Human beings in all times and places think about their world and wonder at their place in it.Humans are thoughtful and creative，possessed of insatiable curiosity. (61)Furthermore，humans have the ability to modify the environment in which they live，thus subjecting all other life forms to their own peculiar ideas and fancies.Therefore，it is important to study humans in all their richness and diversity in a calm and systematic manner，with the hope that the knowledge resulting from such studies can lead humans to a more harmonious way of living with themselves and with all other life forms on this planet Earth.

　　“Anthropology”derives from the Green words anthropos“human”and logos“the study of”.By its very name，anthropology encompasses the study of all humankind.

　　Anthropology is one of the social sciences. (62)Social science is that branch of intellectual enquiry which seeks to study humans and their endeavors in the same reasoned，orderly，systematic，and dispassioned manner that natural scientists use for the study of natural phenomena.

　　Social science disciplines include geography，economics，political science，psychology，and sociology.Each of thesesoical sciences has a subfield or specialization which lies particularly close to anthropology.

　　All the social sciences focus upon the study of humanity.Anthropology is a fieldstudy oriented discipline which makes extensive use of the comparative method in analysis.(63)The emphasis on data gathered firsthand，combined with a crosscultural perspective brought to the analysis of cultures past and present，makes this study a unique and distinctly important social science.

　　Anthropological analyses rest heavily upon the concept of culture.Sir Edward Tylor’s formulation of the concept of culture was one of the great intellectual achievements of19th century science. (64)Tylor defined culture as“…that complex whole which includes belief，art，morals，law，custom，and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society”. This insight，so profound in its simplicity，opened up an entirely new way of perceiving and understa nding human life.Implicit within Tylor’s definition is the concept that culture is learned，shared，and patterned behavior.

　　(65)Thus，the anthropological concept of“culture”，like the concept of“set”in mathematics，is an abstract concept whichmakes possible immense amounts of concrete research and understanding.

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　　人类无时无地不在探究他们所居住的这个世界，并且惊叹于他们所处的地方。人类有思想、有创造性，而且具有难以满足的求知欲。(61)而且，人类还有能力改变自己的生存环境，从而让所有其他形态的生命服从人类自己独特的想法和想象。因此，运用冷静和系统的方法对人类的广泛性与多样性进行研究，是至关重要的。我们希望通过这些研究获得的知识可以促进人与人之间、以及人类与地球上的所有其他物种更加和谐地共存。

　　“人类学”一词起源于希腊语anthropos(人类)和logos(对于…的研究)。顾名思义，人类学包含了对全人类的研究。

　　人类学属于社会科学。(62)社会科学是知识探索的一个分支，它力图像自然科学有研究自然现象那样，用理性的、有序的、系统的和冷静的方式研究人类及其行为。

　　社会科学包括地理学、经济学、政治学、心理学和社会学等学科。社会学的每一学科都包含一门与人类学密切相关的分支或专业。

　　一切社会科学都以研究人类为核心。人类学是一门以实地考查为导向的学科，在研究中需要广泛地运用比较法。(63)强调收集第一手资料，加上在分析过去和现在文化形态时采用跨文化视角，使得这一研究成为一门独特并且非常重要的社会科学。

　　人类学的研究在很大程度上取决于文化观念。爱德华•泰勒先生提出的文化概念是十九世纪杰出的理论成就之一。(64)泰勒把文化定义为“…一个复合整体，它包括人作为社会成员所获得的主仰、艺术、道德、法律、风俗以及其它能力和习惯”。这一概念虽然简洁，但却含义深刻，它为认识和理解人类生活开创了一条崭新的道路。泰勒关于文化的定义暗示出这样一个概念，即文化是后天习得的、与他人共享的和形成固定模式的行为。

　　(65)因此，人类学中的“文化”概念就像数学中“集”的概念一样，是一个抽象概念。它使大量的具体研究和认识成为可能。