enzymes. Physiological characteristics-Hb level, body fat, 

pulse rate, respiratory functions and sensory perceptions in different cultural and 

socio-ecomomic groups.

9.7 Concepts and methods of Ecological Anthropology : Bio-cultural Adaptations—

Genetic and Non-genetic factors. Man’s physiological responses to environmental 

stresses: hot desert, cold, high altitude climate. 

9.8 Epidemiological Anthropology : Health and disease. Infectious and non-infectious 

diseases, Nutritional deficiency related diseases. 

10. Concept of human growth and Development : Stages of growth—pre-natal, natal, 

infant, childhood, adolescence, maturity, senescence. 

 —Factors affecting growth and development genetic, environmental, biochemical, 

nutritional, cultural and socio-economic. 

—Ageing and senescence. Theories and observations 

—Biological and chronological longevity. Human physique and somatotypes. 

Methodologies for growth studies. 

11.1 Relevance of menarche, menopause and other bioevents to fertility. Fertility patterns 

and differentials. 

11.2 Demographic theories-biological, social and cultural. 

11.3 Biological and socio-ecological factors influencing fecundity, fertility, natality and 

mortality. 

12. Applications of Anthropology : Anthropology of sports, Nutritional 

anthropology, Anthroplogy in designing of defence and other equipments, 

Forensic Anthroplogy, Methods and principles of personal 

identification and reconstruction, Applied human 

genetics—Paternity diagnosis, genetic counselling and eugenics, DNA technology 

in diseases and medicine, serogenetics and cytogenetics in reproductive biology.