antropology

Anthropology
• Anthropology is the study or science of mankind or humanity
• Anthropology is the study of humanity.
• Anthropology is a broad scientific discipline
dedicated to the comparative study of humans as
a group, from its first appearance on earth to its
present stage of development.
• Anthropology is the study of people—their
origins, their development, and contemporary variations,
wherever and whenever they
have been found.
• Of all the disciplines that study humans, anthropology is by far
the broadest in scope.
Misconceptions about
Anthropology
• 1. Anthropology is limited to the study of "primitive" societies.

• 2. Anthropologists only study the rural people and rural areas.

• 3. Anthropologists are only interested in the study of far away,

remote exotic communities living isolated from the influences of
modernization.

• 4. Anthropology wants to keep and preserve primitive, defunct

cultural practices in museums and anthropologists are advocates of
defunct, obsolete culture.
Difference between ethnography and ethnology

• Ethnography: description of the culture of a certain

group of people. A descriptive study of a particular
human society or a process of making such study

• Ethnology: Anthropological attempt to discover

universal human patterns and the common bio-
psychological traits that bind all human beings
• a branch of cultural anthropology dealing with
comparative and analytical study of cultures broadly
Anthropology is interested in some of the following
questions and issues about humans:
• Where did human species come from (i.e. what are
the origins of mankind)?
• Were human beings created in the image and
likeness of God, or were they just the products of
millions of years of the natural, evolutionary process?
• In what ways does man differ from other animal
species?
• How did mankind arrive at the present stage of
biological, intellectual, and cultural development?
Con…
• Is there a common human nature, and if so, what
is it like?
• In what ways do humans who live in various times
and places differ?
• How can we explain why cultures vary
Anthropologists try to know and explain about the
technological, economic, political and intellectual
development of humanity.
Distinguishing Features of
Anthropology
• 1. Its Broad Scope
• 2. Its Unique Approaches
I. Anthropology is Holistic : Studying one aspect of the
ways of life of a group of people by relating it to other
complex related aspects of life.
• II. anthropology is Relativistic : Anthropology tries to study and
explain a certain belief, practice or institution of a group of
people in its own context.
• III. Anthropology is Comparative
• 3. Emphasis on Insiders' View: Anthropologists focus on how
the people themselves understand about their world, how a
particular group of people explains about the world, etc. This is
what anthropologists call emic perspective.
Cont…
• 4. The Micro-focus: This is another distinguishing
mark of anthropology. Anthropology focuses on
small-scale society or community.
• 5. Its Method of Research : The hallmarks of
anthropology are qualitative research methods such
as extended fieldwork, focus- group discussion ,
participant observation , in-depth and key
informant interviews.
• Distinguishing features of anthropology
1. Its broad scope
2. Its unique approaches: Holism, relativism and
comparativism
3. Emphasis on insider’s view- emic perspective
4. The micro-focus
5. Its methods of research: emphasis on extended
field work
Sub-fields of Anthropology

• as indicated earlier, the interests and subject- matter

of
anthropology are wide-ranging. This broad
discipline is
usually divided in four main sub-fields. These are:
physical anthropology ,
sociocultural anthropology ,
linguistic anthropology and
Archaeological anthropology
Physical Anthropology/Biological
anthropology
Physical anthropology is the branch of anthropology most
closely related to the natural sciences, particularly biology; that
is why it is often called biological anthropology. Physical
anthropology is essentially concerned with two broad areas of
investigation: human evolution and genetics.
• Further divided into three special fields of study:
• paleoanthropology, -interested in the search for
fossil. paleoanthropology is the study of human
evolution through analysis of fossil rema
Primatology and
anthropometry.
• primatology: The study of the biology and behavior of primates,
that is, the animals that most closely resemble human beings in
terms of physiological and anatomical structure, is an important
field in physical anthropology. Primatologists observe primates
such as gorillas, chimpanzees, gibbons, and orangutans in their
natural habitats to ascertain the similarities and differences
between these other primates and humansAnthropometry: The
study of human variations within and among different
populations in time and space, human ecology, population
genetics, etc make up the central concerns of this sub-branch of
physical anthropology.
• Anthropometry: The study of human variations
within and among different populations in time and
space, human ecology, population genetics, etc
make up the central concerns of this sub-branch of
physical anthropology. These physical differences
may be in terms of blood types, skin colors, skull
shape, facial shape, hair texture, and the like.
• Population genetics, the study of biological
inheritance plays an important role in
anthropometry, what is sometimes termed as
biological anthropology
1.5.2. Sociocultural Anthropology

• This is also often called social anthropology or cultural

anthropology. It is concerned with the social and cultural
dimensions of the living peoples (Pritchard 1995); and
with the description and analysis of people’s lives and
traditions (Podolefsky and Brown, 1997). Socio-cultural
anthropology studies the social, symbolic or nonmaterial
and material lives of contemporary and historically recent
human societies, taking the concept of culture central to
its goal. Cultural anthropologists conduct studies of
living peoples, most often by visiting and living among a
particular people for an extended period of time
• They conduct fieldwork among the people they study
and describe the results of their investigations in the
form of books and articles called ethnographies.
Cultural anthropology is also concerned with making
generalizations about, and seeking explanations for,
similarities and differences among the world's people.
Those who conduct comparative studies to achieve
these theoretical goals are called ethnologists. Thus,
two important aspects of social/cultural anthropology
are ethnography and ethnology.
Ethnography Ethnology

Requires field work to collect data collected by a series of

data Uses researchers

Often descriptive Usually synthetic

Group/community specific Comparative/cross-cultural

• There are many other specialized fields of study in social
or cultural anthropology. Some of these include:
• anthropology of art,
• medical anthropology,
• urban/rural/economic anthropology,
• political anthropology,
• development anthropology,
• anthropology of religion,
• legal anthropology,
• demographic anthropology,
• ecological anthropology,
• psychological anthropology, ethnomusicology, etc.
1.5.3. Archaeological Anthropology

• Archaeology studies the ways of lives of past peoples

by excavating and analyzing the physical remains they
left behind. Artifacts are the material remains of
human societies.
• Archeologists also study ecofacts, the footprints on the
ecology by the past societies. This helps reveal the way
human societies interacted with their local ecosystems.
• Archeological anthropology has three major goals:
• 1) classifying and sequencing material culture;
• 2) reconstructing ancient ways of life; and
• 3) explaining and delineating cultural processes
Some branches of study in archeology include:
Prehistoric archeology: Prehistoric archeology
investigates human prehistory; that is the periods of time in
a region before the art of writing developed. Many
anthropological archeologists study societies that did not
leave behind any written records.
Ethnoarcheology: This may be regarded as an aspect of
prehistoric archeology. It is an approach to ethnographic
analogy in which archeologists make their own observation
of the contemporary cultures rather than relying on
information provided by cultural anthropologists
Archaeology cont…

• Historical archaeology: uses the evidence provided by

excavated remains to enhance our understanding of
historic peoples; that is, peoples who had writing and
about whom written records are available. Historical
archeologists study sites dating from historic times.
Much of the work of historical archeologists has been to
help preserve historical sites
• Classical archeology: Is an aspect of historic
archeology; it deals primarily with the ancient
civilizations and empires of Europe and the Middle
East, including Egypt, Greece, Roman and Persia,
Axum,
1.5.4. Linguistic Anthropology

• Linguistics is the scientific study of language. Linguists describe and

analyze the sound patterns, combinations of sounds, meanings and
structure of sentence in human languages. They also attempt to
determine how two or more languages are related.
• The terms linguistic anthropology anthropological linguistics, and
ethnolinguistics are often used interchangeably in the linguistic
anthropology literature.
• Linguistic anthropology usually focuses on unwritten languages
• Linguistic anthropology divided into four distinct branches or areas of
research: Structural or Descriptive Linguistics, Historical Linguistics,
Ethno-Linguistics (cultural linguistics), and Socio-linguistics.
• sociolinguistics is a branch of Linguistic anthropology interested in
how the language is used in various social contexts. investigates
linguistic variation within a given language.
• historical linguistics is a branch focuses on the
comparison and classifications of different languages to
discern the historical links between them. deals with the
emergence of language in general and how specific
languages have diverged over time.
• structural linguistics, studies the structure of linguistic
patterns. Structural linguists compare sound system
grammatical patterns and other linguistic elements to find
out how contemporary languages are similar to and
different from one another.
• Ethno-linguistics (cultural linguistics): examines the
relationship between language and culture.
1.5.5. Applied Anthropology

• Applied anthropology, the application of

anthropological knowledge, methods and
approaches to the solving of human problems, is
often now seen as a fifth major branch of
anthropology, although it is not well-established as
the traditionally known four fields.
• Applied anthropologist now work in quite many
areas of relevance such as education, mass medical,
medicine, development, business, agriculture, crime
and urban poverty, etc
• Major branches and specializations in anthropology
• Five major branches of anthropology:
• physical anthropology,
• Sociocultural anthropology,
• archeological anthropology,
• linguistic anthropology and
• applied anthropology
• Specializations in physical anthropology: primatology,
paleoanthropology, anthropometry, population genetics, forensic
anthropology
• Specializations in sociocultural anthropology: medical
anthropology, urban anthropology, anthropology of religion, ecological
anthropology, demographic anthropology, development anthropology,
economic anthropology, etc
• Specializations in archeological anthropology: historical archeology,
prehistoric archeology, Ethnoarcheology, classic archeology, underwater
archeology, biblical archeology, cultural resource management, etc
• Specializations in linguistic anthropology: sociolinguistics,
historical linguistics, structural linguistics, etc
1.6. Contributions of Anthropology

• The contributions of anthropology may be categorized in to the

following
1. Anthropology gives us an insight into different ways and modes of
life of a given society, to understand the logic behind and
justification for human activities and behavior.
2. Anthropology also helps us understand our own ways of lives.
3. Anthropology helps us fight against prejudices and
discriminations. It helps us fight against ethnocentrism; the
attitude that one's own culture and one's own way of life is the
center of the world and the best of all. This arises from ignorance
about other ethnic groups and their ways of lives.
4. Anthropology is also used as a tool for development. Applied
anthropology,
why health/ medical sciences students need to take a course in
sociocultural anthropology. The following are some of the
arguments for the necessity of such a course:
• 1. Health, disease and illness are as much sociocultural in their
nature as they are physical.
• 2. So far, despite certain steps being taken, the dominant trend in
the medical/ health sciences training is to highly focus on the
biomedical and ecological dimensions of health and disease.
• 3. In the objective realties of developing societies such as
Ethiopia human health and wellbeing are deeply linked to
sociocultural factors such as the entrenched poverty, the roles of
traditional values and institutions in shaping people’s worldviews
about health and disease
 CHAPTER TWO
THEORIES AND RESEARCH METHODS
IN SOCIOCULTURAL
ANTHROPOLOGY
Theories in Sociocultural Anthropology
• It may be appropriate here to define what a theory
is. “A theory is a statement or statements of how
and why specific facts are related.
• DeCorse (1995) define a theory as a set of
interconnected hypotheses that offer general
explanations for natural or social phenomena.
 Evolutionism
• This theory may also be termed as the theory of cultural or
sociocultural evolution (Zanden, 1990). Evolutionism
dominated anthropological thinking mainly during the
latter part of 19th century.
• In fact, some argue that the growth of anthropology as a
science is tied up with the development of the doctrine of
evolution; neither could have developed with out the other
• The basic idea behind evolutionism is that the history of
humanity and its sociocultural systems have developed
following unilineal path, from simple to complex. The
evolutionary approach was applied to understand the
development of culture over time
2.1.2. Diffusionism

• Diffusionism developed in early part of 20th century;

it was also interested in explaining why societies are
at similar or different stages of development. This
theory maintained that societal change occurs when
societies borrow cultural traits from one another.
Cultural knowledge regarding technology, economy,
religious views, etc, diffuses or spreads from one
society to another.
• The weakness of this theory, like evolutionism, was
that it was ethnocentric in its assumptions.
3. Historical Particualrism

• This theory developed in early 20th century mainly

in reaction to unilineal evolution. An American
anthropologist, named Franz Boas, pioneered it.
This theory provided an alternative to the question
of why societal differences and similarities exist.
Franz Boas strongly opposed the unilineal
evolutionary theory, and advanced the need for
empirical field-based ethnographic research to
explain and understand each society and culture in
its historical contexts.
2.1.4. Functionalism

• This perspective is one of the dominant theories both in

sociocultural anthropology and sociology. The theory regards
culture as an integrated whole and tries to explain how the
relationships among the parts of society are created and how
these parts are functional (meaning having beneficial
consequences to the individual and the society) and
dysfunctional (meaning having negative consequences).
• The theory sees society as a complex system whose parts work
together to promote solidarity and stability; it states that our
social lives are guided by social structure, which are relatively
stable patterns of social behavior.
• The weakness of functionalist theory was that it failed to
explain why societies different or similar.
 2.1.5. Culture and Personality

• This perspective, also called psychological anthropology

has enjoyed dominance in the history the field,
particularly in the first half of 20th century. The
proponents of the culture and personality school
maintained that the various patterned aspects of culture
shape the personality of individuals within a given
society, and also personality once developed could in turn
affect the further development of culture . The theory is
an outgrowth of the search for the mechanism of cultural
integration
2.1.6. Neo-functionalism

• This theory is a variety of theories of conflict in

anthropology, which developed after the II World War. It
developed in response to the weakness in functionalist
anthropology in dealing with the issues of conflict,
competition and disequilibrium. Proponents of this
theory criticized functionalists for disregarding conflict
as an inherent part of social organization.
Neofunctionalists succeeded in bringing into light the
issue of conflicts and change, but they still failed to deal
with the issues of fundamental structural changes.
Social order was considered a given, rather than
something be explained
2.1.7. Marxist Anthropology

• Marxist anthropological theory derives directly or

indirectly from the writings of Karl Marx. This theory
is basically materialistic as it assumes that the systems
of producing material goods influences and shapes
society.
• Unlike neo-functionalists, Marxist anthropologists
“are concerned specifically with the transformation of
social orders and the relationships between conflict
and cultural evolution.
• Current Marxian anthropologists reject the unilineal
model of societal development suggested by Marx
2.1.8. Cultural Ecology

• The school of cultural ecology, also termed as

neoevolutionism, attempts to explain the human
condition in relation to the environment.
• Broadly defined, cultural ecology refers to “the
dynamic interrelationship between man and the
material and cultural components of his environment” .
• The main idea behind the modern school of cultural
ecology is that each culture is seen as a specific
instance of patterned adaptation to a specie
environment; the dynamic interaction between man
and his environment
2.1.9. Cultural Materialism

• The theory of cultural materialism may be regarded

as an outgrowth of neo-evolutionism or cultural
ecology.
• Anthropologist Marvin Harris mainly advanced it.
• The theory states that the key factors in and
determinants of socio-cultural evolution are the
infrastructures that include technology, environment
and material conditions. As the infrastructure of a
society changes, the other aspects of society also
change accordingly
2.1.10. Structuralism

• Structuralism is one of a new group of theories in

anthropology known as studies of cognitive structure.
This schools of thought, including structuralism,
ethnosciecne, and symbolic anthropology, give
attention to the cognitive or underlying mental
structures that provide order to culture.
• Structuralism, advanced by its famous French
structuralist anthropologist, Claude Levi-Strauss,
states that “the origin of universal principles that order
the ways in which we behave and think about the
world is to be found in the structure of human thought
2.1.11. Ethnoscience

• The search for the underlying structural principles

of culture led specially in United States to a variety
of studies in cognitive structure known as
ethnoscience.
• This is sometimes referred to as cognitive
anthropology. The focus of ethnosciecne is to
discover and describe the structural principles of
specific culture by detailed ethnographic data
analysis.
2.1.12. Symbolic Anthropology

• This theory focuses on the symbolic rather than

material aspect of culture.
• It is the study of culture through the interpretation
of the meaning of symbols, values and beliefs in
society.
• The theory disagrees with cultural materialism in
that many cultural symbols cannot be reduced to the
material conditions and adaptive mechanism of a
society. The cultural symbols are autonomous of
from the material forces.
Name of the theory What is it? What Strengths weakness
does it state?

Unilineal Human society and The first systematic 1.Ethnocentric

evolutionism culture develop attempt to explain 2. Racist
gradually from why societies are 3. Armchair
simple to complex, similar and different speculation
primitive to
“civilization”

Diffusionism Cultures change Useful in explain the 1. Ethnocentric

through the spread of development of 2. Assumed that
ides and traits from classic cultures non-western
centers of innovation societies are
to other areas inherently
inferior
Name of the theory What is it? What strength weakness
does it state?

Historical Each culture is a Regect racism Did not take into

Particualrism unique entity, it has to Promote the idea of account broader factor
be studied and cultural realativism beyond a particular
documented in its Helped ethnographic culture
historical context reaserch grow

Functionalism Society and culture Promoted empirical Ahistorical; did not

are integrated, holistic ethnographic research deal with change,
entities highly conflict; too much
focus on stability and
order.
Name of the theory What is it? What strength weakness
does it state?

Culture and Main cultural themes Promoted Too much focus on

personality shape individuals’ understanding of the Neo-Freudian
character and vice personality and psychology
versa culture dynamics

Neo functionalism A modification of Filled gaps in Take social order as

functionalist theory, functionalist theory, a given fact, failed to
explaining the issue accommodating the deal with the issue of
of order in terms of issue of conflict and fundamental
conflict and competition structural changes
competition
Name of the What is it? What strength weakness
theory does it state?

Marxist Society is in Valid to Some of its

anthropology constant struggle of understanding assumptions and
social class societal predictions failed
conflicts among the development to occur; neglecting
dominant and issues of stability
minority groups in an unity
society
Cultural ecology The dynamic Is not ethnocentric Neglecting
interaction between and rejected historical and
culture and the unilineal evolution; political aspects
ecology stated some of
small-scale cultures
are more useful and
adaptive
Name of the theory What is it? What strength weakness
does it state?

Cultural materialism The key factors in Explains well how Too much focus on
and determinants of the material forces material dimentions
socio-cultural help create and of society
evolution are the change other
infrastructures nonmaterial aspects
which include
technology,
environment and
material conditions
Structuralism The origin of Promote the idea View society as
universal principles that human mind static
that order the ways and nature are
in which we behave fundamentally
and think about the similar
world is to be found
in the structure of
human thought
Name of the What is it? What strength weakness
theory does it state?

Ethnoscience Interested in promotes the value Too much focus on

describing how a of ach people’s specific culture
specific people own cognitive
view their world; understanding of
their world

Symbolic The study of Contributed Focuses

anthropology culture through the towards the idea exclusively on
interpretation of that symbolic cultural symbols at
the meaning of culture is the expense of
symbols, values important in its other factors that
and beliefs in own right may shape human
society behavior and
thought
2.2. Research Methods in Sociocultural
Anthropology

The Scientific Method and Inductive vs. Deductive Approaches

• Anthropology is a science. As such, it is concerned with
systematically observing and classifying facts, and establishing
verifiable laws. Anthropology, like any other science employs
scientific method, which is the source for scientific knowledge.
The scientific method as a precise way of designing and
conducting research consists of the following basic steps:
• (1) establishing a hypothesis, a general statement based on
observed facts;
• 2) determining ways to test the hypothesis
• 3) testing the hypothesis through research and further
observation…”
• Anthropology as a science employs the two very
important approaches in research design and in the
overall research framework:
• inductive methods and deductive method.
• Inductive method is a method by which the scientist
first makes observation and collects data, on the basis
of which he or she formulates hypothesis and theories
• In deductive approach, the researcher attempts to
derive specific assertions and claims from a general
theoretical principle.
2.2.2. Identification of Research Problem

• The first step in doing anthropological research is to

come up with a research problem. Identification of
research problem basically involves choosing a
research topic. The ways and manners in which
researchers identify a research problem and choose
a topic vary according to various factors.
2.2.3. Literature Review
• Research work normally proceeds by reviewing
earlier works on a specific research problem one has
identified. The researcher will need to review past
works on the question he or she is raising
2.2.4. Research Design
• The research design is that section in the research
process which gives the details of the ways and
manners of conducting the study . It involves the
selection of research sites and study subjects, the
methods to be employed in collecting data, the
techniques to be employed in data analysis and
other related matters
The Genealogical Method
• This ethnographic technique was developed by
anthropologists to deal with and gather information
on principles of kinship, descent, and marriage,
which are the social building block of small-scale
societies
• Emic approach: Understanding and describing the world from the
insider’s (people’s) view
• Etic approach: The researcher’s views and interpretation of the subject
being studied
Major qualitative research strategies
• Participant observation
• In-depth interviewing
• Key informant interview Problem –based
ethnography
• Ethnographic conversations Longitudinal
study
• Life histories
• Genealogical method
Qualitative vs. quantitative data
• Qualitative data: Data expressed in terms of
statements, focusing on depth, details, sensitivities,
underlying beliefs and attitudes; collected via
intensive fieldwork
• Quantitative data: Data expressed in terms of
numbers and statistical figures focusing on size,
amount, frequencies and magnitude of information;
collected via mainly surveys
Culture
• Culture as “is 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".
• culture is the common way of life shared by a group of people.
It includes all things beyond nature and biology.
• 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.
.2 Characteristic Features 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.
• The 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
• 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.
• 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 else. A symbol’s meaning
is not always obvious.
• 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:
• 5. Culture Is Integrated:
Cultures are not haphazard collections of customs
and beliefs. Instead, culture should be thought as of
integrated wholes, the parts of which, to some
degree, are interconnected
with one another.
• 6. Culture Can Be Adaptive and Maladaptive:
• People adapt themselves to the environment using
culture. The ability to adapt themselves
to practically any ecological condition, unlike other
animals, makes humans unique.
• 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 comprises, viz., values,
language, myths, customs, rituals and laws.
 Two of the most basic aspects of culture are
 material and
 nonmaterial culture.
• 2.3.1 Material culture
Material 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. Non-material 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.
• Some of the aspects of non-material culture listed
as follows:
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
• 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,
• b) Mores: Mores (pronounced MOR-ays) are much stronger norms
than are folkways. Mores are norms that are believed to be essential
to core values and we insist on
conformity. People who violate mores are usually severely punished
2.4 Cultural Unity and Variations:
• Universality -found in every culture
• Generality -common to several but not all human
groups Generalities are cultural traits that occur in
many societies but not all of them.
• Particularity of Culture- unique to certain cultural
traditions. Eg Marriage, parenthood, death,
puberty, birth
2.5. Evaluating Cultural
Differences:
• Ethnocentrism, 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.
• Cultural Relativism suspends judgment and views
about the behavior of people from the perspective of
their own culture.
• Human Rights
• C. HUMAN RIGHTS
• 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.
• 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,
2.6 Culture Change
• 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 another society. 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.
• Diffusion is indirect when items or traits move from group A to
group C via group B without any firsthand contact between A and
C.
ii. Acculturation
Is the exchange of cultural features that results when
groups have continuous firsthand contact?
The cultures of either or both groups may be changed by
this contact. This usually happens in situations of trade
or colonialism.
iii. Invention
Invention-the process by which humans innovate,
creatively finding solutions to problems is a third
mechanism of cultural change.
• iv. Globalization
• 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.
2.7 Ties That Connect: Marriage,
Family and Kinship
• 2.7.1 MARRIAGE:
Almost all known societies recognize marriage. The
ritual of marriage marks a change in status for a man
and a woman and the acceptance by society of the
new family that is formed. The term marriage is not
an easy terms to define.
• 2.7.1.1 Rules of Marriage
• Marriage is, a permanent legal union between a man
and a woman. It is an important institution without
which the society could never be sustained.
• 2.7.1.2 Mate Selection: Whom Should You Marry?
in a society one cannot marry anyone whom he or
she likes. There are certain strict rule sand
regulations.
a) Exogamy:
This is the rule by which a man is not allowed to
marry someone from his own social group. Such
prohibited union is designated as incest. Incest is
often considered as sin.
• b) Endogamy:
A rule of endogamy requires individuals to marry
within their own group and forbids them to marry
outside it. Religious groups such as the Amish,
Mormons, Catholics, and Jews have
rules of endogamy, though these are often violated
when marriage take place outside the group. Castes
in India and Nepal are also endogamous.
c) Preferential Cousin Marriage:
A common form of preferred marriage is called preferential cousin
marriage and is practiced
in one form or another in most of the major regions of the world. Kinship
systems based on
lineages distinguish between two different types of first cousins, these are:

• Cross Cousins: are children of siblings of the opposite sex- that is one’s
mother’s brothers’
children and one’s father’s sisters’ children.
The most common form of preferential cousin marriage is between cross
cousins because it
functions to strengthen and maintain ties between kin groups
established by the marriages
that took place in the proceeding generation
• Parallel Cousins: When marriage takes place
between the children of the siblings of the same
sex, it is called parallel cousin marriage. Are
children of siblings of the same sex, namely the
children of one’s mother’s sister and one’s father
brother.
d) The Levirate and Sororate
Another form of mate selection that tends to limit
individual choice are those that require a person to
marry the husband or wide of deceased kin.

The levirate- is the custom where by a widow is

expected to marry the brother (or some close male
relative) of her dead husband.
The sororate, which comes into play when a wife dies, is
the practice of a widower’s marrying the sister (or some
close female relative) of his deceased wife
2.7.1.3. NUMBER OF SPOUSES
Societies have rules regulating whom one may/may not marry; they have rules
specifying
how manymates a person may/should have.

Monogamy: the marriage of one man to one woman at a time.

Polygamy i.e. marriage of a man or woman with two or more mates. Polygamy can be
of two types:

• Polygyny: the marriage of a man to two or more women at a time.

• Polyandy: the marraige of a woman to two or more men at a time 39

• Marriage of a man with two or more sisters at a time is called sororal

polygyny. When the co-wives are not sisters, the marriage is termed as non-sororal
polygyny.
Advantages & Disadvantages of Polygamy marriage
• Having two/more wives is often seen as a sign of pristige.
• Having multiple wives means wealth, power, & status both
for the polygnous husband, wives and children.
• It produces more children, who are considered valuable
for future economic and poltical assets.
• Economic advantage: It encourages to work hard (more
cows, goats..) for more wives
• The Drawbacks of Polygyny: Jealousy among the co-wives
who frequently compete for the husband’s attenttion.
2.7.1.4 Economic Consideration
of Marriage
• Most societies view as a binding contract between at least the
husband and wife and, in many cases, between their respective
families as well. These transactions, which may take place either
before or after the marriage can be divided
into three categories:
1.Bride Price: It is also known as bride wealth, is the
compensation given upon marriage by the family of the groom
to the family of the bride.
• 2. Bride Service: When the groom works for his wife’s family,
this is known as bride service.
It may be recalled that in the Old Testament, .
• 3. Dowry: A dowry involves a transfer of goods or money in the
opposite direction, from the bride's family to the groom’s family.
2.7.1.5 Post-Marital Residence
• Where the newly married couple lives after the marriage ritual is
governed by cultural rules, which are referred to as post-marital
residence rule.
•  Patrilocal Residence: the married couple lives with or near the
relatives of the husband’s father.
•  Matrilocal Residence: the married couple lives with or near the
relatives of the wife.
•  Avunculocal Residence: The married couple lives with or near the
husband’s mother’s brother.
•  Ambilocal/Bilocal Residence: The married couple has a choice of
living with relatives of the wife or relatives of the husband
•  Neolocal Residence: The Married couple forms an independent
place of residence away from the relatives of either spouse.
2.7.2 FAMILY
Family is the basis of human society. It is the most
important primary group in society. The family, as an
institution, is universal. It is the most permanent and
most pervasive of all social institutions.
Cultural anthropologists have identified two
fundamentally different types of family
structure-
• the nuclear family and
• the extended family.
Functions Marriage and Family
• Family performs certain specific functions which
can be mentioned as follows:
• 1. Biological Function:
• 2. Economic Function:
• 3. Social Function:
• 4. Educational and Socialization Function:
2.7.4 DESCENT
• Descent refers to the social recognition of the biological
relationship that exists between the individuals. The rule of
descent refers to a set of principles by which an individual traces
his descent.
• There are three importantrules of decent are follows;

• 1. Patrilineal descent
When descent is traced solely through the male line, it is called
patrilineal descent.
• 2. Matrilineal descent When descent is traced solely through
the female line, it is called Matrilineal descent
• 3. Cognatic Descent In some society’s individuals are free to
show their genealogical links either through men or women.