Branches of Physical Anthropology – Anthropology by K.V RAMESH

The growth of physical anthropology has been unparallel. In its nascent stages, physical anthropology was synonym to taking measurements, compute indices and other statistics. Irrespective of the objectives of study, the methods of observation, measurement and comparison remained same. As a result, the approach at that time was stagnant with thrust on taxonomy. This was because the development of theory was not known at that time and so was genetics. Consequently for number of years, classical Physical Anthropology was considered nothing but anthropometry with assumption that with accurate metric values all the solutions would be there. Precisely for this, an agreement on the techniques of measurement became necessary and thus was attempted.

The significance of measurements and indices was certainly well understood in understanding the extent of variability and development in certain traits. Nevertheless, it does not reveal if all could be put in a single biological category on the basis of some traits. To get clarity on evolution, race and constitution, information on number of factors like cranial forms, pigmentation, somatic structures and growth process is essential, thereby requiring the reorientation of the methodology becoming vital. This necessitated the beginning of the analytical phase, thereby initiating a new outlook in Physical anthropology. The new physical anthropology aims to enhance the knowledge of past by the study of present.

Physical anthropology , often called biological anthropology, as has been mentioned earlier specialises in the physical development of the human body and the human species. Its area of function is large as it involves man. Physical Anthropology can be divided into several branches. Conventionally, physical anthropology meant races and anthropometry. But now with passage of time, many sub-branches have arisen due to vast work done in the quest to know about ourselves. This is a continuous process and new branches are evolving depending upon the nature of field area. Some of these include:

Human Growth and Development: This branch of physical anthropology concerns the process of growing to maturity. In biological terms, it involves growth from a one-cell zygote to an adult human being. Human growth and development specialises in understanding the different stages of growth, patterns of growth and the effect of nutrition, environment and genetic factors influencing growth. The growth studies of different populations not only reflect variation amongst them but also indicate the growth rate of the nation. There has been tremendous progress in the field of human growth and development since the 1940s. The studies have enabled to establish the norms of bone development, sexual maturation so that congenital, nutritional, and other environmental effects can be detected and utilised clinically in children and adolescents. Another contribution of the field is that global nutritional surveys recognised small adult size to be correlated with dietary insufficiency. It is the endeavor of physical anthropologist to apply anthropometric techniques to the study of aging to have an insight into longevity of certain people.
Human Genetics: Human genetics involves the study of inheritance of genes unit of hereditary, in human beings. It is the common factor of most human traits. It provides information to questions about human nature, understand the diseases and their effective treatment, and also understand genetics of human life. The information on what are the chances of acquiring a trait like blue eyes or cardiac ailment all can be gathered from human genetics. It incorporates a variety of overlapping fields including: classical genetics, cytogenetics, molecular genetics, biochemical genetics, genomics, population genetics, developmental genetics, clinical genetics, and genetic counseling. In fact the rechristening of physical anthropology to biological anthropology is primarily because of inclusion of human genetics so as to understand Human better.
Primatology: It is basically concerned with the study of primates. Anthropologists hope to gain more insight into human nature by studying primates like apes and monkeys.This branch of physical anthropology encompasses the study of the hominids, (general term used for humans and any member of the species of animal we are most closely evolved from), which include all ape-like ancestors of man and the other great apes. Modern primatology boasts of newer and an extremely diverse science, ranging from anatomical studies of primate ancestors and field studies of primates in their natural habitat, to get intrinsic information, to experiments in animal psychology and ape language. This parameter has generated tremendous information on basic human behaviours and their ancestry.
Human Evolution: This branch, as the name suggests, revolves around the origin and evolution of Homo sapiens as a distinct species. The word “human” in the framework of human evolution speak of the genus Homo. But then how did humans evolve. In order to understand human evolution we study hominids holds importance. It is important to know other disciplines like primatology, archaeology, linguistics and genetics so as to have a better understanding of human evolution.
Palaeoanthropology: Palaeoanthropology is the study of fossil hominid evidences petrified bones and footprints, encompassing the discipline of paleontology. It also involves human osteology which provides historical support by studying the remains of the human evolutionary lineage. It is amongst the forerunners of the fundamental branches of physical anthropology. Paleoanthropology incorporates many disciplines to enrich our knowledge on human evolution as supported by fossils, artifacts, and their geological and burial sites. They accomplish the task by reconstructing from the fossils found in the excavation, the organism or the individual to whom they could probably have belonged. They must be in know how of human and other primate anatomy and the principles of taxonomy, so as to explain their discovery.
Human Osteology: The study of human bones is termed as Human Osteology. Evidences concerning osteology are frequently applied in forensic science. It holds important information in arenas like health, disease, physique, genetics of early populations, identification of unknown remains, criminal investigations, war crimes, etc.
Human Ecology: Ecology is a biological discipline that deals with the interactions between organisms and their environment. This environment is a sum total of the physical environment including temperature, water availability, wind, soil acidity and biological environment which holds influences on an organism. Human adaptation (physiologic, developmental, and genetic) to environmental stresses and variation is part of human ecology. Human being is the most versatile species on earth which can adapt in any environment, be it extreme climate, deserts, polar region, high altitude or even a marooned island. Human species are distributed world wide well adapted in diverse environment. The human group is an ever-increasing population which in return would involve more consumption of resources; therefore better adoption of the Earth’s primary production is need of the hour. However, many other human ecological developments are probable in future. The growth of human population and how this growth is accommodated, the way they utilise these resources yet preserve the biodiversity is yet to be comprehended.
Nutritional Anthropology: This branch of physical anthropology enjoys wide horizons describing how particular social and cultural factor place people at risk for nutritional disorder or identifying health problems related to nutrition. Nutritional Anthropology is gaining importance mainly due to concern and consciousness of people towards health. Anthropologists have contributed to the specialised fields of nutrition at a more holistic perspective, based on the historical, direct observation, and documentary accounts. The significance of this field lies in assessing health status of any population.
Molecular Anthropology: Molecular anthropology is a comparatively newer branch of physical anthropology which deals with the molecular analysis. It makes easier to understand the evolutionary links between ancient and modern human populations, as well as between contemporary species. This enables to determine the closeness or distance in relationship between populations or with in populations. The findings of DNA study of primate phylogeny questions the views of the traditional anthropologist that humans are very different from all other animals. Certain similarities in genetic makeup let molecular anthropologists determine whether or not different groups of people share a common geographical origin. This paves way for anthropologists to trace patterns of migration and settlement, which gives an insight as to how contemporary populations have formed and progressed over time. Molecular anthropology plays a very important role in establishing the evolutionary tree of humans and other primates, including closely related species like chimpanzees and gorillas. This is of vital importance as it aids in searching for common ancestors and thus in understanding of human evolution. The coming up of molecular biology that tracked the cracking of the genetic code fascinated physical anthropologists, interested in knowing the proximity between the humans and the apes, and the relationships of other primates to one another and to other creatures. In fact it is claimed that “molecular clocks” have been unearthed to indicate when species diverged from one another.
Forensic Anthropology: This has been one of the most sought after branches of physical anthropology. The term “forensic” refers to the application of this subfield of science to a court of law. Forensic anthropology is the application of the science of physical anthropology and human osteology in a legal scenario; when in a criminal case, victim’s remains are unidentifiable or in the advanced stages of decomposition, forensic anthropology helps in identification of the individual. The techniques of Forensic anthropology helps to assist in the reconstruction of remains, assessment of age, sex, stature, ancestry, and analyse trauma and disease. Forensic anthropology is witnessing rapid growth and recognition, laurels of which goes to anthropologists whose expertise in criminal evidence (fingerprints, blood types, and skeletal remains) are sought. Forensic anthropologists utilise the proficiency of forensic pathologists, odontologists, and homicide investigators to identify a decedent, discover evidence of trauma, and determine the postmortem interval. Though their opinions are taken into consideration by the medical examiner, yet they do not enjoy the legal authority to declare the official cause of death.
Anthropological Genetics: Genetic methods are used to learn about human in the course of its deviation from apes, the magnitude and how hominid population in geographic area originated and the initial migrations of anatomically modern humans. The field of anthropological genetics encompasses patterns of genetic similarity among different human populations to deduce demographic history, including mating structure, the account of people moving from one place to another and mixing with surrounding groups, and population size fluctuations.
Genetic Anthropology: This is a very new branch of scientific study which deals with combining DNA data with available physical evidence and past histories of civilizations. This facilitates scientists to assemble through existing genetic information in elucidating how the modern day Homo sapiens evolved through the millennia.
Physiological Anthropology: The word physiology is from Greek: “physis” which means nature, origin and “logy” means, study. Human physiology is a scientific study of the mechanical, physical and biochemical functions of humans in good health, their organs, and the cells which constitute them. Physiological basis is at the level of organs and systems within systems. It is strongly connected to anatomy since anatomy is the study of form, while physiology is the study of function of that form.
Dental Anthropology: This branch engages the scientific study of people including their living and extinct primate relatives, using the evidence of teeth. Practicing dentists, anatomists, radiologists, forensic scientists, biochemists and geneticists, archaeologists, paleontologists and zoologists apart from anthropologists are actively working in the field of Dental anthropology.
Anthropometry: Anthropometry as the name suggests consists of Greek word “anthropos” which means man, and “metry” meaning measure. This branch focuses on the understanding of human physical variation as in literal sense anthropometry refers to measurement of humans, and in physical anthropology, it means measuring of the human individual. Anthropometry plays an extensive role in industrial design, clothing design, defence equipments, ergonomics and architecture. To attain perfection in this endeavor statistical data on the variation in body dimensions in population are taken into consideration. These variations in body size can be attributed to changes in life styles, nutrition and ethnic composition of populations and therefore warranting regular updating of anthropometric data collection.
Ergonomics: Ergonomics is derived from two Greek words, “ergon” meaning work, and “nomoi” meaning natural laws, which means the science of work and a person’s relationship to that work. Ergonomics is fundamentally the study of designing equipment and devices that fit the human body, its movements, and how to carry about the work. Proper ergonomic design is necessary to avoid recurrent strain injuries, which can be hazardous later in life. Ergonomics takes into account designing the furniture and technological knowledge such that it appears to be perfect amalgam of the two. In accomplishing so, it takes into account the user’s competence and restrictions in seeking to make certain that tasks, equipment, information and the environment are appropriate to yield efficient results. Ergonomics comprises number of disciplines like anthropometry, biomechanics, mechanical engineering, industrial engineering, industrial designing, physiology and psychology.
Demography: Demography is the scientific study of uniqueness and movement relevant to the human population illustrated by size, growth rate, density, vital statistics, and distribution of a specified population. Demography gains its significance as it is this field that necessitates the study of precise information that may be collected from a population census or vital statistic records. People who study and record this information are referred to as demographers. Demographers must know both how to scientifically obtain information and then interpret it relatively. Demography is the basic statistics of human population which can be applied to any kind of human population which does not remain static, that is, one that changes over time or space in response to birth, migration, aging and death.
Human Diversity: It is concerned with study of human evolution and human biological variation. Human evolution involves the extensive work on the discovery, analysis, and description of fossilized human remains. This mainly aids to identify the differences between humans and their nonhuman ancestors and how did present man emerge. To achieve this, it involves the comparative analysis of genetic codes. Studies on human variation among contemporary humans are not only dependent on the concept of race, but on principles of genetics also.
Palaeoprimatology: It is well understood that man is a primate evolved from non-human primates. The nonhuman primates are link to human physical history and status as mammals. They also show the continuity in the similarities to the behaviour and mental abilities of human ancestors as gauged by physical anthropologist. The palaeoprimatologists take the assistance of fossil specimens by collecting, describing and interpreting them phylogenetically and functionally.
Population Genetics: Population genetics concerns the genetic structure of populations, the frequencies of alleles (alternate form of a gene) and its genotypes (genetic constitution). An important branch of physical anthropology, it is related to the process of evolution witnessing natural selection, genetic drift, gene flow and mutation. It is the study of allele frequency distribution and change under the influence of the above mentioned evolutionary processes. Population genetics specialises in the genetic constitution and changes overtime in any population. It also encompasses the study of the forces like mutation, migration and intermixture between the groups which have the capability of altering the genetic composition of any population. This enables us to understand the steps towards biological evolution. It concerns the information of the frequencies of genes, genotypes and phenotypes, and the mating systems.
Human Variation: The term human variation is gaining popularity over its historical predecessor “race” in anthropology because of the exploitation of the term. It is suggested to use gene frequencies and biological traits of human populations by their geographic area. This genotypic and phenotypic detail would be understood in terms of historical and closest selective forces in each environment. Its main thrust is focused in an endeavor to interpret given so much of human diversity, a consequence of evolution through a long passage of time and all around the globe.