Ananthropologist is a scientist engaged in the practice ofanthropology. Anthropologists study aspects ofhumans within past and presentsocieties.[1][2][3]Social anthropology,cultural anthropology andphilosophical anthropology study the norms, values, and general behavior of societies.Linguistic anthropology studies how language affects social life, whileeconomic anthropology studies human economic behavior.Biological (physical),forensic, andmedical anthropology study thebiology andevolution ofhumans and theirprimate relatives, the application of biological anthropology in a legal setting, and the study of diseases and their impacts on humans over time, respectively.
Anthropologists usually cover a breadth of topics within anthropology in theirundergraduate education and then proceed to specialize in topics of their own choice at thegraduate level. In some universities, a qualifying exam serves to test both the breadth and depth of a student's understanding of anthropology; the students who pass are permitted to work on a doctoral dissertation.
Anthropologists typically hold graduate degrees, either doctorates or master's degrees. Not holding an advanced degree is rare in the field. Some anthropologists hold undergraduate degrees in other fields thananthropology and graduate degrees in anthropology.[4]
Research topics of anthropologists include the discovery of human remains and artifacts as well as the exploration of social and cultural issues such as population growth,structural inequality and globalization by making use of a variety of technologies includingstatistical software andGeographic Information Systems (GIS).[5] Anthropological field work requires a faithful representation of observations and a strict adherence to social and ethical responsibilities, such as the acquisition of consent, transparency in research and methodologies and the right to anonymity.[6][7]
Historically, anthropologists primarily worked in academic settings; however, by 2014, U.S. anthropologists andarchaeologists were largely employed in research positions (28%), management and consulting (23%) and government positions (27%).[8][5] U.S. employment of anthropologists and archaeologists isprojected to increase from 7,600 to 7,900 between 2016 and 2026, a growth rate just under half the national median.[9][10]
Anthropologists without doctorates tend to work more in other fields thanacademia, while the majority of those with doctorates are primarily employed in academia.[11] Many of those without doctorates in academia tend to work exclusively as researchers and do not teach. Those in research-only positions are often not considered faculty. The median salary for anthropologists in 2015 was $62,220.[12] Many anthropologists report an above average level of job satisfaction.
Although closely related and often grouped with archaeology, anthropologists andarchaeologists perform differing roles, thougharcheology is considered a sub-discipline ofanthropology.[13] While both professions focus on the study of human culture from past to present, archaeologists focus specifically on analyzing material remains such as artifacts and architectural remains.[13] Anthropology encompasses a wider range of professions including the rising fields offorensic anthropology,digital anthropology andcyber anthropology. The role of an anthropologist differs as well from that of ahistorian. While anthropologists focus their studies on humans and human behavior, historians look at events from a broader perspective.[14] Historians also tend to focus less on culture than anthropologists in their studies. A far greater percentage of historians are employed in academic settings than anthropologists, who have more diverse places of employment.[15]
Anthropologists are experiencing a shift in the twenty-first centuryUnited States with the rise of forensic anthropology. In the United States, as opposed to many other countries forensic anthropology falls under the domain of the anthropologist and not theForensic pathologist.[16] In this role, forensic anthropologists help in the identification of skeletal remains by deducing biological characteristics such assex,age,stature andancestry from theskeleton.[17] However, forensic anthropologists tend to gravitate more toward working in academic and laboratory settings, while forensic pathologists perform more applied field work.[18]Forensic anthropologists typically holdacademic doctorates, while forensic pathologists are medical doctors.[18] The field of forensic anthropology is rapidly evolving with increasingly capable technology and more extensive databases.[19] Forensic anthropology is one of the most specialized and competitive job areas within the field of anthropology and currently has more qualified graduates than positions.[20]
The profession of Anthropology has also received an additional sub-field with the rise ofDigital anthropology. This new branch of the profession has an increased usage ofcomputers as well as interdisciplinary work withmedicine, computer visualization,industrial design,biology andjournalism.[21] Anthropologists in this field primarily study the evolution of human reciprocal relations with thecomputer-generated world.[22] Cyber anthropologists also study digital andcyber ethics along with the global implications of increasing connectivity.[23] With cyber ethical issues such asnet neutrality increasingly coming to light, this sub-field is rapidly gaining more recognition. One rapidly emerging branch of interest for cyber anthropologists isartificial intelligence.[24] Cyber anthropologists study the co-evolutionary relationship between humans and artificial intelligence.[25] This includes the examination ofcomputer-generated (CG) environments and how people interact with them through media such asmovies,television, andvideo.
Culture anthropology is a sub-field of anthropology specializing in the study of different cultures. They study both small-scale, traditional communities, such as isolated villages, and large-scale, modern societies, such as large cities. They look at different behaviors and patterns within a culture.[26] In order to study these cultures, many anthropologists will live among the culture they are studying.[27]
Cultural anthropologists can work as professors, work for corporations, nonprofit organizations, as well government agencies.[28] The field is very large and people can do a lot as a cultural anthropologist.
Some notable anthropologists include:Molefi Kete Asante,Ruth Benedict,Franz Boas,Ella Deloria,St. Clair Drake,John Hope Franklin,James George Frazer,Clifford Geertz,Edward C. Green,Zora Neale Hurston,Claude Lévi-Strauss,Bronisław Malinowski,Margaret Mead,Elsie Clews Parsons,Pearl Primus,Paul Rabinow,Alfred Radcliffe-Brown,Marshall Sahlins,Nancy Scheper-Hughes (b. 1944),Hortense Spillers,Edward Burnett Tylor (1832–1917) andFrances Cress Welsing.
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