1.2 The Four Field Approach

American anthropology is generally divided into four subfields. Each of the subfields teaches distinctive skills. However, the subfields also have several similarities. For example, each subfield applies theories, employs systematic research methodologies, formulates and tests hypotheses, and develops extensive sets of data. In fact, anthropology in the new millennia is frequently defined by how these subfields work together to unpack how different aspects of the human experience interact – again, holism.

Archaeology

Archaeologists study human culture by analyzing the objects people have made, used, or given meaning in the past. They carefully remove from the ground such things as pottery, tools, and structures; they map the locations of houses, trash pits, and burials; they consider how specific landscapes impacted daily life in the past; and they look at evidence of interactions and trade to learn about group interactions. They also analyze human bones and teeth to gain information on a people’s diet and the diseases they suffered. Archaeologists collect the remains of plants, animals, and soils from the places where people have lived to understand how people used and changed their natural environments. The time range for archaeological research begins with the earliest human ancestors millions of years ago and extends all the way up to the present day. Like other areas of anthropology, archaeologists are concerned with explaining differences and similarities in human societies across space and time.

Some specialties within archaeology include:

• Zooarchaeology – the study of animal remains; domestication; human use of animals in the archeological record.
• Paleoarchaeology/Paleoanthropology – the study of early humans and human ancestors in deep time; often working across millions of years with fossil remains.
• Bioarchaeology – the study of human remains in the past; diet, nutrition, and residence patterns; may also study trauma and warfare.

Biological Anthropology

Biological anthropologists seek to understand how humans adapt to different environments, what causes disease and early death, and how humans evolved from other animals. They are also interested in the ecology of human lives, including reproduction, food acquisition, and social groups. To do this, they study humans (living and dead), other primates such as monkeys and apes, and human ancestors (fossils). They may focus on hormones, development, cognition, or metabolic processes. They are also interested in how biology and culture work together to shape our lives. They seek to explain the similarities and differences that are found among humans across the world. Through this work, biological anthropologists have shown that, while humans do vary in their biology and behavior, people are more like one another than different.

Some specialties within biological anthropology include:

• Nutritional Anthropology – the study of how bodies transform food into energy; evolutionary approaches to human diet.
• Forensic Anthropology – the study of human remains using skeletal analysis to solve criminal cases.
• Medical Anthropology – the study of medicine from an evolutionary or cultural perspective; also considers barriers to care for individual groups.
• Evolutionary Cognition – the study of how brains and behavior evolve; comparisons with other species; how a species’ evolutionary past shapes modern behavior.

Cultural Anthropology

Cultural anthropologists explore how people in different places live and understand the world around them. They want to know people’s values and the rules cultures make about how people should interact with one another. Even within one country or society, people may disagree about how they should speak, dress, eat, or treat others. Anthropologists want to listen to all voices and viewpoints to understand how societies vary and what they have in common. Cultural anthropologists often find that the best way to learn about diverse peoples and cultures is to spend time living among them. They try to understand the perspectives, practices, and social organization of other groups whose values and lifeways may be very different from their own. It is within the space between stated values (ideology) and behavior (practice) that cultural anthropologists frequently focus. The knowledge they gain can enrich human understanding on a broader level.

Some specialties within cultural anthropology include:

• Political Anthropology – the study of political boundaries, oppressions, and privileges; often focuses on governments and their people.
• Food Anthropology – the study of food as a center of culture; focus on what/who is food, how food is prepared, and the ritual of eating food.
• Anthrozoology – the study of human-animal interactions; may include impacts of domestication, cultural change, kinship, or meaning building; often combined with biological and/or cultural anthropology.

Linguistic Anthropology

Linguistic anthropologists study the many ways people communicate across the globe. They are interested in how language is linked to our view of the world and our interpretations of each other. This can mean looking at language formation and acquisition and how it changes over time. It also means looking at beliefs about language and communication, and how language is used in daily lives. This includes the ways we use language to build and share meaning, to form or change identities, and to make or change relations of power. For linguistic anthropologists, language and communication are keys to how we make society and culture.

Some specialties within linguistic anthropology include:

• Sociolinguistics – the study of the social nature of language; considers how language creates or defines boundaries between groups or how language can be used to reinforce cultural norms.
• Phonetics – the study and classification of sounds; focused on the components of language and how they vary across cultures.
• Salvage Linguistics – the study and recording of languages that are spoken less; may record languages with few speakers to document their relevance and preserve endangered languages.

Applied and Practicing Anthropology

Applied or practicing anthropologists are an important part of anthropology. Each of the four subfields of anthropology can be applied. Applied anthropologists work to solve real world problems by using anthropological methods and ideas. For example, they may work in local communities helping to solve problems related to health, education, or the environment. They might also work for museums or national or state parks helping to interpret history. They might work for local, state, or federal governments or for non-profit organizations. Others may work for businesses, like retail stores or software and technology companies, to learn more about how people use products or technology in their daily lives. Some work in the USA while others work internationally. Jobs for applied anthropologists have shown strong growth in the recent past with more and more opportunities becoming available as demand grows for their valuable skill sets.

Some examples of applied anthropologists include:

• User Experience (UX) Research – the use of anthropological methods to solve real world problems; often working in private and nonprofit sectors.
• Data Science – the use of anthropological methods to unpack large data sets, making them useful to decision-makers.
• Science Communicators – using anthropological methods and communication skills to translate complex scientific concepts for decision-makers and their constituents.