Recovering the Body

The Anthropocene has been officially declared as a new geological epoch owing to the lasting impact made by humans on environments, negatively affecting the health and even survival of human populations. Furthermore, over the past decade, molecular science has shown that the human genome is reactive to environments that are external and internal to the body. Hence, environments impact directly on individual bodies by bringing about epigenetic changes in the genome. Following a discussion of human exceptionalism and its limitations, I argue that an anthropology of embodiment should be situated in time and space, and recognition given to local biologies as a subcategory of situated biologies evident globally. Examples are then given of the intergenerational transmission of epigenetic effects due to environmental toxic exposures with a concluding call for anthropologists to engage with the worldwide challenge.