Assignment B "Concept of Culture Essay.
Anthropology is the field of inquiry that studies human culture and evolutionary aspects of human biology. Anthropology is derived from the Greek words, anthropos, meaning "human,"" and logos, meaning "word- or "study of."" Anthropologists examine such topics as how people live, what they think, what they produce, and how they interact within their environment. Culture refers to the ways of life that are learned and shared from one generation to the next. Usually people within the same society share the same culture, so anthropologists use the terms society and culture interchangeably. Being that anthropology is a broad field of study, most anthropologists choose from one of four subfields to specialize in. The subfields are cultural anthropology, archaeology, linguistic anthropology, and physical anthropology. .
The focus of cultural anthropology is the characteristics of human behavior. The interest is of present-day people and the societies they live in. The beginning of cultural anthropology is found to have started in the nineteenth century, when the Europeans became observant of what they called "primitive societies- in Africa and Asia. Cultural anthropologists study the topics such as: the interaction between people, the ideals they hold, the way they make their livings, and the organization of the establishments in which they live. .
On the other hand, archaeology is the study of the past, rather than living, human societies and culture. Archeologists main concern is with culture; they rely on artifacts left by past societies. There is found to be a connection between the artifacts left from an ancient society to the nature of that society. Another focus is on the past environments, this gives an understanding of how environmental forces shaped the growth of human culture. .
One of the most uniquely human characteristics is the use of language.