SOMATOLOGY: ORIGIN AND HISTORY, WHAT DO YOU STUDY? - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2024

The somatology is the comparative study of the structure and development of the human body. It is a subspecialty of biological anthropology, a branch of this science that tries to understand the biological processes of the human being, their interaction between them, and the effects they cause on populations.

Somatology, therefore, studies the human being as a biological being, a product of evolution. It also treats people based on their relationship with the environment in which they live and their culture, in addition to analyzing those that have emerged throughout history.

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On the other hand, somatology also investigates the relationship between the body and various emotional, mental and even spiritual factors; one of its fields of application is the study of illness as an opportunity to achieve greater personal development and psychological well-being.

Origin and history

Somatology emerged as a specialization within the discipline known as biological anthropology. This science tries to understand the origin, evolution and diversity of human beings, mainly in relation to their physical characteristics.

Generally, biological anthropology (also sometimes called physical anthropology) deals with three main areas: evolution of primates (both human and non-human), variations between human groups or races and their importance, and the biological bases of behavior. human.

In this sense, somatology would deal mainly with what concerns the body, and not so much with the behaviors determined by evolution. However, to understand the history of this discipline it is necessary to know that of biological anthropology as a whole.

How biological anthropology arises

Biological anthropology is one of the four main branches of anthropology. Until the 20th century, it was known as physical anthropology, because it was especially concerned with the body and its development throughout our evolutionary history.

The German naturalist Johann Friedrich Blumenbach (1752-1840) is generally considered to be the father of biological anthropology. This is because it focused on the study of physical variations between humans, as manifested both between different populations and within a single population.

Despite the fact that anthropology as such did not yet exist, its pioneering investigations were the ones that paved the way for other later studies that tried to better understand both our own species and other primates. Thus, from his work sciences such as paleoanthropology and comparative genetics emerged.

Another of the great influences of biological anthropology was Charles Darwin (1809 - 1882), with his theory of the evolution of species. This became the theoretical framework on which the entire discipline is based, shedding much light on the different processes by which our body became what it is today.

Thanks to his work, we understood that humans are not a separate species from all others, but that we are related to many others, especially primates. Therefore, comparative study techniques could begin to be applied to our physical and psychological characteristics.

Emergence of biological anthropology as a science

From this point on, physical anthropologists in the 19th and 20th centuries began to search for fossils of hominin specimens on their own.

At first, the theory of human evolution was not particularly accepted. For this reason, it was very difficult to obtain external aid or sponsorship from any scientific society.

However, as more evidence was discovered, it became increasingly clear that anthropology must be based on the theory of evolution. Thus, this science became more and more specialized; In this way the main branches of the study of human evolution arose.

Later, in the late twentieth century, biological anthropology became increasingly divided. More and more specialized disciplines appeared; among them, somatology, which began to dedicate itself almost exclusively to the human body, its evolution and its characteristics.

Recent epoch

In the last few decades, there have been some very interesting discoveries in this area. Among others are, for example, the domain of genetics and mapping of the human genome.

This knowledge has allowed us to learn more about the evolution of our body; In addition, it has also enabled us to track the way in which the different human races differ, and when they separated from each other.

What do you study?

Somatology is defined as the study or science of the human body; as such, it is a branch of anthropology. It also includes research on different physical subjects. In this sense, it is sometimes considered the sister of sciences such as physics, chemistry or biology.

Depending on the area in which we find ourselves, it is possible to find various interpretations of what this science studies. Next we will see the most important ones.

Anatomical study of the body

In a sense, somatology is in charge of understanding the anatomical and physiological functioning of the whole body; his objective in this aspect would be to understand how the different parts of the body interact.

This area is of special interest to disciplines such as medicine, anatomy and physiology. Therefore, it is one of the most studied in universities around the world, and one of the most applicable.

Evolution of the body

Another field of study of somatology is the evolution of the human body. In this sense, it investigates how the pressure of the environment has affected our physical form. They also try to find significant differences between people of different cultures.

To achieve this, somatologists study topics such as osteology, human and animal evolution, and primate morphology. Therefore, your work can be done both within a laboratory and in the field.

conclusion

Determining exactly what somatology is can sometimes be confusing. However, it is a science in full development; it will probably assume great importance in ages to come.

The study of the human body is fundamental for many areas, such as medicine, biology or even psychology. Hopefully, many more discoveries will be made in this area in the coming decades.

References

1. "Somatology" in: Wikipedia. Retrieved on: July 06, 2018 from Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org.
2. "Physical anthropology" in: Britannica. Retrieved on: July 06, 2018 from Britannica: britannica.com.
3. "Biological anthropology" in: Wikipedia. Retrieved on: July 06, 2018 from Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org.
4. "Biological anthropology" in: Anthropology. Retrieved on: July 06, 2018 from Anthropology: anthropology.iresearchnet.com.
5. "Physical anthropology" in: Wikipedia. Retrieved: July 06, 2018 from Wikipedia: es.wikipedia.org.