--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Biological anthropology tends to focus on…" description: "\"Biological anthropology tends to focus on skeletons because that's what is often left behind in the ground, but I am a whole-body anatomist, I'm a clin..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46b/alice-roberts-6136_behind_biological-anthropology-tends-to-focus-o_1496110.jpg" --- # Biological anthropology tends to focus on skeletons… ![“Biological anthropology tends to focus on skeletons because that's what is often left behind in the ground, but I am a whole-body anatomist, I'm a clinical anatomist and that's what I teach, I teach it all, not just the skeleton, the muscles and nerves, blood vessels.” quote by Alice Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46b/alice-roberts-6136_behind_biological-anthropology-tends-to-focus-o_1496110.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46b/alice-roberts-6136_behind_biological-anthropology-tends-to-focus-o_1496110.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46b/alice-roberts-6136_behind_biological-anthropology-tends-to-focus-o_1496110.jpg) > “Biological anthropology tends to focus on skeletons because that's what is often left behind in the ground, but I am a whole-body anatomist, I'm a clinical anatomist and that's what I teach, I teach it all, not just the skeleton, the muscles and nerves, blood vessels.” [Alice Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-roberts/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She emphasizes teaching the whole human body, not just skeletal remains, to give a complete anatomical understanding. **In simple terms:** Teach whole-body anatomy, not just bones. Key Takeaway Include muscles, nerves, and vessels in teaching. Themes anatomy education holistic biology medicine Mood enthusiastic informative Type educational inspirational When to use this quote - medical school curricula - public anatomy workshops - patient education - research presentations Key Concepts human anatomy clinical practice integrated learning Questions to Reflect On - How can curricula balance depth and breadth? - What benefits arise from holistic anatomical teaching? A Different Perspective Limited time may restrict depth of each system. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anthropology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anthropology/) [Focus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/focus/) [Left behind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/left-behind/) ## Related quotes > [I had a doctorate in biological anthropology. I got a post-doc at CWRU dental school in 1983 teaching gross anatomy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-doria-russell/i-had-a-doctorate-in-biological-anthropology-i-got-a-post-doc-at-cwru/) [Mary Doria Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-doria-russell/) > [“Studying anthropology tends t change the way you look at the world. It leaves a distinctive chip in your brain, or lens over your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-tett/studying-anthropology-tends-t-change-the-way-you-look-at-the-world-it/) [Gillian Tett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-tett/) > [There are savages without God in any proper sense of the word, but none without ghosts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-are-savages-without-god-in-any-proper-sense-of-the-word-but/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Morphological anthropology applied to the physical study of children, is also a strong element in the growth of the new pedagogy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/montessori-maria/morphological-anthropology-applied-to-the-physical-study-of-children/) Montessori Maria > [“All social interactions require some loss of freedom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erol-ozan/all-social-interactions-require-some-loss-of-freedom/) [Erol Ozan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erol-ozan/) > [Anthropology is the only discipline that can access evidence about the entire human experience on this planet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-brian-schiffer/anthropology-is-the-only-discipline-that-can-access-evidence-about/) Michael Brian Schiffer > [I didn't major in anthropology in college, but I do feel I had an education in different cultures very early on. My parents divorced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-king/i-didn-t-major-in-anthropology-in-college-but-i-do-feel-i-had-an/) [Lily King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-king/) > [When you ask why did some particular question occur to a scientist or philosopher for the first time, or why did this particular approach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/when-you-ask-why-did-some-particular-question-occur-to-a-scientist-or/) [Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/) > [For me, a bit of anthropology in the evening is always better than staying and watching the telly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-rhodes/for-me-a-bit-of-anthropology-in-the-evening-is-always-better-than/) [Nick Rhodes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-rhodes/) > [Modern anthropology ... opposes the utilitarian assumption that the primitive chants as he sows seed because he believes that otherwise it will not grow,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-carroll/modern-anthropology-opposes-the-utilitarian-assumption-that-the/) [John Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-carroll/) > [Archaeology is the anthropology of the past, and science fiction is the anthropology of the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-d-vinge/archaeology-is-the-anthropology-of-the-past-and-science-fiction-is/) [Joan D. Vinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-d-vinge/) > [Michael Jackson is an extremely productive ethnographer, a serious reader of phenomenological and existential philosophy, and a remarkable writer at a level that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-kleinman/michael-jackson-is-an-extremely-productive-ethnographer-a-serious/) [Arthur Kleinman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-kleinman/) > [“A geneticist is a geek who claims to have proven through regression analyses that a Neanderthal had sex with your great-grandmother 50,000 years ago.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gaede/a-geneticist-is-a-geek-who-claims-to-have-proven-through-regression/) [Bill Gaede](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gaede/) > [ Anthropology has always struggled with an intense, fascinated repulsion towards its subject… \[The anthropologist\] submits himself to the exotic to confirm his own inner… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/anthropology-has-always-struggled-with-an-intense-fascinated/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [“Marriage," "mating," and "love" are socially constructed phenomena that have little or no transferable meaning outside any given culture. The examples we've noted of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-ryan/marriage-mating-and-love-are-socially-constructed-phenomena-that-have/) [Christopher Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-ryan/) ## More by Alice Roberts > [Our ape legs make us great generalists - we can walk, run and climb. But when you try to do too many things at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-roberts/our-ape-legs-make-us-great-generalists-we-can-walk-run-and-climb-but/) [Alice Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-roberts/) > [Pagan Romans started their midwinter celebrations with the feast of Saturnalia on 17 December, ending them with a new year festival, the Kalendae Januariae,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-roberts/pagan-romans-started-their-midwinter-celebrations-with-the-feast-of/) [Alice Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-roberts/) > [I'm slightly obsessed with Moomins. They were my specialist subject on BBC's 'Celebrity Mastermind' a few years ago!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-roberts/i-m-slightly-obsessed-with-moomins-they-were-my-specialist-subject-on/) [Alice Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-roberts/) > [I gave up meat when I was 18, and it was an ethical decision. I loved the taste, and went on holiday to Greece,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-roberts/i-gave-up-meat-when-i-was-18-and-it-was-an-ethical-decision-i-loved/) [Alice Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-roberts/) > [As an anthropologist, I believe strongly in our common humanity. We can rise above the tribal divisions that have caused so much anguish and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-roberts/as-an-anthropologist-i-believe-strongly-in-our-common-humanity-we-can/) [Alice Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-roberts/) > [If a group of humans began to run regularly, perhaps allowing them to hunt or scavenge more effectively, anatomical changes would follow, especially among…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-roberts/if-a-group-of-humans-began-to-run-regularly-perhaps-allowing-them-to/) [Alice Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-roberts/) > [The real hallmarks of humanity are: curiosity and an amazing ability to cooperate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-roberts/the-real-hallmarks-of-humanity-are-curiosity-and-an-amazing-ability/) [Alice Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-roberts/) > [I've always loved the seaside and I used to be a fairly keen surfer, but it's a solitary activity so when my husband and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-roberts/i-ve-always-loved-the-seaside-and-i-used-to-be-a-fairly-keen-surfer/) [Alice Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-roberts/) > [It's tempting to look back into history with rose-tinted glasses. Most people in the Stone Age didn't live anywhere near as long as we're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-roberts/it-s-tempting-to-look-back-into-history-with-rose-tinted-glasses-most/) [Alice Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-roberts/) > [It is so stimulating for young children to hear someone who does science talking about it. It can be so exciting and inspiring. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-roberts/it-is-so-stimulating-for-young-children-to-hear-someone-who-does/) [Alice Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-roberts/) > [The paleo diet is utter nonsense - it is such pseudoscience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-roberts/the-paleo-diet-is-utter-nonsense-it-is-such-pseudoscience/) [Alice Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-roberts/) > [In fact, humans have less variation genetically than chimpanzees.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-roberts/in-fact-humans-have-less-variation-genetically-than-chimpanzees/) [Alice Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-roberts/) > [It's incredible that the layout of the centre of Chester, for instance, is still essentially that of the original Roman fort.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-roberts/it-s-incredible-that-the-layout-of-the-centre-of-chester-for-instance/) [Alice Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-roberts/) > [More useful than beautiful perhaps, my favourite regular programme is 'Question Time'. And Charlie Brooker is just hilarious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-roberts/more-useful-than-beautiful-perhaps-my-favourite-regular-programme-is/) [Alice Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-roberts/) > [Whatever happens to science in schools, there's something peculiar going on if students don't see it as creative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-roberts/whatever-happens-to-science-in-schools-there-s-something-peculiar/) [Alice Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-roberts/) [Explore all 100 Alice Roberts quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-roberts/) ## More Anthropology quotes > [“Marriage," "mating," and "love" are socially constructed phenomena that have little or no transferable meaning outside any given culture. The examples we've noted of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-ryan/marriage-mating-and-love-are-socially-constructed-phenomena-that-have/) [Christopher Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-ryan/) > [ Anthropology has always struggled with an intense, fascinated repulsion towards its subject… \[The anthropologist\] submits himself to the exotic to confirm his own inner… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/anthropology-has-always-struggled-with-an-intense-fascinated/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [“A geneticist is a geek who claims to have proven through regression analyses that a Neanderthal had sex with your great-grandmother 50,000 years ago.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gaede/a-geneticist-is-a-geek-who-claims-to-have-proven-through-regression/) [Bill Gaede](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gaede/) > [Michael Jackson is an extremely productive ethnographer, a serious reader of phenomenological and existential philosophy, and a remarkable writer at a level that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-kleinman/michael-jackson-is-an-extremely-productive-ethnographer-a-serious/) [Arthur Kleinman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-kleinman/) > [Archaeology is the anthropology of the past, and science fiction is the anthropology of the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-d-vinge/archaeology-is-the-anthropology-of-the-past-and-science-fiction-is/) [Joan D. Vinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-d-vinge/) > [Modern anthropology ... opposes the utilitarian assumption that the primitive chants as he sows seed because he believes that otherwise it will not grow,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-carroll/modern-anthropology-opposes-the-utilitarian-assumption-that-the/) [John Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-carroll/) > [For me, a bit of anthropology in the evening is always better than staying and watching the telly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-rhodes/for-me-a-bit-of-anthropology-in-the-evening-is-always-better-than/) [Nick Rhodes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-rhodes/) > [When you ask why did some particular question occur to a scientist or philosopher for the first time, or why did this particular approach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/when-you-ask-why-did-some-particular-question-occur-to-a-scientist-or/) [Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/) > [I didn't major in anthropology in college, but I do feel I had an education in different cultures very early on. My parents divorced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-king/i-didn-t-major-in-anthropology-in-college-but-i-do-feel-i-had-an/) [Lily King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-king/) > [Anthropology is the only discipline that can access evidence about the entire human experience on this planet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-brian-schiffer/anthropology-is-the-only-discipline-that-can-access-evidence-about/) Michael Brian Schiffer > [“All social interactions require some loss of freedom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erol-ozan/all-social-interactions-require-some-loss-of-freedom/) [Erol Ozan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erol-ozan/) > [“Morphological anthropology applied to the physical study of children, is also a strong element in the growth of the new pedagogy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/montessori-maria/morphological-anthropology-applied-to-the-physical-study-of-children/) Montessori Maria > [There are savages without God in any proper sense of the word, but none without ghosts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-are-savages-without-god-in-any-proper-sense-of-the-word-but/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Anthropology was the science that gave her the platform from which she surveyed, scolded and beamed at the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-howard/anthropology-was-the-science-that-gave-her-the-platform-from-which/) [Jane Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-howard/) > [It's always amusing to look at how something early in the 20th century was written in anthropology and how it's written now. There's been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifford-geertz/it-s-always-amusing-to-look-at-how-something-early-in-the-20th/) [Clifford Geertz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifford-geertz/) [Browse all 286 Anthropology quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anthropology/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Biological anthropology tends to focus on skeletons because that's what is often left behind in the ground, but I am a whole-body anatomist, I'm a clinical anatomist and that's what I teach, I teach it all, not just the skeleton, the muscles and nerves, blood vessels.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alice Roberts" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-roberts/biological-anthropology-tends-to-focus-on-skeletons-because-that-s/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Anthropology" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-roberts/biological-anthropology-tends-to-focus-on-skeletons-because-that-s/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46b/alice-roberts-6136_behind_biological-anthropology-tends-to-focus-o_1496110.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46b/alice-roberts-6136_behind_biological-anthropology-tends-to-focus-o_1496110.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46b/alice-roberts-6136_behind_biological-anthropology-tends-to-focus-o_1496110.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Biological anthropology tends to focus on skeletons because that's what is often left behind in the ground…” — Alice Roberts", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alice Roberts", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-roberts/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Biological anthropology tends to focus on...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-roberts/biological-anthropology-tends-to-focus-on-skeletons-because-that-s/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-roberts/biological-anthropology-tends-to-focus-on-skeletons-because-that-s/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```