The Study of Anthropology Anthropology studies the behavior and biology of the human species, both current and past, often drawing on information from the social and biological sciences. Cultural anthropology exposes students to ways of life, belief systems, and value systems that differ from their own, examining the ways in which cultures deal with universal human problems, from the basic needs of food and shelter to the metaphysical questions of existence. Typical subjects for cultural anthropology include ecology and subsistence techniques, economics, political systems, religion, and cultural change. Archaeology deals with cultures of the past. Archaeologists search for and study the material remains of past cultural activity and try to reconstruct the behavior patterns, technology, and social customs of people who no longer exist.
Physical anthropology focuses on the biological aspects of the human species.
Physical anthropologists study the fossil evidence to determine how evolution has influenced human behavior and biology. Studies of biological variability in modern populations are also part of this discipline, since many physical differences among populations are the result of their having adapted to different environments.