5(d) Anthropometry in ergonomics.
10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper I > Applications of Anthropology > Ergonomics > Anthropometry
Thermoluminescence Dating Method — 2026 Paper I
Question · 2026 · Paper I · 10 Marks
Thermoluminescence dating method.
Model Answer
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Model Answer
Introduction: Thermoluminescence (TL) dating is a chronometric method used mainly to estimate the time since certain crystalline materials were last strongly heated. It is especially useful for fired pottery, burnt flint and hearth materials.
Principle:
Minerals such as quartz and feldspar contain lattice defects in which electrons produced by natural ionising radiation become trapped. When the material is strongly heated in antiquity, many trapped electrons are released and the luminescence “clock” is effectively reset. After burial, environmental radiation from uranium, thorium, potassium and cosmic sources gradually traps electrons again.
In the laboratory the sample is reheated. Trapped electrons are released and emit light; the luminescence intensity is used to estimate the accumulated palaeodose.
Age ≈ accumulated/equivalent dose ÷ annual dose rate
Applications:
- pottery and ceramics;
- burnt flint/stone;
- hearth stones and other heat-altered mineral materials;
- archaeological contexts where suitable organic material for radiocarbon dating is absent.
Limitations include uncertainty in past dose rate, moisture change, incomplete resetting during original heating, contamination, post-depositional disturbance and signal saturation at very great age.
Conclusion: TL is valuable because it dates approximately the last heating event that reset the trapped-electron signal. Reliable results therefore require careful sampling and reconstruction of the surrounding radiation environment.
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UPSC Anthropology Optional 2026 — Paper I
28 questionsSyllabus: Paper I > Culture and Personality > Basic personality structure > National character
1(b) Canalization and catch-up growth.
10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper I > Human Growth and Development > Growth patterns > Canalization and catch-up growth
Syllabus: Paper I > Human Genetics > Mendelian inheritance in man > Pedigree analysis
8(a) Compare Edmund Leach's structuralism with interpretive anthropology of Clifford Geertz.
20 Marks
Syllabus: Paper I > Anthropological Theories > Structuralism and interpretive anthropology > Leach and Geertz
5(a) Ethics in anthropological fieldwork.
10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper I > Research Methods > Fieldwork > Ethics in fieldwork
1(e) Ethnoarchaeology and classical archaeology.
10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper I > Archaeological Anthropology > Approaches > Ethnoarchaeology and classical archaeology
5(c) Feminist movement and family.
10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper I > Family > Contemporary trends > Feminist movement and family
Syllabus: Paper I > Human Biology > Demography > Fertility and mortality
1(d) Genetic polymorphism and natural selection.
10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper I > Human Genetics > Genetic polymorphism > Natural selection
1(a) Health as a cultural construct.
10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper I > Applications of Anthropology > Medical Anthropology > Culture and health
Syllabus: Paper I > Human Evolution > Biological and cultural factors > Biocultural evolution
4(b) Discuss 'incest taboo' as the basis of development of kinship systems in human societies.
15 Marks
Syllabus: Paper I > Kinship > Incest taboo > Development of kinship systems
Syllabus: Paper I > Anthropological Theories > Neo-evolutionism > Leslie White and culturology
Syllabus: Paper I > Palaeolithic Cultures > Upper Palaeolithic > Magdalenian tradition
Syllabus: Paper I > Research Methods > Methodology > Mixed methods
1(c) Myth as oral literature.
10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper I > Religion, Myth and Ritual > Myth > Myth as oral literature
5(b) Distinguishing features of nuclear and mitochondrial DNA.
10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper I > Human Genetics > DNA > Nuclear and mitochondrial DNA
Syllabus: Paper I > Human Genetics > Chromosomal aberrations > Numerical aberrations
Syllabus: Paper I > Palaeolithic Cultures > Distribution > Himalayan and Sub-Himalayan sites
Syllabus: Paper I > Fossil Hominids > Australopithecines > Paranthropus
Syllabus: Paper I > Political Organization and Social Control > Power and authority > Change with political organization
Syllabus: Paper I > Religion > Functions of religion > Cultural adaptation to environment
Syllabus: Paper I > Human Genetics > Applied genetics > Serogenetics, cytogenetics and reproductive technology
Syllabus: Paper I > Applications of Anthropology > Sports Anthropology > Somatotyping and the Heath-Carter method
Syllabus: Paper I > Primatology > Primate taxonomy > Strepsirhini and Haplorhini
2(c) How is the theory of structuralism helpful in understanding the concepts of caste and gender?
15 Marks
Syllabus: Paper I > Anthropological Theories > Structuralism > Application to caste and gender
5(e) Thermoluminescence dating method.
10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper I > Archaeological Anthropology > Dating methods > Thermoluminescence