Culture in Anthropology: Definition, Concepts, and Archaeology
This paper examines the concept of culture as understood within anthropology, tracing its definitional history from Edward Tylor's foundational formulation in the late nineteenth century through contemporary perspectives. It explores two distinct anthropological viewpoints on culture — one focused on abstracted beliefs and practices, the other on degrees of participation in social life — and discusses how systems of meaning, enculturation, and naturalized concepts shape individual and collective understanding. The paper concludes by connecting the anthropological notion of culture to archaeological practice, arguing that shared ways of life and naturalized concepts provide the theoretical basis for interpreting material remains from past societies.
- Introduction to Culture in Anthropology: Basic definition and origins of culture
- Defining Culture: From Tylor to Modern Anthropology: Tylor's foundational definition and its legacy
- Two Perspectives on the Anthropological Concept of Culture: Competing frameworks for understanding culture
- Systems of Meaning and Naturalized Concepts: How shared meaning shapes individual worldviews
- The Role of Culture in Archaeology: Applying cultural theory to archaeological practice
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What makes this paper effective
- It grounds the discussion in a canonical scholarly source — Tylor's definition — before moving to broader conceptual development, giving the argument a clear historical anchor.
- It distinguishes two separate anthropological perspectives on culture cleanly and concisely, demonstrating the student's ability to identify competing frameworks within a discipline.
- It applies theoretical concepts (naturalized concepts, enculturation, systems of meaning) directly to a related field (archaeology), showing interdisciplinary thinking.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates the technique of concept-to-application reasoning: it first establishes a theoretical framework (the anthropological definition of culture and its internal debates), then applies that framework to a practical disciplinary context (archaeological study of past cultures). This move — from definition to application — is a reliable and persuasive organizational strategy for short academic essays.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with a broad working definition of culture, then narrows to disciplinary debates and Tylor's foundational contribution. It next identifies two theoretical perspectives, introduces key concepts (systems of meaning, naturalized concepts), and finally pivots to archaeology as a beneficiary of anthropological cultural theory. The single cited source (Bonvillain, Chapter 2) anchors the theoretical content throughout, with page references signaling close engagement with the reading.
Introduction to Culture in Anthropology
Culture is broadly defined as the values, attitudes, and behaviors shared by a group of individuals. However, arriving at this definition has been a complex and difficult task for anthropologists since the discipline was established in the late nineteenth century. Culture originates from the interactions and behaviors of people who gradually develop common attitudes, values, and ways of living. As people live and interact with one another, their learning, skills, and attitudes are transmitted as shared knowledge and beliefs — a process that gives rise to cultural practices and traditions.
Defining Culture: From Tylor to Modern Anthropology
Despite the seemingly straightforward nature of a basic definition, anthropologists have long struggled to describe and specify the concept of culture with precision. Various scholars have attempted to do so, but none more influentially than Edward Tylor, whose definition incorporates significant features still found in most contemporary definitions. Tylor described culture as a complex whole that incorporates law, beliefs, custom, knowledge, art, and other abilities or habits acquired by an individual as a member of society. This formulation has acted as the foundation of the notion of culture in anthropology, and subsequent anthropologists have refined and expanded upon it (Bonvillain, p. 20).
Two Perspectives on the Anthropological Concept of Culture
The anthropological notion of culture encompasses two distinct perspectives. Both make statements about human behavior and activities carried out across families, communities, and groups, but they differ in important ways. The first perspective considers culture as a set of beliefs and practices that are evaluated and abstracted from the real-life experiences of individuals. The second perspective describes culture in terms of varying degrees of participation and sharing in social life by a specific, identifiable group of individuals. Together, these perspectives also incorporate statements regarding an individual's selectively shared values, knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes.
Works Cited
Bonvillain, Nancy. "Chapter 2 — The Nature of Culture." Cultural Anthropology. 3rd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2006. pp. 19–42. Print.
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