BPSC Anthropology Syllabus 2026: Section-wise Optional Syllabus

Topic

Key Areas Covered

Introduction to Anthropology

Meaning, scope, development, and branches of Anthropology, including Social-Cultural, Physical, Archaeological, Linguistic, and Applied Anthropology

Community and Culture

Community, social institutions, groups, associations, culture, civilisation, bands, and tribes

Marriage and Family

Forms of marriage, incest, prohibited relationships, marriage payments, family structure, joint and extended families, polyandry, and family change

Kinship Organisation

Kinship systems, descent, lineage, clans, residence, alliance, kinship terminology, and kinship behaviour

Economic Anthropology

Exchange systems, barter, reciprocity, redistribution, ceremonial exchange, trade, and market economy

Political Anthropology

Political organisation, authority, power, state and stateless societies, law, justice, and nation-building

Religion

Origin of religion, animism, animatism, magic, totemism, taboo, and religious beliefs

Fieldwork

Anthropological fieldwork methods, field traditions, and research techniques

Tribal Studies

Social, economic, political, and religious organisation of the Oraon, Munda, Ho, Santhal, and Birhor tribes of Bihar

Topic

Key Areas Covered

Organic Evolution

Lamarckism, Darwinism, Synthetic Theory, human evolution, biological and cultural evolution, microevolution

Primates

Comparative study of primates, anthropoid apes, humans, intelligence, and social behaviour

Human Evolution

Fossil evidence, including Proconsul, Dryopithecus, Ramapithecus, Australopithecus, Homo erectus, and Homo sapiens

Genetics

Mendelian principles, heredity, nutrition, inbreeding, hybridisation, and human genetics

Race and Racial Classification

Race concepts, racism, heredity, environmental influences, racial differentiation, and racial classifications

Physical Characteristics

Skin colour, hair, stature, skull shape, facial features, blood groups, and racial traits

Modern Human Races

Caucasoid, Mongoloid, Negroid, American Negro populations, and comparative studies

Races in India

Classifications by Risley, Haddon, Eickstedt, Guha, Sarkar, and Negrito: racial elements in India

Topic

Key Areas Covered

Research Techniques and Methodology

Difference between technique, method, and methodology; research approaches in anthropology

Evolutionary Theory

Biological and socio-cultural evolution, assumptions of 19th-century evolutionism, comparative method, contemporary evolutionary approaches

Diffusionism

Diffusion, American Distributionism, Historical Ethnology, Franz Boas, criticism of the comparative method, contributions of Radcliffe-Brown, Eggan, Oscar Lewis, and Sarana

Psychological Anthropology

Basic personality, modal personality, national character studies, and recent developments in psychological anthropology

Functionalism

Functional theory, contributions of Bronislaw Malinowski, Radcliffe-Brown, Firth, Fortes, and Nadel

Structuralism

Structuralism in linguistics and social anthropology, Claude Lévi-Strauss, Edmund Leach, structural analysis of myths, new ethnography, and semantic analysis

Norms and Values

Cultural values, cultural relativism, universal values, anthropology as a source of values, and ethical perspectives

Anthropology and Scientific Research

Relationship between anthropology and history, scientific and humanistic approaches, fieldwork methodology, logic and importance of anthropological research

Major Anthropological Theories

Evolutionary theory (Herbert Spencer, L.H. Morgan, E.B. Tylor), Particularism (Franz Boas, A.L. Kroeber, Ruth Benedict, Ralph Linton, Abram Kardiner), Structural and Functional approaches (Durkheim, Malinowski, Radcliffe-Brown, Leslie White, Evans-Pritchard, Lévi-Strauss), along with their limitations

Applied Anthropology and Development

Development studies, socio-cultural aspects of planned development, technological change, tribal development, tribal problems, causes, consequences, and solutions

Tribal Movements in Bihar

Meaning and characteristics of social and tribal movements, Tana Bhagat Movement, Birsa Movement, tribal leadership in Bihar, and changing trends in tribal movements

BPSC Anthropology Section III: Indian Anthropology

Topic

Key Areas Covered

Prehistoric and Protohistoric India

Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic, Protohistoric cultures, and the Indus Valley Civilisation; evolution of Indian culture

Racial and Linguistic Composition

Distribution of racial groups and linguistic elements across the Indian population

Foundations of Indian Society

Varna system, Ashrama system, Purushartha, caste system, joint family, and the traditional social structure

Growth of Indian Anthropology

Development of anthropology in India, contribution to tribal and peasant studies, concepts such as Great Tradition and Little Tradition, Sacred Complex, Universalisation and Parochialisation, Sanskritisation, Westernisation, Dominant Caste, Tribe–Caste Continuum, and Nature–Man–Spirit Complex

Indian Tribes and Their Problems

Ethnographic profile of Indian tribes, racial, linguistic, and socio-economic characteristics, issues such as land alienation, indebtedness, lack of education, shifting cultivation, migration, forest dependence, unemployment, agricultural labour, and challenges faced by hunting and food-gathering tribes

Culture Contact and Social Change

Impact of urbanisation, industrialisation, depopulation, regionalism, economic change, and psychological adjustment on tribal communities

Tribal Administration and Development

History of tribal administration, constitutional safeguards for Scheduled Tribes, tribal welfare policies, development programmes, implementation challenges, tribal response to government initiatives, approaches to tribal development, and the role of anthropology in policymaking

Scheduled Castes and Social Justice

Constitutional provisions for Scheduled Castes, social disabilities, economic challenges, and welfare measures

National Integration

Issues related to national integration, cultural diversity, social cohesion, and the contribution of anthropology towards inclusive development