About

Anthropology is a holistic study of the human condition in both the past and the present. The anthropological lens can bring into focus the social, cultural, biological, and linguistic variations that characterize the diversity of humankind throughout time and space. The frontiers of anthropology can encompass many directions: the search for early human fossils in Africa, the excavations of prehistoric societies and ancient civilizations, the analysis of language use and other expressive forms of culture, or an examination of the significance of culture in the context of social life.

Anthropologists have, in the past, been concerned with peoples living in remote corners of the world or peoples and human ancestors who lived at remote times from the present. However, contemporary anthropology also includes a concern with the complexity of a modern world. New technologies and a global economy have brought together local histories into a myriad of emergent forms and configurations. The world has changed and so has anthropology. Anthropology at Bryn Mawr allows students to explore this ever-changing diversity of the human conditions.

Bryn Mawr's Department of Anthropology continues this legacy of the four-field approach. Students can take courses in Archaeology, Physical Anthropology, Cultural Anthropology, and Anthropological Linguistics. Archaeology is the study of past human activities and cultural evolution through the investigation of the remains of societies and cultures in the archaeological record. Physical Anthropology investigates human biological evolution, the origins of present day human physical diversity, and the interrelations of biology and culture. Cultural Anthropology is concerned with cultural similarities and differences among contemporary societies. Anthropological Linguistics includes an interest with the histories of languages and the study of language and speech in the context of social life and culture.

While the holistic perspective of anthropology distinguishes it from the other social sciences, anthropology's methods also are a distinguished feature that sets it apart as unique in the social sciences. Intensive field work among all human societies, cross-cultural comparisons, archaeological excavations, and laboratory investigations of human fossil remains and artifacts are all features of the anthropological method that indicate its holistic perspective of the human condition.