PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY: HISTORY, WHAT IT STUDIES AND BRANCHES - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2024

The physical anthropology is a scientific discipline whose field of study is the human being, considering its origins, evolution of the species, its adaptation to different environments or variability. It is also called biological anthropology and is a branch of general anthropology.

Although since ancient times the human being has shown interest in knowing the origin of man, as well as in analyzing his physical and biological specificities, the appearance of physical anthropology as a science is relatively recent.

Source: Biswarup Ganguly, from Wikimedia Commons

It was not until the eighteenth century when the parameters that would govern this discipline were established. Subsequently, physical anthropology was the subject of much controversy, since it was used as a justification for racist attitudes. An example of this is found in studies funded by the Nazis to assert the superiority of the Aryan race.

Advances in genetic studies have been a great advance in this area. At present, there are several sub-disciplines associated with physical anthropology that offer an overview of the human being.

History

Physical anthropology, as a scientific discipline, has a relatively short history. With antecedents to its appearance, experts point to some works carried out by Aristotle comparing apes and humans, in addition to the studies of historians such as Herodotus on the physical features of some peoples.

It was not, however, until the eighteenth century when, thanks to scholars such as Linnaeus, when one can begin to speak of physical anthropology as a scientific branch.

Century XVIII

The Enlightenment brought an increased interest in the human. Before, the center of social organization was religion. The enlightened, and their commitment to Reason, considered the human being as the main element and, therefore, it became important to study it to know its origin and other anthropological aspects.

Linnaeus stood out among the pioneers of physical anthropology, who endowed the study of the Natural History of Man with a scientific perspective.

Along with him, the contributions of Buffon (creator of the concept "race") and Blumenbach stand out, who used the term Anthropology as part of science for the first time.

XIX century

The explorers, missionaries or colonizers of this century provided many useful data for anthropologists. Thanks to them, scientists such as Paul Broca or Francis Galton carried out various studies on the physical characteristics of various human groups.

During the 19th century, physical anthropology began to be institutionalized within the academic and professional framework. National schools were founded and different fields of study and specialties appeared.

It was at that time that the pillars of this branch of anthropology were established, with disciplines such as Craniometry and Raciology.

However, a phenomenon that would last until the next century also began to take place: the use of the data obtained as argumentation to justify racist ideologies.

They even gave rise to the appearance of eugenic movements, which called for the improvement of the human species by eliminating its weakest members.

Twentieth century

At the beginning of the 20th century, physical anthropology divided into two different models. On the one hand, it appeared in the North American model, with a differentiated scheme of the four branches of anthropology (physical anthropology, cultural anthropology, linguistics and archeology), although it remained integrated within the universities.

For its part, the European model produced a split in the different branches of the discipline. Thus, in each study center they separated and developed their own lines of work.

Modernization of physical anthropology

The use by the Nazis of physical anthropology to justify the implantation of their Racial State and the death of those they considered inferior caused the discipline to enter into crisis.

To this was added the decolonization of many African and Asian countries, whose occupation had at times been justified by being, according to racist anthropological studies of the time, incapable of governing themselves.

This discrediting of physical anthropology led to a rethinking of the discipline in all its aspects. Thus, there was a change in research techniques and methods, as well as in the object of study and in relation to the analysis of societies.

Another aspect that greatly influenced the modernization of the discipline was the application of advances in genetics. Suddenly, ingrained concepts such as "races" or the differences between human groups were undermined by genetic studies.

Modern currents

Physical anthropology, seeking not to repeat episodes such as the Second World War, began to avoid relating its bioanthropological studies with sociocultural aspects.

This led to the orientation of the work to fields in which there was greater methodological and scientific rigor. Thus, techniques such as biochemistry, biodemography or the already mentioned genetics began to be used.

All this led to the emergence of new European currents in this discipline, as well as the creation of the so-called “new physical anthropology” of the United States.

What do you study? (object of study)

Physical anthropology is defined as the science that studies man in his biological aspects. This means that it analyzes the human being as an animal organism and as part of the evolutionary process. In this way, this discipline is also in charge of studying the hominid ancestors of the current human being.

Another field that physical anthropology encompasses is the study of physical variations among different human populations over time, as well as in their distribution on the planet.

This branch tries to locate the human being within the system formed by all living beings. Thus, try to discover all the aspects about its origin and evolution.

Given the breadth of the field of study, physical anthropology requires the help of other sciences, such as physiology, human paleontology, genetics, or anatomy.

Branches (sub-disciplines)

Forensic

This branch is called forensic anthropology. It is used very commonly in the legal field, identifying corpses and trying to find out the causes of death.

Likewise, experts in this discipline can make a biological biography of the study subject. Thanks to the analysis, they discover their lifestyle before death, age, sex, diseases suffered and other relevant aspects.

Osteology

Its object of study is the skeleton, in order to find out the cultural context of the person. They can also deduce the environment in which they have lived and the gastronomic and social customs.

Somatology

Study the human body and the relationships established with the environment and social culture. One of the most widespread definitions is that it analyzes the emotional and mental causes that have shaped the body of the person.

Ontogeny

It deals with the physical, neurological and chemical changes that any organism goes through. I study all the variations that occur from the moment of conception to death.

Paleoanthropology

This branch of physical anthropology is specialized in the study of human evolution. To do this, he analyzes the skeletal remains of ancient hominids that are discovered. They also take the opportunity to draw conclusions from the artifacts that appear in the deposits, as tools or utensils.

Genetic / molecular anthropology

It is based on the evolutionary and genetic study of the human species, starting with its ancestors. It is a recent discipline, linked to DNA analysis.

References

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