Comparing How Various Anthropologists Discovered Anthropology as a Career

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Comparing How Various Anthropologists Discovered Anthropology as a Career

Anthropologists have reasons for entering a field of work just like any other person has reasons for Choosing science over music or medicine over business. The reason a person may enter a particular career can be from stumbling upon a field that they knew little. Once discovering it they have ambitions of being the best they can be. It could also stem from a desire as a child to know more about a specific subject. Reasons may be distinct or similar to another person's in the same field. I will compare various anthropologists to how they started in anthropology and how they are different from one another.

Anthropologists have stumbled upon or discovered the world of anthropology in their own ways. Barbara Smutts decided that she would study anthropology at the age of 13 (Rosenthal, 23). After reading Jane Goodall's first article about chimpanzees and with her love of animals and science she knew that anthropology would be her career (23). Adrienne Zihhnan, like Smutts, stumbled upon anthropology after reading an article. She read a book by Margaret Mead for a course at Miami University (Shell, 38). After reading it she changed her major and transferred to a college with the major (38). Zihhnan has made Paleoanthropology her specialized area. The origination of the two­legged gait has been her focus (Shell, 40). Smutts has studied Primatology and observed olive baboons and the bottle­necked dolphin (Roshenthal, 24 & 26). The discovery of a career through reading an article makes a person wonder if all big decisions could be that simple.

Aslihan Yener discovered anthropology after transferring to Robert College to study art history (Bass, 64)...

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http://www.anatomy.su.oz.au/danLiy/anthropology/anthro­1/bio­graphies/thorton

"Linguistics." Encyclopedia of Cultural Anthropology: vol. 1, 1996.

"Linguistics." The New Encyclopedia Britannica: vol. 7, 1993.

Mead, Margaret. Leaders of Modem Anthropology: Ruth Benedict. New York: Columbia University Press, 1974.

"Paleoanthropology." Academic American Encyclopedia: vol. 15, 1996.

"Primatology." Encyclopedia of Human Evolution and Prehistory. 1988.

Rosenthal, Elisabeth. "The Forgotten Female." Discover. Dec. 1991: 22­27.

Shell, Ellen Ruppel. "Flesh and Bone. Discover. Dec. 1991: 37­42.

Spencer, Robert F. Methods and Perspective in Anthropology. Minneapolis: The University of Minnesota Press, 1954.

Steward, Julian H. Leaders of Modem Anthropology: Alfred Kroeber. New York: Columbia University Press, 1973.

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