The Difference Between Anthropologists And Archeologists Explained

You say potato, I say po-tah-to. You say psychologist, I say psychiatrist. It's all the same, right? Wrong. When it comes to semantics, the difference of a few letters can make all the difference. Take the real difference between a pandemic and an epidemic, for example. Or the difference between a coroner and a medical examiner — titles that are sometimes used interchangeably despite the qualifications and responsibilities attached to each differing significantly.

Similarly, if you assumed an anthropologist and an archaeologist were one and the same, you'd be wrong there, too. Though both involve the study of human societies and behaviors, the ways in which they study them are what differentiate the two fields. In fact, according to the American Anthropological Association (AAA), archeology is considered one of the four branches of anthropology, along with human biology, cultural anthropology, and linguistics. So, what are the key differences between the two? Let's dig a little deeper.

According to Merriam-Webster, anthropology is "the study of human beings and their ancestors through time and space and in relation to physical character, environmental and social relations, and culture." Culture is one of anthropology's primary areas of focus. For example, a cultural anthropologist might travel to a different community to conduct interviews in order to learn how the people within that community live and how it compares to the way they've functioned in the past. This method of research is called ethnography, which Britannica says "requires the complete immersion of the anthropologist in the culture and everyday life of the people who are the subject of his study."

Within the study of other cultures is a branch called linguistic anthropology. A linguistic anthropologist pays attention to what people say when engaging in different activities, looking for patterns in speech and how they relate to specific social situations. Meanwhile, a biological anthropologist — also referred to as a physical anthropologist — focuses on the physical evolution of humans, oftentimes studying primates since they are considered our closest living relatives. The fourth branch of anthropology is archaeology, which proves the overlap between the two fields. However, aside from sharing some of the same letters and a focus on human studies, the two are substantially different in their research methods.

As mentioned before, archaeology is considered a branch of anthropology, and its aim is to understand human societies by studying their behaviors and digging into their cultural past. Per Britannica, archaeology is defined as "the scientific study of the material remains of past human life and activities." In essence, though both fields dig into similar questions about the history of humanity and the way societies function the way they do, they use different shovels, so to speak, to excavate the answers.

If you've seen "The Mummy" (although there are some things the movie gets wrong about archaeology), you may be familiar with the methods of an archaeologist. Instead of studying people and communities, they primarily study physical objects, excavating remains by conducting archaeological digs. These digs can take place at a number of significant sites, such as burial grounds, ancient settlements, and historic structures, unearthing everything from prehistoric man-made tools to ancient artifacts that are said to be cursed. Though it can take anywhere from months to years of digging and analyzing artifacts, all that dirty work can pay off, leading to important archaeological finds that change history — and also help us understand it.