Note: There a total of 3 blog posts on Anthropology. This first article primarily talks about my book list and the basic approach I followed. The second and third articles deal with topic wise detailed plan for Paper I and II respectively.
Marksheet
Book List
These are the sources I referred to for my Anthropology optional. There is no need to read these books from end to end. You must go topic wise as per the syllabus and read these books to get a good grip over the subject. Apart from these, use online sources and newspapers to enrich your knowledge and answer content.
Paper I
- Braintree material
- Physical Anthropology – P Nath
- Anthropology Simplified – Vivek Bhasme (very good source for diagrams and answer structuring)
- Anthropology – Ember and Ember
Paper II
- Indian Anthropology -Nadeem Hasnain
- Tribal India – Nadeem Hasnain
- Anthropology Simplified- Vivek Bhasme
- The Tribal Culture of India – LP Vidyarthi
- Xaxa Report
- January 2014 edition of Yojana- Tribal and Marginalized Communities
Note on diagrams and answer writing
While preparing for CSE 2017, because of my hectic work schedule I was hard pressed to just finish the syllabus in the limited time I had. Because of this time crunch, I could neither make any topic-wise notes nor opt for any test series. I learnt how to write good answers from the book Anthropology Simplified by Vivek Bhasme. Most of the diagrams I practised too were from this book.
Online Resources for Paper I and II
- Khan Academy – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gUY5NoX1Lk
- Anthropological Theories: http://anthropology.ua.edu/cultures/cultures.php
- Genetics: http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/
- Anthropological Survey of India: https://ansi.gov.in/
- Ministry of Tribal Affairs: https://tribal.nic.in/
- Tribal faces of India- https://tribal.nic.in/DivisionsFiles/tribalFaces.pdf
- Govt. schemes and tribal related news reported in newspapers
- Diagrams related to anthropology: I practised many diagrams from the notes of Kirthi Chekuri (AIR 14, CSE 2015) published in this Insights article
- Physical Anthropology slides
Books for general reading
The following books have absolutely no bearing on Anthropology optional preparation. But for a curious student of this subject, these books are incredibly fascinating to read. Much ahead of me choosing Anthropology as my optional, it’s these books that got me deeply interested in the fields of evolutionary biology and genetics. Pick them up in your leisure time and I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I did.
- Sapiens – Yuval Noah Harari
- The Selfish Gene- Richard Dawkins
- The Blind Watchmaker- Richard Dawkins
- The Gene- Siddhartha Mukherjee
Anthropologist Jane Goodall with our Chimp cousin. This NatGeo film on her life is fantastic. Image credit: www.neverapart.com
Basic Plan
While you refer to the aforementioned booklist, these are some of the tips you should keep in mind.
- If you are a complete beginner in Anthropology, your focus must be on gaining conceptual clarity and not on quickly completing the syllabus. Always remember that on the final day, it’s your clear understanding of the subject that lets you write good answers.
- In the booklist I mentioned, there’s no need to read every book from cover to cover. When you are reading from a book, always have the relevant syllabus chapter/ topic and previous years’ questions in mind. They will help you to stay focussed and will give you an idea of how much to study from each book.
- For absolute beginners, Ember and Ember is a great book to start with. When I began preparing for Anthro in Jan 2017, I started with this book. I loved it so much that I read it cover to cover, even though such detailed reading is not at all needed from the exam point of view.
- If you are making notes, they must be rich and comprehensive in content. For this, start with one standard core book, make notes from it and then add relevant content from other books. I’ve dealt with this in detail in my subsequent posts to this article.
- For both the papers, wherever relevant, quoting examples and illustrating with diagrams is absolutely pivotal. Paper I must have tribes names from the rest of the world. Ember and Ember is rich resource for many such examples but the pity is that there’s no way to memorise them except by rote. Collect such examples in an A4 sheet and revise over and over.
- Attempt as many Physical Anthropology questions as possible. They are largely static with immense scope for diagrams. You shouldn’t go wrong on those.
- Use internet and YouTube extensively for understanding Physical Anthropology concepts (especially Genetics). You can find very good explainer videos and documentaries. In your answers, wherever relevant, you can also write about the latest findings in the field. For example, in a topic like genetic inheritance, briefly mention about current research in epigenome, DNA methylation and how it affects gene expression.
- Answer like a specialist. Definitions, introductions, criticisms must be scholarly. That is, you must mention Anthropologists’ name, their work (year of publication too, if you can), its criticism by other thinkers. Examples: a. Bronislaw Malinowski in his work “Argonauts of the Western Pacific (1922)” describes the importance of Kula Ring in the economic systems of Trobriand Islanders b. Franz Boas in his article “The Limitation of the Comparative Method of Anthropology (1896)” criticized the evolutionary approach and laid the foundations of Historical Particularism.
- For a particular concept, apart from the main thinker, try and quote works of other Anthropologists as well. For example: In Tribe-Caste Continuum of Paper II, everyone writes about Bailey, but if you can also substantiate your answer with works of Surajit Sinha on Maria Gonds, this will give your answer an edge.
- Use internet and newspapers to collect good case studies to illustrate Tribal problems. Cram latest statistics pertaining to them. A thorough reading of Xaxa report is an absolute must for Tribal related portions of the syllabus.
- Keep tabs on the latest news pertaining to Anthropology. It can be a new fossil discovery, launch of a new govt scheme for PVTGs, or a new finding in genetic research etc. When you read papers, have an eye out for such news and collect them in a separate notebook so that you can revise them before the exam.
- Apart from reading books, dedicate adequate time to practise diagrams and label them correctly. Consistent practice helps you draw fast and draw neat.
Anthropology is a terrific subject to learn. If you put your heart into it, you can easily ace this optional. My best wishes.
Note: My book, Fundamentals of Essay and Answer Writing is an Amazon bestseller. Since its release, the book helped countless candidates master the art of crafting exceptional essays and answers and elevate their performance in the UPSC Mains Exam. You can know about the book here.
Sir can you plz share your anthropology notes ?
Sir have you vivek bhasme’s anthropology simplified pdf if you have please upload
sir firstly congrats
And I am from Telugu mediam background. Sir can I prepare without coaching.
My doubt is it possible to crack upsc CSE without taking any couching
Is it possible to clear UPSC CSE without taking any couching.and sir could you share your preparation planning.
Sir,
Could you please tell us what all mistakes (beside choosing Pub Ad as optional) you made in your earlier attempts that we could avoid?
Iwant to choose Telugu literature as optional is it score subject or not sir you have any idea regarding Telugu as optional can you please tell me sir .
Hi,
Really appreciate your guidance… its really helping me and many others too… From all this blogs we are getting a clear idea what we have to study and how we should go for it….
I was looking for the Anthropology by ember n ember… but got confused a little after searching on amazon, as there are lot of books…. Can u pls share the link from amazon/flipkart… it will be really helpful…
Looking forward to your help.
Thanks,
Hema
Sir please can u send me ur notes regarding ur upsc(Dream) journey .
send me at:- anuradhaagrawal02@gmail.com
Sir, From which source did you study Pre, Mains and Anthropology previous year question papers ?
How will I be able to get Xaxa Committee report? Sir, please reply.
Hi Anudeep,
My age is 30 and this will be my 4th and last attempt(i.e. 2019). Starting from today means Feb 1st, I have started with Anthro because earlier I had Pub Ad as my optional and I don’t have any confidence in that subject.
My Query : As I am starting today, I only have, for Anthro 2.5, months before pre in June and at max 1.5 months after it, considering 5-6 hours daily and revision requirements. Considering this time crunch, if you can please suggest that if this time devotion is enough or not. Because I am really worried if the syllabus will get finished or not.
Thanks in advance and Congratulations.
sir,i am karthik,i did my grdiatue in telegu.i have been prepairing for group1 services for three years.now want to prepair for civils.i am 27 years old.this time if i take this decession is right or wrong?.couid you please tell me your opinion on my dession.
Sir, There are so many books with different front covers bearing the same name of writer, in commercial website. Can u plz post the visuals of suggested books or guide suitably. Thanx
Sir, I have keen interest in statistics, I find it difficult to prepare answer writing, how can I write a good answer because I find lack of variety in answers in statistics
Sir, Which Test series should I join for mains for anthropology optional? Kindly suggest
Sir do you have any books for anthrapology in pdf format?can u please share with us sir!
Kind of explaination you given. I just felt in love with this subject .definitely persue this for my optional .Terror is not in any paper we must have ready plan to tackle it with our relentless effort .
is there anyone for discussion of answers on anthropology ? if anyone then plz contact me on 6367620340 .
and anudeep sir how articles really help me a lot .
thanks for guiding us.
hi sir
can you please tell me with which edition i should go 12th or 14th for ember & ember
Sir which edition of karthik sirs b rain tree material to be brought? I mean the old one which is 2017 – 2018 or the new one… confused will it change anything.
Hello Anudeep Sir,
I am preparing anthropology optional without coaching and this will be my first attempt (2020). I was wondering if you could share some sample of your solved anthropology papers so that i can get an idea of how to frame an answer in this particular subject as every gs and subject needs different approach for an answer.
Is it the Ember and Ember with Peregrine book that you referred earlier ?
Sir, I am beginner of Civil service exam. I am from West Bengal, and here is no such good institutions for preparing IAS. So my qs is, how can i choose my optional subject? I have no science background, I am completely arts background student. So if I choose Anthropology as an optional would it be beneficial for me? And without coaching how can i prepare for Anthropology? Pls sir suggests me. I am totally confused.
same situation
sir, is there any answers copies which u have practiced for anthropology. please upload it sir it will be very useful as bhasme is more complex and want little guidance to write precise answers
Sir are you referred braintree material by gs karthik or muniratnam
Sir from where to get Anthropology Simplified by Vivek Bhasme?
Its not available Online as well as offline for me…?
Hello Sir,
I am in my final year of bachelor’s, and preparing for UPSC 2021with anthro as optional, I am preparing my optional before starting GS so that I can maximize my optional marks, so should I start with the notes as mentioned or should go with standard books,
And if I should go with standard books then is it necessary to buy all the standard books at once?
I also want to appear for upsc 2021 with anthrop Optional. Can we move together?
What’s app me on 8541054356
Hello sir,
Is it compulsary to join coaching for anthropology optional
Helo sir ,
first of all congratulation for ur success. Sir my background was botany,zoology and chemistry in bsc. Is this optional is good for me?? Bio portion is my intersting topics genetics and all. But my fear is with the non science portion like tribe Society etc. Sir i take coaching from ksg i have nkt manage time for optional,Gs and ca simultaneously. How much time will take this subject for entire syllabus??