English translation of the essay on theatre anthropology written by Franco Ruffini in 1986 and published in the first issue of the Italian journal Teatro e Storia. Six years after the first session of ISTA, Ruffini analyses the methodological and historical peculiarities of the pedagogical activities, highlighting the cultural connections and differences with other fields of research. In his article, Ruffini offers a detailed account of the main principles of theatre anthropology and its tools for research.