Social science

The study of human society and of individual relationships in and to society. [Sociology, psychology, anthropology, economics, political science, geography, archeology and history.] Paleontology, is the study of what fossils (human, animal, vegetable, ecology and climate past) tell us about the ecologies of the past, about evolution, and about our place, as humans, in the world. Paleontology incorporates knowledge from biology, geology, ecology, anthropology, archaeology. Economics, studies how individuals, governments, firms and nations make choices on allocating scarce resources to satisfy their unlimited wants Political science is the study of governments, public policies and political processes, systems, and political behavior. Geography, that studies the lands, the features, the inhabitants, and the phenomena of the Earth Archeology, study of the material culture History, is the study of the human past as it is described in the written documents left by human beings Psychology, study of the mind and behavior. Anthropology is the study of humans, past and present. A central concern of anthropologists is the application of knowledge to the solution of human problems. with a special interest in how people live in particular places and how they organize, govern, and create meaning.

Social scientist, a person dedicated to any of mentioned fields.

In the case of anthropology

Sociocultural anthropology examine social patterns and practices across cultures, with a special interest in how people live in particular places and how they organize, govern, and create meaning. Biological (or Physical) Anthropology seek to understand how humans adapt to diverse environments, how biological and cultural processes work together to shape growth, development and behavior, and what causes disease and early death. In addition, they are interested in human biological origins, evolution and variation. Archaeology , study past peoples and cultures, from the deepest prehistory to the recent past, through the analysis of material remains, ranging from artifacts and evidence of past environments to architecture and landscapes. Material evidence, such as pottery, stone tools, animal bone, and remains of structures.

Anthropology has four main schools of thought

Functionalism, seek to describe the different parts of a society and their relationship through the organic analogy. The organic analogy compared the different parts of a society to the organs of a living organism the way that the different parts interacted together.

Structuralism, the school of thought developed by the French anthropologist Claude LviStrauss, in which cultures, viewed as systems, are analyzed in terms of the structural relations among their elements. Evolutionism- explains the genesis and growth of cultural phenomena. It tried to establish a universal
pattern of human cultural evolution. It was the belief in Social Darwinism that led to the belief that some societies were better equipped than others to dominate and rule.

Postmodernism is largely a reaction to the assumed certainty of scientific, or objective, efforts to explain reality.it is denies the existence of any ultimate principles, and it lacks the optimism of there being a scientific, philosophical, or religious truth which will explain everything for everybody

Anthropology, as a scientific process has four steps: 1. Research protocol: the design of the research that will help and conduct the researcher through the main objectives, justification and an extensive knowledge about the state of the affair to be known. 2. - Ethnography - description of a culture, usually based on the method of participant observation [is one type of data collection method typically done in the qualitative research paradigm. Its aim is to
gain a close and intimate familiarity with a given group of individuals and their practices through an intensive involvement with people in their cultural environment, usually over an extended period of time]

Fieldwork - living among a group of people for the purpose of learning about their culture. Emic - views of the world that members of a culture accept as real, meaningful, or appropriate. Etic - views of a culture that are accepted by a group of scientists as a valid description of the culture. Key informants - a few individuals selected on the basis of criteria such as knowledge, compatibility, age, experience, or reputation who provide information about their culture. Qualitative methods - rich descriptions of cultural situations obtained from interviewing, participant observation, and collection of oral and textual materials. Ethnographies are reports from qualitative research. Quantitative methods - numerical tabulations and statistical comparisons made possible by systematic surveys, observations, or analysis of records. Data are used to test hypotheses and identify the strength of patterns observed using qualitative methods. 3. - Ethnology - comparative analysis of cultural patterns to explain differences and similarities among societies. 4. - Anthropologic results: the produced theory as a new scientific knowledge.

The basic concepts used and created by anthropologist as an effort to explain reality are:

Culture, The system of shared beliefs, values, customs, behaviours and artifacts that the members of society use to cope with their world and with one another, and that are transmitted from generation to generation through learning. Social construction - reality that is constructed uniquely by each person. Cosmology - ideas about the universe as an ordered system and the place of humans in the universe. Ethnocentrism - judging other cultures by the standards of your own, which you believe to be superior. Colonialism - forced change in which one culture, society, or nation dominates another. Acculturation - culture change resulting from contact between cultures. A process of external culture change. Anthropocentric - the idea that humans are the most important beings in the universe. Cultural relativism - understanding the ways of other cultures and not judging these practices according to one's own cultural ways. Cultural transmission - how culture is passed on through learning from one generation to another. Also referred to as enculturation or socialization. Assimilation - when one ethnic group absorbs another, so that the cultural traits of the assimilated group become indistinguishable. Humanism - concern for human welfare, dignity and values. Ethnocentrism - judging other cultures by the standards of your own, which you believe to be superior. Hegemonic - the use of power, usually by those controlling the meta or master narrative against the other. Institutions - the patterns of living and social organizations that carry out the values and goals of a society. Social network - the relationships an individual has with family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, and people in groups to which the person belongs, e.g. church, recreation, political, social, and other groups. See also family, kinship, caste, class. Role - the relation one has with another node in a social network. A loving and affective relationship is the role of being a spouse. See status. Identity, is used to describe the way individuals and groups define themselves and are defined by others on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, language, and culture" Syncretism - blending traits from two different cultures to form a new trait. Also called fusion.

Diffusion - the spread of a cultural pattern from one culture to another, and where no directed change agent is apparent. Ethnic identity - a named group identified through their ethnic boundary markers. Ethnic identity can vary with changes in social context. Gender - the socially constructed roles, behaviors, activities, and attributes that a culture considers appropriated for men and women. Multiculturalism - stressing the importance of different cultures, races, and ethnicities. Division of labor - the division of tasks in a society between women and men, old and young, ability, knowledge, experience. Animism - a belief that natural phenomena such as rocks, trees, thunder, or celestial bodies have life or divinity. Magic - practices designed to gain control over the supernatural. Magic and religion are separated in several ways in anthropology. For some anthropologists magic tries to gain control over the supernatural. Others see magic as being individual, while religion is a group phenomena that creates lasting social bonds. Malinowski saw magic as a means to an end, while religion was the end in itself. Other anthropologists find separating magic and religion very difficult. Endogamy - rules requiring selecting of a marriage partner from within a particular group. Exogamy - rules requiring selection of a marriage partner from outside a particular group. Genealogy - a family tree or web of kinship relationships traced through parents and children. Kindred - people related to one another by blood, marriage, and adoption. Matriarchy - where a mother figure and women have authority. Matrilineal - descent traced exclusively through the female line. Matrilocal - residence after marriage in association with the wife's mother's relatives. Patriarchy - where a father figure and males have authority. Patrilineal - tracing kinship, inheritance, power through the male line. Patrilocal - residence after marriage in association with the husband's father's relatives. Polyandry - a woman has more than one husband. Polygamy - an individual who has more than one spouse. Polygyny - a man has more than one wife.