Anthropological perspectives of the menopause and middle age

A review of how the anthropologist has studied the menopause, the climacteric and middle age is given. The types of field methodology used by the anthropologist in the above-mentioned studies are described, and their application for research in other fields is suggested. Research problems which have yet to be addressed in the study of the climacteric and middle age, are suggested for anthropologists, as well as other researchers. The application of anthropological perspectives to these aspects of life is illustrated with an example of middle-aged women in the U.S., whom the author has studied in the past and is currently studying.