IAS MAINS SYLLABUS FOR ANTHROPOLOGY - PART 1
1.1 Meaning, scope and development of Anthropology.
1.2 Relationships with other disciplines: Social Sciences, Behavioural Sciences, Life Sciences, Medical Sciences, Earth Sciences and Humanities.
1.3 Main branches of Anthropology, their scope and relevance:
- Social- cultural Anthropology
- Biological Anthropology
- Archaeological Anthropology
- Linguistic Anthropology
1.4 Human Evolution and emergence of Man:
- Biological and Cultural factors in human evolution
- Theories of Organic Evolution (Pre- Darwinian, Darwinian and Post-Darwinian)
- Synthetic theory of evolution; Brief outline of terms and concepts of evolutionary biology (Doll’s rule, Cope’s rule, Gause’s rule, parallelism, convergence, adaptive radiation, and mosaic evolution)
Characteristics of Primates
Evolutionary Trend and Primate Taxonomy; Primate Adaptations; (Arboreal and Terrestrial) Primate Taxonomy; Primate Behaviour; Tertiary and Quaternary fossil primates; Living Major Primates; Comparative Anatomy of Man and Apes; Skeletal changes due to erect posture and its implications.
1.6 Phylogenetic status, characteristics and geographical distribution of the following:
- Plio-pleistocene hominids in South and East Africa – Australopithecines
- Homo erectus: Africa ( Paranthropus ), Europe ( Homo erectus heidelbergensis ), Asia ( Homo erectus javanicus , Homo erectus pekinensis )
- Neanderthal Man- La-Chapelle-aux-saints (Classical type), Mt. Carmel (Progressive type)
- Rhodesian man
- Homo sapiens — Cromagnon, Grimaldi and Chancelede
1.7 The biological basis of life: The Cell, DNA structure and replication, Protein Synthesis, Gene, Mutation, Chromosomes, and Cell Division.
1.8 (a) Principles of Prehistoric Archaeology. Chronology: Relative and Absolute Dating methods.
(b) Cultural Evolution- Broad Outlines of Prehistoric cultures:
- Paleolithic
- Mesolithic
- Neolithic
- Chalcolithic
- Copper-Bronze Age
- Iron Age
2.1 The Nature of Culture:
The concept and characteristics of culture and civilization; Ethnocentrism vis-à-vis cultural Relativism.
2.2 The Nature of Society:
Concept of Society; Society and Culture; Social Institutions; Social groups; and Social stratification.
2.3 Marriage: Definition and universality;
Laws of marriage (endogamy, exogamy, hypergamy, hypogamy, incest taboo); Types of marriage (monogamy, polygamy, polyandry, group marriage). Functions of marriage; Marriage regulations (preferential, prescriptive and proscriptive); Marriage payments (bride wealth and dowry).
2.4 Family: Definition and universality:
Family, household and domestic groups; functions of family; Types of family (from the perspectives of structure, blood relation, marriage, residence and succession); Impact of urbanization, industrialization and feminist movements on family.
2.5 Kinship: Consanguinity and Affinity
Principles and types of descent (Unilineal, Double, Bilateral, Ambilineal); Forms of descent groups (lineage, clan, phratry, moiety and kindred); Kinship terminology (descriptive and classificatory); Descent, Filiation and Complimentary Filiation; Descent and Alliance.
3. Economic organization:
Meaning, scope and relevance of economic anthropology; Formalist and Substantivist debate; Principles governing production, distribution and exchange (reciprocity, redistribution and market), in communities, subsisting on hunting and gathering, fishing, swiddening, pastoralism, horticulture, and agriculture; globalization and indigenous economic systems.
4. Political organization and Social Control:
Band, tribe, chiefdom, kingdom and state; concepts of power, authority and legitimacy; social control, law and justice in simple societies.
5. Religion:
Anthropological approaches to the study of religion (evolutionary, psychological and functional); monotheism and polytheism; sacred and profane; myths and rituals; forms of religion in tribal and peasant societies (animism, animatism, fetishism, naturism and totemism); religion, magic and science distinguished; magico- religious functionaries (priest, shaman, medicine man, sorcerer and witch).
6. Anthropological theories:
- Classical evolutionism (Tylor, Morgan and Frazer)
- Historical particularism (Boas); Diffusionism (British, German and American)
- Functionalism (Malinowski); Structural- functionlism (Radcliffe-Brown)
- Structuralism (L’evi – Strauss and E. Leach)
- Culture and personality (Benedict, Mead, Linton, Kardiner and Cora – du Bois)
- Neo – evolutionism (Childe, White, Steward, Sahlins and Service)
- Cultural materialism (Harris)
- Symbolic and interpretive theories (Turner, Schneider and Geertz)
- Cognitive theories (Tyler, Conklin)
- Post- modernism in anthropology
7. Culture, language and communication:
Nature, origin and characteristics of language; verbal and non-verbal communication; social context of language use.
8. Research methods in anthropology:
- Fieldwork tradition in anthropology
- Distinction between technique, method and methodology
- Tools of data collection: observation, interview, schedules, questionnaire, Case study, genealogy, life-history, oral history, secondary sources of information, participatory methods
- Analysis, interpretation and presentation of data
9.1 Human Genetics
Methods and Application: Methods for study of genetic principles in man-family study (pedigree analysis, twin study, foster child, co-twin method, cytogenetic method, chromosomal and karyo-type analysis), biochemical methods, immunological methods, D.N.A. technology and recombinant technologies.
9.2 Mendelian genetics in man-family study, single factor, multifactor, lethal, sub-lethal and polygenic inheritance in man.
9.3 Concept of genetic polymorphism and selection, Mendelian population, Hardy-Weinberg law
causes and changes which bring down frequency – mutation, isolation, migration, selection, inbreeding and genetic drift. Consanguineous and non-consanguineous mating, genetic load, genetic effect of consanguineous and cousin marriages.
9.4 Chromosomes and chromosomal aberrations in man, methodology.
- Numerical and structural aberrations (disorders)
- Sex chromosomal aberrations – Klinefelter (XXY), Turner (XO), Super female (XXX), intersex and other syndromic disorders
- Autosomal aberrations – Down syndrome, Patau, Edward and Cri-du-chat syndromes
- Genetic imprints in human disease, genetic screening, genetic counseling, human DNA profiling, gene mapping and genome study
9.5 Race and racism, biological basis of morphological variation of non-metric and metric characters. Racial criteria, racial traits in relation to heredity and environment; biological basis of racial classification, racial differentiation and race crossing in man.
9.6 Age, sex and population variation as genetic marker- ABO, Rh blood groups, HLA Hp, transferring, Gm, blood enzymes. Physiological characteristics-Hb level, body fat, pulse rate, respiratory functions and sensory perceptions in different cultural and socio-economic groups.
9.7 Concepts and methods of Ecological Anthropology. Bio-cultural Adaptations - Genetic and Non- genetic factors. Man's physiological responses to environmental stresses: hot desert, cold, high altitude climate.
9.8 Epidemiological Anthropology: Health and disease. Infectious and non-infectious diseases. Nutritional deficiency related diseases.
10. Concept of human growth and development: stages of growth - pre-natal, natal, infant, childhood, adolescence, maturity, senescence.
- Factors affecting growth and development genetic, environmental, biochemical, nutritional, cultural and socio-economic
- Ageing and senescence. Theories and observations – biological and chronological longevity. Human physique and somatotypes. Methodologies for growth studies
11.1 Relevance of menarche, menopause and other bioevents to fertility. Fertility patterns and differentials.
11.2 Demographic theories- biological, social and cultural.
11.3 Biological and socio-ecological factors influencing fecundity, fertility, natality and mortality.
12. Applications of Anthropology:
Anthropology of sports, Nutritional anthropology, Anthropology in designing of defence and other equipments, Forensic Anthropology, Methods and principles of personal identification and reconstruction, Applied human genetics – Paternity diagnosis, genetic counseling and eugenics, DNA technology in diseases and medicine, serogenetics and cytogenetics in reproductive biology.