Lecture 9

Social Anthropology

Lecture Overview

Anthropology is a scientific discipline that is concerned with the study of human beings qua
human beings. It deals with all aspects of human kind; namely, social, behaviour, language
attitudes, values and personality. Other human aspects include government, kinship,
history, prehistory, art, illness, healing, religious, economics, technology and clothing. A
part from the purely social and cultural aspects, anthropology is also concerned with the
biological aspects of humans like body build, pigmentation, blood types and other
biochemical traits. Anthropology is therefore regarded as a ‘holistic’ science capturing all
aspects of human kind.

Branches of Anthropology

Anthropology is sometimes divided into many branches like archaeology, anthropological

Physical Anthropology

Physical anthropology deals with biological traits of human beings. Thus, physical
anthropologists are primarily concerned with human variation and human evolution.
Human variation examines the differences within and between human populations. Within
a population there are always variations in body shape and sizes; in anatomical structures
– organs and tissues – and in physiological responses to heat, cold and humidity.

Physical anthropologists are, therefore, interested in environmental and hereditary genes

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modifications that can accumulate and make for large scale evolutionary changes. It is
through comparative human genetics, that physical anthropologists classify humans into
physical types called races.

Activity 9.1
Explain the meaning of physical Anthropology
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Physical anthropology can also be classified into two areas: palaeanthropology and
primatology. On the one hand, palaeanthropology is the study of fossil remains of our
ancestors. In conjunction with other professionals like archaeologists, geologists and other
scientists, fossil evidence has been unearthed in many parts of the world. This has helped
in the reconstruction of ‘man’ from our ancient ancestors. Primatology, on the other hand,
studies non-human primates like monkeys, apes and promisians. The study of non-human
primates has been of major importance to ascertain similarities with humans. In this way
evolutionary links between humans and non-humans primates can be traced.

Physical anthropology has also been applied outside academia and is, therefore, referred to
as Applied Anthropology. In this field, the principles and data of anthropology are related
to practical situations. Many years ago, for example, physical anthropologists applied their
knowledge by determining the standard sizes for the clothing industry, the military and
more comfortable seats for automobiles and aeroplanes. Applied anthropology has also
been useful in forensic studies. Practitioners of forensic anthropology as a field may be
called upon to ascertain age and sex of a corpse and how long it has been buried.

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Physical or applied anthropology has, for many years, been useful in medicine. The
relationship between body build and disease, and the question of whether a certain disease
is hereditary or social, have been among those investigated by physical anthropologists.

The final area of physical anthropology that has been a central focus since the beginning of
the discipline is skeletal biology. Over the years, archaeologists have excavated thousands
of human burials from sites all around the world.

Activity 9.2
Distinguish between palaeoanthropology and primatology.
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Cultural or Social Anthropology

Cultural anthropology deals with the customary ways of thinking and behaving within a
particular population or society. The culture of a social group consists of its language,
general knowledge, religious beliefs, food preference, music, work habits, taboos and so on.
Generally speaking, cultural anthropology deals with learnt behaviour whose characters
are acquired through socialization.

Cultural anthropology comprises of a number of sub-disciplines like archaeology,

Activity 9. 3
Explain the meaning of cultural or Social Anthropology
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 _________________________________________________________

Ethnology

Ethnology is the study of human societies in relation to their customary ways of thinking
and acting. It is, there-fore, concerned with patterns of thought and behaviour such as
marriage, customs, kinship, political and economic systems, religion, folk art, music and
how these patters differ in contemporary societies.

Ethnology also studies the dynamics of culture; that is, how cultures develop and change.
It uses data collected through observations and interviewing. One who studies ethnology is
an ethnographer. An ethnographer usually spends a year or so living with, talking to and
observing the people whose customs he/she is studying.

Since cultures undergo change, another type of ethnologist, the ethno-historian, studies how
ways of life of a particular group of people have changed over time. They investigate written
documents such as missionary accounts, reports by traders and explorers and government
records. In this way, they attempt to establish the sequence of cultural change that has
occurred. Ethno historians rely on reports of others unlike ethnographers who rely mostly
on their own observations. By extension, the ethno historian and the ethnographer generate
information that can lead to cross-cultural research. A cross-cultural researcher is interested
in discovering why certain cultural characteristics may be found in some societies and not
others.

Ethnographic data is part and parcel of a society and culture. There are artefacts, customs
and beliefs. These artefacts are part and parcel of a society which historians are interested
in. Culture is history – reflection of the experiences of the past. Cultural data, like artefacts,
are concrete evidence about the past and cannot be distorted. For this reason, historians look
at the ethnographic data as sources of history. Anthropologists, right from the colonial

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period, have many records of data about the societies they studied. They have retrieved to
us information that would have been lost. Anthropologist can be a useful source of history.

Another commonly used technical term in anthropology is ‘Use of Piece Meal Parallels’,
which refers to situations where artefacts and their use may not be adequately identified.
Ethnography work is necessary to compare other artefacts elsewhere in order to ascertain
their functions and uses.

Activity 9.4
Explain the meaning of ethnology
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Anthropological Linguistics

Anthropological Linguistics is basically the study of langu-ages and its primary concern is
history and structures of formerly unwritten languages. Some anthropological linguists are
concerned with the emergence and divergence of languages over thousands of years. The
study of language change over time and how they may be related is called historical
linguistics. The study of how languages differ is called structural linguistics. The study of
how language is used in actual speech is called socio-linguistics.

A historical linguist deals with unwritten languages of the time. On the basis of language
comparisons, inferences may be drawn about the kinds of change that may have occurred
in the past and that may account for similarities and differences observed.

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 Activity 9.5
Explain the meaning of Anthropological linguistics
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You have come to the end of lecture nine. In this lecture you have learnt
the following:
 The meaning of Anthropology
 The branches of Anthropology

Adenile Keyes C. and Vanisa, Jan. (1996). In pursuit of history: fieldwork an Africa. Oxford:
UK James Currey..

Nyanchoga et Al (2008) Aspects of African History Vol. One Catholic University Press

Ki-Zerbo, J. (ed.) 1981) A General History of Africa, Vol. I. California, USA: Heinemann.

Hrbek, I. (ed.) (1993). General History of Africa, Vol. III. East African Education Publishers,
1993.

Ogutu, M. A. and Kenyanchui, S. S. (1991) An Introduction to African History. (Nairobi:

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