Anthropology is the comparative study of humans across time and space, encompassing human biology and evolution, culture and society, language, and material remains. In the United States it is commonly organized into four major subfields—cultural/social anthropology, archaeology, biological (physical) anthropology, and linguistic anthropology—reflecting a holistic approach to the 'science of humanity.'
Last updated November 19, 2025
Anthropology is a comparative, holistic discipline concerned with humanity’s biological evolution, cultural and social life, languages, and material past, often characterized as the “science of humanity.” According to Britannica, the field spans from the biology and evolutionary history of Homo sapiens to the cultural features that distinguish humans, and it developed into specialized branches in the late 19th and 20th centuries. Britannica. In the United States, the four-field tradition—cultural/social, archaeology, biological (physical), and linguistic anthropology—structures most departments and professional training. American Anthropological Association. In Europe, archaeology historically aligned more with humanistic disciplines, though this distinction has blurred with globalized practice. Britannica.
Major branches
–Cultural/social anthropology examines cultural meanings, institutions, and everyday practices through long-term fieldwork and interpretive analysis. Britannica.
–Archaeology studies past human societies via their material remains, integrating methods from natural and social sciences to reconstruct historical processes. Britannica.
–Biological (physical) anthropology investigates human and primate evolution, variation, and biology, addressing topics from fossil hominins to genetic diversity and biocultural adaptation. Britannica; AABA.
–Linguistic anthropology analyzes language as social action and meaning-making, including documentation, discourse, and language ideology. Britannica.
Core methods
Ethnographic fieldwork—especially participant observation—remains central to cultural/social anthropology, typically involving long-term residence, language acquisition, and collaboration with community members. Britannica; Britannica. Pioneering 20th‑century studies normalized intensive fieldwork and the distinction between observed behavior and cultural ideals. Britannica. Comparative and cross‑cultural research has been enabled by curated corpora such as the Human Relations Area Files (HRAF), which systematized ethnographic materials for analysis. HRAF. Archaeology deploys excavation, survey, and a wide array of scientific techniques (e.g., geoarchaeology, archaeobotany, dating methods) to interpret past human activities. Britannica. Museums and archives are key research infrastructures; for example, the Smithsonian’s Department of Anthropology stewards one of the world’s largest collections across ethnology, archaeology, and human skeletal biology. Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
Historical development
Nineteenth‑century evolutionism helped frame the discipline’s early questions; E. B. Tylor’s Primitive Culture (1871) defined culture as a complex whole of knowledge, belief, art, law, morals, custom, and other capacities acquired by humans as members of society. [Primitive Culture](book://Edward B. Tylor|Primitive Culture|John Murray|1871). Early twentieth‑century American anthropology, led by Franz Boas, advanced cultural relativism and rigorous, empirically grounded studies of particular histories, languages, and cultures, reshaping the discipline’s methods and ethics. Britannica; Britannica. In Britain, functionalist and structural‑functionalist approaches developed by scholars including Bronisław Malinowski and A. R. Radcliffe‑Brown emphasized the interdependence of social institutions and the integrative functions of social structure. Britannica; Britannica; Britannica. Mid‑century structuralism associated with Claude Lévi-Strauss investigated universal cognitive structures underlying kinship, myth, and symbolic systems, drawing on structural linguistics. Britannica; Britannica. Later interpretive and symbolic anthropology, notably Clifford Geertz’s “thick description,” treated culture as webs of meaning that require contextual interpretation. [Geertz, The Interpretation of Cultures](book://Clifford Geertz|The Interpretation of Cultures|Basic Books|1973); Britannica.
Ethics, stewardship, and applied practice
Anthropologists work within explicit ethical frameworks emphasizing obligations to collaborators, communities, and records. The American Anthropological Association articulates seven Principles of Professional Responsibility—do no harm; openness and honesty; informed consent; weighing ethical obligations; accessibility of results; protection and preservation of records; and respectful professional relationships—that guide research, teaching, and application. AAA Ethics; AAA Ethics Forum. In the United States, the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA, 1990) governs the protection and repatriation of Native American human remains and cultural items, establishing processes for museums and federal agencies in consultation with Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations; the Department of the Interior has updated regulations to strengthen implementation. National Park Service—NAGPRA overview; NPS—The Law; NPS—Final Rule announcement; Britannica. Applied anthropology uses the discipline’s theories and methods to address practical problems in domains such as public health, education, design, heritage management, and environmental planning, often combining qualitative and quantitative approaches and working as “culture brokers” across institutions and communities. Britannica; Britannica.
Institutions and publishing
Professional societies help coordinate research and public engagement. The American Anthropological Association (founded 1902) is the largest U.S. professional organization, supporting more than 20 journals and numerous sections across subfields; its flagship journal is American Anthropologist. AAA—About; American Anthropologist—About; AAA–Wiley partnership. The Royal Anthropological Institute (RAI, established in its present form in 1871) is a long‑standing U.K. association supporting scholarship, public events, major archives, and the Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute. RAI—History and Mission; RAI—Strategic Plan. Biological anthropologists coordinate through the American Association of Biological Anthropologists (AABA), which advances research and publishes the American Journal of Biological Anthropology and the Yearbook of Biological Anthropology. AABA. Museums and archives, such as those of the Smithsonian and the RAI/British Museum Anthropology Library, serve as repositories and research hubs. Smithsonian NMNH; RAI Anthropology Library.
Contemporary areas and trends
Contemporary anthropological work spans medical and environmental anthropology, science and technology studies, digital and multimodal ethnography, heritage and repatriation policy, and public/applied practice, reflecting the field’s position at the nexus of sciences and humanities and its engagement with pressing social issues. Britannica; AAA Strategic Plan 2021–2026.
Anthropology is the comparative study of humans across time and space, encompassing human biology and evolution, culture and society, language, and material remains. In the United States it is commonly organized into four major subfields—cultural/social anthropology, archaeology, biological (physical) anthropology, and linguistic anthropology—reflecting a holistic approach to the 'science of humanity.'
Last updated November 19, 2025
Anthropology is a comparative, holistic discipline concerned with humanity’s biological evolution, cultural and social life, languages, and material past, often characterized as the “science of humanity.” According to Britannica, the field spans from the biology and evolutionary history of Homo sapiens to the cultural features that distinguish humans, and it developed into specialized branches in the late 19th and 20th centuries. Britannica. In the United States, the four-field tradition—cultural/social, archaeology, biological (physical), and linguistic anthropology—structures most departments and professional training. American Anthropological Association. In Europe, archaeology historically aligned more with humanistic disciplines, though this distinction has blurred with globalized practice. Britannica.
Major branches
–Cultural/social anthropology examines cultural meanings, institutions, and everyday practices through long-term fieldwork and interpretive analysis. Britannica.
–Archaeology studies past human societies via their material remains, integrating methods from natural and social sciences to reconstruct historical processes. Britannica.
–Biological (physical) anthropology investigates human and primate evolution, variation, and biology, addressing topics from fossil hominins to genetic diversity and biocultural adaptation. Britannica; AABA.
–Linguistic anthropology analyzes language as social action and meaning-making, including documentation, discourse, and language ideology. Britannica.
Core methods
Ethnographic fieldwork—especially participant observation—remains central to cultural/social anthropology, typically involving long-term residence, language acquisition, and collaboration with community members. Britannica; Britannica. Pioneering 20th‑century studies normalized intensive fieldwork and the distinction between observed behavior and cultural ideals. Britannica. Comparative and cross‑cultural research has been enabled by curated corpora such as the Human Relations Area Files (HRAF), which systematized ethnographic materials for analysis. HRAF. Archaeology deploys excavation, survey, and a wide array of scientific techniques (e.g., geoarchaeology, archaeobotany, dating methods) to interpret past human activities. Britannica. Museums and archives are key research infrastructures; for example, the Smithsonian’s Department of Anthropology stewards one of the world’s largest collections across ethnology, archaeology, and human skeletal biology. Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
Historical development
Nineteenth‑century evolutionism helped frame the discipline’s early questions; E. B. Tylor’s Primitive Culture (1871) defined culture as a complex whole of knowledge, belief, art, law, morals, custom, and other capacities acquired by humans as members of society. [Primitive Culture](book://Edward B. Tylor|Primitive Culture|John Murray|1871). Early twentieth‑century American anthropology, led by Franz Boas, advanced cultural relativism and rigorous, empirically grounded studies of particular histories, languages, and cultures, reshaping the discipline’s methods and ethics. Britannica; Britannica. In Britain, functionalist and structural‑functionalist approaches developed by scholars including Bronisław Malinowski and A. R. Radcliffe‑Brown emphasized the interdependence of social institutions and the integrative functions of social structure. Britannica; Britannica; Britannica. Mid‑century structuralism associated with Claude Lévi-Strauss investigated universal cognitive structures underlying kinship, myth, and symbolic systems, drawing on structural linguistics. Britannica; Britannica. Later interpretive and symbolic anthropology, notably Clifford Geertz’s “thick description,” treated culture as webs of meaning that require contextual interpretation. [Geertz, The Interpretation of Cultures](book://Clifford Geertz|The Interpretation of Cultures|Basic Books|1973); Britannica.
Ethics, stewardship, and applied practice
Anthropologists work within explicit ethical frameworks emphasizing obligations to collaborators, communities, and records. The American Anthropological Association articulates seven Principles of Professional Responsibility—do no harm; openness and honesty; informed consent; weighing ethical obligations; accessibility of results; protection and preservation of records; and respectful professional relationships—that guide research, teaching, and application. AAA Ethics; AAA Ethics Forum. In the United States, the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA, 1990) governs the protection and repatriation of Native American human remains and cultural items, establishing processes for museums and federal agencies in consultation with Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations; the Department of the Interior has updated regulations to strengthen implementation. National Park Service—NAGPRA overview; NPS—The Law; NPS—Final Rule announcement; Britannica. Applied anthropology uses the discipline’s theories and methods to address practical problems in domains such as public health, education, design, heritage management, and environmental planning, often combining qualitative and quantitative approaches and working as “culture brokers” across institutions and communities. Britannica; Britannica.
Institutions and publishing
Professional societies help coordinate research and public engagement. The American Anthropological Association (founded 1902) is the largest U.S. professional organization, supporting more than 20 journals and numerous sections across subfields; its flagship journal is American Anthropologist. AAA—About; American Anthropologist—About; AAA–Wiley partnership. The Royal Anthropological Institute (RAI, established in its present form in 1871) is a long‑standing U.K. association supporting scholarship, public events, major archives, and the Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute. RAI—History and Mission; RAI—Strategic Plan. Biological anthropologists coordinate through the American Association of Biological Anthropologists (AABA), which advances research and publishes the American Journal of Biological Anthropology and the Yearbook of Biological Anthropology. AABA. Museums and archives, such as those of the Smithsonian and the RAI/British Museum Anthropology Library, serve as repositories and research hubs. Smithsonian NMNH; RAI Anthropology Library.
Contemporary areas and trends
Contemporary anthropological work spans medical and environmental anthropology, science and technology studies, digital and multimodal ethnography, heritage and repatriation policy, and public/applied practice, reflecting the field’s position at the nexus of sciences and humanities and its engagement with pressing social issues. Britannica; AAA Strategic Plan 2021–2026.
Britannica.
AABA.