What is Anthropology?

The word “Anthropology” comes from the Greek words

Anthropos (Human) and logia (Study). Anthropology is the
study of human beings.
Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned
with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies and
linguistics in both the present and past, including past human
species. It also focus on how did people live a few decades
ago, or thousand years ago and how societies and cultures
changed over time.
Anthropologists study people from every angle. Some look at different
peoples' customs. Like how they eat, celebrate, or worship. Some study
their history and languages they speak and others study the differences
within the human species.
Who is the father of Modern
Anthropology?
Franz Boas is regarded as both the father of “Modern
Anthropology” and the father of “American Anthropology”.
He was the first to apply scientific method to
anthropology, emphasizing a research first method of
generating theories. Through this methodology, Boas
established the theory of cultural relativism, which states
that there are no absolutes among culture; the beliefs and
practices of a culture can be examined only within the
confines of that particular culture.
Who is the father of Philippine
Anthropology?
Henry Otley Beyer is the father of
“Philippine Anthropology”. He was
an American Anthropologist who
spent most of his adult life in the
Philippines teaching Philippine
indigenous culture.
• Henry Beyer authored the “Wave of Migration
Theory”. He theorized that early Filipinos
descended from waves of migrants-cavemen and
Aetas who traveled through land bridges and
later, Indonesians and Malays who reached the
country by boat
Anthropology has four main branches:
1. Cultural Anthropology
-is a branch of anthropology focused on the study
of cultural variations among humans.
Example: Religion, tradition, customs, rituals, housing
structures, and many more fall under the broad arm of
cultural anthropology.
2. Linguistic Anthropology
-is the study of language within the context of
anthropology.
Language is something that makes us human. Without
language, people could not pass down ideas, history,
and beliefs.
Languages can tell us about the people who speak
them. For example, children in Japan and Korea speak
one way to their friends, but a different way to people
who are older like a parent or teacher. They don't just
use polite words. They speak in longer and different
sentences. This way of speaking shows the importance
of manners and respect for elders in Japanese and
Korean society.
In the study of language, Anthropologists look at
present and past languages. They document the history
of spoken and written language. Some study how
languages began when early humans started to speak.
Others study how different languages developed over
time. They look for links between languages in different
societies and also make connections between language
and the brain. Anthropologists are among many who
study language, since language has much to tell us
about ourselves.
3. Achaeology
-is the study of the human past using material remains or the things
they left behind.
Archaeologists use the things people left behind to help us understand
how they lived long ago. Archaeologists find and study objects like
broken pottery, graves, and ancient homes and other ruins. These
objects can provide clues about how people lived, such as what they
ate and how they worshipped. 
Over time, most objects from the past decay or get buried. At dig sites,
archaeologists carefully excavate  and record artifacts that they find and
the way the artifacts are arranged. Archaeologists use this information
to create a picture of what life was like long ago. Sometimes they have
to piece together this picture without any written records at all
4. Biological Anthropology
- is the study of how humans have evolved and its differences within
the species.
• Biological anthropologists study how humans and their ancestors have
evolved — or changed over time. They also study how humans behave
and interact with their environment. They ask questions like: How did
early humans hunt and search for food? When did humans first settle
in the Americas? 
• Some biological anthropologists examine fossil remains of humans
that lived tens or hundreds of thousands or millions of years ago.
Others may find clues by studying our closest relatives living today.
They look at how other primates, such as apes, monkeys, and lemurs,
behave in their habitats. 
• Biological anthropologists are also interested in variations
within our species, like our body types, facial features, and
skin colors. As humans spread across every continent over
thousands of years, minor differences developed between
people living in different places. 
• The Nature of Anthropology can be viewed from
global discipline involving humanities, social
sciences and natural sciences through historical
perspective.
The goal of anthropology is to pursue a holistic
understanding of what it means to be human by
understanding the relationship between human
biology, language and culture.
What is Sociology?
• Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, the
scientific investigation of human social behavior and
patterns of social relationships, social interaction and
aspects of culture, associated with everyday life.
• Society
-is commonly defined as a group of people interacting
each other and sharing a common culture.
• Society is derived from the Latin term societas, which
means companion or associate.
There are three reason why people live
together as a society:
1. For survival
2. Feeling of gregariousness
3. Specialization
What is political science?
• Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science
 dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of
political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated 
constitutions and laws.
• Politics  is the set of activities that are associated with 
making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among
individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status.
The significance of studying anthropology, sociology, and
Political science:

Help us create better communities and social organizations for

society to thrive. It also helps in fixing societal gaps in
understanding the behavior of people towards others in the
society and understanding better how parts of the society
function and interact with one another.