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There are several branches of anthropology, each specializing in different aspects of human life. As more information is collected, new sub-disciplines develop within anthropology. In recent years, for example, there has been an interest in women's anthropology and in medical anthropology, the study of women and of health and disease, respectively, in various societies. In Canada, there are five main branches of anthropology: physical anthropology, linguistic anthropology, social-cultural anthropology (also called ethnology), applied anthropology, and archaeology. Physical Anthropology
is concerned with the origins and evolution of human beings. Anthropologists interested in this area usually work in universities, and they come from such backgrounds as anatomy, dentistry, zoology, and biochemistry. The most famous Canadian in this branch of anthropology was Davidson Black, who identified a new species of ancient human from the fossil remains of "Peking Man" in 1927 and suggested a new theory about the evolution of prehistoric people. Other physical anthropologists in Canada have studied the skeletal remains of early INDIANS and INUIT as well as the distribution patterns of past populations. They have investigated the effects of nutrition, DISEASE, climate, and genetics on people in past and present societies. They have recognized that human beings have developed as they have because of the interaction between human biology and human culture. Linguistic Anthropology
is concerned with the organization of LANGUAGE. In Canada, this has been a particularly important branch of anthropology because of Edward Sapir. A great linguist, Sapir was director of the first organized anthropology department organized by the federal government within the GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. He held the position from 1910 to 1925. During his term as director, he encouraged fieldwork on different native languages and dialects. He was also able to trace the movements of early native people by analysing the language of their descendants. In this way he showed that the Navajo and Apache who live in the American southwest originally came from Alaska and northwestern Canada. Today, linguistic anthropologists often work with native communities to help them preserve their language. Although a few native tribes have made use of spelling systems introduced by European missionaries in the contact period, native languages have remained primarily oral. Now, anthropologists and linguists are developing additional writing systems for a variety of them. Some of these systems are based, like English and French, on the Roman alphabet, while others are based on syllabics, a phonetic system of writing which combines consonants and vowels in each symbol. Social-Cultural Anthropology
is concerned with relationship between behaviour and culture. This has been the most common branch of anthropology in Canada, particularly because of the influence of Franz BOAS, Edward SAPIR, Charles Marius BARBEAU, and Diamond JENNESS, the first professional anthropologists in the country. They did their fieldwork with small, isolated native groups in the Arctic and on the Northwest Coast. They collected examples of native artwork, utensils, and myths for the museum in Ottawa. Barbeau also made a fine collection of folklore and songs in French Canada. They established a model where the anthropologist observed and reported on the whole way of life of a particular community - its social organization, technology, value systems, and beliefs. This tradition has continued to the present day. In English Canada, most anthropologists have studied different native groups, while in French Canada anthropologists have concentrated on rural and small-town studies in Quebec. In recent years, native leaders as well as anthropologists have been concerned that some aspects of native culture in Canada might be lost unless special efforts are made to record and preserve it. About 37 of Canada's 51 or 52 native languages, for instance, are spoken by 1000 people or less. Many could easily be extinct within 50 years. From the late 1960s to the mid-1980s, the National Museum in Ottawa ran what was called the Urgent Ethnology Program, which was an attempt to record the culture of those groups that were considered particularly vulnerable in all areas of Canada. Anthropologists are hired on contract to go out into the field and preserve on film and sound tapes, in writing, and in photographs, whatever they can of the groups they are studying. Changing priorities as a result of the new museum building in Ottawa led to the decline of the program. Applied Anthropology
uses the knowledge and techniques of anthropology to help solve problems and to achieve practical goals. Anthropologists who work in this area try to develop ways to help people cope with certain situations, instead of merely describing what they find. Early anthropologists such as Boas and Sapir were sometimes asked by the government to comment on different aspects of native policy. Their successor, Jenness, wrote a detailed report on Inuit administration in the Arctic. In more recent years, the federal government commissioned anthropologists H.B. Hawthorn (University of British Columbia) and M.A. Tremblay (Université Laval) to recommend improvements in native policy in their report, A Survey of Contemporary Indians of Canada (1967). Since the 1970s, the number of anthropologists who are involved on commissions and practical projects has greatly increased. Many anthropologists work with native groups on LAND CLAIMS research, advising them on the best way to present their claims to the government. A team from MCGILL UNIVERSITY helped to negotiate the JAMES BAY AND NORTHERN QUEBEC AGREEMENT(1975), the first comprehensive land claim to be settled. Other anthropologists worked on the MACKENZIE VALLEY PIPELINE inquiry (1975-76), assessing the possible effects of the oil and natural gas pipeline on native people in the North. Anthropologists have also moved on to areas other than native policy. They work with different ethnic groups, particularly over questions of language, family life, and health. They also advise communities that are experiencing difficulties, such as fishing and mining villages in Newfoundland or rural villages in Quebec, as to whether they should resettle in other parts of the province or try to attract new industries to their towns. And as cities become more complex, anthropologists are asked to work with immigrants, with the elderly, and with industrial and professional groups. Archaeology
studies the material remains of past cultures, especially in the prehistoric period before there were any written records.
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