It is one of the most common queries heard on college campuses. What we study in college can determine the direction of our career for the rest of our lives. The purpose of this article is to introduce students to, or aid students already considering, a major in anthropology. There are several different types of anthropology that you can explore. Archaeologists are perhaps one of the more popular types of anthropologists in the eye of the media.
Archaeologists are interested in painting a picture of our past by examining what was left behind.
By studying artifacts, such as pottery shards, arrowheads, buried walls, and human remains, archaeologists tell us what life was like at a particular time in prehistory. They also attempt to explain how cultures and people change over time and the causes for this change. Where archaeologists study our past, cultural anthropologists study living cultures. This means the anthropologist studies the culture he or she is interested in first-hand. The anthropologist lives with the culture being studied and participates in their daily activities.