Revolutionary Hollywood director Orson Welles once said that anthropology may be the most interesting subject for a long time, and he stated that had he not become a director; he would have been an anthropologist. Many people who end up studying anthropology feel the same way about it. It may be one of the most interesting subjects one comes across leading to its popularity in universities, but it is also touted mentioned as a highly dangerous subject due to the sensitive nature of topics it explores.
What is anthropology?
Anthropology is the scientific study of humans – history of humans, how humans evolved, past societies and human behaviour. Although on the surface, much of anthropology seems to overlap with other social sciences such as psychology and sociology, it is still a significantly different and more in-depth subject. Anthropology is usually separated into several different sections including social anthropology, cultural, linguistic, and biological anthropology. Each branch of anthropology studies different areas of human condition, and all of them join to provide a grand picture of humans and our history.
How anthropology is an evolving subject
In today’s world, anthropologists primarily pivot their attention towards understanding human species and the history of humans. This includes studying how the current species of humans (Homo sapiens) evolved from previous species of humans, and how different races originated from various crossbreeds of ancient human species. You may be wondering, why would learning this be important to us? Well, learning about the evolution of humans is vital to understand current human behaviour, and anthropology in general combines other social sciences to provide a full picture of human behaviour and history.
What has anthropology discovered so far?
Many ground-breaking anthropological discoveries have been made mostly since the 19th century from Darwin’s theory of evolution to the finding of various pre-homosapien species. Anthropology has found that humans are one of many species of great apes who evolved along with other ape species such as orangutan, chimpanzees, gorillas, and bonobos. We share a common ancestor with other apes dating back to 7 million years ago. From this common ancestor, we evolved to become a new specie known as Homo habilis which is recognised as the first human species and since then, Homo habilis evolved to form various other types of human species. The exact predecessor of Homo sapiens (modern humans) is a key topic of debate and research in anthropology, but many anthropologists believe that Homo Erectus is the species of human which evolved to become Homo sapiens. If this is proven true, then it would imply that modern humans were born in Africa and migrated to other areas of the Earth from Africa.
Moreover, another hotly debated area of anthropology involves a distinct specie known as Neanderthal. Neanderthals are extinct species who lived in Eurasia until 40,000 years ago when they became extinct. Neanderthals are characterised as having broader shoulders and pelvis, larger brain, and bigger noses, as well as being shorter but much stronger than Homo sapiens. These characterises were caused by their adaptability and natural selection in cold climates. Neanderthals are smart species and smarter than Homo Erectus, but there is no evidence suggesting they were smarter than Homo sapiens. The relative intelligence of Neanderthals is not certain yet, but some anthropologists theorise that Neanderthals could have been less intelligent than Homo sapiens, hence becoming extinct.
The extinction of Neanderthals has been a crucial focal point for anthropologists and many theories have been proposed for as to why Neanderthals became extinct while Homo sapiens lived on. Theories relating to extinction of Neanderthals propose they became extinct due to competition from Homo sapiens, died due to disease, massive climate change or a combination of these factors. However, what cannot be denied is that something about Homo sapiens gave them a significant competitive advantage over Neanderthals, thus Homo sapiens have been seen as superior than Neanderthals to laymen.
Anthropology’s rising popularity among university students
Globally, enrolment in anthropology courses and the demand for anthropology courses at university level has risen. Students cite various reasons for their intrigue in anthropology ranging from studying human evolution, which they had been introduced to as children by learning about Darwin, to getting a brand-new perspective on life. Many Pakistani universities have also begun offering anthropology courses with some even providing students the option to do a dual-major in anthropology along with another social science.
Anthropology is advertised by universities as being a subject which opens up the minds of students by offering insight into other cultures and helping students gain observational, critical-thinking and analytical skills. Many students who do take anthropology courses share similar views on the subjects and feel that they gain a clearer perspective on society and life. Some students believe that studying the past in anthropology helps them interpret current societal trends and beliefs.
Although, anthropology is seen as a great subject by both universities and students, and the number of students majoring or performing a PhD in anthropology has slowly increased over the last century, many still view it as a non-essential subject. Some students argue that although anthropology is an interesting subject, it is not viewed as economically valuable or important in the job market.
This view may hold some truth as the job market for anthropology in the long run is narrow with most jobs for anthropology being associated with academic or research positions. To qualify for these academic or research jobs in anthropology, one needs to at do a Masters in anthropology and potentially a PhD too. Considering that the number of Masters, and PhD graduates of anthropology has increased and continues to do so, the competition for such jobs is extremely high meaning many anthropology graduates are left frustrated. As a result, many university students who find anthropology purposeful take anthropology courses as free electives rather than majoring in it.
The dangerous aspects of anthropology
At first glance, anthropology appears to be a safe and sound subject but research findings regarding anthropology could potentially be dangerous. Neanderthals have historically been viewed as stupid or primitive compared to Homo sapiens and even though anthropologists have warned that this has not been scientifically confirmed, a big chunk of the public continues to believe it. The Neanderthals are of great importance when it comes to anthropology as they have been found to crossbreed with human species including Homo sapiens. It is estimated that 1% to 4% of modern human genes are from Neanderthals and some research has found that the Neanderthal’s vulnerability to diseases is the reason for why Homo sapiens are so susceptible to disease. Moreover, if Neanderthals are proven to be less intelligent, it could lead to a bad outcome.
If Neanderthals are uncovered to be inferior to humans, some experts fear that racists and nationalists could begin to promote race superiority or eugenics citing that a race with more Neanderthal genes are inferior to another race. The same could also happen if Neanderthals are, somehow, proven to be superior to Homo sapiens. Such findings could re-introduced race supremacy like Aryanism in Nazi Germany or white supremacy in the USA. Yet, anthropologists generally deem it unlikely that such controversial findings on Neanderthals could be unearthed or that these controversial findings would lead to mass racism. But considering that some anthropologists in the past used to be eugenicists and used their research to promote their beliefs, the fallout from such controversial findings may not be as unlikely as some believe.
The future of anthropology
Anthropology has a bright future and maybe the brightest among all current social sciences. Culture and people are constantly evolving with time and as long as people are around, anthropology will have a reason to exist and a stake in research. Moreover, many areas of the world are going through dramatic changes all the time including biology and medicine, so an anthropological view to these areas may help better understand them over time and predict further changes. Anthropology is very much in its theoretical and research phase as a subject right now, so once the findings of anthropology begin to be used practically, it may open a whole new outlook for the subject.
