Anthropic units explained

The term anthropic unit (from Greek άνθρωπος meaning human) is used with different meanings in archaeology, in measurement and in social studies.

In archaeology

In archaeology, anthropic units are strata, or deposits of material containing a high proportion of man-made detritus. For example:^[1]

In measurement

Following the coinage of the term "anthropic principle" by Brandon Carter in 1973–4,^[2] units of measurement that are on a human scale are occasionally referred to as "anthropic units", as for example here:^[3]

In social studies

In fields of study such as sociology and ethnography, anthropic units are identifiable groupings of people. For example:^[4] and:^[5]

See also

• Anthropic principle
• Anthropocentrism
• List of human-based units of measurement

Notes and References

1. Massimo Vidale (1990). Study of the Moneer South East Area A Complex Industrial Site of Moenjodaro. East and West. Istituto Italiano per l'Africa e l'Oriente (IsIAO). 40(1/4): 301-314.
2. Brandon Carter (1974). Large number coincidences and the anthropic principle in cosmology. Confrontation of cosmological theories with observational data; Proceedings of the Symposium, Krakow, Poland, September 10–12, 1973. Dordrecht: D. Reidel Publishing. pp. 291–298.
3. Brian William Petley (1985). The fundamental physical constants and the frontier of measurement. Bristol; Boston: A. Hilger. p. 120.
4. J. J. Thomson (1896). Address by the President to the Mathematical and Physical Section. Science. American Association for the Advancement of Science. New Series, 4(90): 392-402.
5. Jacob Robert Kantor (1944 [1929]). An outline of social psychology. Ann Arbor, Michigan: Edwards Brothers. p. 120. Accessed June 2013.