Anthropology In The 19th Century Essay

Anthropology in the 19th century was composed more so of the evolutionism of ideas, which differentiated cultural structures through different stages of evolution using the single deductive theory. Learning from the failures of the horticultural dependency dilemmas, the Neolithic Revolution began allowing people not to depend on nature to gather food, but rather produce their own food through labor. Which later developed a whole new world for humans, transcending from hunting and gathering to agriculture, establishing settlements. During the 20th century there were more comparative studies with collected data used to analyze the differences of various cultures.
Anthropologist Bronislow Malinowski created an important foundation of fieldwork known as functionalism, which was then a new way to see other cultures. Malinowski argued that the establishment of culture was created to meet the needs of individuals rather than the complete society. He believed that “society is like a biological organism with many interconnected parts” reasoning that society is created when the needs of a human entity if met, the society’s needs are met. A shift or change in one part is likely to change other parts making all segments of culture interconnected. The two things that were …show more content…
Therefore, it is important to adhere to the established customs and ritual to ensure that the exchange is interrupted and successful. This system of exchange is an integral part of the trade system of today. However, the Kula exchange is based and depended on participants being honest and noble in their dealings and involves well executed negotiating and organizational skills. This non-Western ritual provides insight to current established systems, and norms and gives a clear understanding on how and where Western practices has derived