The History Of Anthropology

Anthropology is a science of humanity with studies human beings in aspects from the biology and evolutionary history of homo sapiens to the feature of society and culture that decisively distinguish them from other animal species. Because of the diverse subject matter, it 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. The branches that study the social and cultural construction of human groups are variously recognized as belonging to culture and anthropology.

Archaeology as the method of investigation of prehistoric cultures has been an integral part of anthropology since it became a self-conscious discipline in the latter half of the 19th century. Throughout its existence as an academic discipline, Anthropology has been located at the intersection of natural science and humanities. The biological evolution of homo sapiens and the evolution of capacity of culture and distinction between humans from all other species are indistinguishable from one another. while the evolution of the human species is a biological development like the process that gave rise to the other species, the historical appearance of the capacity for culture initiates a qualitative departure from another form of adaptation based on extraordinary variable creativity not directly link to survival and ecological adaptation. The historical patterns and processes are associated with culture as a medium for growth and change, and the diversity is and convergence of culture through history and those major foci of Anthropology research. In the middle of the 20th century the distinct field of research that separated anthropologists into specialties were:

(1) Physical Anthropology: Emphasizing the biological process and endowment that distinguishes homo sapiens from other species.

(2) Archaeology: Based on the physical remnant of post-culture and former conditions of contemporary cultures, usually found buried in the earth.

(3) Linguistic Anthropology: Emphasizing the unique human capacity to communicate through articulate speech and the diverse languages of humankind.

(4) Social Anthropology: Emphasizing the cultural system that distinguishes human societies from one another and the pattern of social organization associated with these systems.