What is the Anthropology Syllabus for UPSC Mains Exam?

The Anthropology Syllabus for UPSC Mains Exam covers a wide range of topics related to human culture, society, evolution, and development.

How should I approach studying the Anthropology syllabus for UPSC Mains Exam?

To effectively study the Anthropology syllabus, start by building a strong foundation in the basic concepts of anthropology.

Are there any specific resources or books recommended for studying Anthropology for UPSC Mains Exam?

There are several recommended resources and books for studying Anthropology for the UPSC Mains Exam. Some popular ones include "An Introduction to Social Anthropology" by D.N. Majumdar, "Physical Anthropology" by P. Nath, "Indian Anthropology" by R.N. Sharma, and "Indian Anthropology" by Nadeem Hasnain.

Is it necessary to have a background in anthropology or science to opt for Anthropology as an optional subject?

No, it is not necessary to have a background in anthropology or science to opt for Anthropology as an optional subject.

UPSC Anthropology Syllabus 2024, Mains Optional Paper PDF

Table of Contents

UPSC Anthropology Syllabus: Among the 48 optional subjects listed by UPSC for the Civil Services Exam popularly known as IAS Exam, Anthropology subject is notably popular among students. The Anthropology syllabus emphasizes understanding the subject as a science and applying that knowledge to real-world challenges. Anthropology is one of the optional subjects in the UPSC mains examination, covering topics such as human evolution, social structures, cultural evolution, and development.

Anthropology ranks among the top 10 most demanding subjects in the UPSC exam. Its popularity among students as an optional subject is largely due to its reputation for being scoring. The UPSC Anthropology Syllabus comprises two papers, Optional Paper I and Paper II, forming part of the Mains stage of the IAS Exam, which comprises a total of nine papers. Below, we delve into the comprehensive Anthropology optional syllabus for the Mains examination.

Anthropology Syllabus for UPSC 2024

Opting for Anthropology as an optional subject for the UPSC Mains exam is well-suited for candidates possessing robust skills and a genuine interest in the discipline. A plethora of books are accessible to aid students in their preparation for the UPSC Anthropology optional subject. The Anthropology subject comprises two papers, each carrying 250 marks, making a total of 500 marks. Each paper is divided into two sections, with a total of 8 questions in the exam.

Students need to answer five questions out of the given eight, with one compulsory question from the last three. A strong performance in the Anthropology optional exam can significantly boost the overall score of an IAS aspirant in the UPSC Mains.

Aspect	Details
Exam Type	Civil Service Examination
Mode	Offline
Total Duration	3 Hours
Total Papers	2 Papers
Marks per Paper	250 Marks
Total Marks	500 Marks
Impact on Overall Score	A strong performance in Anthropology can significantly boost the overall score in the UPSC Mains exam

Anthropology Syllabus 2024 for UPSC for Mains Exam

Anthropology is a favoured choice among science graduates as an optional subject for the UPSC civil service mains examination. The syllabus for Anthropology is released annually by the UPSC Commission in conjunction with the UPSC Notification Below we shared a detailed overview of the UPSC Anthropology Syllabus 2024.

Anthropology Syllabus for UPSC 2024 for Paper 1

The UPSC Syllabus 2024 for Anthropology optional subject Paper 1 is divided into 12 parts, each covering specific topics. Paper 1 is of 250 marks where 5 questions are to be attempted out of the 8 questions, the Anthropology syllabus for UPSC encompasses the following areas:

Anthropology Syllabus for Paper 1
Topic	Details
1) Meaning, Scope, and Development of Anthropology	Study of human beings and their societies from a holistic perspective.
1.1) Relationships with Other Disciplines	Interdisciplinary connections with Social Sciences, behavioural Sciences, Life Sciences, Medical Sciences, Earth Sciences and Humanities.
1.2) Main Branches of Anthropology and Their Scope and relevance	Social-cultural Anthropology. Biological Anthropology. Archaeological Anthropology. Linguistic Anthropology.
1.3) Human Evolution and the Emergence of Man	Biological and Cultural factors in human evolution. Theories of Organic Evolution (Pre-Darwinian, Darwinian and Post-Darwinian). Synthetic theory of evolution; Brief outline of terms and concepts of evolutionary biology (Doll’s rule, Cope’s rule, Gause’s rule, parallelism, convergence, adaptive radiation, and mosaic evolution).
1.4) The Biological Basis of Life	Examination of genetics, human growth and development, and the biological aspects of human life. The Cell, DNA structure and replication, Protein Synthesis, Gene, Mutation, Chromosomes, and Cell Division.
1.5) Principles of Prehistoric Archaeology	Study of archaeological investigation, principles, and chronology of prehistoric cultures.
1.6) Cultural Evolution	Analysis of cultural changes and transformations across time and societies. Paleolithic Mesolithic Neolithic Chalcolithic Copper-Bronze Age Iron Age
2) Nature of Culture, Society, Marriage, Family, and Kinship	Exploration of culture, society, marriage, family, kinship, and their variations in different cultures.
3) Economic Organization	Meaning, scope and relevance of economic anthropology; Formalist and Substantivist debate; Principles governing production, distribution and exchange (reciprocity, redistribution and market), in communities, subsisting on hunting and gathering, fi shing, swiddening, pastoralism, horticulture, and agriculture; globalization and indigenous economic systems
4) Political Organization and Social Control	Analysis of political systems, governance structures, power relations, and mechanisms of social control. Band, tribe, chiefdom, kingdom and state; concepts of power, authority and legitimacy; social control, law and justice in simple Societies.
5) Religion	Examination of religious beliefs, practices, rituals, and their cultural significance.
6) Anthropological Theories	Study of various theoretical perspectives used in anthropology, Classical evolutionism (Tylor, Morgan and Frazer) Historical particularism (Boas) Diffusionism (British, German and American) Functionalism (Malinowski); Structural— Functionalism (Radcliff e-Brown) Structuralism (L’evi-Strauss and E. Leach) Culture and personality (Benedict, Mead, Linton, Kardiner and Cora-du Bois) Neo—evolutionism (Childe, White, Steward, Sahlins and Service) Cultural materialism (Harris) Symbolic and interpretive theories (Turner, Schneider and Geertz) Cognitive theories (Tyler, Conklin) Post-modernism in anthropology
7) Culture, Language, and Communication	Exploration of the relationship between culture, language, and patterns of communication. Nature, origin and characteristics of language; verbal and non-verbal communication; social contex of language use.
8) Research Methods in Anthropology	Utilization of methods such as Fieldwork tradition in anthropology Distinction between technique, method and methodology Tools of data collection : observation, interview, schedules, questionnaire, case study, genealogy, life history, oral history, secondary sources of information, participatory methods. Analysis, interpretation and presentation of data.
9) Human Genetics	Study of genetics and its application. Methods and Application : Methods for study of genetic principles in man-family study (pedigree analysis, twin study, foster child, co-twin method, cytogenetic method, chromosomal and karyo-type analysis), biochemical methods, immunological methods, D.N.A. technology and recombinant technologies. Mendelian genetics in man-family study, single factor, multifactor, lethal, sub-lethal and polygenic inheritance in man. Concept of genetic polymorphism and selection, Mendelian population, Hardy-Weinberg law; causes and changes which bring down frequency-mutation, isolation, migration, selection, inbreeding and genetic drift. Consanguineous and non-consanguineous mating, genetic load, genetic eff ect of consanguineous and cousin marriages.
10) Concept of Human Growth and Development	Examination of the processes and factors influencing human growth and development.
11) Relevance of Menarche, Menopause, and Other Bioevents	Study of the implications of menarche, menopause, and biological milestones for fertility patterns and differentials.
12) Applications of Anthropology	Anthropology of sports, Nutritional anthropology, Anthropology in designing of defence and other equipments, Forensic Anthropology, Methods and principles of personal identifi cation and reconstruction, Applied human genetics—Paternity diagnosis, genetic counselling and eugenics, DNA technology in diseases and medicine, serogenetics and cytogenetics in reproductive biology

UPSC Anthropology Syllabus 2024 for Paper 2

The UPSC Anthropology Optional Syllabus for Paper 2 also becomes important as it also follows same pattern as paper 1 i.e. it is also of 250 marks. It consists of 9 units, which are as follows:

UPSC Anthropology Syllabus 2024 for Paper 2
Evolution of the Indian Culture and Civilization	Prehistoric (Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic, and Neolithic Chalcolithic Protohistoric (Indus Civilization): Pre- Harappan, Harappan and post- Harappan cultures.Contributions of tribal cultures to Indian civilization.
Palaeo	Anthropological evidence from India with special reference to Siwaliks and Narmada basin (Ramapithecus, Sivapithecus, and Narmada Man).
Ethno-archaeology in India	The concept of ethnoarchaeology; Survivals and Parallels among the hunting, foraging, fishing, pastoral, and peasant communities including arts and crafts producing communities.
Demographic Profile of India	Ethnic and linguistic elements in the Indian population and their distribution. Indian population – factors influencing its structure and growth.
The structure and nature of the traditional Indian social system	Varnashrama, Purushartha, Karma, Rina and Rebirth.
Caste system in India	Structure and characteristics, Varna and caste, Theories of the origin of the caste system, Dominant caste, Caste mobility, Future of the caste system, Jajmani system, Tribe-caste continuum.
Sacred Complex and Nature	Man Spirit Complex. Impact of Buddhism, Jainism, Islam, and Christianity on Indian society.
Emergence and growth of anthropology in India-Contributions of the 18th, 19th, and early 20th Century scholar-administrators. Contributions of Indian anthropologists to tribal and caste studies.
Indian Village:	Significance of village study in India; Indian village as a social system; Traditional and changing patterns of settlement and inter-caste relations; Agrarian relations in Indian villages; Impact of globalization on Indian villages.
Linguistic and religious minorities and their social, political, and economic status.
Indigenous and exogenous processes of socio-cultural change in Indian society: Sanskritization, Westernization, Modernization;	Inter-play of little and great traditions; Panchayati Raj and social change; Media and social change.
The Tribal situation in India	Bio-genetic variability, linguistic and socio-economic characteristics of tribal populations and their distribution.
Problems of the tribal Communities	land alienation, poverty, indebtedness, low literacy, poor educational facilities, unemployment, underemployment, health, and nutrition.
Developmental Projects and their impact on tribal displacement	problems of rehabilitation. Development of forest policy and tribals. Impact of urbanization and industrialization on tribal populations.
Problems of Exploitation and Deprivation of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes.	Constitutional safeguards for Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes.
Social Change and contemporary tribal societies	Impact of modern democratic institutions, development programs, and welfare measures on tribals and weaker sections.
The concept of ethnicity	Ethnic conflicts and political developments; Unrest among tribal communities; Regionalism and demand for autonomy; Pseudo-tribalism; Social change among the tribes during colonial and post-independent India.
Impact of Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, and other religions on tribal societies.
Tribe and nation-state – a comparative study of tribal communities in India and other countries.
History of administration of tribal areas, tribal policies, plans, programs of tribal development, and their implementation.	The concept of PTGs (Primitive Tribal Groups), their distribution, and special programs for their development. Role of N.G.O.s in tribal development.
Role of anthropology in tribal and rural development.
Contributions of anthropology to the understanding of regionalism, communalism, and ethnic and political movements.

Anthropology Syllabus for UPSC PDF

The Anthropology UPSC Syllabus PDF offers a detailed outline of the Anthropology optional subjects for the UPSC examination. It provides a thorough overview of the topics and sub-topics, helping candidates plan their preparation effectively. By consulting the UPSC Anthropology Syllabus PDF, aspirants can gain a clear understanding of the subject’s scope and focus their efforts on specific areas. You can find the link to the Anthropology UPSC Syllabus PDF below.

UPSC Anthropology Syllabus PDF Download

UPSC Anthropology Syllabus Preparation Tips

Candidates can check some of the preparation resources added to like using books and newspapers. You can use online resources through different web portals and platforms. Solve UPSC previous year’s questions to build a strong understanding of these topics.

Read NCERT Books
Analyze Previous Years’ Papers
Create a Study Plan
Current Affairs
Focus on Key Concepts
Practice Answer Writing

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