1.2 Branches/Subdivisions of Anthropology

The classic four-field architecture (memorise the table):BranchStudiesNepal examplesBiological/physicalanthropologyhuman origins and evolution (paleoanthropology — the fossil record); human variation and genetics; primatology; forensic anthropology (identification of remains — the branch courts meet)high-altitude adaptation studies of Himalayan populationsArchaeology (anthropological archaeology)past societies through material remains — from stone tools to historical sitesLumbini's excavations; the old hill forts (dunga); Sinja Valley's Khasa-era remainsLinguisticanthropologylanguage in cultural context: structure, history, social use, language and worldviewNepal's 120+ languages: Tibeto-Burman and Indo- Aryan families; language shift and revitalisationSocio-culturalanthropologyliving societies: kinship, religion, economy, politics, law — ethnographicallythe dominant Nepali branch: Newar, Tharu, Limbu, Sherpa, Dalit ethnographies(Plus the applied wings worth naming):development anthropology (Unit 7's core), medical anthropology, environmental anthropology, legal anthropology (Unit 9's sibling field), visual anthropology, urban anthropology.