Final answer:
A time-allocation analysis helps an anthropologist understand the daily activities and routines of individuals in a society, offering insights into their social structures and cultural norms.
Step-by-step explanation:
Conducting a time-allocation analysis helps the anthropologist understand how members of the society under study spend their days.
Anthropologists utilize various methods to understand cultures and societies, and a time-allocation analysis specifically involves the systematic study of how individuals divide their time among various activities. This research approach is particularly valuable for gaining insights into the everyday lives and routines of people within a culture, as well as for assessing the distribution of work, leisure, and other activities within a society.
By understanding these patterns, anthropologists can infer the social norms, values, economic status, and structure of a society. Sociologists might use surveys or other research methods for different purposes, whereas an anthropologist conducting a time-allocation analysis is taking a more focused view on the daily life and routines within a specific cultural context.