(And what do Anthropologists actually do?)

Have you ever wondered what Anthropology is?

Have you ever wondered what Anthropology is? Or have you just assumed it had something to do with ruins, bones, or even dinosaurs? If you have, you were half-right about the ruins and bones—but dinosaurs? That’s a paleontologist’s business. Or is it that maybe you have pictured an Indiana Jones lookalike adventurer with the fedora hat and all. If you allow me, today I’d like to bust a few myths.

Image by Travis Anderson from Pixabay

Stereotypical female Anthropologist at work.

When I tell people I’m an Anthropologist, I usually get intrigued nods, ‘ohhs’, ‘ahhs’ and a polite “how interesting”, almost certainly followed by an awkward silence. It’s like they’re mentally flipping through known stereotypes imagining dusty artifacts and jungle adventures…and wondering if they should just pop the question and go ahead and ask: “So… what is it you do?” I must say most do ask and the answer might be a bit different than they’d expect. I just love answering that question, because Anthropology is everywhere and is about all of us.

Image by Bob Dmyt from Pixabay

Let’s start from the beginning, to put it simply: Anthropology is the study of humans. Anthropologists study how we live, why we act the way we do and how we make sense out of it all. We are extremely curious and dig into everything, sometimes literally when we dig out ancient artifacts to understand about humanities’ past, and not so literally when we dig into modern communication trends, office politics, cultural rituals or DNA diversity. Anthropology answers questions you didn’t know you had like, why a thumbs-up lands fine in Toronto but is offensive in Cairo, or how some of us can drink milk and others can’t (thanks, ancestors). Why do some cultures greet with hugs and others with handshakes? Anthropologists never take anything for granted, they are always trying to understand the motives that make us act in the ways we do.

Let’s dig a bit deeper into the specifics of our jobs. Even though Anthropologists can be found anywhere and almost everywhere, they come in different shades and sizes according to their field of study. To make things a bit more complex there are four main fields of study, with several subfields (which you don’t need to bother with). These are:

• Cultural Anthropologists:  they study living cultures think about distant rainforest villages to corporate environments, their aim is to understand how people create meaning in their daily lives. Anthropologists don’t just visit communities—they move in, chat over meals, and learn the unspoken rules of social interaction. Why some cultures love to chat over dinner while others prefer to eat in silence.
• Archaeologists: they work in reconstructing human behavior by analyzing artifacts like tools, pottery, buildings and even bones. Part detective, part time-traveler, they’re able to reconstruct how people lived from broken pottery or ancient trash pits (yes, garbage is gold for an Archeologist).
• Biological Anthropologists: they explore human evolution, genetics, and biological diversity. They might answer questions like: Why can some people drink milk as adults (are our ancestors to thank)? How did the lungs of people who live in high altitude adapt to thin air?
• Linguistic Anthropologists: they Investigate how language shapes identity, power, and culture. Language isn’t just words it’s the cultural meaning behind them. How what you say and how you say it can covey a different meaning..

What does an Anthropologist on the job look like?

Sometimes Anthropologists are difficult to spot, they don’t wear a uniform of sorts, but you can recognize them by their fedora hat… no, no I’m just kidding. You can recognize them by the way the act, they are either the ones asking most of the questions or the ones silently observing and taking notes. One of the most well-known methods Anthropologists use, is called participant observation and it basically means you get involved with the people you study, spend a lot of time with them, just like a clueless newcomer that is trying to understand local customs, that sometimes gets laughed at when he/she tries to do as the others but doesn’t quite get it: awkward, humbling, but turns out to be the best way to learn.

Image by Naassom Azevedo from Pixabay

Image by StockSnap from Pixabay

Taking notes

Image by Brenda Geisse from Pixabay

The practice of wonder

Image by JamesDeMers from Pixabay

Anthropology is sometimes thought about as a toolkit of methods, but it really is way of seeing the world. Sure, yes, we’ve become famous for our fieldwork (specially Archeologists who have been profusely portrayed in movies). But behind the scenes, there are centuries if theories and hard-earned insights about humanity. Some of my teachers at uni liked to say it’s the practice of wonder. I think it might be worth taking every opportunity to highlight its value and even more importantly bringing Anthropology into boardrooms, hospitals and tech labs. The world could use more “anthropological thinking” and fewer cultural misunderstandings. More moments where we stop to think: Why does this make sense to them?

If my article came out well, next time you meet an Anthropologist, you might know what to ask.

Or if you think of lost temples or ancient bones, now you know that Archeology is a field of Anthropology – and while I do love a good adventure, actually my field of study, as a Social Anthropologist, is more related to our everyday world than to ancient artifacts. And no, I don’t usually wear a fedora hat.