Anthropology

Anthropology is the scientific study of man. An anthropologist studies everything about people. This includes how people live, how they behave, and what their ancestors were like. There are four branches or types of anthropology:

Archaeology. This branch studies the way people lived long ago. Archaeologists explore ruined buildings and towns and dig up objects that were buried thousands of years ago. They study the ruin and objects to find out about the people who created them.

Physical anthropology. This branch studies the physical changes in people’s bodies. These anthropologists study the bones of prehistoric people. They want to know how people have changed over thousands of years.

Cultural anthropology. This branch studies everything about the way people in a certain place live. What do they eat? How do they do? What are their religions? These are few of the things that cultural anthropologist want to know.

Linguistics. This is the study of languages. An anthropologist can learn a great deal about a group of people by studying its language.

Antelope

Antelope are animals that have hoofs and horns. They look like deer, but they are not. They are related to cattle. Like cows, they chew their cud. This means that they chew their food before it goes to their stomachs. Then they bring it up and chew it again.

Antelope live in Africa and Asia. Most live in groups in grasslands and forests.
Antelopes vary greatly in size. The royal antelope is only about 10 inches (24.4 cm) tall at the shoulder. The eland is over six feet (1.8 m) tall at the shoulder.
Some antelope have horns that look like corkscrews or spirals. The horns of the kudu antelope sometimes grow to a length of five feet (1.5 m). Unlike deer, antelope never shed, or lose, their horns.

Antelope are peaceful, shy animals. They travel together in herds, and they warn each other of danger. They can outrun most of their enemies. Some antelope can run 40 miles per hour (64 kph). Also, they can keep running longer than most other animals can. The impala can jump six feet (1.8 m) high. In one leap it can cover 30 feet (9 m).

Anteater

The giant anteater is an odd-looking animal. It can grow to 6 feet (1.8m) long, but its mouth is the size of a button. Its skinny head is shaped like a tube.

Giant anteaters don’t have any teeth. They eat ants and termites without chewing them. Anteaters catch insects with their tongue, which can be 20 inches (50.8 cm) long.
Anteaters rip open ant and termite nests with their sharp claws. Then they stick their tongues inside the nest to lap up the insects. Anteaters also use their claws to fight other animals.

Giant anteaters hunt for food at night and sleep in the grass during the day. When they sleep they cover themselves with their tails. The tails hide them from other animals, and shade them from the sun.

Antarctica

Antarctica is the fifth largest continent in the world. The South Pole is located on it. Antarctica covers five million square miles (12,944,500 sq km). This is the coldest area in the world. The land is buried under ice a mile thick. In winter it is often 100 degrees Fahrenheit below zero (-73c).

Few plants or animals can stand the cold. In the summer, mosses and lichens grow in a few places. The animals that live in the Antarctic eat fish and sea animals. Seal, whales, and birds live along the shores of Antarctica.

In 1911, Roald Amundsen became the first man to travel to the South Pole. Today, much of Antarctica has still not been explored. But scientists continue their study of this cold, icy region.

Ants

Most insects live alone. But ants live in big group called colonies. Some colonies have half a million ants. Most ant colonies live in the ground or under rocks. Ants also make nests above the ground inside wood, in tree trunks, and in piles of leaves.
Young worker ants stay inside the nest. They take care of the eggs and babies. Older workers go outside to find food to carry home.

Each ant colony has a queen. She is larger and lives longer than the other ants. A queen may live to be 15 years old. She spends most of her life laying eggs.
There are over 8,000 different kinds of ants and they are found all over the world.

Animation

Animation is the way motion pictures are made from still drawings. A ten-minute cartoon is made from more than 10,000 separate drawings. Each drawing shows the action a split second after the picture before. When the drawings are put on a screen, one after another, it looks like the drawings are moving.

The first step in making an animated film is to prepare a story board. This shoes the main scenes. Skilled animators make the drawings that show the action.
The drawings are then traced onto sheets of plastic. Then the artists paint in the colors. The drawings are then photographed.

Animal Behavior

Animal behavior is anything an animal does. Animals find food. They fight. They mate. They have babies and take care of the babies. They make homes. They even seem to have fun playing.

People have always studied how animals act because they hunt and raise animals for food and clothing. The study of animal behavior is very important today. People are animals. The more we know about ourselves.

Animals communicate. This means they have ways of keeping in touch with each other. Elephants, apes, and many other animals make sounds that tell their families where they are. Birds sing when there is danger, when they want to mate, and when they want to warm other birds to stay away.

Animals build different kinds of homes. Prairie dogs and ants dig their homes in the ground. Owls, squirrels, and skunks often live inside dead trees.
Many animals live in a different place in summer and in the winter. They migrate. This means the travel from one place to another. A sea bird called the tern spends its summer in the Antarctic at the bottom of the world. For the winter, it flies to the Arctic at the top of the world.

Animals mate to have babies. To find mates, male birds show off their bright feathers. Fireflies flash lights. Female dogs send out odors that bring male dogs to them. Survival means being able to stay alive. Animals must find food to survive. And they must hide, run, or fight other animals.