Anthropology is a broad, holistic field that seeks to understand human adaptation to natural and social environments. It is the most humanistic science and most scientific study of humanity.

The holistic part comes from the four subfields of anthropology which are biological (physical) anthropology, cultural anthropology, linguistic anthropology, and archaeology; these four subfields allow for the study of all aspects of humanity. These subfields also encompass a variety of sub-disciplines including genetics, primatology, anatomy, biochemistry, language development and evolution, behavioral studies, and historical archaeology.? Anthropology provides unique methodologies and theoretical perspectives in systematically examining and understanding the human condition and experience. As an interdisciplinary pursuit, anthropology incorporates and draws upon diverse fields and areas of research such as human anatomy and physiology, folklore, biology, geography, geology, history, psychology, and zoology.

Anthropologists study peoples' physical makeup, culturally-conditioned personality, political and economic organizations, ideologies and religious beliefs, languages, and material culture. Cultural anthropologists once focused almost entirely on non-western, tribal traditions. Today anthropologists study the global transformations of modern industrial states and interactions with local-level, indigenous communities and displaced human groups. Biological and archaeological anthropologists study the evolution of humanity over millions of years, including the earliest evidence for Homo sapiens in Africa, the beginnings of food production, and development of complex societies and civilizations. They also focus their studies locally on the origins and history of local peoples, such as the Acadians, and past populations. The subject matter of anthropology is global and timeless.