Page "Anthropology" Paragraph 5

Sociocultural anthropology has been heavily influenced by structuralist and postmodern theories, as well as a shift toward the analysis of modern societies.

During the 1970s and 1990s, there was an epistemological shift away from the positivist traditions that had largely informed the discipline.

During this shift, enduring questions about the nature and production of knowledge came to occupy a central place in cultural and social anthropology.

In contrast, archaeology and biological anthropology remained largely positivist.

Due to this difference in epistemology, anthropology as a discipline has lacked cohesion over the last several decades.