Anthropology

== Key topics by field: archaeological and biological ==
{{main|Archaeological|Biological anthropology}}

=== Anthrozoology ===
{{main|Anthrozoology}}
[[Anthrozoology]] (also known as "human–animal studies") is the study of interaction between living things. It is an [[interdisciplinary]] field that overlaps with a number of other disciplines, including anthropology, [[ethology]], medicine, [[psychology]], [[veterinary medicine]] and [[zoology]]. A major focus of anthrozoologic research is the quantifying of the positive effects of human-animal relationships on either party and the study of their interactions.<ref>Mills, Daniel S (2010). [https://books.google.com/books?id=vrueZDfPUzoC&pg=PA28 "Anthrozoology"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160603184431/https://books.google.com/books?id=vrueZDfPUzoC&pg=PA28 |date=3 June 2016 }}, ''The Encyclopedia of Applied Animal Behaviour and Welfare''. CABI, pp. 28–30. {{ISBN|0-85199-724-4}}.</ref> It includes scholars from a diverse range of fields, including anthropology, sociology, biology, and philosophy.<ref>DeMello, Margo (2010). ''Teaching the Animal: Human–Animal Studies Across the Disciplines''. Lantern Books. p. xi. {{ISBN|1-59056-168-6}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.animalsandsociety.org/content/index.php?pid=41 |title=Animals & Society Institute |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130625044717/http://www.animalsandsociety.org/content/index.php?pid=41 |archive-date=25 June 2013 |access-date=23 February 2011}}</ref>{{refn|group=n|Anthrozoology should not be confused with "[[animal studies]]", which often refers to [[animal testing]].}}

=== Biocultural ===
{{main|Biocultural anthropology}}
Biocultural anthropology is the [[scientific]] exploration of the relationships between [[human biology]] and culture. [[Biological anthropology|Physical anthropologists]] throughout the first half of the 20th century viewed this relationship from a [[Race (classification of human beings)|racial]] perspective; that is, from the assumption that [[Typology (anthropology)|typological]] human biological differences lead to cultural differences.<ref name=Biocult_syn>{{cite book |editor-last=Goodman |editor-first=Alan H. |editor-link=Alan H. Goodman |editor-last2=Leatherman |editor-first2=Thomas L. |title=Building A New Biocultural Synthesis |publisher=University of Michigan Press |year=1998 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T8ZhpG_B_6MC |isbn=978-0-472-06606-3 |access-date=6 September 2020 |archive-date=16 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130616142101/http://books.google.com/books?id=T8ZhpG_B_6MC |url-status=live }}</ref> After World War II the emphasis began to shift toward an effort to explore the role culture plays in shaping human biology.

=== Evolutionary ===
{{main|Evolutionary anthropology}}
Evolutionary anthropology is the interdisciplinary study of the [[human evolution|evolution]] of [[human physiology]] and [[human behaviour]] and the relation between [[hominins]] and non-hominin [[primate]]s. Evolutionary anthropology is based in [[natural science]] and [[social science]], combining the [[Human development (biology)|human development]] with socioeconomic factors. Evolutionary anthropology is concerned with both biological and cultural evolution of humans, past and present. It is based on a [[scientific]] approach, and brings together fields such as [[archaeology]], [[behavioral ecology]], [[psychology]], [[primatology]], and [[genetics]]. It is a dynamic and [[interdisciplinary]] field, drawing on many lines of evidence to understand the human experience, past and present.

=== Forensic ===
{{main|Forensic anthropology}}
Forensic anthropology is the application of the science of [[physical anthropology]] and human [[osteology]] in a legal setting, most often in criminal cases where the victim's remains are in the advanced stages of [[decomposition]]. A forensic anthropologist can assist in the identification of deceased individuals whose remains are decomposed, burned, mutilated or otherwise unrecognizable. The adjective "forensic" refers to the application of this subfield of science to a court of law.

=== Palaeoanthropology ===
{{main|Palaeoanthropology}}
[[File:LuzonensisMolars.jpg|thumb|Five of the seven known fossil teeth of ''[[Homo luzonensis]]'' found in [[Callao Cave]]]]
Paleoanthropology combines the disciplines of [[paleontology]] and [[physical anthropology]]. It is the study of ancient humans, as found in [[fossil]] [[Hominidae|hominid]] evidence such as [[Petrifaction|petrifacted]] bones and footprints. Genetics and morphology of specimens are crucially important to this field.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Kelso|first1=Janet|last2=Pääbo|first2=Svante|last3=Meyer|first3=Matthias|last4=Prüfer|first4=Kay|last5=Reich|first5=David|last6=Patterson|first6=Nick|last7=Slatkin|first7=Montgomery|last8=Nickel|first8=Birgit|last9=Nagel|first9=Sarah|date=March 2018|title=Reconstructing the genetic history of late Neanderthals|journal=Nature|language=en|volume=555|issue=7698|pages=652–656|doi=10.1038/nature26151|pmid=29562232|pmc=6485383|issn=1476-4687|url=https://openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/bitstream/handle/1887/70268/Hajdinjak_2018_T.pdf?sequence=1|bibcode=2018Natur.555..652H|hdl=1887/70268|access-date=24 September 2019|archive-date=28 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190428034102/https://openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/bitstream/handle/1887/70268/Hajdinjak_2018_T.pdf?sequence=1|url-status=live}}</ref> Markers on specimens, such as [[enamel fracture]]s and [[Tooth decay|dental decay]] on [[Tooth|teeth]], can also give insight into the behaviour and diet of past populations.<ref>{{Cite journal |doi= 10.1002/ajpa.23250 |pmid=28542710|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/317189250|title=Behavioral inferences from the high levels of dental chipping in Homo naledi|journal=American Journal of Physical Anthropology|volume=164|issue=1|pages=184–192|year=2017|last1=Towle|first1=Ian|last2=Irish|first2=Joel D.|last3=De Groote|first3=Isabelle|s2cid=24296825 }}</ref>