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 Anthropology:

Anthropology is the scientific study of human beings, their behavior, their cultures and the way
they live. The word “anthropology” is derived from two Greek words; “Anthropos” and “logos”
meaning study of man. More precisely, it is defined by Kroeber as the science of man and his
works and his behavior.

 Sociology:

Sociology is the scientific study of society. It studies the way “group of people” interact with
each other and how their behavior is influenced by social structures, categories and institutions.
The term sociology is derived from Latin word “Socius”, meaning companion or associate, and
the Greek word “logos” meaning study of science.

Relationship between Anthropology and Sociology

“Anthropology deals with culture and Sociology deals with society. There can be no culture
without society and there can be no society without culture.”

The relationship between anthropology and sociology can be recognized by looking at what is
similar in the both sciences. There are a lot of similarities between anthropology and sociology.
A number of subjects include society, culture, family, religion, social stratification etc. This is
why an eminent anthropologist A. L. Kroeber regards “Sociology and Anthropology as twin
sisters.” Some of the points in order to clarify relationship between these two sciences are as
follow:

 The knowledge of Anthropology is necessary for a sociologist because an understanding

of society can be gained by comparing various cultures, particularly, the modern with the
primitive.
 Anthropology as a discipline is so closely related to sociology that the two are frequently
indistinguishable. Both are fast growing.
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 Moreover, conclusions drawn by sociologists help the anthropologists in their studies.

Similarly sociology has borrowed many concepts from anthropology.

Differences between Anthropology and Sociology

Major differences between sociology and anthropology can be seen in the comparison table
below:

S# Anthropology Sociology
1. It studies human behavior at “individual” It focuses more on “group” behavior and
level. relations with social structure and institutions.
2. It is the study of human beings and their It is the study of human society at a “given
ancestors “through time.” period in time.”
3. It examines culture more at the “micro- It tends to look at the “bigger picture”, often
level” of the individual. studying institutions and organizations.
4. Anthropologists conduct research using Sociologists use both “qualitative and
“ethnography (a qualitative research quantitative methods.”
method).”
5. Anthropology originated from “Primitive Sociology originated from “Western
groups.” civilization.”
6. Primary goal of anthropology is to Sociology is more solution-oriented with the
“understand human diversity and cultural goal of “fixing social problems through policy.”
difference.”
7. This is considered as “natural science.” This is considered as “social science.”
8. It studies biological as well as cultural It studies social relationship in groups. So scope
development of man. So its scope is wide. of sociology is narrow.
9. It became more professionalized following The term sociology was coined by August
as a social science in the early 20th century. Comte in the 1850s.
10 Anthropology is divided into sub-fields Sociology is divided into sub-fields such as
. such as linguistic anthropology, forensic gender studies, criminology, social work etc.
anthropology and archaeology.