ABSTRACT
Anthropology lies among and between the social sciences, biology, aesthetics, historical studies, and philosophy. But while anthropologists may identify with one or more of these fields, they never quite fully affiliate with any one. This uncertainty accounts for triumphs as well as failures. For cultural anthropology the former are best represented by the descriptive ethnology of tribal peoples: the latter in the attempt to substitute the concept of culture for a philosophical or synoptic view of Humanity and its role on Earth.
