ANTH 206 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Cultural Ecology, Pine Nut, Environmental Anthropology
16 Apr 2016
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Document Summary
Responded to 2 dif. kinds of ideas about culture: cultural evolution as set of stages that all cultures in all parts of the world were assumed to pass through. Assumes increased social complexity (i. e. family to tribe to territorial state) and. Progress (technology, science ) cultures more civilized than others). Looks at stages; universal laws, patterns that fit different cultures into these stages. Ethnocentric perspective (considering some: cultural relativism: doesn"t assume that cultures move between different stages and evolve towards civilization, but that every culture needs to be understood within its own context and history. Cultural area approach: different cultures share similar traits (similar tech, economic systems, material culture) Kroeber considered how cultural areas in us overlapped w/geographic areas. = the idea that ideas, technologies, and traditions move b/w cultures (people learn from each other ) cultures are not isolated from each other. Problem: doesn"t provide theory for why cultures are different.
