Enculturation
the process of learning to be a member of a particular cultural group
Symbol
something that stands for something else. Central to language and culture.
Anthropological Theory
a set of propositions about which aspects of culture are critical, how they should be studied, and what the goal of studying them should be
Culture and Personality
a theoretical position in anthropology that held that cultures could best be understood by examining the patterns of child rearing and considering their effect on adult lives and social institutions
Ethnoscience
a theoretical position in anthropology that focuses on recording and examining the ways in which members of a culture use language to classify and organize their cognitive world
Cognitive Anthropology
a theoretical position in anthropology that focuses on the relationship between the mind and the society
Ethnobotany
a focus within anthropology that examines the relationship between humans and plants in different cultures
Ethnomedicine
a focus within anthropology that examines the ways in which people in different cultures understand health and sicknesses as well as the ways they attempt to cure diseases
Symbolic Anthropology
a theoretical position in anthropology that focuses on understanding cultures by discovering and analyzing the symbols that are most important to their members
Interpretive Anthropology
a theoretical position in anthropology that focuses on using humanistic methods, such as those found in the analysis of literature, to analyze culture and discover the meaning of culture to its participants
Organic Analogy
the comparison of societies to living organisms
Functionalism
a theoretical position in anthropology, common in the first half of the 20th century, that focuses on finding general laws that identify different elements of society, show how they relate to each other, and demonstrate their role in maintaining social or
Ecological Functionalism
a theoretical position in anthropology that focuses on the relationship between environment and society
Norms
shared ideas about the way things ought to be done; rules of behavior that reflect and enforce culture
Values
shared ideas about what is true, right, and beautiful
Subculture
a group within a society that shares norms and values significantly different from those of the dominant culture
Dominant Culture
the culture with the greatest wealth and power in a society that consists of many subcultures
Historical Particularism
a theoretical position in anthropology associated with American anthropologists of the early 20th century that focuses on providing objective descriptions of cultures within their historical environmental context
Postmodernism
a theoretical position in anthropology that focuses on issues of power and voice. Postmodernists suggest that anthropological accounts are partial truths reflecting the backgrounds, training, and social positions of their authors
Adaptation
a change in the biological structure or lifeways of an individual or population by which it becomes better fitted to survive and reproduce in its environment
Plasticity
the ability of human individuals or cultural groups to change their behavior with relative ease
Cultural Ecology
a theoretical position in anthropology that focuses on the adaptive dimension of culture
Innovation
an object or a way of thinking or behaving that is new because it is qualitatively different from existing forms
Diffusion
the spread of cultural elements from one culture is another