Anthropology

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2021
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Paper – I

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Discussion

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SECTION – B
1a. Animism and tribal ecology.
1b. Marriage regulations and alliance theory.

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1c. Historical particularism and Franz Boas.

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1d. “The Biocultural approach is the hall mark of biological anthropology”. Explain

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1e. Thermoluminescence (TL) dating.

phylogenetic status. (20M)

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2a. What are the physical and cultural characteristics of Homo erectus. Discuss in

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2b. Elucidate the concept of Thick description of Clifford Geertz with a suitable
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example (15M) m
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2c. Describe the features of early farming cultures and Neolithic of the Near east. (15)
3a. How do political organizations of simple societies establish Power, Authority and
Legitimacy. (20)
3b. Explain the genetic mechanisms of Micro and Macro evolution. (15)
3c. Describe the salient features of different traditions of European Mesolithic. (15)

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4a. Elaborate the scope of anthropology and elucidate its uniqueness in the field of
other social sciences. (20)
4b. Mention the major branches of linguistic anthropology and discuss language use
in social and cultural settings. (15)

Explain with suitable examples. (15)

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4c. “Chromosomal aberrations can play havoc with the human body and mind”

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SECTION – B

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5a. Human adolescent growth spurt
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5b. The losses and gains of erect posture

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5c. Is Race a valid and biologically meaningful concept
5d. Descent groups
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5e. Modes of subsistence

6a. What is acclimatization? Discuss adaptive responses to high altitude and cold
climate. (20)
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6b. How are the cases of disputed paternity solved? Discuss the recent
techniques. (15)
6c. Critically evaluate Lewis Morgan’s classification of family. (15)

examples. (20)
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7a. Critically evaluate different types of social stratification with suitable

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7b. Discuss the bio-social determinants of fertility and fecundity. (15)

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7c. What is Anthropometry? Discuss its role in assessing the nutritional status

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and sports capability of a person. (15)
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8a. Discuss various tools of data collection in conducting Anthropological
research. (15)

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8b. Discuss the physiological and evolutionary theories of aging. (15)
8c. Explain the structural analysis of kinship as proposed by Levi-Strauss. (15)

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1a. Animism and deep ecology

Deep ecology is an environmental philosophy that promotes the inherent worth of all
living beings regardless of their instrumental utility to human needs, and the
restructuring of modern human societies in accordance with such ideas.
It is described as "deep" because it is regarded as looking more deeply into the reality
of humanity's relationship with the natural world.
Deep ecology and animism:
The idea of animism was developed by anthropologist Sir Edward Tylor through his
1871 book Primitive Culture. It is the belief that plants, creatures, inanimate objects,
places all possess a distinct spiritual essence (Soul).
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L.P Vidyarthi in his book “The Maler: A Study in Nature-Man-Spirit Complex in a
hill tribe of Bihar” wrote about Maler tribe’s belief that spirits like Gossaiyan
(benevolent spirits), Jiwe Urrkya (ancestral spirits) take abode in and around the forest.
Conclusion: Considering all this, it is logical to say that animism supports and
promotes the concept of Deep ecology.

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1d. “The biocultural approach is the hall mark of biological anthropology.”

Explain
Introduction: One of the central themes of anthropology is Holism, an idea that

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all properties of a given system (biological, cultural, etc.) cannot be determined
by its component parts alone. Instead, the system as a whole determines how the
parts behave.

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Franz Boas emphasised the Discipline’s Holism, an idea that “the whole is

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greater than the sum of its parts”.
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Individual human organisms are not just some genes and culture added together.
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culture.
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Examples in support of biocultural approach:
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Rather, human beings are what they are because of mutual shaping of genes and

Erect posture could be a reason for the origin of marriage, language, culture etc.

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Twin studies can be used to study the relative roles of nature and nurture on
the expression of characters like intelligence, skin colour etc.
ology”.

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Human ecological adaptations are biocultural in nature, for instance humans
adapt to cold climate both by cultural methods like wearing insulating

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clothes and also by biological methods like increase in RBC count, blood
volume etc.
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Conclusion: As a final observation we can say that “The biocultural
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approach is the characteristic of biological anthropology

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1e. Thermoluminescence (TL) dating

Scientists in North America developed thermoluminescence dating of rock minerals in
the 1950s and 1960s, and the University of Oxford, developed the
thermoluminescence dating of fired ceramics in the 1960s and 1970s. It is a method of
absolute dating.
Principle:
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• The microscopic structure of some minerals and ceramics trap nuclear radioactive
energy.
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ceramics.
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• This energy separates electrons from the molecules that make up the minerals or
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microscopic structure of the ceramics.
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• Over time, more such free electrons gets trapped by the imperfections in the
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• By heating the ceramic or mineral to above 500 degrees Celsius, these trapped
electrons are released, creating a flash of light called thermoluminescence.
• When a laser light source is used instead of heat, the process is called optically
stimulated luminescence.
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Luminescence Profile:
• In the process of making a ceramic vessel, it must be heated in a kiln to harden it.
• The process of firing the vessel releases the trapped electrons (energy), and resets
the thermoluminescence clock to zero.

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N
• What an archaeologist would be able to measure using this technique is the last

cooking in it.
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time the vessel was heated above 500 degrees Celsius, either for making it or for

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• The intensity of the light emissions on heating of exposing to Laser can be
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measured to determine the amount of time that has passed since the vessel was last
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heated and the present laboratory heating of the vessel.

Applications: It is a method of choice for dating ceramic and earthen ware pots,
sediments, lava etc.

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2b. Elucidate the concept of “thick description” of Clifford Geertz with a

suitable example

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Thick description is a term Clifford Geertz borrowed from Gilbert Ryle. It is
the description of stratified hierarchy of meaningful interpretations possible
from an event.

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• Thick description is an interpretation of what the natives are thinking made

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by an outsider who cannot think like a native.
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• Hermeneutics is another approach very much related to thick
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description. It is a term first used for the critical interpretation of religious
texts later applied to subjective interpretation of human phenomena".
Balinese cockfighting provides an interesting example for thick description.

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Deep play, notes on the Balinese cockfight:

for the interpretation of Balinese culture.

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• In this article, Geertz shows how the Balinese cockfight serves as a cultural text

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• Geertz distinguishes "deep fights", with high wages, and "shallow fights",

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usually with low wages of both gambling and prestige.

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• One is not supposed to bet against the cock of his own kin group or faction
group which indicates disloyalty to his own group.
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• Village level factions are not important if the fight is with cock of another
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village. In such case one can only bet on the cock from his village.
• Geertz records the representation of Balinese status hierarchy like,

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Men who fight big matches

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Men who fight small match

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Men who only bet on cocks
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Women and poor who play gambling games

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According to him, betting alliances in cock P f
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Criticism: The interpretive approach of Clifford Geertz was criticised for being very
subjective.

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3b. Explain the genetic mechanisms of micro and macro evolution.

Microevolution:
Microevolution is defined as changes in gene frequency in a population from one

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generation to the next. A population is a group of organisms who interbreed with each
other. They share a gene pool. Because this is on a small scale, it is known as micro-
evolution.
Mechanisms:
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There are a number of factors that cause these types of changes to occur.
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Mutation – Sudden heritable change in gene sequence that brings a new character.
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Natural Selection – decides whether the new character passes on to the next

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generation or gets eliminated.
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Migration or Gene Flow – The mutated individuals having the new character may
migrate to a new geographic region.
Isolation- Migration isolates the mutated individuals from the original population.

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Inbreeding – The mutated individuals with new character inbreed among

themselves.

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Random Genetic Drift – By chance individuals having a particular character

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may migrate to a previously uninhabited region and establish a new population.

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E.g., people having epicanthic eye fold might have migrated to Asia from

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Africa, the continent believed to be the place of origin of human species. Bottle

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neck effect or Random genetic drift speeds up the process of evolution.
Macroevolution:

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Macroevolution is evolution on a big scale, the descent of many species from
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one common ancestor over billions of years. The same mechanisms that we see
in microevolution work at the macroevolution level. These can show major
evolutionary change over time. All life forms have been accumulating mutations
through these mechanisms for billions of years.
E.g., Evolution of Homo sapiens from Great apes.

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4a. Elaborate the scope of anthropology and elucidate its uniqueness in the field
of other social sciences.
Introduction: Anthropology is usually classified as a social science along with
disciplines such as sociology, economics, political science and psychology but it has

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much in common with natural sciences like biology and geology. The diverse field of

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anthropology has broader scope than other social sciences. Anthropologists are

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interested in all human beings and their different aspects such as skin colour, kinship
system, religious beliefs, technologies and other aspects of life. It would be apt to

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quote an American cultural anthropologist, Alfred. L. Kroeber who described
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anthropology as “ The most humanistic of the sciences and the most scientific of the
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humanities”
Uniqueness of anthropology:
• Studying people on their own terms in their own places or doing naturalistic
fieldwork, one such important field work to quote is Malinowski’s ethnography on
Trobriand islanders.

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• The guiding philosophy of modern anthropology is cultural relativism—the idea

that we should seek to understand another person’s beliefs and behaviours from the
perspective of their culture rather than our own.

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• Anthropology is both a science and a humanity. Biocultural approach is one of its

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distinctive features.
• The centrality of the culture concept.

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• Anthropology is holistic and believes that all properties of a given system

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(biological, cultural, etc.) cannot be determined by its component parts alone.
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Instead, the system as a whole determines how the parts behave, hence considers all
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aspects of human life in understanding each aspect.

Conclusion: Taking all this into account, it is apt to say that anthropology stands as a
unique subject in the field of other social sciences.

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5a. Human adolescence growth spurt

Adolescence growth spurt is the fast and intense increase in the rate of growth in
height and weight that occurs during adolescence stage of human life. It occurs due
to hormonal changes.
Sex hormones in boys:
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Hypothalamus → GnRH → Pituitary → LH →Testes → Testosterone
Sex hormones in girls:
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Hypothalamus → GnRH → Pituitary → FSH → Follicle → Estrogens
Hypothalamus → GnRH → Pituitary → LH → Corpus luteum → Progesterone
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• Puberty is the time in which a child’s sexual and physical characteristics mature.
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Adolescence is the time-period between puberty and adulthood.
• In general boys experience growth spurt between 12- and 15-years and girls
experience growth spurt between ages of 8 and 13 years.

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• Many anatomical changes occur in all parts of the body during this stage.
• Secondary sexual characters like change of voice, development of hair on face,
chest, and genital regions.

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• In females, development of mammary glands occurs in this stage.

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• Shoulders broadens in boys and pelvis widens in girls. Boys develop larger

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voice box that can be seen as a protruding part in the throat called as the
Adam’s apple.

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• Other changes include increased activity of sweat and sebaceous glands.
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start releasing eggs. Sperm production begins in boys.
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• Development of sex organs. In girls, eggs begin to mature, ovaries enlarge and
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• Mental, Intellectual, and emotional maturity. They start being independent and
self-conscious.

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Graph indicating adolescence growth spurt:

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5b. The losses and gains of erect posture

One of the most distinctive human characteristics if erect posture which
has its own advantages and disadvantages.
Gains of erect posture:
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• It frees the hands for carrying tools and infants, which made many
aspects of culture possible.

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• It improves our ability to radiate heat in to the surroundings cool-off.

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• It allowed our ancestors to see over the tall grasses.
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energy.
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• It made language possible by changing the shape and position of
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• It allows us to travel long distances with consumption of lesser
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hyoid bone and larynx.

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Losses of erect posture:

Osteological malfunction:

remain poorly adapted to bipedalism, leading to negative

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• Even with much modification, some features of the human skeleton

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implications prevalent in humans today.

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• The lower back and knee joints are plagued by osteological

days.
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malfunction, lower back pain being a leading cause of lost working
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• Because the joints support more weight, Arthritis has been an

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obstacle since hominids became bipedal: scientists have discovered
its traces in the vertebrae of prehistoric hunter-gatherers.

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Obstetrical dilemma and narrow birth canal:

• In humans, the head size of foetuses is a tight fit for the mother’s bony

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birth canal. According to the obstetrical hypothesis, we need a wide

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pelvis to bear big-brained babies but a narrow one to walk or run

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efficiently which limited the size of birth canal. Because of this, human

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babies are born at an earlier developmental stage, before their bodies

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have developed enough to walk around.
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Conclusion: Despite having a few disadvantages,
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erect posture paved the

for culture and civilisation, which made man unique in the animal
kingdom.

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