Anthropology

===Sociocultural===
{{main|Cultural anthropology|Social anthropology|Sociocultural anthropology}}
Sociocultural anthropology draws together the principal axes of [[cultural anthropology]] and [[social anthropology]]. Cultural anthropology is the comparative study of the manifold ways in which people ''make sense'' of the world around them, while social anthropology is the study of the ''relationships'' among individuals and groups.<ref name="Ingold1994pxv">{{cite encyclopedia | title=General Introduction | encyclopedia=Companion Encyclopedia of Anthropology | author=Ingold, Tim |author-link=Tim Ingold| year=1994 | page=xv |publisher= Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-0-415-02137-1}}</ref> Cultural anthropology is more related to [[philosophy]], literature and [[the arts]] (how one's culture affects the experience for self and group, contributing to a more complete understanding of the people's knowledge, customs, and institutions), while social anthropology is more related to [[sociology]] and history.<ref name="Ingold1994pxv"/> In that, it helps develop an understanding of social structures, typically of others and other populations (such as minorities, subgroups, dissidents, etc.). There is no hard-and-fast distinction between them, and these categories overlap to a considerable degree.

Inquiry in sociocultural anthropology is guided in part by [[cultural relativism]], the attempt to understand other societies in terms of their own cultural symbols and values.<ref name="Ingold1994p331">{{cite encyclopedia | title=Introduction to culture | encyclopedia=Companion Encyclopedia of Anthropology | author=Ingold, Tim |author-link=Tim Ingold | year=1994 | page=331 |isbn=978-0-415-02137-1}}</ref> Accepting other cultures in their own terms moderates reductionism in cross-cultural comparison.<ref name="Ingold1996p18">{{cite book | title=Key Debates in Anthropology | author=Tim Ingold | year=1996| page=18|quote=the traditional anthropological project of cross-cultural or cross-societal comparison| author-link=Tim Ingold }}</ref> This project is often accommodated in the field of [[ethnography]]. Ethnography can refer to both a methodology and the product of ethnographic research, i.e. an ethnographic [[monograph]]. As a methodology, ethnography is based upon long-term fieldwork within a community or other research site. [[Participant observation]] is one of the foundational methods of social and cultural anthropology.<ref>{{cite book |last=Bernard |first=H. Russell |year=2002 |url=http://www.antropocaos.com.ar/Russel-Research-Method-in-Anthropology.pdf |title=Research Methods in Anthropology |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161104002847/http://www.antropocaos.com.ar/Russel-Research-Method-in-Anthropology.pdf |archive-date=4 November 2016 |publisher=[[Altamira Press]] |page=322 |isbn=978-0-7591-0868-4 }}</ref> [[Ethnology]] involves the systematic comparison of different cultures. The process of participant-observation can be especially helpful to understanding a culture from an [[emic]] (conceptual, vs. [[etic]], or technical) point of view.

The study of [[kinship]] and [[social organization]] is a central focus of sociocultural anthropology, as kinship is a [[human universal]]. Sociocultural anthropology also covers [[Economic anthropology|economic]] and [[Political anthropology|political organization]], law and conflict resolution, patterns of consumption and exchange, material culture, technology, infrastructure, gender relations, ethnicity, childrearing and socialization, religion, myth, symbols, values, etiquette, worldview, sports, music, nutrition, recreation, games, food, festivals, and language (which is also the object of study in linguistic anthropology).{{cn|date=September 2022}}

Comparison across cultures is a key element of method in sociocultural anthropology, including the industrialized (and de-industrialized) West. The [[Standard Cross-Cultural Sample]] (SCCS) includes 186 such cultures.<ref name="MurdockWhite1969">{{cite journal | title=Standard Cross-Cultural Sample | journal=Ethnology | author=George Peter Murdock | author2=Douglas R. White | year=1969 | volume=9 | pages=329–369 | url=http://repositories.cdlib.org/imbs/socdyn/wp/Standard_Cross-Cultural_Sample | author-link2=Douglas R. White | author-link=George Peter Murdock | access-date=1 June 2013 | archive-date=12 October 2009 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091012045111/http://repositories.cdlib.org/imbs/socdyn/wp/Standard_Cross-Cultural_Sample/ | url-status=live }}</ref>