anthropology
n. the study of human beings. This typically involves the description and explanation of similarities and differences among human groups in their languages, aesthetic expressions, belief systems, and social structures over the range of human geography and chronology. Physical anthropology focuses on the origin, evolution, and environmental adaptation of human groups, whereas sociocultural anthropology is concerned with the development and functioning of customs, beliefs, and institutions. Outside of the United States, this latter subdivision is often called ethnology. —anthropological
adj.
—anthropologist
n.