Final answer:
Early Physical Anthropology focused on racial classification, which has been replaced by Modern Physical Anthropologists' exploration of human origin, evolution, and diversity through disciplines like paleoanthropology and primatology.
Step-by-step explanation:
When comparing Early Physical Anthropology to Modern Physical Anthropologists, we observe a significant shift in goals and approaches. Early Physical Anthropology, formalized with the establishment of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists in 1930, was initially focused on racial typology and classification, which has now been widely discredited and often associated with scientific racism. Consequently, there was a move to rebrand the field to the American Association of Biological Anthropologists to reflect modern values and scientific approaches. In 1951, anthropologist Sherwood Washburn introduced what he termed the "new physical anthropology", turning the field's attention from race towards the study of human evolution and the evolutionary process. This paved the way for the incorporation of disciplines like paleoanthropology and primatology into anthropology. Early anthropologists were also deeply interested in cross-cultural comparisons through ethnology, which contributed to our understanding of relationships and migrations among indigenous societies. Contrastingly, modern biological anthropologists explore the deepest past of humanity, aiming to understand what it means to be human, and focus on human origins, evolution, and diversity. They employ various scientific methods, including genetics, fossil study, and the examination of human traits and behaviors in our primate relatives. Biological anthropology has thereby expanded to involve multiple areas of study like human biological variation, bioarchaeology, and genetic anthropology, reflecting a broader and more evolved set of interests and techniques than earlier anthropological pursuits.