Anthropology studies humanity from cultural, social, linguistic, psychological and physical aspects, investigating, recording and analyzing changes, patterns and structures in the lives of people across the planet. Anthropology branches into American and European schools, with Eastern countries recently initiating their own independent research. There are many anthropological approaches, which led to the emergence of numerous specializations and subfields of study.

Early American anthropologists explained the progress of humanity in social evolutionary terms, starting from the "primitive" tribes and ending with modern mega-cities. European scientists opposed the idea of an ordered linear development and suggested a more loose progression with inter-cultural dialogue and exchange at its core.

The first anthropologists were mainly theorists who relied on information recorded by travelers, missionaries and colonial bureaucrats. Later anthropology involved fieldwork, Americans focusing on their native peoples and Europeans on the indigenous populations of their colonies.

During the 20th century, anthropology branched into many specialized fields of study. Far Eastern and African Nations have initiated their own research, the results of which often clash with traditional Western currents of thought.