Gift Giving Guide: Anthropology Style

Do you know an anthropologist?  Or maybe someone special to you is interested in anthropology?  Want to wow them with an extra special gift but aren't quite sure what to get them?  Say no more, readers!  This blog post is dedicated to assisting you find the perfect gift for the anthropologist in your life.  This is the second installment of this post, and it is being redone because the December holiday season is not the only time when gifts are given (because anthropologists are people and have birthdays, graduations, job celebrations, etc. throughout the remainder of the year, too!)

Here are my top pics for anthropologists in each of the four subfields of anthropology:

For the Archaeological Anthropologist/Archaeologist

Archaeology is one of the more popularly known fields of anthropology, in part due to the misrepresentations of the subdiscipline in Indiana Jones and Tombraider, and it is also a popular area of study amongst anthropologists.  Now archaeology is a very dirty job, and while it was originally suggested that you provide your favorite archaeologist with some all purpose soap, that may actually offend some of them (although I remember coveting showers when I worked in the field!)  Archaeological tools are sometimes expensive, hard to come by, and difficult to carry in the field, but Rosemary Mayne of AllThingsAAFS has created the perfect archaeological tool kit bag that is easily carried around.  Also, these tool kit bags are stylish!

AllThingsAAFS is a shop for archaeologists who want and/or need archaeological tool kits to make their fieldwork easier.

For the Biological/Physical Anthropologist 

Physical Anthropology is a very vast subfield that broadly focuses on humans from the biological perspective (or as a biological specimen).  Physical anthropologists study everything from medical conditions, disease, health and nutrition, growth and development, osteology, genetics, primates, and even our hominid ancestors.  It is this latter group that is often hard to buy for, but have no fear because the Sarah and Joseph Belknap of Iamhome have a series of hand made hominid and primate skulls that also double as chalk boards!  They come in a variety of colors and are fairly anatomically correct (I say fairly because I have not seen the product in real life but they look pretty darn accurate in the close up pics on their page).  This is a gift that will definitely impress the biological/physical anthropologist in your life, particularly if they're area of focus is paleoanthropology or primatology.

Iamhome chalkboard skulls include hominids (e.g. A. afarensis, H. florensis) and primates (e.g. Gorilla).

For the Cultural/Sociocultural Anthropologist

Now cultural anthropology falls on the other end of the spectrum when it comes to studying and understanding humans because cultural anthropologists focus in on the cultures and societies of groups around the globe.  Cultural anthropologists, in their research and studies, often take lots of photos or keep field journals where they record everything they first experience as part of their recognizing the cultural differences that exist in the culture that they are studying.  This is in part to deal with the culture shock from the change in their life ways and to remember particularities that exist in cultures that they may forget about later as they become acclimated to the culture around them.  One of the best gifts to get a cultural anthropologist is therefore a journal or photo album, and the options provided by Ali Manning of Vintage Page Designs work as both!  These unique journals/albums allow you to customize the piece specific to the gift receiver, meaning you can add your own message to the front or choose your own background, be it a specific country or a map of the entire globe.  These personal touches will remind the gift receiver that even though they are far from home that they still are remembered and loved.

Vintage Page Designs makes customized albums that can be utilized for photos or journaling!

  
For the Lingustic Anthropologist

Anthropological linguistics is an offshoot of traditional linguistics, which is the focus and study of language, but anthropological linguists are concerned about the intersections of language and culture.  It is a bit difficult to really figure out what exactly would be best to get a linguistic anthropologist, but I think I came up with something that meets their interests and also is a conversation piece.  Meredith Rider's shop PinMeDown features a series of wearable pins and buttons that feature all sorts of topics, in particularly linguistics and language, and make a nice piece for either male or female linguistic anthropologist and are sure to get people talking, which is ultimately what linguists want.

PinMeDown has buttons and pins that get people thinking and talking