CHSE Odisha Elective Anthropology study plan

Define anthropology and distinguish its four-field scope from neighbouring disciplines, writing a one-paragraph definition in your own words

Map the branches (biological, archaeological, socio-cultural, linguistic, applied) onto a single diagram with one example study each

List five relations with other sciences (biology, genetics, sociology, psychology, history) and state what each contributes

Master the core vocabulary of human evolution: hominin, bipedalism, foramen magnum, dental arcade, cranial capacity

Sequence the major hominin fossils from Australopithecus to Homo sapiens with site, date and one diagnostic feature each

Compare primate groups (prosimians, monkeys, apes) on locomotion, dentition and social organisation

Explain the mechanisms of human variation: natural selection, gene flow, genetic drift, mutation, and adaptational responses to heat, cold and altitude

Distinguish race as a biological concept from ancestry and clines, noting why typological race classification is rejected

Outline excavation procedure from reconnaissance and survey through trenching, stratigraphy, recording and conservation

Compare relative dating (stratigraphy, seriation, typology) with absolute methods (radiocarbon, potassium-argon, thermoluminescence, dendrochronology)

Trace the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic cultural sequences with characteristic tool industries

State the significance of key Odisha and Indian prehistoric sites and what each contributed

Define culture, society and the distinction between ethnocentrism and cultural relativism with examples

Classify kinship systems by descent (patrilineal, matrilineal, bilateral) and terminology (Eskimo, Hawaiian, Iroquois, Omaha, Crow)

Compare forms of marriage (monogamy, polygyny, polyandry, levirate, sororate) and explain bride price, dowry and cross-cousin marriage

Differentiate family types and trace the developmental cycle of the domestic group

Explain reciprocity, redistribution and market exchange, and apply the substantivist-formalist debate to a concrete case

Compare bands, tribes, chiefdoms and states on authority, legitimacy and dispute settlement

Analyse magic, religion and science using animism, mana, totemism and the sacred-profane distinction

Describe rites of passage and the role of shamans, priests and prophets in ritual organisation

Profile the major tribal communities of Odisha, covering language family, region, economy and one distinctive institution for each

Explain tribal social organisation including clan, village council and youth dormitory where present

Identify the constitutional safeguards, Fifth Schedule provisions and state-level tribal development agencies

Assess development issues such as displacement, land alienation, forest rights and education, and evaluate the debate over assimilation versus integration

Distinguish participant observation from interview, schedule, questionnaire and case study, and state when each is appropriate

Draft a fieldwork design: research question, sampling, rapport building, ethics and informed consent

Explain how ethnographic fieldwork supplements archaeological inference and how applied anthropology is used in health, education and tribal administration

Practise writing field notes from an observation of a local market, festival or village institution

Revise all seven domains through spaced retrieval, testing definitions, classifications and site or tribal facts without notes

Practise timed answers on long-form questions mixing at least two domains, for example kinship with tribal development

Audit weak areas from earlier self-tests and re-study only the lowest-scoring topics

Write two full-length model answers under exam conditions and self-mark against a checklist