paleoanthropology
Academic field studying ancient human ancestors through fossils and artifacts.
He conducts excavation research in Africa as a paleoanthropology researcher.
人類学 is general anthropology, while 古人類学 specifically studies ancient human ancestors.
考古学 is archaeology, focusing on human history through material remains, whereas 古人類学 focuses on biological and evolutionary aspects of early humans.
Compound of 古 (こ, 'ancient'), 人類 (じんるい, 'humanity'), and 学 (がく, 'study').