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Anthropology (, from Greek , anthrōpos, "human"; -λογία, -logia) is the study of humanity. Anthropology has origins in the natural sciences, and the humanities.Wolf, Eric (1994) Perilous Ideas: Race, Culture, People. Current Anthropology 35: 1-7. p.227 Ethnography is both one of its primary methods and the text that is written as a result of the practice of anthropology and its elements. The German philosophers Magnus Hundt and Otto Casmann are regarded as the founders of modern anthropology since they invented and popularized the term.

Since the work of Franz Boas and Bronisław Malinowski in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, anthropology has been distinguished from other social science disciplines by its emphasis on in-depth examination of context, cross-cultural comparisons (socio-cultural anthropology is by nature a comparative discipline), and the importance it places on long-term, experiential immersion in the area of research, often known as participant-observation. Cultural anthropology in particular has emphasized cultural relativity and the use of findings to frame cultural critiques. This has been particularly prominent in the United States, from Boas's arguments against 19th-century racial ideology, through Margaret Mead's advocacy for gender equality and sexual liberation, to current criticisms of post-colonial oppression and promotion of multiculturalism.