Anthropology studies human beings in diverse aspects. These could be in terms of biology and evolution, society and culture, environment and ecology, demography and tribes, health and disease, human development from pre-natal stage to senescence, human genetics, research methods, religion, marriage, family among others. Hence, UPSC Anthropology Optional Subject has quite a diverse subject matter.
WHY OPT FOR ANTHROPOLOGY AS YOUR OPTIONAL?
ANTHROPOLOGY optional has become favourite of UPSC aspirants these days. Since it is yielding 270+ marks every year to the UPSC-Civil Services Examination toppers. However, UPSC does not discriminate between any of its optional subjects and one should consider his/her interest a top priority while choosing an optional.
Here are some facts to prove this argument for UPSC Anthropology Optional Subject
| Name of the candidate | Year of passing | Rank secured | Total marks (500) ANTHROPOLOGY | Paper I | Paper II |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NEHA KUMARI | CSE- 2014 | 26 | 271 | 140 | 131 |
| KIRTHI CHEKURI | CSE-2015 | 14 | 275 | 138 | 137 |
| MILIND BAPNA | CSE-2016 | 61 | 306 | 153 | 153 |
| ANUDEEP DURISHETTY | CSE-2017 | 01 | 318 | 171 | 147 |
| LAKSHMI N | CSE-2018 | 45 | 362 | 179 | 183 |
Optional subject marks play an important role in improving your UPSC-CSE all India ranking. Also, if you have not scored well in GS papers, you can still find your name in UPSC-CSE final list if you score well in optional papers.
What UPSC Anthropology has to offer?
UPSC Anthropology Optional Subject covers the following aspects:
- Diverse – ANTHROPOLOGY covers various dimensions, like- social, biological and archaeological.
- Indian society– In Social Anthropology we study people and their society. And thus, we come to know about various aspects of Indian society.
- Geographical locations– Availability of resource plays an important role in deciding which optional subject one should take. In Anthropology, adequate study material is available. Although, you are not required to read all of them and experts from Vignan IAS Academy will guide you properly.
- Prepares Cultural part of General Studies– Anthropology optional helps in preparing cultural part in GS paper: we study different cultural practices across India and the world, in past and present
- Biological anthropology– In biological Anthropology you will learn about genetics, human physical features, the concept of race, public health, diseases and demographic data of India on diseases, various policies for human welfare tribal laws and welfare committee and commission which can help you in framing answers of other questions in mains or essay.
- Studies tribes and policy impact on them – • Here you have to read about 5-year plan and current affairs of tribes, recent policies and their impact. Here, an additional benefit comes for Anthropology candidate that you have already covered it in modern history and also while reading current affairs. So, there is no need for extra preparation which saves you time.
SYLLABUS TO BE COVERED
INTRODUCTION, SCOPE AND DEVELOPMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHER DISCIPLINES:
- History
- Sociology
- Political science
- Economics
- Psychology
- Medical sciences
- Earth sciences
MAIN BRANCHES
- Socio-cultural anthropology
- Biological anthropology
- Archaeological anthropology
- Linguistic anthropology
HUMAN EVOLUTION
- Biological and cultural factors
- Theories of organic evolution (Lamarckism, Darwinism)
- Synthetic evolution
- Dollo’s rule
- Cope’s rule
- Gause’s rule
- Parallelism
- Convergence
- Adaptive radiation
- Mosaic evolution
PRIMATE CHARACTERISTICS
- Evolutionary trend
- Primate classification
- Primate adaptation
- 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
- Phylogenetic status, characteristics and geographical distribution of the following:
- Pleo- 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: Cro-Magnon, Grimaldi, Chancelede)
BIOLOGICAL BASIS OF LIFE
- The cell
- DNA structure and replication
- Protein synthesis
- Gene
- Mutation chromosomes cell division
DATING METHODS
- Relative dating methods
- Absolute dating methods
CULTURE EVOLUTION
- Palaeolithic
- Mesolithic
- Neolithic
- Chalcolithic
- Copper- bronze age
- Iron age
THE NATURE OF CULTURE
- The concept of culture
- Characteristics of culture
- Civilization
- Difference between culture and civilization
- Ethnocentrism
- Cultural relativism
NATURE OF SOCIETY
- Concept of society
- Society and culture
- Social institutions
- Social groups
- Social stratification
MARRIAGE
- Definition and universality
- Laws of marriage
- Types of marriage
- Function of marriage
- Marriage regulations
- Marriage payments
FAMILY
- Definition and universality
- Family, household and domestic groups
- Functions of family
- Types of family
- Impact of urbanization, industrialization and feminist movements on family
KINSHIP
- Consanguinity and affinity
- Principles and types of descent
- Forms of descent groups
- Kinship terminology
- Descent and filiation and complementary filiation
- Descent and alliance
ECONOMIC ORGANIZATION
- Meaning, scope and relevance of economic anthropology
- Formalist and substantivism debate
- Principles governing production, distribution and exchange
- Hunting, food gathering and fishing
- Pastoralism
- Horticulture
- Agriculture
- Globalization and indigenous economic systems
POLITICAL ORGANIZATION AND SOCIAL CONTROL
- Band
- Tribe
- Chiefdom
- Kingdom and state
- Concepts of power
- Authority and legitimacy
- Social control
- Law and justice
RELIGION
- Anthropological approaches to study religion
- Monotheism and polytheism
- Sacred and profane
- Myths and rituals
- Forms of religion
- Religion, magic and science
- Magic-religious functionaries
ANTHROPOLOGICAL THEORIES
- Classical evolutionism
- Historical particularism
- Functionalism
- Structuralism
- Culture and personality
- Neo- Evolutionism
- Cultural materialism
- Symbolic and Interpretive theories
- Cognitive theories
- Post modernism
CULTURE, LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION
- Nature, origin and characteristics of language
- Verbal and non- verbal communication
- Social context of language use
RESEARCH METHODS IN ANTHROPOLOGY
- Fieldwork tradition
- Distinction between technique, method and methodology
- Tools of data collection
- Analysis, interpretation and presentation data
HUMAN GENETICS
- Methods and applications
- Twin study
- Foster method
- Co twin method
- Cytogenetic method
- Chromosomal and karyo-type analysis
- Biochemical methods
- Immunological methods
- DNA recombinant technology
MENDELIAN GENETICS
- Man- family study
- Single factor
- Multifactor
- Lethal and sub lethal
- Polygenic inheritance
GENETIC POLYMORPHISM
- Mandelian population
- Hardy-Weinberg law
- Changes in gene frequencies
- Consanguineous and non- consanguineous mating
- Genetic load
- Genetic effect pf cousin marriage
CHROMOSOMAL ABERRATIONS IN MAN
- Numerical and structural aberrations
- Sex chromosomal aberrations
- Autosomal aberrations
- Genetic imprints in human disease, genetic screening, genetic counselling, DNA Profiling, gene mapping, genome study
RACE AND RACISM
- Biological basis of morphological variation of non-metric and metric characters
- Racial criteria
- Racial traits in relation of heredity and environment
- Biological basis of racial classification
- Racial differentiation
- Race crossing in man
AGE, SEX AND POPULATION VARIATION
- Genetic markers (ABO, Rh blood groups. HLA, Hp, Transferrin, Gm, Blood enzymes)
- Physiological characteristics (Hb level, body fat, pulse rate, respiratory functions and sensory perceptions in scoio-cultural groups)
ECOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
- Biological adaptations
- Genetic and non-genetic factors
- Responses to hot, cold and high altitude
EPIDEMIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
- Health and disease
- Infectious and non-infectious diseases
- Nutritional deficiency related diseases
HUMAN GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
- Stages of growth
- Pre- natal
- Natal
- Infant
- Childhood
- Adolescence
- Maturity
- Senescence (theories, observations)
- Factors affecting it(environmental, biological, nutritional, cultural etc
FERTILITY
- Menarche
- Menopause
- Fertility patterns
- Fertility differentials
DEMOGRAPHIC THEORIES
- Biological
- Social
- Cultural
APPLICATIONS OF ANTHROPOLOGY
- Sports
- Nutritional
- Defence and other equipment’s’
- Forensic
- Sero-genetics
- Cytogenetics
ANTHROPOLOGY OPTIONAL SUBJECT RECOMMENDED BOOKLIST
PAPER-I
- Anthropology – Ember and Ember
- Physical Anthropology – P Nath
- Braintree material
- For diagrams- Anthropology Simplified – Vivek Bhasme
PAPER-II
- Indian Anthropology -Nadeem Hasnain
- Tribal India – Nadeem Hasnain
- Anthropology Simplified- Vivek Bhasme
- The Tribal Culture of India – LP Vidyarthi
- January 2014 edition of Yojana- Tribal and Marginalized Communities
- Xaxa Report