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Anthropology

Anthropology is the study of the development, nature and variation of humankind, comprising two related—though distinct—disciplines. Physical or biological anthropology is the comparative study of human evolution and of humans' anatomical, biological and physiological functions; cultural or social anthropology observes and documents the nature and social patterns of human cultures and society.

Background information || Journal articles || Core journals || Books || Web sites || Style guides

Find Background Information — Reference Materials

Encyclopedias, dictionaries and handbooks are excellent resources for gaining an overview of an unfamiliar subject. Entries in these sources explain concepts, terminology, points of view, and offer historical perspective. Annotated bibliographies offer a comprehensive listing of works about the subject, with a short description of each, as a guide for further research. The library holds many more relevant titles than those listed here, so browsing the shelves near these resources can be very helpful.

Companion Encyclopedia of Anthropology
Ref GN25 C65 1994
More a reader than an encyclopedia, this work comprises nearly 40 lengthy articles (with suggested further reading) on humanity, culture and social life, by researchers in anthropology, sociology and archaeology.

History of Physical Anthropology
Ref GN50.3 H57 1997
Two-volume encyclopedia offering a descriptive and analytical history of the discipline from a global perspective, through shorter articles addressing theoretical issues, various sub-disciplines, and major figures in the development of the subject.

Encyclopedia of Human Evolution and Prehistory
Ref GN281 E53 2000
Comprehensive work covering a broad spectrum of sub-disciplines in an attempt to provide the most complete possible context for understanding the human fossil record. Prepared by leading authorities in each subject, yet written to be accessible to those with no prior knowledge.

Countries and Their Cultures
Ref GN307 C68 2001
Illustrated, multi-volume encyclopedia, arranged by country, describing the geographic, ethnic and linguistic background of each of the world's nations and concisely detailing their history, inter-ethnic relations, built environment, social stratification, food and economy, political and domestic lives, religious traditions and more.

Encyclopedia of Cultural Anthropology
Ref GN307 E52 1996
Compendium of 340 articles covering all approaches, methods, concepts and topics central to cultural anthropology, as well as archaeology, biological anthropology, and linguistics. Entries trace the development of, and major contributors to, each topic, followed by a list of references.

Encyclopedia of Social and Cultural Anthropology
Ref GN307 E527 1996
Nearly 250 substantial entries on important areas of anthropological work by an international assemblage of anthropolgists. Also includes a section of short biographical entries on leading figures in the development of the discipline, a glossary, and suggestions for further reading.

Encyclopedia of World Cultures
Ref GN307 E53 1991
Multi-volume set, ordered by geographical regions of the world, and containing about 1500 entries with maps, glossaries and indexes of alternate names for the cultural groups described. In the manner that Countries and Their Cultures describes nation-states, this work examines ethnic and cultural groups.
 

Dictionaries and Handbooks

Introduction to Library Research in Anthropology
Ref GN42 W44 1998
Introductory chapters offering practical advice on conducting research for the undergraduate student, with the balance of the work arranged by type of resource and including bibliographies, dictionaries and encyclopedias, handbooks, indexes, journals, online databases and more.

Dictionary of Concepts in Physical Anthropology
Ref GN50.3 S74 1991
Short articles addressing those concepts typically covered in an introductory class in physical anthropology, with an emphasis on examining all the ways in which a given concept has been used in the discipline. Each entry includes a lengthy list of references.

The Dictionary of Anthropology
Ref GN307 D485 1997
Authored by some 125 distinguished anthropologists, entries focus on key concepts, theories and methodologies of social and cultural anthropology, critiquing current issues and assessing the discipline's most important contributions to general knowledge.

Dictionary of Concepts in Cultural Anthropology
Ref GN307 W56 1991
From the same series as Dictionary of Concepts in Physical Anthropology, this work defines key ideas and concepts in the subject and is aimed primarily at the student of cultural anthropology and scholars in other disciplines.

Social and Cultural Anthropology: The Key Concepts
Ref GN316 R37 2000
Nearly 60 substantial essays concerning key concepts in contemporary anthropological studies, with an emphasis on the argumentation and diversity of ways in which anthropologists have understood these concepts over time.

Find Journal Articles

NOTE: All online resources are available by connecting to the Library Research Web page (http://library.ucsc.edu/research.html) and searching for the name of the resource in Title Search for Online Resources.

Anthropological Literature
Harvard University's index to over ½-million articles and essays on anthropology and archaeology in English and other European languages, 19th century-present.

Anthropological Index Online (AIO)
Citations to articles written in all branches of anthropology, based on the journal holdings of The Anthropology Library at The British Museum, 1957-present.

Anthropology Plus
Comprising Anthropological Index Online and Anthropological Literature, provides extensive worldwide indexing of journal articles, reports, commentaries, edited works, and obituaries in the fields of social, cultural, physical, biological, and linguistic anthropology, ethnology, archaeology, folklore, material culture, and interdisciplinary studies; late 19th century to the present.

Sociological Abstracts
Contains citations for articles from journals, books, conference papers, and dissertations in sociology and other social and behavioral sciences. Indexes articles from 1963-present; citations after 1974 contain abstracts. Published by Cambridge Scientific Abstracts (CSA).

MLA International Bibliography
Citations to articles, books, and book chapters in languages, linguistics, folklore and literature, compiled by the Modern Language Association; 1963-present.

PsycINFO
Citations and abstracts of articles, books, and book chapters in psychology and related disciplines including anthropology, 1872-present. Also known as PsycLIT. Published by Cambridge Scientific Abstracts (CSA).

Expanded Academic ASAP
Contains citations for articles in popular magazines and scholarly journals in the humanities, general sciences, and social sciences, including anthropology. Indexes articles from 1980-present. Many records have abstracts and full text. Published by Gale.

Abstracts in Anthropology
Ref Tables GN1 A15
Quarterly index providing abstracts of articles from several hundred journals and covering a broad spectrum of significant current topics in cultural and physical anthropology, as well as archaeology and linguistics.

NOTE: The UC-eLinks icon in most online databases will lead you to the text of journal articles. UC-eLinks will provide links to online text when available, the call numbers for print copies of journals, and forms for requesting items through interlibrary loan if UCSC doesn't own the journal. See the UC-eLinks Guide (http://library.ucsc.edu/ref/howto/elinks.html) for more information.

Find Core Journals

NOTE: All of the journals listed here are indexed in the Anthropological Literature database; these are only a few of more than 160 anthropology-related journals—in print and online—in the library's collection. For a complete list, go to Current ANL (Anthropological Literature) Journals (http://library.ucsc.edu/collect/anthjo.html).

Find Books

CRUZCAT (http://cruzcat.ucsc.edu) is UCSC's online library catalogue. It includes books, periodicals, maps, videos, government publications, CDs, music scores, and more materials located in both McHenry and the Science & Engineering Library. Although it contains links to full-text journal titles, do not search for article titles in CRUZCAT.

The Melvyl Union Catalog (http://melvyl.cdlib.org) contains the library holdings of all nine UC campuses. It also has links to request items UCSC does not own, through interlibrary loan. Although it contains links to full-text journal titles, do not search for article titles in Melvyl.

Try the following Library of Congress subject headings to find books in Anthropology:

Anthropological Linguistics	Applied Anthropology	Archaeology
Ethnology	Historical Sociology	Human Geography
Marxist Anthropology	Physical Anthropology	Social Structure

Find Web Sites

Anthro.Net (http://www.anthro.net)
ISI Current Web Contents list of links to thousands of evaluated scholarly Web sites and bibliographic references in the social sciences, dedicated particularly to anthropology and archaeology.

Anthropology Resources on the Internet (http://www.aaanet.org/resinet.htm)
Annotated list of links from the American Anthropological Association, arranged by sub-discipline and type of resource.

Anthropology Tutorials (http://anthro.palomar.edu/tutorials)
Lessons in both cultural and physical anthropology, including glossaries, related Web sites, and suggestions for further study, from the Behavioral Sciences Department of Palomar College.

ArchNet (http://archnet.asu.edu)
The Archaeological Research Institute of Arizona State University provides this comprehensive, searchable list of links to archaeological resources on the Web, indexed by geographic region or subject area.

Human Relations Area Files (http://www.yale.edu/hraf/index.html)
Fully indexed, electronic collections facilitating the cross-cultural study of human behavior, society and culture. Maintained by the not-for-profit HRAF consortium at Yale University, the information is arranged by cultural and ethnic groups, and subject-indexed at the paragraph-level, in the eHRAF Collection of Ethnography and the eHRAF Collection of Archaeology.

National Anthropological Archives/Human Studies Film Archives (http://www.nmnh.si.edu/naa)
Guides to historical and contemporary anthropological materials in a variety of formats, collected by the Department of Anthropology of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History, that document the world's cultures and the history of the discipline.

SOSIG (Social Science Information Gateway): Ethnology, Ethnography, Anthropology (http://sosig.ac.uk/roads/subject-listing/World-cat/ethno.html)
Fully searchable, abstracted and indexed database of resources in these subjects, including many full-text articles and papers, journals, books and bibliographies, as well as links to other relevant databases and organizations.

Voice of the Shuttle: Anthropology (http://vos.ucsb.edu/browse.asp?id=2703)
Links to online academic resources in anthropology, including writings and projects, journals, teaching resources, and conferences, from the English Department of the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Not all information on the Web has been evaluated by librarians or scholars. If you are using a Web page as a possible research citation, apply the criteria in the Web Evaluation Guide (http://library.ucsc.edu/ref/howto/evaluate.html) to determine the quality of your source.

Style Guides

AAA (American Anthropological Association) Style Guide (http://www.aaanet.org/pubs/style_guide.htm)

How to Use the APA Style Guide (http://library.ucsc.edu/ref/howto/apa_citations.html)

How to Use the MLA Style Guide (http://library.ucsc.edu/ref/howto/mla_citations.html)

For a more comprehensive guide to resources in Anthropology, see Anthropology: A UCSC Library Collection Resource Guide (http://library.ucsc.edu/collect/anth.html).