Chapter Two

Human Cultures and Ties That Connect

2.1 Conceptualizing Culture

Definition of Culture
 The term culture is not used with consistent meanings. It is used with various meanings in
Common-sense. Anthropologists and sociologists define culture in different ways. Some
of their definition have been quoted below:
 A widely accepted and the more comprehensive definition of culture wasprovidedBy the
British anthropologist Edward B. Tylor. He defined culture as “a complex whole which
includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits
acquired by man as a member of society”.
 B. Malinowski has defined culture “as cumulative creation of man". He regarded culture
as the handiwork of man and the medium through which he achieves his ends.
 Robert Bierstedt says, “Culture is the complex whole that consists of everything we think
and do and have as members of society.” Combining several of these definitions, we
may define culture as the common way of life shared by a group of people. It includes all
things beyond nature and biology.
 Culture therefore, is moral, intellectual and spiritual discipline for advancement, in
accordance with the norms and values based on accumulated heritage. Culture is a system
of learned behavior shared by and transmitted among the members of the group.
 Culture is a collective heritage learned by individuals and passed from one generation to
another. The individual receives culture as part of social heritage and in turn, may
reshape the culture and introduce changes which then become part of the heritage of
succeeding generations.

2.2 Characteristic of Culture

1. Culture Is Learned: Culture is not transmitted genetically rather; it is acquired through the
process of learning or interacting with one’s environment. More than any other species human
relies for their Survival on behavior patterns that are learned.
 Human have no instinct, which genetically programmed to direct to behave in a particular
way. This process of acquiring culture after we born is called enculturation.
 Enculturation is specifically defined as the process by which an individual learns the
rules and values of one’s culture.

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2. Culture Is Shared: For a thing, idea, or behavior pattern to qualify as being “cultural” it must
have a shared meaning by at least two people within a society. In order for a society to operate
effectively, the guidelines must be shared by its members.
 Without shared culture members of a society would be unable to communicate and
cooperates and confusion and disorder world result.
3. Culture Is Symbolic: Symbolic thought is unique and crucial to humans and to cultural
learning. A symbol is something verbal or nonverbal, within a particular language or culture that
comes to stand for something [Link], many symbols are powerful and often trigger
behaviors or emotional states. For example, the designs and colors of the flags of different
countries represent symbolic associations with abstract ideas and concepts.
4. Culture Is All-Encompassing : Culture encompasses all aspects, which affect people in their
everyday lives.
 Culture comprises countless material and non-material aspects of human lives.
 Culture is the sum total of human creation: intellectual, technical, artistic, physical, and
moral; it is the complex pattern of living that directs human social life, and which each
new generation must learn and to which they eventually add with the dynamics of the
socialworld and the changing environmental conditions.

5. Culture Is Integrated: Cultures should be thought as of integrated wholes, the parts of which,
to some degree, are interconnected with one another. When we view cultures as integrated
systems, we can begin to see how particular culture traits fit into the whole system and,
consequently, how they tend to make sense within that context.
 A culture is a system; change in one aspect will likely generate changes in other aspects.
A good way of describing this integrated nature of culture is by using the analogy
between a culture and a living organism. The physical human body comprises a number
of systems, all functioning to maintain the overall health of the organisms, including
among others, such system as the respiratory system, the digestive system, the skeletal
system, excretory system, the reproductive system, and lymphatic system.
6. Culture Can Be Adaptive and Maladaptive: Humans have both biological and cultural ways
of coping with environmental stresses. Besides our biological means of adaptation, we also use
"cultural adaptive kits," which contain customary activities and tools that aid us. People adapt

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themselves to the environment using culture. The ability to adapt themselves to practically any
ecological condition, unlike other animals, makes humans unique. Culture has allowed the global
human population to grow from less than 10 million people shortly after the end of the last ice
age to more than 7 billion people today, a mere 10,000 years later. This ability is attributed to
human’s capacity for creating and using culture.
 Sometimes, adaptive behavior that offers short-term benefits to particular subgroups or
individuals may harm the environment and threaten the group's long-term survival.
Example: Automobiles permit us to make a living by getting us from home to workplace.
But the by-products of such "beneficial" technology often create new problems. Chemical
emissions increase air pollution, deplete the ozone layer, and contribute to global
warming. Many cultural patterns such as overconsumption and pollution appear to be
maladaptive in the long run.
7. Culture Is Dynamic: There are no cultures that remain completely static year after year.
Culture is changing constantly as new ideas and new techniques are added as time passes
modifying or changing the old ways. This is the characteristics of culture that stems from the
culture’s cumulative quality.
2.3 Aspects/Elements of Culture
 Culture is reflected through the various components that it comprisesviz., values,
language, myths, customs, rituals and laws. Two of the most basic aspects of culture are
material and nonmaterial culture. These are briefly explained as follows:

2.3.1 Material [Link] culture consist of man-made objects such as tools, implements,
furniture, automobiles, buildings, dams, roads, bridges, and in fact, the physical substance which
has been changed and used by man. It is concerned with the external, mechanical and utilitarian
objects. It includes technical and material equipment. It is referred to as civilization.

2.3.2 Non – Material culture: The term ‘culture’ when used in the ordinary sense, means
‘non-material culture’. It is something internal and intrinsically valuable, reflects the
inward nature of man. Nonmaterial culture consists of the words the people use or the
language they speak, the beliefs they hold, values and virtues they cherish, habits they
follow, rituals and practices that they do and the ceremonies they observe. It also includes
our customs and tastes, attitudes and outlook, in brief, our ways of acting, feeling and
thinking. Some of the aspects of nonmaterial culture listed as follows:

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Values: Values are the standards by which member of a society define what is good or bad,
beautiful or ugly. Every society develops both values and expectations regarding the right way to
reflect them.

 Values are a central aspect of the nonmaterial culture of a society and are important
because they influence the behavior of the members of a society.

Beliefs: Beliefs are cultural conventions that concern true or false assumptions, specific
descriptions of the nature of the universe and humanity’s place in it. Values are generalized
notions of what is good and bad; beliefs are more specific and, in form at least, have more
content. “Education is good” is a fundamental value in American society, whereas “Grading is
the best way to evaluate students” is a belief that reflects assumptions about the mostappropriate
way to determine educational achievement.

Norms: Norms are another aspect of nonmaterial culture. Norms are shared rules or guidelines
that define how people “ought” to behave under certain circumstances. Norms are generally
connected to the values, beliefs, and ideologies of a society.

 Norms vary in terms of their importance to a culture, these are:

A) Folkway: Norms guiding ordinary usages and conventions of everyday life are known as
folkways.
 Folkways are norms that are not strictly enforced, such as not leaving your seat
for an elderly people inside a bus/taxi. They may result in a person getting a bad
look.
B) Mores: are much stronger norms than are folkways.
 Mores are norms that are believed to be essential to core values and we insist on
conformity. A person who steals, rapes, and kills has violated some of society’s most
important mores. People who violate mores are usually severely punished, although
punishment for the violation of mores varies from society to society. It may take the form
of ostracism, vicious gossip, public ridicule, exile, loss of one’s job, physical beating,
imprisonment, commitment to a mental asylum, or even execution

2.4Universality, Generality and Particularity of Culture

In studying human diversity in time and space, anthropologists distinguish among the universal,
the generalized, and the particular.

1) Universality: Universals are cultural traits that span across all cultures. Most are
biologically that distinguish us from other species – Long period of infant dependency –
Year-round sexuality Complex brain that enables use of symbols, languages, and tools
Social universals – Life in groups – Some kind of family – Culture organizes on social

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 life Depends on social interactions for expression and continuation – Incest taboo –
Exogamy (marriage outside one’s group).

2) Generality:Generalities are cultural traits that occur in many societies but not all of them.
Societies can share same beliefs and customs because of borrowing Domination (colonial rule)
when customs and procedures are imposed on one culture can also cause generality Independent
innovation of same cultural trait – Farming Examples: – Nuclear family Parents and children.

3) Particularity:Trait of a culture that is not widespread Cultural borrowing – traits once

limited are more widespread Useful traits that don’t clash with current culture get borrowed
Examples: – Food dishes Particularities are becoming rarer in some ways but also becoming
more obvious Borrowed cultural traits are modified Marriage, parenthood, death, puberty, birth
all celebrated differently.

2.5. Ethnocentrism, Cultural Relativism and Human Rights

The concepts of ethnocentrism and cultural relativism occupy key position in anthropology.

A. Ethnocentrism: The common response in all societies to other cultures is to judge

them in terms of the values and customs of their own familiar culture.
 Ethnocentrism refers to the tendency to see the behaviors, beliefs, values, and
norms of one's own group as the only right way of living and to judge others by
those standards. Being fond of your own way of life and condescending or even
hostile toward other cultures is normal for all people. Because of ethnocentrism,
we often operate on the premise that our own society’s ways are the correct,
normal, better ways, for acting, thinking, feeling and behaving. Our own group is
the center or axis of everything, and we scale and rate all others with reference
toit. Ethnocentrism is not characteristic only of complex modern societies. People
in small, relatively isolated societies are also ethnocentric in their views about
outsiders. It is a cultural universal. Alien cultural traits are often viewed as being
not just different but inferior, less sensible, and even "unnatural”.
 Ethnocentrism results in prejudices about people from other cultures and the
rejection of their "alien ways." Our ethnocentrism can prevent us from
understanding and appreciating another culture. When there is contact with people
from other cultures, ethnocentrism can prevent open communication and result in
misunderstanding and mistrust. This would be highly counterproductive for
businessmen trying to negotiate a trade deal, professionals who work in areas
other than their own or even just neighbors trying to get along with each other.
The positive aspect of ethnocentrism has to do with the protection that it can
provide for a culture. By causing a rejection of the foods, customs, and
perceptions of people in other cultures, it acts as a conservative force in

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 preserving traditions of one's own culture. It can help maintain the separation and
uniqueness of cultures.

B. Cultural relativism: The concept of cultural relativism states that cultures differ, so
that a cultural trait, act, or idea has no meaningbut its meaning only within its cultural setting.

 Cultural relativism suspends judgment and views about the behavior of people from the
perspective of their own culture. Every society has its own culture, whichismore or less
unique. Every culture contains its own unique pattern of behavior which may seem alien
to people from other cultural backgrounds. We cannot understand the practices and
beliefs separately from the wider culture of which they are part. A culture has to be
studied in terms of its own meanings and values. Cultural relativism describes a situation
where there is an attitude of respect for cultural differences rather than condemning other
people's culture as uncivilized or backward.

Respect for cultural differences involves:

 Appreciating cultural diversity;

 Accepting and respecting other cultures;
 Trying to understand every culture and its elements in terms of its own context and logic;
 Accepting that each body of custom has inherent dignity and meaning as the way of life
of one group which has worked out to its environment, to the biological needs of its
members, and to the group relationships;
 Knowing that a person's own culture is only one among many; and
 Recognizing that what is immoral, ethical, acceptable, etc., in one culture may not be so
in another culture.

C. HUMAN RIGHTS:In today's world, human rights advocates challenge many of the tenets of
cultural relativism.

 Many anthropologists are uncomfortable with the strong form of cultural relativism that
suggests that all patterns of culture are equally valid. What if the people practice slavery,
violence against women, torture, or genocide?
 Human rights: rights based on justice and morality beyond and superior to particular
countries, cultures, and religions. The idea of human rights challenges cultural relativism
by invoking a realm of justice and morality beyond and superior to the laws and customs
of particular countries, cultures, and religions.
 Human rights include the right to speak freely, to hold religious beliefs without
persecution, and to not be murdered, injured, or enslaved or imprisoned without charge.
Such rights are seen as inalienable (nations cannot abridge or terminate them) and
international (larger than and superior to individual nations and cultures). A doctrine of

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 universal human rights, which emphasizes the rights of the individual over those of the
community, would condemn such killings.
 Anthropologists respect human diversity. Most ethnographers try to be objective,
accurate, and sensitive in their accounts of other cultures. However, their objectivity,
sensitivity and a cross-cultural perspective got nothing to do with ignoring international
standards of justice and morality.

2.6 Culture Change

When you examine the history of a society, it is obvious that its culture has changed over time.
Some of the shared behaviors and ideas that were common at one time are modified or replaced
at another time. That is why; any anthropological account of the culture of any society is a type
of snapshot view of one particular time. The anthropologists return several years after
completing a cultural study; he or she would not find exactly the same situation, for there are no
cultures that remain completely static year after year.

Culture change can occur as a result of the following Mechanisms:

i. Diffusion. The source of new cultural elements in a society may also be

anothersociety. The process by which cultural elements are borrowed from another
society and incorporated into the culture of the recipient group is called diffusion.
 Diffusion is direct when two cultures trade with, intermarry among, or wage war on one
another.
 Diffusion is forced when one culture subjugates another and imposes its customs on the
dominated group.
. In today's world, much international diffusion is indirect-culture spread by the mass
media and advanced information technology.

ii. Acculturation: The cultures of either or both groups may be changed by this contact. This
usually happens in situations of trade or colonialism. In situations of continuous contact, cultures
have also exchanged and blended foods, recipes, music, dances, clothing, tools, and
technologies.

iii. Invention: Invention-the process by which humans innovate, creatively finding solutions
to problems is a third mechanism of cultural change. Faced with comparable problems and
challenges, people in different societies have innovated and changed in similar ways, which is
one reason cultural generalities exist. One example is the independent invention of agriculture in
the Middle East and Mexico. Over the course of human history, major innovations have spread at
the expense of earlier ones. Often a major invention, such as agriculture, triggers a series of
subsequent interrelated changes. Thus in both Mexico and the Middle East, agriculture led to
many social, political, and legal changes, including notions of property and distinctions in
wealth, class, and power.

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iv. Globalization: The term globalization encompasses a series of processes, including
diffusion and acculturation, working to promote change in a world in which nations and people
are increasingly interlinked and mutually dependent. Promoting such linkages are economic and
political forces, as well as modem systems of transportation and communication. Due to
globalization, long-distance communication is easier, faster, and cheaper than ever, and extends
to remote areas. The mass media help propel a globally spreading culture of consumption.
Within nations and across their borders, the media spread information about products, services,
rights, institutions, lifestyles, and the perceived costs and benefits of globalization. Emigrants
transmit information and resources transnationally, as they maintain their ties with home
(phoning, faxing, e-mailing, making visits, and sending money). In a sense such people live
multi-locally-in different places and cultures at once. They learn to play various social roles and
to change behavior and identity depending on the situation.