Anthropology Optional Syllabus

Here is the official UPSC Anthropology Optional syllabus for Paper I and Paper II, arranged paper by paper and unit by unit. Under each unit we give the official text first, then break it into numbered topics, so you can track your preparation and match every previous year question to its topic.

Source. UPSC Civil Services Examination 2026 notification (Examination Notice No. 05/2026-CSE, dated 04.02.2026, pp. 43–48), upsc.gov.in. The syllabus has been unchanged in recent years.

Scheme. Two papers of 250 marks each (total 500), 3 hours each. Each paper has two sections (A and B) of four questions each; Questions 1 and 5 are compulsory, and three more are attempted with at least one from each section. Paper I (12 units) covers the foundations of anthropology – evolution, prehistory, social-cultural anthropology, theory, methods, human genetics, growth, demography and applications. Paper II (9 units) covers Indian society and culture and the tribal situation in India.

Syllabus at a glance

Paper	Unit	Topics
Paper I	1. Anthropology, Human Evolution and Prehistory	8
Paper I	2. Culture, Society, Marriage, Family and Kinship	5
Paper I	3. Economic Organization	3
Paper I	4. Political Organization and Social Control	3
Paper I	5. Religion	4
Paper I	6. Anthropological theories	10
Paper I	7. Culture, Language and Communication	3
Paper I	8. Research methods in Anthropology	4
Paper I	9. Human Genetics, Variation and Ecological Anthropology	8
Paper I	10. Concept of human growth and Development	4
Paper I	11. Fertility and Demography	3
Paper I	12. Applications of Anthropology	5
Paper II	1. Evolution of Indian Culture and Civilization	3
Paper II	2. Demographic profile of India	2
Paper II	3. Traditional Indian Social System and Caste	4
Paper II	4. Emergence, growth and development of anthropology in India	2
Paper II	5. Village, Minorities and Social Change	3
Paper II	6. Tribal Situation in India	3
Paper II	7. Weaker Sections, Ethnicity and Social Change	3
Paper II	8. Religion and Tribes; Tribe and Nation State	2
Paper II	9. Tribal Administration and Development	3

Paper I

1. Anthropology, Human Evolution and Prehistory

1.1 Meaning, scope and development of anthropology

• Meaning
• Scope
• Development

1.2 Relationships with other disciplines

• Social sciences
• Behavioural sciences
• Life sciences
• Medical sciences
• Earth sciences
• Humanities

1.3 Main branches of anthropology, their scope and relevance

• Social-cultural anthropology
• Biological anthropology
• Archaeological anthropology
• Linguistic anthropology

1.4 Human evolution and emergence of man

• Biological and cultural factors in human evolution
• Theories of organic evolution: Pre-Darwinian, Darwinian, Post-Darwinian
• Synthetic theory of evolution
• Concepts of evolutionary biology: Doll’s rule, Cope’s rule, Gause’s rule, parallelism, convergence, adaptive radiation, mosaic evolution

1.5 Primates

• Characteristics of primates
• Evolutionary trend and primate taxonomy
• Primate adaptations: arboreal and terrestrial
• Primate behaviour
• Tertiary and Quaternary fossil primates
• Living major primates
• Comparative anatomy of man and apes
• Skeletal changes due to erect posture and its implications

1.6 Fossil hominids: phylogenetic status, characteristics and geographical distribution

• Australopithecines (Plio-Pleistocene hominids of South and East Africa)
• Homo erectus: Africa, Europe, Asia
• Neanderthal man: classical and progressive types
• Rhodesian man
• Homo sapiens: Cro-Magnon, Grimaldi, Chancelade

1.7 The biological basis of life

• The cell
• DNA structure and replication
• Protein synthesis
• Gene
• Mutation
• Chromosomes
• Cell division

1.8 Prehistoric archaeology and prehistoric cultures

• Principles of prehistoric archaeology
• Chronology: relative and absolute dating methods
• Palaeolithic
• Mesolithic
• Neolithic
• Chalcolithic
• Copper-Bronze Age
• Iron Age

2. Culture, Society, Marriage, Family and Kinship

2.1 The nature of culture

• Concept and characteristics of culture
• Culture and civilization
• Ethnocentrism vis-à-vis cultural relativism

2.2 The nature of society

• Concept of society
• Society and culture
• Social institution
• Social groups
• Social stratification

2.3 Marriage

• Definition and universality
• Laws of marriage: endogamy, exogamy, hypergamy, hypogamy, incest taboo
• Types of marriage: monogamy, polygamy, polyandry, group marriage
• Functions of marriage
• Marriage regulations: preferential, prescriptive, proscriptive
• Marriage payments: bride wealth, dowry

2.4 Family

• Definition and universality
• Family, household and domestic groups
• Functions of family
• Types of family
• Impact of urbanization, industrialization and feminist movements on family

2.5 Kinship

• Consanguinity and affinity
• Principles and types of descent
• Forms of descent groups: lineage, clan, phratry, moiety, kindred
• Kinship terminology: descriptive and classificatory
• Descent, filiation and complementary filiation
• Descent and alliance

3. Economic Organization

3.1 Meaning, scope and relevance of economic anthropology; formalist and substantivist debate

• Meaning, scope and relevance
• Formalist and substantivist debate

3.2 Principles governing production, distribution and exchange

• Reciprocity
• Redistribution
• Market
• Hunting and gathering, fishing, swiddening, pastoralism, horticulture and agricultural communities

3.3 Globalization and indigenous economic systems

4. Political Organization and Social Control

4.1 Band, tribe, chiefdom, kingdom and state

• Band
• Tribe
• Chiefdom
• Kingdom
• State

4.2 Concepts of power, authority and legitimacy

• Power
• Authority
• Legitimacy

4.3 Social control, law and justice in simple societies

• Social control
• Law
• Justice

5. Religion

5.1 Anthropological approaches to the study of religion

• Evolutionary
• Psychological
• Functional

5.2 Monotheism and polytheism; sacred and profane; myths and rituals

• Monotheism and polytheism
• Sacred and profane
• Myths
• Rituals

5.3 Forms of religion in tribal and peasant societies

• Animism
• Animatism
• Fetishism
• Naturism
• Totemism

5.4 Religion, magic and science distinguished; magico-religious functionaries

• Religion, magic and science
• Priest
• Shaman
• Medicine man
• Sorcerer
• Witch

6. Anthropological theories

6.1 Classical evolutionism

• Tylor
• Morgan
• Frazer

6.2 Historical particularism and diffusionism

• Boas
• British diffusionism
• German diffusionism
• American diffusionism

6.3 Functionalism and structural-functionalism

• Malinowski
• Radcliffe-Brown

6.4 Structuralism

• Lévi-Strauss
• E. Leach

6.5 Culture and personality

• Benedict
• Mead
• Linton
• Kardiner
• Cora Du Bois

6.6 Neo-evolutionism

• Childe
• White
• Steward
• Sahlins
• Service

6.7 Cultural materialism (Harris)

6.8 Symbolic and interpretive theories

• Turner
• Schneider
• Geertz

6.9 Cognitive theories

• Tyler
• Conklin

6.10 Post-modernism in anthropology

7. Culture, Language and Communication

7.1 Nature, origin and characteristics of language

• Nature
• Origin
• Characteristics

7.2 Verbal and non-verbal communication

7.3 Social context of language use

8. Research methods in Anthropology

8.1 Fieldwork tradition in anthropology

8.2 Distinction between technique, method and methodology

8.3 Tools of data collection

• Observation
• Interview
• Schedules
• Questionnaire
• Case study
• Genealogy
• Life-history
• Oral history
• Secondary sources of information
• Participatory methods

8.4 Analysis, interpretation and presentation of data

9. Human Genetics, Variation and Ecological Anthropology

9.1 Human genetics: methods and application

• Family study: pedigree analysis, twin study, foster child, co-twin method
• Cytogenetic method, chromosomal and karyotype analysis
• Biochemical methods
• Immunological methods
• DNA technology and recombinant technologies

9.2 Mendelian genetics in man

• Single factor
• Multifactor
• Lethal and sub-lethal
• Polygenic inheritance

9.3 Genetic polymorphism, Hardy-Weinberg law and population genetics

• Genetic polymorphism and selection
• Mendelian population
• Hardy-Weinberg law
• Mutation, isolation, migration, selection, inbreeding and genetic drift
• Consanguineous and non-consanguineous mating
• Genetic load
• Genetic effects of consanguineous and cousin marriages

9.4 Chromosomes and chromosomal aberrations in man

• Numerical and structural aberrations
• Sex chromosomal aberrations: Klinefelter, Turner, super female, intersex
• Autosomal aberrations: Down, Patau, Edward, Cri-du-chat
• Genetic imprints, genetic screening, genetic counselling, DNA profiling, gene mapping, genome study

9.5 Race and racism

• Morphological variation of non-metric and metric characters
• Racial criteria
• Racial traits in relation to heredity and environment
• Racial classification
• Racial differentiation and race crossing

9.6 Age, sex and population variation as genetic marker; physiological characteristics

• ABO and Rh blood groups
• HLA, Hp, transferrin, Gm, blood enzymes
• Hb level, body fat, pulse rate, respiratory functions, sensory perceptions

9.7 Ecological anthropology: bio-cultural adaptations

• Genetic and non-genetic factors
• Responses to hot desert
• Responses to cold
• Responses to high altitude

9.8 Epidemiological anthropology

• Health and disease
• Infectious and non-infectious diseases
• Nutritional deficiency related diseases

10. Concept of human growth and Development

10.1 Stages of growth

• Pre-natal
• Natal
• Infant
• Childhood
• Adolescence
• Maturity
• Senescence

10.2 Factors affecting growth and development

• Genetic
• Environmental
• Biochemical
• Nutritional
• Cultural and socio-economic

10.3 Ageing and senescence; longevity

• Theories and observations of ageing
• Biological and chronological longevity

10.4 Human physique and somatotypes; methodologies for growth studies

• Human physique
• Somatotypes
• Methodologies for growth studies

11. Fertility and Demography

11.1 Bioevents and fertility

• Menarche
• Menopause
• Other bioevents
• Fertility patterns and differentials

11.2 Demographic theories

• Biological
• Social
• Cultural

11.3 Factors influencing fecundity, fertility, natality and mortality

• Biological factors
• Socio-ecological factors

12. Applications of Anthropology

12.1 Anthropology of sports

12.2 Nutritional anthropology

12.3 Anthropology in designing of defence and other equipments

12.4 Forensic anthropology; personal identification and reconstruction

• Forensic anthropology
• Personal identification
• Reconstruction

12.5 Applied human genetics

• Paternity diagnosis
• Genetic counselling and eugenics
• DNA technology in diseases and medicine
• Serogenetics and cytogenetics in reproductive biology

Paper II

1. Evolution of Indian Culture and Civilization

1.1 Evolution of the Indian culture and civilization

• Palaeolithic
• Mesolithic
• Neolithic and Neolithic-Chalcolithic
• Indus civilization: pre-Harappan, Harappan, post-Harappan
• Contributions of tribal cultures to Indian civilization

1.2 Palaeo-anthropological evidences from India

• Siwaliks
• Narmada basin
• Ramapithecus
• Sivapithecus
• Narmada Man

1.3 Ethno-archaeology in India

• Concept of ethno-archaeology
• Survivals and parallels among hunting, foraging, fishing, pastoral and peasant communities
• Arts and crafts producing communities

2. Demographic profile of India

2.1 Ethnic and linguistic elements in the Indian population and their distribution

• Ethnic elements
• Linguistic elements
• Distribution

2.2 Indian population: factors influencing its structure and growth

• Structure
• Growth

3. Traditional Indian Social System and Caste

3.1 Structure and nature of traditional Indian social system

• Varnashram
• Purushartha
• Karma
• Rina
• Rebirth

3.2 Caste system in India

• Structure and characteristics
• Varna and caste
• Theories of origin of caste system
• Dominant caste
• Caste mobility
• Future of caste system
• Jajmani system
• Tribe-caste continuum

3.3 Sacred complex and nature-man-spirit complex

• Sacred complex
• Nature-man-spirit complex

3.4 Impact of Buddhism, Jainism, Islam and Christianity on Indian society

• Buddhism
• Jainism
• Islam
• Christianity

4. Emergence, growth and development of anthropology in India

4.1 Contributions of the 18th, 19th and early 20th century scholar-administrators

4.2 Contributions of Indian anthropologists to tribal and caste studies

5. Village, Minorities and Social Change

5.1 Indian village

• Significance of village study in India
• Indian village as a social system
• Traditional and changing patterns of settlement and inter-caste relations
• Agrarian relations
• Impact of globalization on Indian villages

5.2 Linguistic and religious minorities and their social, political and economic status

• Linguistic minorities
• Religious minorities

5.3 Indigenous and exogenous processes of socio-cultural change

• Sanskritization
• Westernization
• Modernization
• Inter-play of little and great traditions
• Panchayati Raj and social change
• Media and social change

6. Tribal Situation in India

6.1 Tribal situation in India

• Bio-genetic variability
• Linguistic characteristics
• Socio-economic characteristics
• Distribution of tribal populations

6.2 Problems of the tribal communities

• Land alienation
• Poverty and indebtedness
• Low literacy and poor educational facilities
• Unemployment and under-employment
• Health and nutrition

6.3 Development projects, displacement, forest policy and urbanisation

• Developmental projects and tribal displacement
• Problems of rehabilitation
• Forest policy and tribals
• Urbanisation and industrialization

7. Weaker Sections, Ethnicity and Social Change

7.1 Exploitation and deprivation of SCs, STs and OBCs; constitutional safeguards

• Exploitation and deprivation
• Constitutional safeguards for STs and SCs

7.2 Social change and contemporary tribal societies

• Modern democratic institutions
• Development programmes
• Welfare measures

7.3 Ethnicity, ethnic conflicts, tribal unrest and regionalism

• Concept of ethnicity
• Ethnic conflicts and political developments
• Unrest among tribal communities
• Regionalism and demand for autonomy
• Pseudo-tribalism
• Social change among tribes in colonial and post-Independent India

8. Religion and Tribes; Tribe and Nation State

8.1 Impact of Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam and other religions on tribal societies

• Hinduism
• Buddhism
• Christianity
• Islam
• Other religions

8.2 Tribe and nation state: tribal communities in India and other countries

9. Tribal Administration and Development

9.1 Tribal administration, policies and programmes

• History of administration of tribal areas
• Tribal policies, plans and programmes and their implementation
• PTGs: concept, distribution, special programmes
• Role of NGOs in tribal development

9.2 Role of anthropology in tribal and rural development

• Tribal development
• Rural development

9.3 Contributions of anthropology to the understanding of regionalism, communalism and ethnic and political movements

• Regionalism
• Communalism
• Ethnic and political movements

Total: 85 numbered topics across 21 units.

Last updated: 30 October 2026