Cultural Anthropology

October 6, 2012

1750 words

Cultural Anthropology

Introduction

There are over 9 billion people in our world. These people belong to various different cultures. They share societies and are organized in groups along with other animals. Culture has many definitions. Some people refer culture to music, art, good literature and even food. Biologists may refer it to a colony of bacteria living in a nutrient medium in a lab Petri dish. But for the anthropologists, along with other scientists related to behavior, culture is defined as the range as well as the patterns of the behavior of the humans. Cultures are considered to be customs and traditions, which are actually the usual practices, conveyed through the process of learning. This learning tends to guide the behaviors and beliefs of the people, exposed to them.

Children mostly adopt such traditions when their growing up is done is such a society, through a particular process which is known as “Enculturation”. It is important to note that mostly thoughts and behaviors of the people living in the same society tend to be similar. The traditions of cultures include various opinions and customs, which are developed over the course of time and through generations. Various cultures have their own definitions of the appropriate and inappropriate behaviors. The most important thing to note is that the tradition of culture is transmitted through the process of learning and not through the biological inheritance. However, there are some biological factors which are associated with cultures, which include the ability to pick things up quickly, adapting the environment, etc.

Cultural Anthropology is known to be the study of the human society and their cultures. The anthropology further explains the similarities and differences between cultures, along with the examination of the diversity of culture of the recent past as well as the present.

Discussion

The concern of the anthropology is with the lives of the people living in various parts of the world. Cultural Anthropology is considered to be the branch of the anthropology, focused on the differences in cultures amongst humans. These could be variations in beliefs as well as practices. In the cultural anthropology, there are various factors considered such as how people make their livings, pattern of kinship and descent, forensic anthropology, marriage patterns, the impact on global economy, etc.

Since the beginning of the nineteenth century, the major influence of the cultural anthropology has been based on the presence of the societies of Native Americans. With the stimulation of the thought of the Darwinism, the classical evolution of the 19th century arranged the various lifestyles proceeding from the savagery to barbarism and eventually to civilization. The second which is affiliated with this concept is the element of race, along with the culture.

Marriages

There are various practices which are carried around the global. Marriage is commonly a worldly practice which permits sex and support by the society. These things are considered as acceptable after the marriage. There are two kinds of marriages which are commonly practiced all around the ...