Socio n Anthro

8/9/2019 Socio n Anthro

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Social anthropology also studies primitive society whereas sociology studies

modern society only. Social anthropology studies all the social, economic,

political and cultural aspects of mankind. Sociology on the other hand studies

social relations and social interactions alone. In this way the study of

sociology is more particularistic whereas that of anthropology is more

generalized. Another area where sociology and anthropology dier is thatsociology tends to be always suggestive whereas anthropology less tends to

be so.

Sociology and social anthropology also dier in the methods they apply in

the study. Social anthropologist specically uses applied method, a classic

eample for this, being participant observation. !n the other hand,

sociologist to a maimum etent collects the data through survey and

statistical methods.

Sociology studies human behavior in groups. It is a science of societies.

Anthropology is a science of man and studies human behavior in socialsurroundings. "he sub#ect matter of sociology and anthropology is common to

a great etent

"he relation between Sociology and Anthropology is widely recognised today.

In fact, anthropologist $roeber pointed out that the two sciences are %twin

sisters%. Anthropology is general science like Sociology. "he word

%anthropology% is derived from two &reek words %Anthropos% meaning %man%

and %logos% meaning %study%. "hus, etymological meaning of %Anthropology% is

the study of man.

Anthropology seems to be the broadest of all the social sciences. It studiesman both as a member of the animal kingdom and as a member of society. It

studies biological as well as cultural developments of man. Sociology is

greatly benetted by Anthropology. Sociological topics like family, marriage,

property, religion etc. can be better understood in the light of Anthropology.

'urther, Sociology has borrowed many concepts like cultural area, cultural

traits, cultural lag etc. from Socio(cultural Anthropology.

Sociology and Anthropology are in their broadest sense one and the same.

Sociology borrows from Anthopology and Anthropology borrows from

Sociology. )oth are so closely related that it is di*cult to distinguish them

from each other. )oth are fast growing. +ence, both Sociology andAnthropology are complementary and supplementary to each other.

"he relation between sociology and anthropology is widely recognized today.

In fact, anthropologist $roeber pointed out that the two( sciences are twin

sisters. obert eded writes that viewing the whole -nited States, one say

that the relations between sociology and anthropology are closer than those


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between anthropology and political science, which is partly due to greater

similarity in ways of work.

Anthropology is a general science like sociology. %"he word anthropology% is

derived from two &reek words, %anthropos% and %logos% meaning the study of

man. ore precisely, it is dened by $roeber as the science of man and hisworks and behavior. Anthropology is concerned not with particular man but

with man in(group with races and peoples and their happenings and doings.

"here is a great deal of similarities between anthropology and sociology. A

number of sub#ects include society, culture, family religion, social

stratication, etc. 'or this reason an eminent anthropologist like A./. $roeber

regards 0Sociology and Anthropology as twin sisters0 1tymologically,

anthropology means the study of the science of man. It traces the

development of human race, and studies, in particular, the primitive

preliterate people and their culture. Anthropologists are sure that

anthropology is deeply concerned with the physical and cultural developmentof human beings from the time of their origin to this day. "here cannot be two

opinions about the fact that the eld of its investigation is very vast. Its ma#or

divisions are as follows.

2i3 4hysical Anthropology

4hysical anthropology is concerned with the characteristics of human

anatomy. "heir physical characteristics provide ade5uate knowledge about

human race and the origin of human beings.

2ii3 Archaeological or +istorical Anthropology

It aims at the reconstruction of the social life of pre(historic man. In other

words, pre(history deals with the cultures of the pre(historic period so that

they can understand the present social structure better.

iii3 6ultural Anthropology

6ultural Anthropology, in the main is concerned with the material and non(

material culture of the pre(literate human beings. In other words, it

concentrates on the study of the primitive man%s culture, the primitive man of

the past and of the present times,

2iv3 Social Anthropology

Social Anthropology studies man as a social being. It has been rightly said

that %social anthropology deals with the behavior of man in social situations.%


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According to some scholars, %Social anthropology and sociology are in their

broad sense, one and the same%. "here are others who regard it as a branch

of sociology.

Apart from these ma#or divisions, there are 5uite a few branches ofAnthropology as well. "hese branches can he described as human evolution

or the study of fossil man and linguistics.

Anthropology not only studies the fossil man but also investigates the

characteristics of the dierent culture groups and their changes through the

study of language, which the human beings of the pre(literate and historical

periods used. All this goes to show that anthropology is a very vast sub#ect

and it is deeply concerned with the man and his culture as it developed in the

remote past. 7r. S.6. 7ube does not nd any dierence between sociology

and anthropology. +e thinks that the two disciplines are identical, but in fact,there are some dierences between the two disciplines. It is sociology, which

concerns itself with the same phenomena, as they eist at present.

Anthropology concentrates on man as he is. !n the other hand, sociology

analyses man as social animal. It is an indispensable fact that sociologists in

their attempt to understand the social phenomena of present times, draw

upon the knowledge of the past. 8or can it be denied that they, in their desire

to study man and society, make the best use of the invaluable data furnished

by anthropological researches. In the same way, the data obtained by

sociologists have immediately beneted anthropologists. "hus, there is nouse of stressing on the fact that sociology and Anthropology are closely

related to each other and are inter(dependent.

7ierences between Sociology and Anthropology

8ot withstanding their inter(dependence the two sciences dier from each

other in many respects. "he points of dierences are as follows.

293 "he primitive, pre(literate people and their culture from the sub#ect matter

of anthropology. "he completely human society is the basis of its

investigation. It not only studies, the physical characteristics of the human

race but also studies the in:uence itself. !n the other hand, sociology takes

note of the in:uence of the human race eerts on social relations, and it deals

with people and their culture in the present contet. 8or is it all. It focuses

the attention of sociologists on some of the particular aspects of society. "hus


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it is 5uite obvious that the sub#ect(matter of sociology is not the concern of

anthropology. In respect of sub#ect matter, both anthropology and sociology

dier from each other.

2;3 Anthropology has for its sub#ect matter the small and static culture ofpeople who belong to the pre(literate period. In sharp contrast to

anthropological concern with small and static cultures, sociology investigates

the culture of society which, to say the least is very vast and dynamic in

nature.

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Socio n Anthro