4 CHAPTER 1 | The Essence of Anthropology
For as long as we have been on earth, people have sought
to understand who we are, where we come from, and
why we act as we do. Throughout most of human history,
though, people relied on myth and folklore for answers,
rather than on the systematic testing of data obtained
through careful observation. Anthropology, over the last
150 years, has emerged as a tradition of scientific inquiry
with its own approaches to answering these questions.
Simply stated, anthropology is the study of humankind in
all times and places. While focusing primarily on Homo
sapiens—the human species—anthropologists also study
our ancestors and close animal relatives for clues about
what it means to be human.
The Development
of Anthropology
Although works of anthropological significance have a
considerable antiquity—about 2,500 years ago the Greek
historian Herodotus chronicled the many different cul-
tures he encountered during extensive journeys through
territories surrounding the Mediterranean Sea and be-
yond, and nearly 700 years ago far-roving North African
Arab scholar Ibn Khaldun wrote a “universal history”—
anthropology as a distinct field of inquiry is a relatively
recent product of Western civilization. The first anthro-
pology program in the United States, for example, was es-
tablished at the University of Pennsylvania in 1886, and
the first doctorate in anthropology was granted by Clark
University in 1892. If people have always been concerned
about their origins and those of others, then why did it
take such a long time for a systematic discipline of anthro-
pology to appear?
The answer to this is as complex as human history. In
part, it relates to the limits of human technology. Through-
out most of history, the geographic horizons of people
have been restricted. Without ways to travel to distant
parts of the world, observation of cultures and peoples
far from one’s own was a difficult—if not impossible—
undertaking. Extensive travel was usually the privilege of
an exclusive few; the study of foreign peoples and cultures
could not flourish until improved modes of transportation
and communication developed.
This is not to say that people have been unaware of the
existence of others in the world who look and act differ-
ently from themselves. The Old and New Testaments of the
Bible, for example, are full of references to diverse ancient
peoples, among them Babylonians, Egyptians, Greeks,
Jews, and Syrians. However, the differences among these
people are slight in comparison to those among peoples
of arctic Siberia, the Amazon rainforest, and the Kalahari
Desert of southern Africa.
The invention of the magnetic compass allowed
seafarers on better-equipped sailing ships to travel to
truly faraway places and to meet people who differed
radically from themselves. The massive encounter with
previously unknown peoples—which began 500 years ago
as Europeans sought to extend their trade and political4 CHAPTER 1 | The Essence of Anthropology
Anthropologists come from many corners of the world and carry
out research in a huge variety of cultures all around the globe.
Dr. Jayasinhji Jhala, pictured here, hails from the old city of
Dhrangadhra in Gujarat, northwestern India. A member of the Jhala
clan of Rajputs, an aristocratic caste of warriors, he grew up in the
royal palace of his father, the maharaja. After earning a bachelor of
arts degree in India, he came to the United States and earned a mas-
ter’s in visual studies from MIT, followed by a doctorate in anthropol-
ogy from Harvard. Currently a professor and director of the programs
of Visual Anthropology and the Visual Anthropology Media Laboratory
at Temple University, he returns regularly to India with students to
film cultural traditions in his own caste-stratified society.© Documentary Educational Resourcesanthropology The study of humankind in all times and places.