History of anthropology

The author traces the development of anthropological inquiry from early anatomical and classificatory work through nineteenth-century craniology, anthropometry, and debates over human origins, discussing methods, key theorists, and controversies such as polygenism versus monogenism. He surveys evidence for ancient and fossil humans, comparative and folk psychology, and systems for racial classification and distribution. Attention then shifts to cultural anthropology, outlining sources and methods of ethnology, the role of travellers and missionaries, and the emergence of archaeology via flint finds, cave and lake-dwelling discoveries. The account summarizes the discipline’s evolving methods, measurements, and interpretive frameworks across its principal subfields.