Meanings
- uncountableanthropologyThe branch of anthropology that studies physical aspects of human beings and closely related species.
In the meantime I must briefly refer to the doubt that has often been raised about the utility of minute measurements, deep studies of physical anthropology, statistical tables, and elaborate maps,
1890, Gerson Da Cunah, “The nasal index in biological anthropology”, in The Journal of the Anthropological Society of Bombay, page 5331 more example
By the end of the century, the APS’s membership included the leaders of the American anthropological establishment, whose primary investigative interests were the ethnography, linguistics, archeology, and physical anthropology of the American Indian, within a theoretical structure that was essentially historical.
1997, Jacob W. Gruber, “American Philosophical Society”, in History of Physical Anthropology, page 64Synonyms: biological anthropology
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe branch of anthropology that studies physical aspects of human beings and closely related species.
Origin
Compound of physical + anthropology. Attested from the 19th century.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
physical anthropology. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/physical%20anthropology
“physical anthropology.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/physical%20anthropology. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “physical anthropology,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/physical%20anthropology.
Source: physical anthropology on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.