what are the best anthropology books of 2022? read for more information. Anthropology is a huge subject, encompassing elements from different areas in its methodologies and research, and consequently there are hundreds and hundreds of journals and books available to read.
However, where to start? If you are considering studying anthropology at diploma level or are simply interested in the subject, you may feel unsure where to start studying.
You are reading: Best books about anthropology
top rated best anthropology books to read
Below are the best jobs pennbook recommends reading:
guns, germs and steel: the fate of human societies
jared diamond
diamond has recently written a powerful novel…among the most important and easy-to-read works on the human being last printed in the last two decades.
Pulitzer Prize Winner and National Bestseller: The Global Account of the Rise of a Civilization is also a striking refutation of race-based ideas of human development.
In this witty, informative, and charming book (William H. McNeill, New York Book Review), Jared Diamond convincingly argues that geographic and environmental factors shaped the contemporary world.
Societies that had a head start in food production advanced beyond the hunter-gatherer stage and went on to develop writing, technology, government, and organized religion, as well as nasty germs and potent weapons of war and adventures on land and sea to conquer and decimate preliterate cultures.
A significant advance in our understanding of human societies, weapons, germs, and steel recounts how the modern world came to be and stunningly dismantles race-based theories of human history. This is one of the best cultural anthropology books to read.
sapiens: a brief history of mankind
by yuval noah harari
one hundred thousand decades earlier, at least six individual species inhabited the earth. now there is one. U.S. homo sapiens.
How did our species triumph in the struggle for dominance? Why did our forager ancestors unite to form towns and kingdoms?
How can we come to think of gods, states and individual rights? trust cash, laws and books; and be enslaved by bureaucracy, schedules and consumerism? And what would our world look like in the next few millennia?
in sapiens, dr. y.n.harari spans all of human history, from the first people to walk the earth to the groundbreaking and occasionally catastrophic discoveries of these cognitive, agricultural, and scientific revolutions.
Drawing on insights from biology, anthropology, paleontology, and economics, it investigates how the currents of history have shaped our societies, the plants and creatures around us, and our characters.
Have we become happier as the story unfolds? could we free our behavior from the legacy of our ancestors? And what, if anything, can we do to affect these centuries to come?
bold, powerful and provocative, sapiens challenges what we thought we understood about becoming human: our thoughts, our activities, our energy… and our potential.
anthropology: appreciating human diversity
by conrad phillip kottak
This latest edition of kottak’s best-selling text for general anthropology proceeds to provide a holistic introduction to this topic that approaches the path from a four-field perspective.
lucy: the beginnings of humanity
by donald c. johanson, maitland armstrong edey
When Donald Johanson discovered a partial skeleton, approximately 3.5 million years old, in a remote region of Ethiopia in 1974, it sparked a controversy that generated headlines and continues to this day.
Bursting with all the suspense and intrigue of a fast-paced adventure book, these are johanson’s hands-on accounts of lucy’s remarkable discovery.
Exposing the controversial shift Lucy makes in our view of human origins, Johanson offers a vibrant behind-the-scenes account of this background paleoanthropology along with the vibrant and eccentric characters who were and are a part of it.
Never before has the puzzle and complexity of creations been clarified so clearly and convincingly as in this amazing and surprising book.
the best angels of our character: why violence has decreased
by steven pinker
Believe it or not, we could now be living a moment of peace within the existence of our species. In his publication and controversial new work, bestselling author Steven Pinker shows that despite incessant news about war, war and terrorism, violence has been on the decline for long periods of time.
exploding myths about humanity’s inherent violence along with the curse of modernity, this ambitious book continues pinker’s exploration of the basis of human character, blending history and psychology to provide a remarkable picture of a world becoming more polite.
death without crying: the violence of daily life in brazil
by nancy scheper hughes
When lives are dominated by desire, what happens to love? when attacked by everyday acts of violence and untimely death, what happens to trust? the place of the kingdoms of northeastern brazil is due to the regular experience of lack, illness and death that centers the lives of girls and boys in a hillside favela.
Taking her readers to the impoverished hillsides above the modern plantation town of Bom Jesus de Mata, where she has worked off and on for 25 decades, Nancy Scheper Hughes follows three generations of slum girls as they struggle to make ends meet. through hard work, lovability, and sorting.
is a narrative of class relations educated at the most elemental level of bodies, emotions, desires and needs. most disturbing and controversial is his finding that maternal love, as conventionally understood, is a kind of bourgeois dream, a luxury for people who can reasonably anticipate, as these girls cannot, that their babies will live. /p>
the power of myth
by joseph campbell, bill moyers
the power of myth sparked an extraordinary resurgence of interest in joseph campbell and his work. A noted scholar, author, and instructor, he has profoundly influenced millions of people. For him, mythology has been the melody of the world, the songs of the spheres.
Joining bill moyers, one of america’s foremost journalists, as his thoughtful and captivating freshman, “the power of myth touches on topics ranging from modern marriage to virgin births, from jesus to john lennon, and offers a fantastic mix of intellect and humor.
fragments of an anarchist anthropology
by david graeber
everywhere anarchism is on the rise as a political doctrine anywhere, that is, except in academia. Anarchists repeatedly appeal to anthropologists to reflect on how society can be reorganized on a more egalitarian and less alienating basis. Anthropologists, terrified of being accused of romanticism, respond to silence… yet what if they didn’t?
This brochure reflects on what that reaction is and investigates the consequences of linking anthropology with anarchism. here, d.graeber invites viewers to envision this subject that now only exists in the realm of potential: anarchist anthropology.
in search of respect
by philippe bourgois
Philippe Bourgois’s ethnographic analysis of social marginalization in inner-city America won critical acclaim when it was first published in 1995.
for the first time, an anthropologist managed to gain the long-term trust and friendship of street drug dealers in some of the toughest ghetto areas of east harlem.
This new edition provides a foreword that describes the significant dynamics that have changed life on the streets of East Harlem in the seven decades since the first variant.
In a new epilogue, bourgois updates the stories of these individuals primo, caesar, luis, tony, candy that readers come to understand within this remarkable window into the world of inner-city drug dealing.
philippe bourgois is currently a professor and director of the department of anthropology, history, and social medicine at the university of california, san francisco.
He has done fieldwork in Central America on ethnicity and social unrest and is the author of Ethnicity at Work: Divided Labor on a Central American Banana Plantation (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1989).
the hero with a thousand faces
by joseph campbell
the highly popular work uniting the spiritual and psychological insights of modern psychoanalysis with the archetypes of world mythology constitutes a road map for navigating the frustrating path of modern life.
The evaluation of epic myths in light of contemporary psychology considers the patterns and phases of mythology and their relevance to our lives now and in the life of any individual seeking a fully consummated presence.
According to Campbell, the myth is that the projection of the dreams of a civilization on a massive screen; Campbell’s novel, like Star Wars, the movie he helped inspire, is an exploration of those big-picture minutes from the point of view of our planet. is a must-have source for seasoned explorer students just beginning to approach myth as a source of understanding.
the spirit catches you and you fall
by anne fadiman
lia lee was raised in 1982 in a family of recent Hmong immigrants and soon developed symptoms of epilepsy. since 1988 he had lived in his house, but was brain-dead after a tragic cycle of misunderstandings, overmedication, and culture shock: what doctors considered clinical efficiency, the Hmong considered icy arrogance.
the spirit catches you and you fall is a tragedy of Shakespearean dimensions, written with the deepest human insight. Sherwin Nuland said of the account, there are no villains in Fadiman’s tale, just because there are no heroes. people present themselves as she looked at them in her humility and her fragility and her nobility.
debt: the first 5,000 years
by d. graeber
Before there was money, there was debt.
all economics textbooks state exactly the same thing: money has been devised to replace onerous and complex barter systems to relieve ancient peoples of the need to transport their products to market. The problem with this version of the story? there’s not a shred of evidence to back it up.
this anthropologist d. Graeber introduces a surprising change from traditional wisdom. he reveals that for more than 5,000 decades, due to the beginnings of their first agrarian empires, people have used sophisticated credit systems to buy and sell products, long before the creation of currency or money. In this era, Graeber asserts that we first experience a society divided into creditors and debtors.
graeber demonstrates that disagreements over debt and debt forgiveness run afoul of political disagreements from italy to china and spark insurrections innumerable.
He brilliantly demonstrates that the terminology of the early functions of law and faith (words like guilt, sin, and salvation) derives largely from early debt debates and forms even our most fundamental notions of right. and the wrong. today we are fighting against these conflicts without understanding them.
Debt: The First 5,000 Years is an intriguing chronicle of the little story and how human history is described, and what it means for your current day credit crisis and also the future of our market
homo deus: a story of tomorrow
by yuval noah harari
The author of the critically acclaimed New York Times bestseller and global phenomenon Sapiens returns with an equally original, compelling and provocative book, focusing his attention on the potential of humanity and our quest to turn humans into religions.
Over the past century, mankind has accomplished the impossible and brought famine, plague, and war under control. However, this may seem difficult to accept, as Harari describes in his characteristic style that famine, war and pestilence have changed from incomprehensible and uncontrollable forces of nature to manageable struggles.
More people die from eating too much than from eating too little; more people die of old age than of infectious diseases. more people commit suicide than are killed by terrorists, soldiers and terrorists combined. The typical American is a million times more likely to perish from being robbed at McDonald’s than from being blown up by al Qaeda.
What will then replace famine, plague and war near the top of the human calendar? Given that the gods of earth made themselves, what destinations can we place ourselves on and what quests can we tackle?
homo deus investigates the projects, nightmares and dreams that will shape the 21st century, going from beating to creating artificial life. he asks the basic questions: where can we go from here? And how do we protect this fragile world from our destructive abilities? this is another phase of development. that may be homo deus.
With the same insight and clarity that created Sapiens, a worldwide hit and a new york times best seller, harari’s maps are beyond our potential.
the interpretation of cultures
by clifford geertz
the interpretation of cultures, the original anthropologist of creation, moved far beyond the traditional boundaries of his field to develop a new and significant notion of culture.
This groundbreaking book, winner of the American Sociological Association’s Sorokin Prize in 1974, helped define what his discipline was ultimately about for a generation of anthropologists.
introduction to physical anthropology
by robert jurmain
Concise, well-balanced, and detailed,
Fundamentals of Physical Anthropology, Tenth Edition, introduces you to physical anthropology to understand why understanding human development is so important.
You will discover how people are connected to other life, such as our earliest ancestors and our modern cousins, and how close contemporary human populations are to each other.
various high-quality visual diagrams, maps, artwork, photos, and other learning programs can help you understand the big picture of human development.
gods of the heights
by carlos rey
by the end of the 19th century, everyone understood that people were characterized by their race and gender and were destined by arrival and biology to become more or less intelligent, capable, caring, or warlike.
However, a dishonest researcher reviewed the information and decided they were all incorrect. Franz Boas was the first image of a mad scientist: a wild-haired immigrant with a thick German accent.
From the 1920s, he was also the ancient thinker and public face of a new school of thought at Columbia University called Cultural Anthropology.
proposed that civilizations did not exist on a continuum from primitive to sophisticated. instead, each society solves the same standard problems from raising children to how to live well using its own set of principles, beliefs, and taboos.
Boas’s students were some of the intellectual celebrities of this century: Margaret Mead, the outspoken scholar of the field whose coming of age in Samoa is among the most widely read works of social science fiction of the time.
ruth benedict, mead’s great lifelong love, whose studio shaped post-WWII japan; Ella Deloria, the Dakota Sioux activist who upheld the ways of the Great Plains Native Americans; and Zora Neale Hurston, whose research under Boas’ direction was incorporated directly into her now-classic novel, Her Eyes Were Watching God.
Together, they mapped evaporating tribes from the Arctic to the South Pacific and investigated the association between biology and behavior. her work reshaped the way we think about men and women, normalcy and deviance, and recreated our place in a universe of cultures and value systems.
gods of the upper-air is a gripping story of revolutionary thinking and adventurous lifestyles, a story full of scandal, love and competition, and a story of the genesis of this fluid conception of individuality that defines our current moment.
cultural anthropology: asking questions about humanity
by luis antonio vivanco, robert louis welsch
what is cultural anthropology and is it applicable in today’s world?
robert l. Welsch and Luis A. Vivanco’s Cultural Anthropology: Asking Questions about Humanity uses an inquiry-based approach to teach students how to think anthropologically, helping them see cultural issues and everyday adventures as an anthropologist would.
Inspired by the common observation that 99% of a great answer is a great question, this best anthropology book combines question-focused pedagogy with all the topics typically covered in an introductory class.
highlights up front exactly what anthropology understands and what issues have been in disagreement, and how the cultural perspective is relevant to understanding the social, political, and economic dynamics within the modern world.
Cultural Anthropology: Asking Questions of Humanity also means an attempt to bridge the gap between the realities of this topic today and the conventional perspectives taught at the introductory level by drawing on classic anthropological examples, instances, and research to address modern issues .
almost human: the amazing story of homo naledi and the discovery that changed our human history
by lee rogers berger, john hawks
This first-person story of an archaeological discovery is rewriting the narrative of human development. A narrative of defiance and determination with a controversial scientist is Lee Berger’s spin on the discovery of Homo naledi, an entirely new species built around the individual family tree and one of the best discoveries of the 21st century.
In 2013, Berger, a National Geographic Explorer in Residence, learned of a cache of bones in a hard-to-reach underground cave in South Africa.
called out around the world for miniature collaborators, people small and daring enough to have the ability to squeeze out 8-inch tunnels to achieve a sunless cave 40 feet below ground.
With this group of underground astronauts, Berger created the discovery of life: countless prehistoric bones, including complete skeletons of 15 people, all possibly two thousand decades old.
Its features united those of famous prehominids like lucy, the renowned australopithecus, and those more individual than ever seen before in ancient remains. berger’s staff had found an entirely new species and predicted it to be homo naledi.
the cave immediately proved to be the richest early hominin website ever found, full of foundation-shaking consequences for how we specify what makes us individual.
did this species arrive before, during or after the development of homo sapiens in our evolutionary tree? how did the cave come to include only the remains of those people? can they bury their dead? if this is so, they must have had a degree of self-awareness, such as an awareness of departure.
and those are the most used characteristics to specify what makes us individual. Did an equally innovative species occupy the earth before us? berger does not hesitate to answer these questions.
berger is a charming and magical figure, and some co-workers wonder about his interpretation of the findings and others. But in these pages, this charismatic, visionary paleontologist counters his disagreements and tells his narrative: a rich and entertaining story about exploration, science, and exactly what it means to be human.
language, culture and society
by zdenek salzmann, james stanlaw, nobuko adachi
Why should we examine language? How can the methods by which we communicate define our identities? And all this is changing in the electronic world? Since 1993, several have turned to Language, Culture, and Society to answer questions like the above due to their comprehensive coverage of all essential facets of linguistic anthropology.
This edition continues the heritage and covers many of the latest, most pressing and fascinating challenges of the 21st century, such as issues of language and power, language ideology and language diasporas. the chapters on gender, race, and grade also discuss how language aids create and are generated by identity.
New in this edition are updated and improved pedagogical features, such as learning objectives, updated tools for continuous learning, and a glossary.
There is also an expanded discussion of online communication and social media and how that world changes the way we socialize. The conversation about race and ethnicity has also expanded to include the vernacular in Latin American and Asian American English.
the development of language: an evolutionary journey of humanity’s greatest invention
by guy deutsch
Language is mankind’s greatest invention except, needless to say, that it was never devised. Thus begins linguist Guy Deutscher’s exciting research into the genesis and development of speech.
When we start with basic expressions about the degree of spear throwing, how do we end up with complex grammars, large vocabularies, and nuanced degrees of meaning?
Based on recent groundbreaking discoveries in contemporary linguistics, deutscher reveals the elusive forces of production at work in human communication, giving us a new perspective on how language emerges, evolves, and decays. traces the growth of linguistic complexity in the early metarzán point to these intricacies.
Arguing that destruction and production in speech are intimately intertwined, Deutscher demonstrates how these processes are always at work, creating new sentences, new constructions, and new meanings.
As entertaining as it is erudite, the unfolding of the language moves nimbly from primitive Aztec to the American idiom, from the pivotal role of metaphor to the shocking victory of style that is the Semitic verb, to tell the magnificent story and clarify that the genius behind a unique human faculty.
purity and danger: an analysis of the concepts of contamination and taboo
See Also: Kincaid by Marie James – Audiobook – Audible.com
by mary douglas
Professor Douglas does things that illuminate things in the doctrine of religion and the philosophy of mathematics and help reveal to the rest of us why and how anthropology has become such a fundamentally academic subject.
discipline and punish: the birth of the prison
michel foucault
Anyone interested in the social sciences should read this book. In this excellent work, the most influential philosopher since Sartre suggests that vaunted reforms such as the abolition of torture and the rise of the modern prison have simply shifted the focus of punishment from the prisoner’s body to his soul.
anthropology & the colonial encounter
by talal asad
anthropologists have reminded us of the thoughts and ideas of the Enlightenment where the intellectual inspiration of anthropology is supposed to lie.
however, anthropology can also remain suspended in an experience of unequal power between the west and the third world, which dates back to the development of bourgeois europe. with this experience, colonialism is just a historical moment.
This experience provides the West with accessibility to historical and cultural information on societies; it is mastered progressively.
and thus not only creates a particular kind of universal understanding, but also reinforces that power inequalities between the European and non-European worlds (and thus involving Europeanized elites alongside the masses traditional in the third world). – from the introduction.
The articles in this publication analyze and record the ways in which British colonialism has influenced anthropological thought and practice. They approach this topic from various points of view and also at various levels. each represents a unique contribution to a debate that is just beginning.
how to read ethnography
by Paloma Gay and Blasco, Huon Wardle
the way of reading ethnography is an invaluable guide to approach anthropological texts. exposing the foundational traditions of ethnographic writing helps students develop a vital understanding of texts. explains how to recognize and analyze the core notions to implement these ideas in other research regions.
Most importantly, it allows students to view ethnographies anthropologically and create their own anthropological creativity. Combining lucid explanations with essential text options, this excellent guide is essential reading for anyone new to the subject or in need of a refresher.
beyond culture
by edward t. lounge
from a renowned American anthropologist includes a proud celebration of individual skills. For too long, people have taken their particular ways of existing for granted, ignoring the huge global cultural community that surrounds them.
humanity must now embark on the challenging journey beyond civilization to discover a lost self and a sense of perspective.
by holding a mirror, hall allows us to find a wonderful understanding of the unconscious culture. With concrete examples ranging from James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake to the breeding habits of the New Guinea Vine Bird, Hall shows us. beyond culture is a novel about self-discovery; it’s a journey most of us have to embark on if humanity is to live.
an anthropology of biomedicine
by margaret lock, vinh kim nguyen
lock and nguyen present biomedicine in this updated and completely revised second edition of an anthropology of biomedicine. They explore the interaction of material bodies and history, culture, politics, and the environment from an anthropological perspective. the book draws on ethnographic and historical work to challenge the idea of a universal human body.
exploring biological anthropology
by craig stanford, john s. Allen, Susan C. antonio
biological anthropology courses. provides a brief overview of biological anthropology, from its earliest foundations to the most recent innovations.
exploring the foundations of biological anthropology combines concise coverage with current inventions and discoveries to help students understand and become excited about the current discipline.
The authors are experts in three areas of biological anthropology, including the human fossil record (Susan Anton), primate behavior (Craig Stanford), and human biology (John Allen).
This allows them to engage students and provide them with all the information they need. The fourth edition presents traditional physical anthropology in a Darwinian framework and covers recent discoveries to highlight the growing body of knowledge in biological anthropology.
anthropology and climate change from actions to transformations
by susana a. box, nuttall brand
The first edition, Anthropology and Climate Change 2009 pioneered the study and analysis of climate change through the lens of anthropology. covered the relationship between human cultures and their environment from prehistoric times to the present.
The second edition, which has been extensively revised, updates this material. features leading scholars from around the world charting the paths of research and issuing calls to action.
crazy like us
by ethan watters
This book details the implications of the Americanization of mental illness on non-Western peoples whose ideas about illness, well-being, and the self are homogenized by the globalization of Western categories of mental health. I couldn’t put it down while reading it for my anthropology of medicine and health class.
imagined communities: reflections on the origin and spread of nationalism
by benedict anderson
Anderson’s notion of the imagined community, which posits imagined communities that exist as social constructions through the collective imagination of people who see themselves as members of those communities, is explained in this book. the study of the nation state, nationalism, religion and the creation of ideologies is particularly significant.
relatives
by rebecca wragg sykes
kindred is important reading not only for anyone interested in these ancient cousins of ours, but also for anyone interested in humanity. The New York Book Review is a bold and remarkable attempt to resurrect Neanderthals.
rebecca wragg sykes, a neanderthal expert, from the wall street journal, reveals the neanderthal ancestor you don’t know yet. she lived in large and varied areas of eurasia and survived hundreds of thousands of years of climate change.
annual editions
by elvio angeloni
Annual issue series provides easy and affordable access to several current articles from the most respected publications, newspapers and magazines.
The series of annual editions is updated regularly through continuous monitoring of more than 300 periodic sources. These articles are written by distinguished scholars, researchers, commentators, and others who write for a general audience.
other considerations:
- anthropology why it matters by tim ingold
- abu-lughod, l., 1986, veiled feelings. honor and poetry in a Bedouin society. university of california press.
- barth, f., ed., 1969, ethnic groups and boundaries. the social organization of cultural difference. waveland press.
how to read the best anthropology books?
An anthropology student can anticipate a considerable amount of reading. college students majoring in anthropology often must read more than 200 pages each week for class assignments. your chances of succeeding in obtaining an education or a degree in anthropology will increase with your reading proficiency.
For two reasons, new students often find it challenging to read anthropological articles and essays. First, students might get lost in the abundance of ethnographic information in anthropological works. Second, anthropological writing often uses theoretical language to express ideas in unexpected ways.
Here are some reading tips and techniques for anthropology students.
read proactively instead of inertly.
questioning, criticizing, revising and participating in the material you are reading are all parts of active reading. makes reading more complex and demands more attention, which improves the understanding of the most important information. passive readers are disinterested, pay little attention to significant concepts, do not reread what they have read, and do not ask about it. they just want to complete the given pages. A vital component of the study of anthropology is active reading.
select a suitable time to read.
It takes concentration to read social studies books and articles. It’s not like you can read a book, story, or news item in your spare time when you’re mentally exhausted. It is best to read essays, articles, and other anthropological materials while awake and motivated, as they require focus and attention.
participate in reading.
Active reading is essential for success in the study of anthropology, as noted above. engagement with the material is the critical component of active reading. try to provide answers to the following questions as you read:
- what is the key message of the author that you want to convey?
- who are the participants in the dialogue or discussion, or the interlocutors?
- what is the theme of the dialogue between the author and the interlocutors?
- what thoughts or notions is the author trying to convey?
- what research approach does the author use? what test is offered? what is overlooked?
- how do the reading assignment topics and other passages you have read connect to those covered in class lectures?
- Does the author present his argument effectively?
- It is often necessary to go back and reread sections of text to find the answers to these queries.
social science articles are rarely linear.
anthropological documents and articles rarely use a linear narrative, in contrast to books or stories organized around a single story.
As a result, reading anthropological books differs from reading fiction. To understand how the pieces fit together, you often have to go around and study the pieces separately.
read fast.
Browsing a text allows you to quickly create the structure of an article, identify its essential elements and create a general concept of what the content is about. first, take a look at the title.
then continue with the introductions, subheadings, section headings, and questions that come up. Also, learn the article’s publication date to help with context development. try to choose the general concepts that the piece provides while browsing.
make sense of what you’ve read.
read the article in depth after you have scanned it and have a broad understanding of the key points, concepts and arguments presented.
then briefly summarize the author’s key points. Why does the author think his position is significant and persuasive? Do you share the author’s opinion or not? why? create a position statement that addresses the key points of the article and is supported by your arguments and findings.
Happy reading!
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