Final answer:
An anthropologist studying the cultures of living peoples engages in cultural anthropology, which involves immersive fieldwork techniques such as participant observation to deeply understand and describe contemporary societies and their varied cultural practices.
Step-by-step explanation:
When an anthropologist is studying cultures of living peoples, he is engaging in the subfield known as cultural anthropology. This area of study is dedicated to observing, documenting, and understanding the social practices, norms, values, and material artifacts of contemporary societies. Cultural anthropologists often employ fieldwork and participant observation as methods to gather in-depth insights into a community's way of life. Through immersive experiences, they may live amongst the people they study, often for extended periods, to write ethnographies and analyze the complex interplay between individuals, their environment, and cultural expressions such as art, language, and social structures.
Several famous studies, like Bronislaw Malinowski's work on the Trobriand Islanders and their kula ring system, highlight the relevance and depth of cultural anthropology. Cultural anthropologists also contribute to our knowledge by studying environmental impacts on cultural practices, the development of subsistence strategies, and the myriad ways in which human cultures create and interpret their existence.