ETHNOLOGY

n. study of the historical development of different cultures (Anthropology)

Ethnology (from the Greek ethnos, meaning "people") is the branch of anthropology that compares and analyses the origins, distribution, technology, religion, language, and social structure of the racial or national divisions of humanity. Compared to ethnography, the study of single groups through direct contact with the culture, ethnology takes the research that ethnographers have compiled and then compares and contrasts different cultures.
See more at Wikipedia.org...

Ethnology /eth·nol·o·gy/ the science dealing with the major cultural groups of humans, their descent, relationship, etc. [more]Ethnology - Community and Resources

Noun
1. the branch of anthropology that deals with the division of humankind into races and with their origins and distribution and distinctive characteristics
(hypernym) anthropology

(n.)
The science which treats of the division of mankind into races, their origin, distribution, and relations, and the peculiarities which characterize them.