Cultural anthropology

The lesson of cultural anthropology is not a collection of trivia such as one might be examined on in a TV quiz program. It is the fact. that we as Americans are both similar to and different from each other and the various peoples around the world. Anthropology teaches tolerance and understanding, pointing out that we are strange not only to others, but among ourselves. Yet we are all basically the same, and share not only a common physical heritage, but, within a certain range, a common patterning of our behavior. To bring some sense of reality to this lesson is the goal of this book.
In the pages that follow, you will be introduced to the field of anthropology-first the scope and method of the discipline, then some of the basic areas of study within it, and finally some of the ways. in which it can be meaningful to us in understanding and solving the problems of living in the twentieth century.