UPSC ANTHROPOLOGY - TOPIC WISE PYQ'S (1995-2021)

Sep 22, 2026

Uploaded by Aldword

Topic-wise UPSC Anthropology PYQ’s spanning 1995 to 2021, aligned with Paper-I syllabus coverage. Includes core areas such as meaning and scope of anthropology, relationships with other disciplines, primate evolution and taxonomy, human evolution, genetics fundamentals, prehistoric archaeology and dating, culture, society, marriage-family-kinship, economic and political organization, religion and ritual frameworks, major anthropological theories, language and communication, research methods, and human genetics with methods and applications.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages93

Reading Time3 h 54 min

AccessFree to download

Anthropology Syllabus - Paper-I

Meaning, scope and development; relations with other disciplines

Main branches; human evolution; primates; phylogenetic status

Biological basis of life; prehistoric archaeology; cultural evolution

Culture, society, marriage, family, kinship

Economic organization; political organization and social control

Religion; anthropological theories

Culture, language and communication; research methods

Human genetics; Mendelian (focus continues)

UPSC ANTHROPOLOGY TOPIC WISE PYQ'S (1995-2021) H.No.1-1-664/B, 2nd floor opposite SBI &, Canara Bank Rd, beside Gandhi Nagar Park, Hyderabad, Telangana 500080 9000400939 WWW.VISHNUIAS.COM ANTHROPOLOGY SYLLABUS PAPER-I 1.1 Meaning, Scope and development of Anthropology. 1.2 Relationships with other disciplines : Social Sciences,behavioural Sciences, Life Sciences,Medical Sciences, Earth Sciences and Humanities. 1.3 Main branches of Anthropology, their scope and relevance : (a) Social-cultural Anthropology. (b) Biological Anthropology. (c) Archaeological Anthropology. (d) Linguistic Anthropology. 1.4 Human Evolution and emergence of Man : (a) Biological and Cultural factorsinhuman evolution. (b) Theories of Organic Evolution (Pre-Darwinian, Darwinian and PostDarwinian) . (c) Synthetic theory of evolution; Brief outline of terms and concepts of evolutionary biology (Doll’s rule, Cope’s rule, Gause’s rule, parallelism, convergence, adaptive radiation, and mosaic evolution) . 1.5 Characteristics of Primates; Evolutionary Trend and PrimateTaxonomy; Primate Adaptations; (Arboreal and Terrestrial) Primate Taxonomy; Primate Behaviour; Tertiary and Quaternary fossil primates; Living Major Primates; Comparative Anatomy of Man and Apes; Skeletal changesdue to erect posture and its implications. 1.6 Phylogenetic status, characteristics and geographical distribution of the following:(a) Plio-preleistocene hominids in South and East Africa—Australopithecines. (b) Homo erectus : Africa (Paranthropus), Europe (Homo erectus (heidelbergensis), Asia (Homo erectus javanicus, Homo erectus pekinensis. (c) Neanderthal man—La-chapelle-auxsaints (Classical type), Mt. Carmel (Progressive type) . (d) Rhodesian man. (e) Homosaoiens—Cromagnon, Grimaldi and Chancelede. 1.7 The biological basis of Life : The Cell, DNA structure and replication, ProteinSynthesis, Gene, Mutation,Chromosomes, and Cell Division. 1.8 (a) Principles of Prehistoric Archaeology. Chronology : Relative and Absolute Dating methods. (b) Cultural Evolution—Broad Outlines of Prehistoric cultures : (i) Paleolithic (ii) Mesolithic (iii) Neolithic (iv) Chalcolithic (v) Copper-Bronze Age (vi) Iron Age 2.1 The Nature of Culture : The concept and Characteristics of culture and civilization; Ethnocentrism vis-a-vis cultural Relativism. 2.2 The Nature of Society : Concept ofSociety; Society and Culture; Social Institution; Socialgroups; and Social stratification. WWW.VISHNUIAS.COM ANTHROPOLOGY SYLLABUS PAPER-I 2.1 Marriage: Definition and universality; Laws of marriage(endogamy, exogamy, hypergamy, hypogamy, incest taboo); Type of marriage (monogamy, polygamy, polyandry, group marriage) . Functions of marriage; Marriage regulations (preferential, prescriptive, and proscriptive); Marriage payments (bridewealth and dowry) . 2.2 Family: Definition and universality; Family, household and domestic groups; functions of family; Types of family(from the perspectives of structure, blood relation, marriage, residence, and succession); Impact of urbanization, industrialization, and feminist movements on family. 2.3 Kinship: Consanguinity and Affinity; Principles and types of descent (Unilineal, Double, Bilateral Ambilineal); Forms of descent groups (lineage, clan, phratry, moiety and kindred); Kinship terminology (descriptive and classificatory); Descent, Filiation, and Complimentary Filiation; Descent and Alliance. 3. Economic Organization: Meaning, scope and relevance of economic anthropology; Formalist and Substantivist debate; Principles governing the production, distribution and exchange (reciprocity, redistribution, and market), in communities, subsisting on hunting and gathering, fishing, swiddening, pastoralism, horticulture, and agriculture; globalization and indigenous economic systems. 4. Political Organization and Social Control: Band, tribe, chiefdom, kingdom, and state; concepts of power, authority, and legitimacy; social control, law, an

FAQs

What does the document cover under UPSC Anthropology Paper-I?

It outlines the Paper-I syllabus topics, including evolution and primates, biological foundations, prehistoric archaeology, culture and society, kinship, economic and political organization, religion, anthropological theories, language and communication, and research methods.

Does it include human genetics topics?

Yes. It specifies human genetics methods and applications, including pedigree analysis, twin studies, cytogenetic and DNA-related technologies, and begins the section on Mendelian aspects.

What time range do the PYQ’s follow?

The PYQ’s are organized topic-wise for the period 1995 to 2021.

Sep 22, 2026

Uploaded by Aldword