UGC NET Anthropology Syllabus 2026

All 10 Units • Exam Pattern • Weightage • Best Books • Strategy

The UGC NET Anthropology Syllabus 2026 is the complete guide for candidates attempting Paper 2 of the National Eligibility Test conducted by the NTA. Anthropology (Subject Code 38) is chosen by aspirants aiming for Assistant Professor posts, the Junior Research Fellowship (JRF), and PhD admissions.

Based on the master’s-level Anthropology course, the paper is divided into 10 units spanning the four major branches — biological (physical), archaeological, social-cultural and linguistic anthropology. In this guide we break down every unit in simple language, flag the highest-scoring areas, and share a book list and study plan to help you prepare smartly.

What is in Paper 1?

Paper 1 covers ten broad areas: Teaching Aptitude, Research Aptitude, Comprehension, Communication, Mathematical Reasoning & Aptitude, Logical Reasoning, Data Interpretation, Information & Communication Technology (ICT), People-Development-Environment, and Higher Education System. It is scoring, so prepare it alongside Anthropology.

Unit 1 • Fundamentals of Anthropology

The foundation — the nature of the discipline, its branches and how anthropologists do research.

• History, development, aim and scope of Anthropology; its links with other sciences and its major branches (including Linguistic Anthropology)
• Research methodology: epistemology, ontology, theoretical perspectives; qualitative and quantitative research, research design and hypothesis
• Fieldwork traditions: ethnography, observation, interview, case study, life history, focus group, PRA, RRA, genealogical method, schedules and questionnaires, grounded theory, exploration and excavation, GIS
• Statistics: variables, sampling, measures of central tendency and dispersion, parametric and non-parametric tests, linear and logistic regression
• Techniques of analysis: content analysis, discourse analysis and narratives

Unit 2 • Evolution

How life and humans evolved — from evolutionary theory to the human fossil record.

• Theories of evolution: Lamarckism, Neo-Lamarckism, Darwinism, Neo-Darwinism, synthetic theory, neutral theory, cladogenesis, anagenesis and punctuated equilibrium
• Primate radiation, classification and characteristics (morphological, skeletal, dental, locomotion and social behaviour)
• Extant primates and fossil primates (Parapithecus, Dryopithecus, Ramapithecus, Sivapithecus and others)
• Human ancestors: pre-hominids, Australopithecus, Homo habilis, Homo erectus (Java, Peking, Turkana boy)
• Archaic sapiens, Neanderthal man, and anatomically modern Homo sapiens (Cro-Magnon, Omo)
• Dispersal of modern humans: Out of Africa, Multiregional and Partial Replacement hypotheses

Unit 3 • Modern Human Variation

How and why humans differ — race concepts, human genetics and population genetics.

• Models of human variation: typological, populational and clinal; classifications by Blumenbach, Hooton, Coon and others
• Ethnic and linguistic classification of Indian populations (Risley, B.S. Guha, Sarkar)
• Methods of studying human genetics: cytogenetics, Mendelian, twin, sib-pair, population and molecular genetics
• Modes of inheritance, dermatoglyphics and multifactorial traits (stature, skin colour)
• Population genetics: Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, mating patterns, inbreeding, genetic drift, genetic distance and polymorphism
• Molecular genetics: DNA, RNA, genetic code, RFLPs, VNTRs, STRs, SNPs and mitochondrial DNA

Unit 4 • Human Growth, Development and Maturation

How the human body grows and adapts, plus the basics of demography.

• Principles and phases of growth (prenatal and postnatal); growth curves — velocity, distance, acceleration and Scammon’s curve
• Aging and senescence; factors affecting growth (genetic and environmental); secular trends
• Methods of studying growth: longitudinal, cross-sectional, mixed and linked longitudinal
• Body composition and somatotyping (Kretschmer, Sheldon, Heath-Carter)
• Human adaptation: Allen’s and Bergmann’s rules; adaptation to heat, cold and high altitude
• Demography: fertility, morbidity, mortality, migration and selection intensity

Unit 5 • Concept of Prehistoric Archaeology

The theory, dating methods and tool cultures used to reconstruct the human past.

• Branches: ethno-archaeology, experimental, environmental, settlement, cognitive and geo-archaeology
• Dating methods: typology, seriation, radiocarbon, potassium-argon, dendrochronology, thermoluminescence, fluorine and palaeomagnetic dating
• Palaeoenvironment: geological stages (Pleistocene, Holocene), glacial-interglacial and pluvial phases, evidence of Quaternary climate change
• Lithic tool typology and technology from Lower Palaeolithic to Neolithic
• Overview of lithic cultures of Europe (Acheulian, Mousterian, Aurignacian, Magdalenian)
• Early farming and Neolithic of the Near East (Jericho, Jarmo, Catal Huyuk, Shanidar)

Unit 6 • Lower Palaeolithic Period in India

The Indian prehistoric record — stone-age cultures, the Indus Civilization and metal ages.

• Pebble tool (Soan) and Acheulian cultures; Madrasian, Didwana, Belan Valley, Bhimbetka, Hunsgi; importance of Hathnora, Narmada
• Middle and Upper Palaeolithic sites of India (Bhimbetka, Nevasa, Renigunta, Patne)
• Mesolithic period: microlithic technology, economy and society; sites like Bagor, Adamgarh, Sarai Nahar Rai
• Neolithic period: food production and its social consequences; Burzahom, Inamgaon, Brahmagiri, Maski
• Prehistoric cave art (Bhimbetka, Adamgarh)
• Indus Civilization: city planning, metal technology and decline; Mohenjodaro, Harappa, Lothal, Dholavira, Rakhigarhi
• Pottery traditions (OCP, PGW, NBP), Bronze/Copper Age, Iron Age, Urban Revolution and Megaliths

Unit 7 • Conceptual Understanding of Social Anthropology

The core concepts and institutions that shape human society and culture.

• Culture: attributes, holism, universals, acculturation, enculturation, cultural relativism, folk-urban continuum, great and little tradition
• Society: groups, institutions, associations, community, status and role, incest, endogamy, exogamy, rites of passage
• Family: definitions, types, rules of residence and functions; trends of change
• Marriage: types (monogamy, polygyny, polyandry), levirate, sororate, hypergamy; bride price, dowry and marriage as exchange
• Kinship: descent, terminology, matrilineal puzzle, joking and avoidance, moiety, phratry, clan and lineage
• Economic anthropology (Malinowski, formalist, substantivist, Marxist), Kula, Potlatch and Jajmani
• Legal anthropology, political organization (band, tribe, chiefdom, state), religion, magic, ritual and social change

Unit 8 • Theories in Social Anthropology

The major theoretical schools and thinkers that shaped anthropological thought.

• Evolutionism: Tylor, Morgan, Frazer, Maine, McLennan
• Diffusionism: Austro-German, British and American schools
• Historical particularism (Boas), Functionalism (Malinowski), Structural-Functionalism (Radcliffe-Brown, Firth, Fortes)
• Structuralism (Levi-Strauss); Culture and Personality (Mead, Benedict, Kardiner)
• Cultural ecology and neo-evolutionism (Leslie White, Julian Steward, Sahlins); Cultural Materialism (Marvin Harris)
• Symbolic (Victor Turner, Mary Douglas), Cognitive (Goodenough) and Interpretive Anthropology (Geertz)
• Anthropology and gender (Leela Dube, Strathern); postmodernism and postcolonialism (Foucault, Derrida, Bourdieu); ethnicity (Barth, Weber)

Unit 9 • Stages in the Development of Indian Anthropology

Indian society, tribes, village studies and the pioneers of Indian anthropology.

• Social stratification: caste, Scheduled Caste, Dalit, OBC, nomadic groups; revivalist and peasant movements (Malabar, Telangana)
• Tribe, Scheduled Tribe, PVTGs, tribal movements (Birsa, Naga) and tribal development
• Village studies: S.C. Dube, McKim Marriott, Scarlett Epstein, M.N. Srinivas, F.G. Bailey
• Constitutional safeguards for SC/ST, Panchayati Raj Institutions and Self-Help Groups
• Theoretical ideas: Sanskritization, Westernization, Sacred Complex, Nature-Man-Spirit Complex
• Early Indian anthropologists: Ghurye, B.S. Guha, S.C. Roy, Iravati Karve, L.P. Vidyarthi, N.K. Bose, D.N. Majumdar, Verrier Elwin

Unit 10 • Concepts and Theories (Applied Anthropology)

How anthropology is applied to real-world problems, development and emerging fields.

• Applied, action, engaged, urban, public, medical, visual, forensic and business anthropology
• Genomic studies, genetic screening and counselling, ergonomics and kinanthropometry
• Community development projects (rural, urban, tribal); revisits, re-studies and Social Impact Assessment (SIA)
• Anthropological approaches to public health, education, nutrition, land alienation, bonded labour and rehabilitation
• Development strategies (Plan/Sub-Plan); role of NGOs in development
• Empowerment of women and LGBT groups

Must-Know Topics for Quick Revision

• Human evolution timeline: Australopithecus, Homo habilis, erectus, Neanderthal, sapiens
• Family, marriage, kinship and descent concepts
• Theories and thinkers: Malinowski, Radcliffe-Brown, Levi-Strauss, Boas, Geertz
• Indian scholars: Ghurye, M.N. Srinivas (Sanskritization), Iravati Karve, L.P. Vidyarthi
• Dating methods and Indus Civilization sites
• Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium and population genetics

Smart Preparation Strategy

• Cover all four branches — biological, archaeological, social-cultural and linguistic — do not skip any.
• Make a human-evolution timeline chart and a thinker-vs-theory table for fast revision.
• Memorise fossil names, dates and key Indian prehistoric sites with short flashcards.
• Link Indian anthropology concepts (Sanskritization, village studies) to their scholars.
• Solve 8–10 years of previous-year papers and take regular mock tests.
• Since there is no negative marking, attempt every question in the exam.