Learning about physical differences

Where did people come from? Why do people have different skin colors?
Why are some groups of people taller or shorter than others? These are
some of the questions that scientists called physical anthropologists
want to answer.

Some physical anthropologists hunt for, and study, the bones of
humanlike creatures that lived millions of years ago. They try to find
out how people have changed, how they have become the way they are.

Other physical anthropologists study living people. They look for
answers to many questions. Why do people have curly hair, or straight
hair, or kinky hair? Why do our heads have different shapes?

Dr. Louis Leakey

Dr. Leakey was a famous physical anthropologist. He discovered the bones
of humanlike creatures that scientists believe lived nearly two million
years ago.

anthropologists searching for fossils

Some physical anthropologists search for fossils—the bones

\< of prehistoric people. This is the Olduvai Gorge in Africa, where
many fossils and ancient tools have been found.