Excerpt from Physical Anthropology: Its Scope and Aims; Its History and Present Status in the United States An understanding of whatsoever exists, formulated and preserved in memory or in writing, is knowledge; and systematic search for knowl edge, on the basis of existing foundations of learning, is science. Being of the utmost utility, science constitutes the most important intel lectual function of mankind. A branch of science may be defined as a portion of systematized research that extends to closely related phenomena and has become the special function of a class of qualified observers. One of the most interesting and far-reaching of such branches is Anthropology. This has been frequently but somewhat vaguely defined as the science of man; perhaps a more fitting definition would be the comparative science of man, for its main characteristic, the criterium in fact, which differentiates it from many closely related branches of science, is that of comparison. More specifically Anthropology may also be defined as that portion of systematic research which deals with the differences, and causes of the differences, in structure, in function, and in all other manifestations of mankind, according to time, variety, place, and condition. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.