Anthropology Practice Test 2025 – The Comprehensive All-in-One Guide for Exam Success

The perspective of four-field anthropology has been significantly shaped by the early American anthropologists' focus on Native Americans. This early interest led to the establishment of a holistic approach to anthropology, which encompasses cultural anthropology, archaeology, linguistic anthropology, and biological anthropology. The work of pioneering figures, such as Franz Boas and his contemporaries, centered on understanding the diverse cultures, languages, and historical contexts of Native American peoples, fostering a comprehensive view of human societies.

This foundational emphasis on indigenous populations helped set the stage for anthropology as a discipline that seeks to examine human behavior in its cultural context, shed light on historical developments, and address the complexities of human biology. The incorporation of multiple subfields ensures that anthropologists consider various factors in their research, rather than limiting themselves to a singular aspect of human experience, such as biology alone, which would not capture the full extent of human diversity.

Thus, the correct answer reflects how the early focus on Native American cultures influenced the establishment of anthropology as a four-field discipline concerned with understanding humanity in a multifaceted manner.