Anthropology is normally split into four subfields:
cultural anthropology,
archaeology,
linguistics, and physical or
biological anthropology. The word anthropology itself comes from the
Greek word
anthropos meaning "human" or "man", and
logia meaning "study".
Physical Anthropology is a forever changing and fascinating field. New discoveries and new interpretations are constantly bringing about new insights and many of the issues pertaining to physical anthropology deal with issues in
today's world. In essense, it is the
biocultural approach to understanding the human condition, such as human diversity, the biological history and
evolution of our species and the biocultural factors which have shaped human bioplogy and populations in the past and present. Studies also branch out to our close relatives, the nonhuman
primates.
The distinction of physical anthropology from
sociology or archaeology is its reliance on biologic and physical data and its focus on human bones rather than
past cultures.