Physical Anthropology, Language, and Evolution Essay

Thus, in order to study a concept with which he or she is familiar with in some way, a physical anthropologist will most probably employ a typical anthropological analysis, which he or she uses every time they study a culture. Using physical anthropology as a form of studying evolutions means that you have to refrain from expressing biased opinions and treat the matter similarly to how you treat any anthropological study (Chapter 4, p. 98).

The Human Genome Project was an international scientific research attempt to discover the cycle of chemical base pairs which compose the DNA. The project was also meant to recognize and map the genes of the human genome. The Human Genome Project brought notable progress to the study of evolution, given the fact that it can assist future studies in finding differences between people (Richards & Hawley, 2005).

Linguistic anthropologists study how language influences society and how it evolved through time. According to linguistic anthropology, linguistic structures evolve, as people constantly find more effective methods of using language. It is not certain whether the language conveyed by humans is similar to the one present in animals, as while some support this concept, others believe that human language is unique and that its evolution has no precedent (Salzmann, 1998, p. 17).

It is virtually impossible for a linguistic anthropologist to determine the exact origins of human language.In order to discover to whom to attribute a particular language, an anthropologist might study factors like writing, fully developed language, unintelligible speech, hand gestures, etc.

Physical and linguistic anthropologists cooperate in a series of fields, as some of the discoveries they make are valuable for both domains. While physical anthropologic studies are mainly performed in laboratories, those performed by linguistic anthropologists are known to be made primarily through fieldwork. In spite of the progress anthropology experienced in recent years, mankind lacks "adequate knowledge of the structures in that part of the human brain to which the control of speech production is attributed" (Salzmann, 1998, p. 127). Physical anthropology is nonetheless significant for assisting linguistic anthropologists in studying language by relating it to physical evolution.

Language has experienced impressive progress over time, but while some cultures (particularly those who are part of urbanized areas) have a complex and distinguishable speech, others (tribes, small isolated communities) have more limited linguistic abilities which are to some extent comparable to those seen in people having lived several millennia ago (Salzmann, 1998, p. 192).

Works cited:

1. Richards, J.E. And R. Hawley, S. (2005). The Human Genome: A User's Guide. 2nd ed. San Diego,….....