TEHRAN – Establishing a national museum of anthropology in Iran is a necessity to turn the spotlight on all people, local communities and folk cultures, director of Iran’s Anthropological Research Center, has said.

“This museum can reflect the existence of multicultural diversity along with the national unity [of the country],” Alireza Hassanzadeh said, IRNA reported on Sunday.

“Countries with ancient cultures and civilizations, such as China, Japan, or Germany, have [already launched] such museums, but Iran has never had a national museum of anthropology,” he added.

The Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts has been well aware of the need for establishing such a museum, however, monetary problems have so far been the main obstacle, he explained.

“The National Museum of Iran, [for instance], represents Iran in terms of culture, ancient and artistic relics and monuments but we do not have a museum that represents the lifestyle of the people over the past  centuries.”

Holding a Ph.D. in Anthropology from Goethe University, Hassanzadeh is the author of several books including “Tehran, People, and Crows”; “Children of Fables”; “Rituality and Normativity: an Anthological Study of Public Space, Collective Rituals and Normative Orders in Iran from 1848 to 2011”; and “The Myths of the Living: An Anthropological Study of Iranian Folk Tales”.

Anthropology, “the science of humanity,” which studies human beings in aspects ranging from the biology and evolutionary history of Homo sapiens to the features of society and culture that decisively distinguish humans from other animal species. Because of the diverse subject matter, it encompasses, anthropology has become, especially since the middle of the 20th century, a collection of more specialized fields.

AFM/MG