Cultural anthropology is a social science that studies the origins and development of human societies (History World International, 2001). Many theories have emerged to explain cultural variations among humans. As a result, since the 19th century, numerous anthropological schools of thought have formed based on these theories. These schools of thought encompass the dominant beliefs about culture over a period of time and constantly change as new knowledge is acquired. As schools of thought developed, ethnographic methods also changed and developed. Fieldwork is an ethnographic method that has been implemented in all anthropological schools of thought. It involves gathering data and information about a specific culture by observing and interacting within the society's natural environment (History World International, 2001). Cultural evolutionists, historical anthropologists, and functionalists have all used various approaches and incorporated fieldwork differently into their school of thought. During the nineteenth century, Charles Darwin and Herbert Spencer both developed theories of biological evolution that were accepted by scholars in Britain and America (McGee & Warms, 2008). These theories were applied to cultural studies and the anthropological school of cultural evolution was developed. The dominant belief was that all cultures developed in a universal, continuous sequence from primitive to complex, known as unilinear evolution (McGee & Warms, 2008). Therefore, it was thought that a more primitive society could be studied to learn about the evolutionary history of an advanced culture. This was known as the comparative method (McGee & Warms, 2008). As a result, field work was practically useless. But...... middle of the paper....... Becoming more efficient each time in helping anthropologists gain in-depth insight into the new theories and knowledge that will be obtained. Works Cited History World International. (2001). The International History Project: Anthropology. Retrieved from http://history-world.org/anthropology.htmHoey, B. A. (2011). What is ethnography? Retrieved from http://www.brianhoey.com/General%20Site/general_defn-ethnography.htmMcGee, R. J., & Warms, R. L. (2008). Anthropological Theory: An Introductory History (4th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill. Radcliffe-Brown, A. R. (1968). In the International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. Retrieved from http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Alfred_Reginald_Radcliffe-Brown.aspxTooker, E. (1992). Lewis H. Morgan and his contemporaries. American Anthropologist, 94, 357-375. http://www.aaanet.org/sections/gad/history/051tooker.pdf