Anthropologists in TES?

Brittany_Joy

Hi, I was wondering if there was even anthropologists in TES lore. I know there are books were writers do explain what is essentially anthropological work. Anthropology is just the study of humans across space and time but the people of Tamriel are descendants of Mer which is what a fairy-type-elf that is highly adaptable. So what would an anthropologist be called in TES? Scholars? Merologists?

PrinceShroob

I think there have been a few NPCs who are interested in cultures and societies. There are folks interested in Dwemer culture and language, though that's a bit more like archaeology.

Off the top of my head, Huleeya in Morrowind is interested in Ashlander culture; he's an assassin by class and is called a "lover of old things." Tharstan in Skyrim is writing a book on Skaal history and culture, which probably makes him the closest thing the series has to a true anthropologist. He's a "Dremora Class" by class, which is the default class for a new NPC created in the Creation Kit. There are also many savants in Morrowind who know a lot about races and societies, though their information is secondhand.

Generally, the Mages Guild undertakes excavations and performs historical research; the Guild seems to broadly accept those with a passion for research, even if they don't have much magical skill (or at least don't demonstrate it). An anthropologist would probably just be called a scholar or a historian, and possibly be called a wizard, too, since most magic-users seem to have an affinity for research beyond spellcasting.

Tucker3711

The interesting thing about the lore in this game is that it commonly can be derived from myth, reality, and Lord of the Rings. So basically if you are a real life anthropologist or archaeologist, this game is really fun.

Brittany_Joy

PrinceShroob wrote: »

I think there have been a few NPCs who are interested in cultures and societies. There are folks interested in Dwemer culture and language, though that's a bit more like archaeology.

Off the top of my head, Huleeya in Morrowind is interested in Ashlander culture; he's an assassin by class and is called a "lover of old things." Tharstan in Skyrim is writing a book on Skaal history and culture, which probably makes him the closest thing the series has to a true anthropologist. He's a "Dremora Class" by class, which is the default class for a new NPC created in the Creation Kit. There are also many savants in Morrowind who know a lot about races and societies, though their information is secondhand.

Generally, the Mages Guild undertakes excavations and performs historical research; the Guild seems to broadly accept those with a passion for research, even if they don't have much magical skill (or at least don't demonstrate it). An anthropologist would probably just be called a scholar or a historian, and possibly be called a wizard, too, since most magic-users seem to have an affinity for research beyond spellcasting.

Funny enough, I wrote a paper on how anthropologists are similar to wizards lol.