The word ethnology is composed of Greek voices, built from "ethnos" which means "people" or "nation", in addition to "logos" which means "study" or "treatise" and by the suffix "ia" of alludes to a "quality"; so it can be understood that it is a science that deals with the study of the customs of human peoples. The RAE declares that ethnology is the "Science that studies the causes and reasons for the customs and traditions of peoples." This discipline as part of the social sciences and cultural diversity is supported by the complete analysis of the productions and inventions of everything concerning the different existing human social groups.
In general, ethnology seeks to study and establish the different relationships between the characteristics of the various human groups based on their different aspects and elements such as the relationship or kinship that world societies have and their influence on it; religions and symbolic expressions that transcend history; subsistence in addition to the economic systems of civilizations; It also includes the different social and family organizations and political systems; but it is in cultural diversity on which ethnology is most based that culture is understood as a plurality.
The Franciscan missionary, Bernardino de Sahagún is considered as the father of ethnology, this character made great writings on ethnic groups, one of them called "General History of the Things of New Spain" which dealt with an analysis of the characteristics of ethnic groups with scientific criteria; I also elaborate a bilingual work, since it was written in Spanish and in the Nahuatl language.
Years ago ethnology was considered as the one that dealt with the study of those societies "without writing" or primitive; but due to its great controversy, the term "primitive" was rejected because it can be perceived as something wild or barbarous; Well, that is how the authors of the 19th century saw it, so this meaning of this human science was removed.
