Cultural anthropology studies the beliefs, values, practices, ideas, technologies and economies of a group of people. Anthropologists in this field apply their theories by participant observation, which involves immersing themselves in cultures in order to compile the research necessary for valid evaluation. They also perform cross-cultural comparisons between two or more cultures and conduct interviews and surveys. One of the main tenets of cultural anthropology is cultural relativism, or the belief that cultures should be evaluated on their own terms rather than being judged on Western or Eastern standards.
Biological anthropology deals with the biology and social behavior of a group of people, and is sometimes referred to as biosocial science. Biological anthropologists study the remains of people from the past or examine the characteristics of living people in a specific cultural group. This branch of anthropology focuses on biosocial variation -- including age variation, sexual variation, family variation and reproductive variation -- and evolution within a group. Biological anthropologists spend their time conducting field research in locales such as Africa and Latin America. They often study primates to assess human evolution, and employ archaeological methods to examine skeletal remains. Biosocial variation within a group helps biological anthropologists make evaluations about child growth, health and nutrition that promotes better ways for a group to adapt to its environment.
Archaeology is the study of humans from the past and relies on fossilized remains to make assessments about the nature, behavior and activity of the earliest known human ancestors. Archaeology is distinct from other approaches to anthropology because it is the only discipline that does not rely on the practical examination of living human groups. Archaeologists use fossils and remains to piece together clues that help them gain a broader understanding of human ancestral behavior and ancient cultures.
Linguistic anthropology is the examination of the relationship between communication and culture, and is concerned with the specific ways people relay and receive information. Linguistic anthropologists focus on the use of language in social contexts, the way languages differ and evolve over time and the use of nonverbal communication such as gestures, facial expressions and body language. Though linguistic anthropologists primarily study humans, there is a subdivision of study concerned with primate communication, given their evolutionary similarity to human beings.