Cultural Anthropology and its Ethnography and Ethnology Disciplines

Cultural Anthropology
Name
Institution
Cultural Anthropology
Abstract
Cultural anthropology is one of the four major branches of anthropology. It involves the study of cultures and how they vary in terms of the family system, religion, and social structures, among others. In this paper, the theoretical foundations, data collection methods, and major components of cultural anthropology are explored. The paper reveals that cultural anthropology plays a fundamental role in modern-day negotiations as well as in addressing issues of global sustainability.
Table of Contents TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u Abstract PAGEREF _Toc33993751 \h 2Table of Contents PAGEREF _Toc33993752 \h 3Introduction PAGEREF _Toc33993753 \h 4Theoretical Foundations PAGEREF _Toc33993754 \h 4Findings and Results PAGEREF _Toc33993755 \h 6Ethnography and Ethnology as Disciplines of Cultural Anthropology PAGEREF _Toc33993756 \h 8Data Collection Methods in Cultural Anthropology PAGEREF _Toc33993757 \h 9Modern Day Application of Cultural Anthropology PAGEREF _Toc33993758 \h 11Discussion and Conclusion PAGEREF _Toc33993759 \h 12References PAGEREF _Toc33993760 \h 14
Introduction
Cultural anthropology is one of the four major branches of anthropology. Anthropology is a term derived from two Greek words anthropos, which means human and logos, which means study (Ferraro & Andreatta, 2018). Thus, anthropology is the study of human populations which focuses on examining their cultural and biological origins, development, and distinctiveness. Cultural anthropology, in specific, involves the study of cultures and how they vary in terms of the family system, religion, and social structures, among others (Haviland, Prins, McBride, & Walrath, 2017).
Theoretical Foundations
There are several theories in the field of cultural anthropology that have been used to explain the behavior of people. Some of the major theories in cultural anthropology include cultural evolutionism, diffusionism, neo-evolutionism, and historical particularism. Cultural evolutionism is based on the premise that there are definite stages of evolution that all societies must pass through (Srivastava, 2013). Cultural evolutionism was penned down by some intellectuals, not in the field of anthropology. They include James Frazer, Lewis Morgan, and J. McLenna, among others (Srivastava, 2013). Under this theory, culture was categorized as savagery, barbarism, and civilization. Lewis Morgan, however, broke down the three categories into seven categories as follows (Ferraro & Andreatta, 2018):
* Lower Savagery, which entails the earliest forms of humanity who survived on fruits and nuts
* Middle savagery, which started when fishing technology and use of fire was discovered
* Upper savagery, which was marked by the invention of the bow and arrow
* Lower barbarism, which was marked by the arrival of pottery making
* Middle barbarism, which was marked by the domestication of plants and animals as well as irrigation
* Upper barbarism, which was marked by the invention of iron smelting
technology
* Civilization, which was marked by the creation of the phonetic alphabet and writing
From this categorization, it is evident that evolution resulted in more advanced cultures and societies.
The theory of diffusionism was based on the premise that certain cultural practices spread from one society to another (Diah, Hossain, Mustari, & Ramli, 2014). Diffusionists suggested that instead of people coming up with their own cultural practices and ideas, they relied on borrowing from others. Some of the earliest diffusionists include William Perry and Grafton Smith of England and Wilhelm Schmidt of Germany (Ferraro & Andreatta, 2018). However, these theorists received a lot of criticism due to the extremist approach they adopted, which failed to answer many questions such as why some cultural features spread and others did not.
Neo-evolutionism is a theory based on the assumption that there exists a linear relationship between cultural change and energy. According to the founding father of this theory, Leslie White, an increase in per capita energy use in a year results in an increase in culture change within a society (Diah, et al., 2014). Also, he posited that people facing similar problems will use technology to find solutions and an increase in the use of technology results in extensive cultural changes.
Historical particularism is a theory centered on the idea that examining the distribution of cultural traits could make it possible to “reconstruct historical and psychological processes of cultural changes (Srivastava, 2013).” This theory focuses on specific cultural elements in the past and present. The founding father, Frans Boaz, believed that anthropologists needed to go into the field and examine the views of the people under study, rather than relying on their own views (Diah, et al., 2014). He was also a critic of the ethnocentric nature of theories such as the cultural evolutionism theory.
Findings and Results
Cultural anthropology examines certain dimensions of human behavior such as food, kinship, and language, among others. These dimensions are important because they shed light on how different cultures vary across the globe. To better understand what cultural anthropology entails, it is important to examine these dimensions. The first focus is on food. Food is an essential part of human survival and as such, every group of people has adopted a method of obtaining it. According to de Gonzalez (2019), food is a bio cultural element of human life and whatever qualifies as food for one group of people may not be considered as food in another. However, it is worth noting that this difference does not mean that there is a superior food which translates into a superior culture. Cultural anthropologists examine how different groups of people obtain their food. There are two major classifications of methods of obtaining food as described by de Gonzalez (2019). The first classification is referred to as food foragers. This involves groups that seek food from the natural environment without any manipulation. They are commonly referred to as hunters and gatherers. The second classification entails food producers, which involves a group of people who utilize the environment to grow food or rear animals for consumption. It is important to note that the method of obtaining food is usually influenced not only by the environment but also by the culture of that group of people (Ferraro & Andreatta, 2018). Understanding how food is obtained in a given community sheds light on some of their cultural practices since such methods are passed on from one generation to another.
The second focus is on kinship systems. Kinship is defined as relationships that are derived from either marriage or blood (Ferraro & Andreatta, 2018). However, kinship can also be used to describe culturally accepted relationships among people who are not linked through blood or marriage. A good example is a relationship that exists between a parent and an adopted child. Kinship is paramount in the formation of social groups because it facilitates an individual’s connection to a larger group of people. In every society, there is a kinship system that influences the interaction among different types of kin (Ferraro & Andreatta, 2018). Further, different kinship systems are guided by different cultural rules, which make kinship an interesting topic for cultural anthropologists. The cultural rules are important in establishing certain aspects of a group of people such as roles and responsibilities as well as marriage arrangements (de Gonzalez, 2019). Also, kinship systems provide people with a sense of identity or belonging. This is usually through descent, which is the ancestry of an individual or a group of people. According to de Gonzalez (2019), descent provides a connection between parents and their children, and this connection can be patrilineal, matrilineal or ambilineal. In patrilineal descent, the connections are traced through the father while in matrilineal, the connections are traced through the mother. In ambilineal descent, connections are traced through the mother and the father. As such, individuals gain a sense of belonging because they can trace their origin and identify with a specific lineage.
The third focus is on language. Language and communication are an important aspect of cultural anthropology because language is an essential part of the culture. Language can be defined as a symbolic system of communication that conveys meaning through written, spoken or other non-verbal forms (de Gonzalez, 2019). Without language, it would be difficult to maintain other crucial elements of culture such as religion and political or social organizations. Cultural anthropologists would also not be able to communicate with their subjects while performing their research in the field, which makes language an important area of study for them (Ferraro & Andreatta, 2018). Many languages are used by people globally, and each language has a set of rules. These rules are essential in determining how different sounds are to be used to express meaning (Ferraro & Andreat...