CUET Anthropology Syllabus 2026: PDF Link Available; Important Chapters, Questions & Books

CUET Exam Conduction Body

National Testing Agency

Mode of the examination

Computer-based test mode

Language of exam

13 languages - English, Hindi, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu

Type of questions

Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)

Total number of Questions

50 questions (all compulsory)

Duration of Exam

60 minutes

Negative marking

Yes

Maximum Score

250 per subject

Marking Scheme

+5 for each correct answer

-1 for each incorrect answer

Unit 1

Physical / Biological Anthropology

• Human Evolution: Theories of evolution (Darwinism, Lamarckism, Neo-Darwinism and NeoLamarckism); Living Primates and their features. Hominid evolution: Australopithecus, Homo habilis, Homo erectus, Homo sapiens neanderthalensis, and other Homo sapiens
• Human Variation (Body size, Body shape, Skin color, Genetic traits).
• Human Genetics: Mendelian Genetics (Laws of Inheritance), Dominant, recessive, sex-linked, sexlimited and sex-influenced traits. Monogenic, polygenic and multifactorial inheritance. Chromosomes and their aberrations.
• Forces of Evolution, Genetic Drift, Mutation, Natural Selection and Gene flow.
• Genetic Markers: Blood Groups (ABO, MN, Rh(D) and their distribution), DNA as a geneticmarker in population diversity.

Unit 2

Archaeological Anthropology

• Stone Age: Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic Cultures.
• Development of tool typology and technology. Evolution of stone tool technology: Choppers, Hand Axes, scrapers, Blade Tools Microliths, celts unifacial and bifacial tools, Pottery.
• Metal Age: Discovery and use of Bronze and Iron.
• Stratigraphy, Archeological dating (Dating of sites and materials with relative and absolute (carbon 14 and potassium-argon dating methods).
• Important Archaeological Sites (Sohan, Burzahom and Nevasa; Indus Valley Civilization.

Unit 3

Socio-Cultural Anthropology

• Family types (Nuclear, Joint, Extended) and their Functions; Marriage: Cultural variation in forms of Marriage (Monogamy, Polygamy); Kinship: rules of Descent (Matrilineal, Patrilineal).
• Concepts of Culture: Cultural Relativism, Ethnocentrism; Socialization and Cultural Change (Diffusion, Acculturation).
• Functions of religion in Society; Beliefs: Totemism, Animism, Animatism, Magic, and Shamanism.
• Subsistence Strategies: Hunting, Gathering and Agricultural practices.
• Traditional Political Systems: Bands, Tribes, Chiefdoms; Power, Authority, and Social Control in Traditional Societies

Unit 4

Linguistic & Tribal Anthropology

• Language as a Cultural and Social Phenomenon.
• Linguistic and Cultural Diversity in India (festivals, house types, rituals and food habits)
• Distribution and Characteristics of Tribes in India: Economic, Social, and Political Organization.
• Major Indian Tribes (Santhals, Bhils, Gonds, etc.), Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs).
• Social Movements: Features; Ecological, Class Based, Caste Based and Tribal Movements.

Unit 5

Social Change & Applied Anthropology

• Caste System and Social Stratification in India.
• Impact of Colonialism on Indian Society; Changes in Indian Society: Modernization and Globalization. Anthropology and development; Tribal development.
• Role of Anthropology in Public Health and Personal Identification (skeletal material, blood groups and fingerprints).
• Change and development in Industrial Society.
• Challenges of Cultural Diversity