The four-field approach in

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of be ...

sees the discipline as composed of the four sub fields of

Archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landsc ...

Linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Ling ...

Physical Anthropology Biological anthropology, also known as physical anthropology, is a scientific discipline concerned with the biological and behavioral aspects of human beings, their extinct hominin ancestors, and related non-human primates, particularly from an e ...

and

Cultural Anthropology Cultural anthropology is a branch of anthropology focused on the study of cultural variation among humans. It is in contrast to social anthropology, which perceives cultural variation as a subset of a posited anthropological constant. The portma ...

(known jocularly to students as "stones", "tones", "bones" and "thrones"). The approach is conventionally understood as having been developed by

Franz Boas Franz Uri Boas (July 9, 1858 – December 21, 1942) was a German-American anthropologist and a pioneer of modern anthropology who has been called the "Father of American Anthropology". His work is associated with the movements known as historical ...

who developed the discipline of anthropology in the United States. A 2013 re-assessment of the evidence has indicated that the idea of four-field anthropology has a more complex 19th-century history in Europe and North America. It is most likely that the approach was being used simultaneously in different parts of the world, but was not widely discussed until it was being taught at the collegiate level in the United States, Germany, England, and France by 1902. For Boas, the four-field approach was motivated by his

holistic Holism () is the idea that various systems (e.g. physical, biological, social) should be viewed as wholes, not merely as a collection of parts. The term "holism" was coined by Jan Smuts in his 1926 book '' Holism and Evolution''."holism, n." OED On ...

approach to the study of human behavior, which included integrated analytical attention to culture history, material culture,

anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having i ...

and population history, customs and social organization,

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, rangin ...

, grammar and language use. For most of the 20th century, U.S. anthropology departments housed anthropologists specializing in all of the four branches, but with the increasing professionalization and specialization, elements such as

linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Ling ...

and

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landsc ...

came to be regarded largely as separate disciplines. Today, physical anthropologists often collaborate more closely with biology and medicine than with cultural anthropology.Borofsky, R. (2002), "The Four Subfields: Anthropologists as Mythmakers". ''American Anthropologist'', 104: 463–480. However, it is widely accepted that a complete four field analysis is needed in order to accurately and fully explain an anthropological topic. The four-field approach is dependent on collaboration. However, collaboration, in any field can get costly. To counter this, the four-field approach is often taught to students as they go through college courses.Kelso, Jack. “Teaching Anthropology and The Four‐Field Approach.” ''Anthropology News (Arlington, Va.)'', vol. 44, no. 8, 2003, pp. 24–25. By teaching all four disciplines, the anthropological field is able to produce scholars that are knowledgable of all subfields. However, it is common, and often recommended for an anthropologist to have a specialization. The four field approach also encourages scholars to look holistically at an artifact, ecofact, data etc. in almost an omnipotent way. Meaning, having knowledge from all perspectives helps to eliminate bias and/or incorrect assumptions of past and present cultures.

References

Anthropology {{anthropology-stub