1.1 to 1.

3 – Meaning, Scope; Relationship; Branches

 Core material: Braintree

 Value Addition: Ember & Ember

1.4 – Human Evolution

 Core material: P. Nath

 Value Addition: Ember & Ember
 For answer structure and diagrams, refer Anthropology
Simplified
 Get a solid grasp of evolution and its concepts such as:
Genetic recombination, directional selection, Adaptive
radiation, Darwinism, Parallelism, Neo-Darwinism etc
(Given well in Ember. Use internet as well)
 Innovate in your answers. Ex: You can depict genetic
recombination through a diagram and adaptive radiation
through a flowchart. Quote examples for topics like adaptive
radiation.

1.5 – Primates
 Primary Source: P. Nath

 For better diagrams/sketches – Use Ember & Ember,

Google, Anthropology Simplified and notes of Kirthi (AIR-

14, CSE 2015) published in this Insights article.
 Go through previous years question papers and prepare notes

for most important topics. It’s static and highly scoring

 Must draw diagrams with proper labelling. For example,

when you draw skulls of ape and human, you should

comparatively point out changes in parts such as Zygomatic
 arch, Foramen magnum, Sagittal crest etc. Practise
diagrams to show evolutionary changes not just in the skull
but also foot, spinal cord, pelvis, dentition etc
 Dedicate adequate time to practise neat drawings. Your aim

must be to attempt as many questions as you can from topics

like these and max out your scores.
1.6 – Fossils et al
 Primary Source: P. Nath

 Use Ember & Ember and Anthropology Simplified for value

addition and diagrams

 Practise diagrams for: Australopithecus, Homo Erectus,

Rhodesian man, Neanderthal man, Cro Magnon, Grimaldi,

Chancelade
 Prepare thoroughly on each and every fossil mentioned in

the syllabus.
 Focus on:

 Phylogenetic Status (i.e. its place in the evolution tree,

who are its ancestors/successors, etc.)

 Characteristics (physical, cultural aspects, time-span of

the fossil)
 Geographical distribution

 Who discovered the first fossil, where & when

 Distribution of the fossil in other parts of the world

 Draw map depicting site names

1.7 – The biological basis of life

 I prepared this unit entirely from the Khan academy

YouTube channel
 Refer to PDF Slides for diagrams and value addition

 DNA replication, translation, protein synthesis must be

illustrated with diagrams

 Highly scoring
1.8 (1) – Dating methods, etc.
 Ember & Ember

1.8 (2) Cultural Evolution

 I skipped this subtopic for lack of time.

2.1 & 2.2 – Nature of Culture and Society, etc.

 Primary Source: BrainTree

 Value addition: Ember and Ember

2.3, 2.4, 2.5; 3, 4 and 5 – Marriage, Family, Kinship,

Economic Organisation, Political Organisation, Religion

 Most important chapters of Socio-Cultural Anthro.

 Primary Sources: Braintree
 Use Ember & Ember for value addition, especially for world
tribe examples. Note down all of them in an A4 sheet and
memorise.
 For all the terms (marriage, religion, magic etc), definitions
must be a scholarly one. Cram word to word and replicate in
your paper.
 Always include names of relevant Anthropologist’s name,
publication year, name and the tribe on which the study was
done. Eg: If you talk about Kula Ring, your answer will be
incomplete without quoting Malinowski and his work on
Trobriand Islanders. Same goes with Totemism and
Durkheim.
 Also, your answer will stand out only when you quote many
examples. Just quoting Indian tribe examples won’t be
enough. For instance, if you are explaining Balanced
 Reciprocity, you must quote at least a couple of world tribes
(Eg: trade between !Kung and Tswana Buntu) that practice it
and the significance of such a system in the tribe. Source
these examples from Ember and the internet.
 Diagrams and schematics for marriage, kinship, descent are
absolutely crucial. Ember & Ember has some good diagrams
(Eg: Kula ring exchange map) and tables. Practise.
 For economic anthropology, memorise examples such as that
of potlatch: Chinook of Northern Pacific, Kwakiutl of British
Columbia. Also mug up examples for tribes for each of
fishing/pastoral/horticulture etc. More the examples, better it
is. Also practice rough diagrams of tools used by these
communities.
 For political organisation chapter, source examples from
Ember and Ember. As I had mentioned, quote
anthropologists, their works and tribe’s names.
 Religion: Same approach as above

6 – Anthropological Theories

 Primary Source: Ember & Ember

 Additional Details: University of Alabama’s website,
Braintree
 Prepare short notes on each theory. Expand on:
 Why it emerged?

 Main thinkers and their major works

 Tribes on which the study was done

 Criticism

 Balanced conclusion

 This being a very important chapter, you can go a little deep

into each theory and each thinker. You can read on the
 internet about the most important work of each
anthropologist mentioned in the syllabus. For example, if
you read a little deeper about Clifford Geertz and his work,
you will understand how he described the Balinese cockfight
and its relationship to the society at large. These will help
you write great answers.
 The amount of time you invest in this chapter will never go
waste. Questions definitely come from this chapter and if
you write an in-depth answer, it’s a great chance to outshine
your competition.

7 – Culture, Language etc

 Braintree
 Ember & Ember
 Anthropology Simplified

8 – Research Methods in Anthro

 Primary Source: Braintree

 Easy and scoring topic
 Always mention the name of prominent anthropologist
associated with a particular method and their works. E.g.
Participant-Observation method used by Malinowski for his
study on Trobriand Islanders, Genealogical Method by W.H.
Rivers, etc.

9.1 to 9.4 – Human Genetics, et al

 Primary Source: P. Nath.

 PDF material for value addition
 Anthropology Simplified for diagrams
  Use internet extensively to know about technical terms such
as Genetic load, genetic drift.Your clarity of concepts must
be impeccable.
 Go through previous years questions from this chapter and
prepare notes for all of them
 Value addition: You can write about latest advances in
Genetics such as Epigenome, methylation and its impact on
Gene expression etc to make your answers more
contemporary. You can get this content from newspapers
and the internet.

9.5 – Race and Racism

 Primary Source: P. Nath

 Mug up physical characteristics of major races of the world

9.6 – Genetic Markers, Physiological characteristics etc

 P. Nath

9.7 – Ecological Anthro

 Core material: P. Nath

 You can value add from Ember and Ember: Note down

adaptation and acclimatization examples

9.8 – Epidemiological Anthropology
 I prepared this topic from the PDF material

and Anthropology Simplified

10 – Growth and Development

 Primary Source: P. Nath

  Prepare short notes for each topic
 Graphs and examples are indispensible. They will enrich
your answers.

11.1 to 11.3

 P. Nath
 Practise graphs and diagrams (Eg: Demographic Transition
Theory etc)
 You may use internet to enrich the content. Prepare short
notes.

12 – Applications of Anthropology

 Primary Source: P. Nath

 Value Addition: Anthropology Simplified, Internet, PDF
material
 Very important topic of Paper I.
 Practise diagrams wherever appropriate Eg: in DNA
technology, Forensic Anthropology, serogenetics and
cytogenetics etc
 Scour the internet to understand about the latest research and
developments in various fields wherein Anthropology is
being applied for practical purpose. This is way you make
your answers stand out from the rest.