How we are learning about anthropology

The study of anthropology goes on and on. Today we know much about mankind. Tomorrow we shall know even more. We know that all men are related to each other. We are not different kinds of animals like lions, tigers, monkeys, and elephants. We are all one animal called man. The different races of man, the white, yellow, brown and black men, may appear different, but they go about living in much the same way. Anthropology includes the study of languages. This branch of anthropology is called linguistics.

The various languages of mankind may sound different, but the words are used to describe the same things and to exchange similar thoughts. An Eskimo throws a harpoon and an Indian shoots an arrow from a bow, but both are hunters. The ancient farmer turned over his land with a crude hoe, the modern farmer uses a tractordriven plow, but the purpose of the ancient farmer was the same as that of the modern one. He wanted to grow crops for food, only his tools were different. Throughout the ages man has used his intelligence as he fights to survive against nature.

Man has fought against the wild animals, against cold, heat, and storms, and against disease. Where there was plenty of stone, man built stone houses. Where grass and reeds were available, man built thatched huts. Where there were plenty of trees, man built wooden homes. How man got his food also depended on where he lived. He was a hunter where animals were available. He was a farmer if he lived in the open grasslands. He was a fisherman if he lived near water. We know all this because anthropologists have studied man. Anthropology has shown us that all men are alike in their needs and desires. They differ only in the way they go about doing things.