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History of anthropology in this article refers primarily to the 18th- and 19th-century precursors of modern anthropology. The term anthropology itself, innovated as a Neo-Latin scientific word during the Renaissance, has always meant "the study (or science) of man". The topics to be included and the terminology have varied historically.
Environmental discourse appears to be characterized by a high degree of globalization. (The troubling problem is borrowing non-indigenous practices and creating standards, concepts, philosophies and practices in western countries.) Anthropology and environmental discourse now have become a distinct position in anthropology as a discipline.
In anthropology, liminality (from Latin limen 'a threshold') [1] is the quality of ambiguity or disorientation that occurs in the middle stage of a rite of passage, when participants no longer hold their pre-ritual status but have not yet begun the transition to the status they will hold when the rite is complete. [2]
Animism is used in anthropology of religion as a term for the belief system of many Indigenous peoples [8] in contrast to the relatively more recent development of organized religions. [9] Animism is a metaphysical belief which focuses on the supernatural universe: specifically, on the concept of the immaterial soul. [10]
Keith Ferdinando notes that the term "syncretism" is an elusive one, [6] and can refer to substitution or modification of the central elements of a religion by beliefs or practices introduced from elsewhere. The consequence under such a definition, according to Ferdinando, can lead to a fatal "compromise" of the original religion's "integrity". [7]
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to anthropology: Anthropology – study of humankind. Anthropology has origins in the natural sciences – humanities – and the social sciences. [1] The term was first used by François Péron when discussing his encounters with Tasmanian Aborigines. [2]
In religion and mythology, anthropomorphism is the perception of a divine being or beings in human form, or the recognition of human qualities in these beings. Ancient mythologies frequently represented the divine as deities with human forms and qualities.
Social anthropology is a term applied to ethnographic works that attempt to isolate a particular system of social relations such as those that comprise domestic life, economy, law, politics, or religion, give analytical priority to the organizational bases of social life, and attend to cultural phenomena as somewhat secondary to the main issues ...