# Anthropology

By [fallup.eth](https://paragraph.com/@fallup) · 2022-11-06

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**anthropology**, “the [science](https://www.britannica.com/science/science) of humanity,” which studies human beings in aspects ranging from the [biology](https://www.britannica.com/science/biology) and evolutionary [history](https://www.britannica.com/topic/history) of _Homo sapiens_ to the features of society and [culture](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/culture) that decisively distinguish humans from other animal species. Because of the [diverse](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/diverse) subject matter it [encompasses](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/encompasses), anthropology has become, especially since the middle of the 20th century, a collection of more specialized fields. Physical anthropology is the branch that concentrates on the biology and evolution of humanity. It is discussed in greater detail in the article [human evolution](https://www.britannica.com/science/human-evolution). The branches that study the social and cultural constructions of human groups are variously recognized as belonging to [cultural anthropology](https://www.britannica.com/science/cultural-anthropology) (or ethnology), social anthropology, linguistic anthropology, and [psychological anthropology](https://www.britannica.com/science/culture-and-personality-studies) (_see below_). Archaeology (_see below_), as the method of investigation of prehistoric [cultures](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cultures), has been an [integral](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/integral) part of anthropology since it became a self-conscious [discipline](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/discipline) in the latter half of the 19th century. (For a longer treatment of the history of archaeology, _see_ [archaeology](https://www.britannica.com/science/archaeology).)

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*Originally published on [fallup.eth](https://paragraph.com/@fallup/anthropology)*