I Did Not Know What I Wanted Today, I am proud to say I am an anthropology major and if I were eighteen again, I would choose anthropology again. But back when I was seventeen in Juana Díaz, Puerto Rico, I did not know what I wanted to be. Does anyone know at that age […]
Aquatic Archaeology Underwater archaeology, also known as marine, maritime, submarine, aquatic, hydroarchaeology, and many other names is a subfield of archaeology, which is itself a subfield of anthropology. Like all anthropological fields, this is a multidisciplinary field that intersects with cultural and biological anthropology, archaeology, as well as history, geology, hydrology, art history, and even […]
Political Anthropology or Anthropology of Politics? Political anthropology is a subfield of cultural anthropology that studies power, leadership, and governance and their influence on human beings. This study is comparative, cross-cultural, and multidisciplinary. Political anthropology is one area where anthropology meets sociology, political economy, history, and political science. South African anthropologist Max Gluckman is considered […]
What is Primatology? Primatology is a subfield of biological anthropology that studies primates, both living and extinct. Like all anthropological disciplines, this is a multidisciplinary study, usually encompassing biology, ecology, and zoology, among other disciplines. But why study primates? Because anthropology is the study of human beings and we humans belong to the primate family. […]
Who Was Ricardo Alegría? Ricardo Enrique Alegría Gallardo was an anthropologist, archaeologist, scholar, and historian. He was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico on April 14th, 1921, and died in San Juan on July 7th, 2011. His mother was Celeste Gallardo and his father was José S. Alegría, a founding member and former vice president […]
The Problem with Unilinear Cultural Evolution In science fiction stories, we often encounter alien beings as characters. Furthermore, in most stories, the alien races are more biologically and culturally advanced and evolved than us. Their technology is almost like magic. Indeed, we implicitly expect aliens to have better technology and weaponry. Otherwise, how could they […]
Can a Baby Be Born in Space? A spaceborn human is a human born in space. Easy, no? However, we should ask, can a baby be born in space? Is it dangerous? In short, yes. Long answer, the lack of gravity or lower gravity will be a problem. A spaceborn baby will have to deal […]
Tracing History Through Our Tongues Linguistics is not just a subfield of anthropology, it is essential to understanding human nature. Language allows us to communicate and cooperate. Language makes us humans. There are about 7,000 languages in the world. Yet, roughly one out of six people speak Chinese. The United Nations have six official languages […]
Anthropology of Speculation Anthropology is a good discipline to study the past and the present human societies. However, what about the future? Can it predict it? Anthropologists will not be better than science fiction authors at predicting the future. Neither would they be better at predicting human evolution or social change. Still, it is a […]
What is a Cultural Superpower? A cultural superpower is a country that not only exports its culture but it also influences other countries’ cultures. Everyone understands or at least has an idea about what a military, economic, or political superpower is. A nation people fear their army, who has not only great influence but also […]
Recent Comments