The study of Anthropology has proven to be flexible in the way in which cultures are studied. From when the study first began to the 20th century, many different ways of viewing culture have been documented, and many of those ways have been refuted. Our analyses of different anthropologists starts with Tylor a 19th century evolutionary anthropologist and ends with Malinowski a 20th century functional anthropologist. What falls between them are Boas and his student Kroeber. All four of them have different methodologies and different views of how a society advances towards civilization.
Tylor, a 19th century evolutionary anthropologist, was shaped by the industrial revolution, science, positivism, and the age of empire. The industrial evolution …show more content…
He created the four-field tradition that focuses on social and cultural, archaeology, physical anthropology, and linguistics when studying Anthropology. He also coined the term super organic, meaning that the product of collective or group life, but the individual has an influence. He also created the three pillars to explain cultural customs and what may cause change in societies. The first pillar is understanding cultures are unique, the second pillar is environmental conditions and how that may influence culture, and the last pillar is individual psychological factors which shows how the individual may react to culture, or how it may shape …show more content…
He describes the evolution of birds compared to the evolution of reptiles, “the bird gave up a pair of walking limbs to acquire wings… The reptile line went on as it had been before, or if it altered, did so for causes unconnected with the evolution of the birds” (122). The point of the example is to show that just because one society may gain something to help them, does not mean a different society will gain the same thing. He makes a distinction between “invention… transmitted to individuals” and “transformation” (122). The invention that is transmitted to individuals, for example the airplane, did not change the appearance or brain capacity of humans, but contributed to the existing civilization, instead of transforming it. Therefore, new inventions and knowledge does not take a society from step to step, instead it just enhances it. He also viewed evolution theory as a cheap way to make oneself seem superior to other cultures, it also ignored more important questions of primitive society’s
Tylor, a 19th century evolutionary anthropologist, was shaped by the industrial revolution, science, positivism, and the age of empire. The industrial evolution …show more content…
He created the four-field tradition that focuses on social and cultural, archaeology, physical anthropology, and linguistics when studying Anthropology. He also coined the term super organic, meaning that the product of collective or group life, but the individual has an influence. He also created the three pillars to explain cultural customs and what may cause change in societies. The first pillar is understanding cultures are unique, the second pillar is environmental conditions and how that may influence culture, and the last pillar is individual psychological factors which shows how the individual may react to culture, or how it may shape …show more content…
He describes the evolution of birds compared to the evolution of reptiles, “the bird gave up a pair of walking limbs to acquire wings… The reptile line went on as it had been before, or if it altered, did so for causes unconnected with the evolution of the birds” (122). The point of the example is to show that just because one society may gain something to help them, does not mean a different society will gain the same thing. He makes a distinction between “invention… transmitted to individuals” and “transformation” (122). The invention that is transmitted to individuals, for example the airplane, did not change the appearance or brain capacity of humans, but contributed to the existing civilization, instead of transforming it. Therefore, new inventions and knowledge does not take a society from step to step, instead it just enhances it. He also viewed evolution theory as a cheap way to make oneself seem superior to other cultures, it also ignored more important questions of primitive society’s