Origin and Development of Anthropology

ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF
ANTHROPOLOGY
March, UPSC Daily Current Affairs
Syllabus Section: 1.1 Meaning, Scope And Development of Anthropology
Introduction
Anthropology even though a new subject, occupies an important position in the academic arena of the
world. Today it is taught in almost all the famous universities of the world. Moreover anthropologists are
employed in different levels of administration. It took long time for anthropology to develop as an
independent discipline of teaching and research. Even though human was intrinsically curious to know
about worldly phenomenon, a systematic analysis of human life originated very late. Here we shall
examine how the subject anthropology achieved its present status in the world and in India.
Origin and Development of World Anthropology
We have just been familiarised with the meaning and the different areas of anthropology. Its wide and
varied scope is one of its unique peculiarities. But, do you think the scope of anthropology was so wide in
the initial stage of its development? Anthropology is comparatively a new subject, and the origin and
growth of the subject has taken place through centuries. Any attempt to understand human life can be
considered an introduction to anthropological Understanding. The growth of anthropology in the world
in different stages is discussed below.
Phases of Development of Anthropology (T.K. Penniman’s contribution)
Different attempts have been made to recount the development of anthropology in the world. Among
these, T. K. Penniman’s contribution is worth mentioning. He classifies the development of anthropology
into four Periods viz. Formulatory period, convergent period, constructive period and critical period. He
proposes these classifications in his book ‘Hundred Years of Anthropology’ (1935) as discussed below:
1. Formulatory period (before 1835):

 This is the first and longest period in the history of Anthropology. It extends from the time of the
Greek historians, philosophers and naturalists. Penniman considers Herodotus (484 – 425 BC)
as the first anthropologist.
 Herodotus is also considered as the father of Greek Ethnography. He travelled throughout the
world and researched about races and customs entirely alien to him. Herodotus collected a large
number of facts about peoples in different cultural stages. He not only talked about the origin
of culture, but also described the spoken language, physical types, material culture, marriage
and divorce, social laws customs etc.
 Protagoras (480-410 BC), is another Greek philosopher who has contributed to the knowledge
about human beings and culture. In his opinion “Man is the measure of all things”. He was the
first to propose the theory of relativism. He also introduced the evolutionary scheme, which
explains how different social traits come into existence.
 Another Greek scholar of this period is Socrates (470-399 BC). He was of the opinion that every
society is guided by certain universal values. He mainly put forwarded the philosophical aspect
of social thinking.
 Plato (428 – 348 BC), another Greek thinker proposed the ideas about state, marriage, education,
etc. According to him, humans outside social control are but animals and it is really the society
that makes the individual, a social being.
 Like Plato, Aristotle (384 – 322 BC) also proposed his view of the state and the humans. He had
clearly understood the difference between functional and structural similarities. This is clear
from the fact that he classified bats with the mammals and not with the birds and the whales
with the mammals and not with the fishes. Aristotle believed that the state determines the
behaviour of humans. Without law and justice, humans would be the worst of all animals and
he also proposed that human being is a social animal.
 In the medieval period, various travellers and explorers wrote details about the people they
encountered. Among these, Marco-polo (1224-1313) and Vasco-Da-Gama (1397-1499)
contributed a lot towards the enrichment of knowledge on Anthropology.
 During the 17th century, Francis Bacon and Thomas Hobbes formulated different theories for the
study of society. John Lock provided the metaphysical foundation upon which the
Anthropologist formulated their formal definition of culture. German philosopher Immanuel
Kant (1724-1804) wrote the book Anthropology in 1789 suggesting the animal origin of man and
concluded that human knowledge comes from pre-human condition.
 There was a lot of curiosity to learn about the different races of human kind during the 16th
century. Demonstration of blood circulation by William Harvey in 1628 and the discovery of
microscope by Leeuwenhoek opened a new world of study. Vesalius had made an attempt to
compare human being with ape. He also tried to dissect the human body.
 In 1735, Carl Linnaeus published his book ‘Systema Naturae’ where in he has clearly mentioned
about the inclusion of human in the Zoological classification.
 During 16th and 17th centuries, Christian missionaries travelled all around the world for the
spread of Christian ideology and conversion of people into Christianity. They studied the culture
of native people to make their attempt of conversion easy. During the period of colonization
British administrators conducted many studies on native people to make their administration
easy.
 Edgar Thurston, (Castes and Tribes of India) William Crook (Tribes and Castes of the North
Western Provinces), Verrier Elwin, (Philosophy of NEFA) and John Russel made significant
contributions in Anthropology by conducting various studies on the culture of different groups
in India.
2. Convergent Period (1835-1859):
 During this period, divergent views about the origin of biological and social aspects of human
being were expressed by scholars of different countries. Among these, the contributions of Karl
Marx (1818 – 1883), Charles Lyell (1797 – 1895), and of William Smith (1769 – 1839) are
important. Marx accepted the dialectical process as the moving power of history.
 In the field of Archaeology, Boucher Deperthe’s discoveries of flint implements at Abbeville in
1838 and 1846, Dr. Rigollet’s discovery at Saint Acheul in 1854 are some of the new
developments.
 Neanderthal’s discovery at Dusseldorf in 1857 gave a new outlook about human evolution.
 James Prichard classified and systematized the facts about races of humankind in his book The
Natural History of Man in 1833 and Physical History of Man in 1836. He proposed the differences
of colour, hair, stature and form and examined the criteria of racial classification.
 The convergence of all these ideas was completed with the publication of Charles Darwin’s book
The Origin of Species (1859). In this book, he proposed his theory of organic evolution popularly
known as ‘Darwinism’. With the publication of this book, physical evolution of human being
based on scientific investigation was established. Thus, diversities of arguments expressed about
origin of human being and society came to an end with the publication of Origin of Species.
3. Constructive Period (1859–1900):
 During this period Anthropology started as an independent discipline in many universities. A

Department of Anthropology was started in Oxford University in 1884 and Cambridge University
in 1900.
 Scientific researches and publications by scholars like E B Tylor, James Frazer, Henry Maine, and
L. H. Morgan, came out during this period.
 Different branches of anthropology like ethnology, pre-history, social anthropology and physical
anthropology were also evolved. Apart from England, Germany and USA, anthropological
researches had flourished in France and some other countries as well.
 Contributions of Emile Durkheim in France helped to popularize Anthropology in France. Some
important journals like ‘American Journal of Folklore’, ‘Bulletin of the Royal Asiatic Society of
Great Britain and Ireland’ (now known as ‘Man’) etc. were also started during this period.
 Large numbers of anthropological articles were published in these journals. Colonial
administrators had also published their reports and papers in this journal. The researches done
by British officers like Edgar Thurston, Russel, and others facilitated the growth of
anthropological tradition in India.
4. Critical Period (1900 onwards):
 Penniman used the term ‘critical’ to denote this period because of the crucial contribution made
to the development of Anthropology during this period. Some significant developments had also
marked this period.
 The first chair of social anthropology was started in 1908 in the University of Liverpool in Britain.
It was chaired by Sir James Frazer.
 The first Anthropology department in India was started in the University of Calcutta in 1920. In
1919, Social anthropology had been introduced as a subject in the Department of Sociology at
the University of Bombay. During this period, different schools of thought in anthropology were
founded. Functional school of thought, structural school of thought, school of diffusion, and
culture and personality school are prominent among them.
 Authors of this period specialised in theorizing the concepts, definitions and different aspects of
culture. For instance, B K Malinowski, based on his field expedition among the Trobriand
Islanders proposed his idea of Functionalism. Radcliffe Brown, based on his study of the
Andaman Islanders established his theory of Social Structure during this period.
 Similarly, the American scholars such as A L Kroeber, Ruth Benedict, Margaret Mead, and Clark
Wissler played their own role in shaping the destiny of world anthropology.

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ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF

Origin and Development of World Anthropology

Phases of Development of Anthropology (T.K. Penniman’s contribution)

1. Formulatory period (before 1835):

3. Constructive Period (1859–1900):

 During this period Anthropology started as an independent discipline in many universities. A

4. Critical Period (1900 onwards):

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