Final answer:
Early physical anthropology focused on racial typology, but in 1951, a paradigm shift led by Sherwood Washburn redirected its focus to human evolution and biological diversity through methodologies including paleoanthropology and primatology.
Step-by-step explanation:
For much of its early history, physical anthropology was principally involved with racial typology—classifying humans into various races based on physical characteristics—and this approach was spearheaded by the methodologies adopted before the mid-20th century. This involved measuring skulls, bones, and other body parts to assert racial differences and hierarchies. However, the field experienced a paradigm shift with the introduction of a "new physical anthropology" by American anthropologist Sherwood Washburn in 1951. The focus transitioned away from racial typology towards a comprehensive examination of human evolution, the evolutionary process, and how these elements intersect with human biological diversity.
This shift marked the beginning of modern anthropology, which expanded to include fields like paleoanthropology (the study of human and primate evolution through fossils) and primatology (the study of nonhuman primates), as well as genetic anthropology and bioarchaeology. Biological anthropology employs these multiple methodologies to address its central concerns: the exploration of human biological variation, and understanding of our species' evolution and place within the natural world.