UPSC Syllabus for Anthropology Syllabus Optional

UPSC Anthropology is one of the 48 optional subjects listed in the UPSC Civil Service Examination optional syllabus. The UPSC formulated the Anthropology syllabus by taking the IAS examination into account. Anthropology optional paper mainly focuses on assessing the ability of the candidate to understand the subject as science and apply the knowledge in solving the problems experienced by the citizens. The topics included in this UPSC optional subject are mainly related to human evolution, social structures, cultural evolution and development. 

The aspirants who opt for Anthropology optional in UPSC would find that the syllabus is focused on issues and topics related to the development of the nation and the culture of India. This UPSC optional subject might be easy for the candidates who come from the background of academicians, social workers and sociologists. It is recommended that the aspirants should be familiarised with the syllabus of UPSC Mains to implement better strategies in their preparation. 

Anthropology Optional Syllabus for Civil Service Examination

The UPSC Anthropology Optional Subject consists of two papers (Paper I and Paper II), each carrying 250 marks, making a total of 500 marks. As many candidates choose Anthropology as their optional subject for the Civil Services Examination, here is the complete syllabus for the Anthropology Optional paper.

UPSC Syllabus for Anthropology Optional: Paper I

1.1 Anthropology: Meaning, Scope and Development

1.2 Relationship with other subjects including Social Science, Behavioural Science, Life Sciences, Medical Science, Earth Science and Humanities.  

1.3 Anthropology: Important branches, their scope and relevance

• Social-cultural Anthropology
• Biological Anthropology
• Archaeological Anthropology
• Linguistic Anthropology

1.4 Evolution of Humans and Emergence of Man:

• Biological and Cultural Factors Involved in Human Evolution
• Theories related to Organic Evolution (Pre-Darwinian, Darwinian, and Post-Darwinian)
• Synthetic Theory of Evolution
  • A brief outline of terms and concepts related to evolutionary biology
  • Doll’s Rule, Cope’s Rule, Gause’s rule, parallelism, convergence, adaptive radiation and mosaic evolution.

1.5 Characteristics of Primate

• Evolutionary trend and primate Taxonomy
• Primate Adaptation 
• Primate Taxonomy
  • Arboreal
  • Terrestrial

• Primary Behaviour
• Tertiary and Quaternary fossil primates
• Living Major Primates
• Comparative Anatomy of Man and Apes
• Skeletal changes due to improper posture and its imputation

1.6 Phylogenetic Status, characteristics and geographical distribution of:

• Plio-preleistocene hominids in South and East Africa: Australopithecines
• Homo-erectus: Africa (Paranthropus), Europe (Homo erectus- heidelbergensis), Asia (Homo erectus javanicus, Homo erectus pekinensis)
• Neanderthal Man: La-chapelle-aux-saints (Classical type), Mt.Carmel (Progressive type)
• Rhodesian man
• Homo Sapiens: Cromagnon, Grimaldi and Chancelede

1.7 The Biological Basis of Life

• Cell
• DNA Structure and Replication
• Protein Synthesis
• Gene 
• Mutation
• Chromosomes
• Cell Division

1.8 a) Principles of Prehistoric Archeology

• Chronology: Relative and Absolute Dating Methods

b) Cultural Evolution: Broad Outlines of Prehistoric Cultures

• Paleolithic
• Mesolithic
• Neolithic
• Chalcolithic
• Copper – Bronze Age
• Iron Age

2.1 The Nature of Culture

• The concept and characteristics of culture and civilisation
• Ethnocentrism vis-a-vis cultural relativism

2.2 The Nature of the society

• Concept of society
• Culture and society
• Social institution
• Social groups
• Social stratification

2.3 Marriage

• Definition and universality
• Laws of marriage
  • Endogamy
  • Exogamy
  • Hypergamy
  • Hypogamy
  • Incest taboo
• Types of marriage
  • Monogamy
  • Polygamy
  • Polyandry
  • Group Marriage
• Functions of Marriage
  • Regulations of Marriage 
    • Preferential
    • Prescriptive
    • Proscriptive
• Marriage Payments
  • Bride Wealth
  • Dowry

2.4 Family

• Definition and universality
• Family, household and domestic groups
• Functions of family
• Types of family
  • From the viewpoint of structure, blood relation, marriage, residence and succession
• Impact of Urbanisation, industrialisation and feminist movements on family

2.5 Kinship

•  Consanguinity and Affinity
• Types and principles of descent
  • Unilineal
  • Double
  • Bilateral
  • Ambilineal
• Forms of descent groups
  • Lineage, 
  • Clan, 
  • Phratry, 
  • Moiety and 
  • Kindred
• Kinship terminology (description and classificatory)
  • Descent Filiation
  • Complimentary Filiation
• Decent and Alliance

3.Economic Organisation

• Meaning, Scope, and Relevance of Economic Anthropology
• Formalist and Substantivist Debate
• Principles Governing Production, Distribution, and Exchange
  • Reciprocity
  • Redistribution:
  • Market:

• Economic Practices in Various Communities
• Subsistence Hunting and Gathering:
  • Fishing:
  • Swiddening (Slash-and-Burn Agriculture):
  • Pastoralism:
  • Horticulture:
  • Agriculture:
  •  
• Globalisation and Indigenous Economic Systems

4. Political Organisation and Social Control

• Band, Tribe, Chiefdom, Kingdom and State
• Concepts of Power, authority and Legitimacy
• Social control, Law and Justice in simple societies

5. Religion

• Anthropological approaches to the study of religion
  • Evolutionary
  • Psychological
  • Functional
• Monotheism and Polytheism
• Sacred and Profane
• Myths and Rituals
• Forms of Religion in tribal and peasant societies
  • Animism 
  • Animatism
  • Fetishism
  • Naturism 
  • Totemism
• Religion, magic and science distinguished
• Magico-religious functionaries
  • Priest
  • Shaman
  • Medicine man
  • Sorcerer
  • Witch

6. Anthropological Theories

• Classical Evolutionism
  • Tylor
  • Morgan
  • Frazer

• Historical Particularism
  • Boas

• Diffusionism
  • British
  • German
  • American

• Functionalism
  • Malinowski
• Structural- Functionlism
  • Radcliffe- Brown

• Structuralism
  • L’evi-strauss and E.Leach
• Culture and Personality
  • Benedict
  • Mead
  • Linton
  • Kardinar
  • Cora-du Bois
• Neo-evolutionism
  • Childe
  • White
  • Steward
  • Sahlins and Service
• Cultural Materialism
  • Harris
• Symbolic and Interpretive Theories
  • Turner
  • Schneider
  • Geertz
• Cognitive Theories
  • Tyler
  • Conklin
• Post-modernism in Anthropology

7. Culture, Language and Communication

• Nature, origin and characteristics of Language
• Verbal and Non-verbal communication
• Social contex of language use

8. Research methods in Anthropology

• 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

  9.1 Human Genetics

• Methods and Application
• Methods for Study of Genetic Principles in Man-family
  • Pedigree analysis
  • Twin Study
  • Foster Child
  • Co-twin methods
  • Cytogenetic method
  • Chromosomal
  • Karyo-type analysis
• Biochemical methods
• Immunological methods
• DNA technology 
• Recombinant Technologies

9.2 Mendelian genetics in

• Man-family study
• Single factor
• Multifactor
• Sub-lethal 
• Polygenic inheritance in man

9.3 Concept of genetic polymorphism and section

• Mendelian population
• Hardy-weinberg Law
• Causes and changes which brings down:
  • Frequency-mutation
  • Isolation
  • Migration
  • Selection
  • Inbreeding
  • Genetic drift
• Consanguineous and non-consanguineus mating
• Genetic Load
• Genetic effect of consanguineous and cousin marriages

9.4 Chromosomes and chromosomal aberration in man, methodology

• Numerical and Structural aberration (Disorders)
• Sex chromosomal aberration
  • Klinefelter (XXY)
  • Turner (XO)
  • Super female (XXX)
  • Intersex 
  • Other syndromic disorders
• Autosomal aberration
  • Down syndrome
  • Patau
  • Edward
  • Cri-du-chat syndromes
• Genetic imprints in:
  • Human disease
  • Genetic screening
  • Genetic counselling
  • Human DNA profiling 
  • Gene Mapping
  • Genome study

9.5 Race and Racism, biological basis of the morphological foundation of morphological variation of non-metric and characters.

• Racial criteria
• Racial Traits (Concerning heredity and environment)
• Biological foundation of 
  • Racial classification
  • Racial differentiation 
  • Race crossing in Man

9.6 Age, sex and population variation as genetic marker

• ABO
• Rh blood groups
• HLP Hp
• Transferring
• GM
• Blood Enzymes
• Physiological Characteristics
  • Hb level
  • Body fat
  • Pulse rate
  • Respiratory functions
  • Sensory perceptions

In different cultural and socio-economic groups

9.7 Concepts and methods of Ecological Anthropology

• Bio-cultural Adaptations
  • Genetic
  • Non-genetic factors
• The Physiological responses to environmental stresses of Man
  • Hot dessert
  • Cold
  • High altitude climate

9.8 Epidemiological Anthropology

• Health and Disease
• Infectious and non-infectious disease
• Nutritional Deficiency related disease

10. Concept of Human Growth and Development

• Stages of Growth-pre-natal, natal, infant, childhood, adolescence, maturity, senescence
  • Factors affecting:
    • Growth and Development of genetic
    • Environmental
    • Biochemical
    • Nutritional
    • Cultural
    • Socio-economic
  • Ageing and senescence
    • Theories and observations
  • Biological and chronological longevity
    • Human Physique
    • Somatoypes
  • Methodologies for Growth Studies

11.1 Importance of Menarche, menopause and other bioevents to fertility

• Fertility patterns and differentials

11.2 Demographic theories

• Biological
• Social 
• Cultural

11.3 Biological and socio-ecological factors

• Fecundity
• Fertility
• Natality
• Mortality

12. Applications of Anthropology

• Anthropology of
  • Sports
  • Nutritional Anthropology
  • Anthropology in designing of defence and other equipments
• Forensic Anthropology
• Methods and Principles of Personal identification and applied human genetics
  • Paternity diagnosis
  • Genetic Counselling and Eugenics
  • DNA Technology in Diseases and Medicine
  • Serogenetics
  • Cytogenetics in reproductive biology

UPSC Syllabus for Anthropology Optional: Paper II

1.1 Evolution of Indian Culture and Civilisation

• Prehistoric
  • Palaeolithic
  • Mesolithic
  • Neolithic
  • Neolithic-chalcolithic
• Protohistoric
  • Indus Civilisation
• Pre-Harappan, Harappan and Post-Harappan cultures
• Inputs of the Tribal Cultures to Indian Civilisation

1.2 Palae

• Anthropological evidences from India with special reference to Siwaliks and Narmada basin
  • Ramapithecus
  • Sivapithecus
  • Narmada Man

1.3 Ethno-archaeology in India

• • The concept of Ethno-archeology
  • Survivals and Parallels among the:
    • Hunting
    • Foraging
    • Fishing
    • Pastoral
    • Peasant Communities (including arts and crafts-producing communities)

2. Demographic Profile of India

• Ethnic and linguistic elements in the Indian Population and their distribution
• Indian Population (Elements influencing its structure and growth)

3.1 The structure and nature of the traditional Indian social system

• Varnashram
• Purushartha
• Karma
• Rina
• Rebirth

3.2  Caste system in India

• Structure and characteristics of 
  • Varna and caste
  • Theories of the origin of the caste system,
  • Dominant caste
  • Caste mobility
  • Future of the caste system
  • Jajmani System
• Tribe-case continuum

3.3 Sacred Complex and Nature-Man-Spirit Complex

3.4 Impact of Buddhism, Jainism, Islam and Christianity on Indian society

4. Emergence, growth and development in India

• Contributions of the 18th, 19th and early 20th century scholar-administrators
• Contributions of Indian anthropologists to tribal and caste studies

5.1 Indian Village

• Importance of Village Study in India
• Indian village as a social system
• Traditional and changing patterns of settlements and inter-caste relations
• Agrarian relations in Indian villages
• Impact of Globalisation on Indian Villages

5.2 Linguistic and religious minorities and their social, political and economic status

5.3 Indigenous and Exogenous Processes of socio-cultural Change in Indian Society

• Sanskritisation
• Westernisation
• Modernisation
• The interplay of little and great traditions
• Panchayati Raj and social change
• Media and social change

6.1 Tribal situation in India-bio-genetic variability, linguistic and socio-economic characteristics of the tribal populations and their distribution.

6.2  Problems of the tribal communities

• Land Alienation
• Poverty
• Indebtedness
• Low literacy
• Poor education facilities
• Unemployment
• Under-employment
• Health and nutrition

6.3Developmenal projects and their impact on tribal displacement and problems of rehabilitation

• Development of forest policy and tribals
• Influence of urbanisation and industrialisation on tribal populations

7.1 Issues of exploitation and deprivation of 

• Scheduled castes
• Scheduled tribes 
• Other Backward classes

• Constitutional safeguards for
  • Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes

7.2 Social change and contemporary tribal societies

• Influence of modern democratic institutions
• Development of programmes 
• Welfare measures on tribals
• Weaker sections

7.3 The concept of ethnicity

• Ethnic conflicts and political developments
• Chaos in tribal communities
• Regionalism and demand for autonomy
• Pseudo-tribalism
• Social change among the tribes during colonial and post-independent India

8.1 Influence of Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam and other religions on Tribal societies

8.2 Tribe and nation-state (a comparative study of tribal communities in India and other countries)

9.1 History of administration of 

• Tribal areas
• Tribal policies, plans
• Programmes of tribal development and their implementation

• The Concept of PTGs (Primitive Tribal Groups), their distribution, special programmes for their development
• Role of N.G.Os in tribal development

9.2 Role of anthropology in tribal and rural development

9.3 Contributions of anthropology in:

• Regionalism
• Communalism
• Ethnic and political movements

The aspirant who chose Anthropology as their option, the candidate must be thorough with the mains, by practising the previous years’ question papers and also surf into the important books in Anthropology. The UPSC candidates have to develop the right strategy for preparing for anthropology optional subject. This helps the candidate avoid making mistakes while preparing for the UPSC civil service examination.