What is anthropology?
Ans: Anthropology is the scientific and humanistic study of human diversity through space and time. It concerns itself with all aspects of the human condition, past, present, and future, and with biology, society, language, and culture. In this respect, it is holistic, comparative, and cross-cultural.

What is culture?
Ans: Cultures are traditions and customs, transmitted through learning, that play a large role in determining the beliefs and behavior of the people exposed to them. Children learn these traditions by growing up in a particular society. All people are cultural beings; one person cannot have more "culture" than another.

How is anthropology different from the other social sciences?
Ans: What distinguishes anthropology from the other social sciences is that it is holistic and comparative. It is holistic because anthropologists study the whole of the human condition: past, present, and future; in biology, society, language, and culture. In contrast to other social sciences, for example, anthropology studies how economics, religion, history, psychology, political science, and sociology all interact and are expressed in culture. Anthropology is comparative because it studies all human cultures, past and present, not just Western cultures or those with written histories.

What do applied anthropologists do?
Ans: Applied anthropologists take anthropological data, perspectives, theory, and techniques and use them to identify, assess, and solve contemporary social problems. This work might include forensic anthropology, which is the application of biological anthropology to the law; development anthropology, which helps assess the social and cultural dimensions of economic and social development; medical anthropology, which applies anthropological knowledge to health systems; or environmental archaeology, which studies culture and the environment. Applied anthropologists often work for international development agencies, such as the United States Agency for International Development or the World Health Organization. However, applied anthropologists are hired by many other organizations as well.

Aren't health-care systems unique to Western societies?
Ans: No, health-care systems are a cultural universal. All societies have a set of beliefs, customs, and specialists concerned with ensuring health and preventing and curing illness. In Western societies, health-care systems are centered on hospitals, doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals. However, just because a society lacks a Western-trained physician doesn't mean that it lacks a way of dealing with illness. In the textbook, Kottak argues that the world's oldest profession, besides hunter and gatherer, is that of curer. All societies have individuals who are responsible (either part- or full-time) for treating illness. In all societies, curers pass through a culturally defined process of selection and training, although that process varies between cultures.

Isn't Western medicine better than non-Western medicine?
Ans: In many ways, Western medicine is better than non-Western medicine. However, it is not better in every way. There are thousands of effective drugs to treat myriad diseases; preventive health care improved during the last century; and modern surgical procedures are safer and more effective than those of traditional societies. However, it is important to point out some of the questionable aspects of Western medicine, including overprescription of drugs, unnecessary surgery, and the impersonality and inequality of the patient-doctor relationship. More importantly, traditional medicine usually does not distinguish between biological and psychological causation. Traditional curers focus on how poor health stems from a combination of physical, emotional, and social causes. As a result, traditional curers often succeed with health problems that Western medicine classifies as psychosomatic—not a disease, therefore not an illness—and dismisses as not requiring treatment. Non-Western medicine shows us that patients can be treated effectively as whole beings, using a combination of methods that prove beneficial.

Why would somebody major in anthropology who wasn't planning on pursuing a career in it? Ans: Anthropology is a cross-cultural discipline in which you can develop and hone yours skills as a critical thinker and creative problem solver. Anthropology's breadth will not only expose you to different cultural groups from all over the world, but it also requires you to draw on many other disciplines, such as history, political science, economics, religious studies, psychology, and sociology. Even if a person's future job will have little or nothing to do with anthropology in a formal or obvious sense, a background in anthropology will provide a useful orientation when working with other people. Many individuals who major in anthropology go on to pursue careers in unrelated fields. For example, singer-songwriter Tracy Chapman majored in anthropology, as did Michael Crichton, author of Jurassic Park, Lost World, and Rising Sun.