[1][2] A 2013 re-assessment of the evidence has indicated that the idea of four-field anthropology has a more complex 19th-century history in Europe and North America.
[3] It is most likely that the approach was being used simultaneously in different parts of the world, but was not widely discussed until it was being taught at the collegiate level in the United States, Germany, England, and France by 1902.
[4] For Boas, the four-field approach was motivated by his holistic approach to the study of human behavior, which included integrated analytical attention to culture history, material culture, anatomy and population history, customs and social organization, folklore, grammar and language use.
[5] However, it is widely accepted that a complete four-field analysis is needed in order to accurately and fully explain an anthropological topic.
in almost an omnipotent way, meaning that having knowledge from all perspectives helps to eliminate bias and/or incorrect assumptions of past and present cultures.