Module 3: Anthropology and the Study of Culture

Introduction to Anthropology
- Humans studying humans. (This is the field of anthropology. Unlike other disciplines of the social sciences,)
Anthropology promotes a holistic study of humans.
- Derived from two Greek words antropos (human) and Logos (study),
- is the scientific study of humans, human behavior and societies in the past and present.
- the study of people- their origins, their development, and contemporary variations, wherever and whenever
they have been found on the face of the earth‖ (Ember, Ember, and Peregrine,2010).
Subdisciplines of Anthropology
Archeology - examines the remains of ancient and historical human populations to promote an understanding of
how humans have adapted to their environment and developed.
Cultural anthropology - promotes the study of a society‘s culture through their belief systems, practices and
possessions.
Linguistic anthropology - examines the language of a group of people and its relation to their culture.
Physical anthropology - looks into the biological development of humans and their contemporary variation.
Applied anthropology - attempts to solve contemporary problems through the application of theories and
approaches of the discipline.
(You have always heard the word CULTURE being used in conversations. At times, it refers to something ethnic;
some people think of it as an all-encompassing term that separates humans from the rest of the animal kingdom.
But what is it exactly?)
Culture - can be defined as all the behaviors, ways of life, arts, beliefs and institutions of a population that are
passed down from generation to generation.
- The way of life for an entire society.
Culture is everything
- It is what a person has, does, and thinks as part of society. This implies all of a person‘s belief system, set of
behaviors, and material possessions.
Two Major Aspects of Culture
1. Material culture - includes all the tangible and visible parts of culture, which include clothes, food and even
buildings.
2. Non-material culture - includes all the intangible parts of culture, which consist of values, ideas, and
knowledge.
(The belief and values systems of societies differ from one another based on their environment and history.)
Six Characteristics of Culture
1. Culture is Learned 2. Culture is shared. 3. Culture affects biology.
4. Culture is adaptive 5. Culture is maladaptive 4. Culture changes

Culture is Learned.
- Culture is a set of beliefs, attitudes, and practices that an individual learns through his or her family, school,
church, and other social institutions.
Enculturation - the process of learning your own culture. As you interact with your immediate family and peers, you
learn the values and accepted bahaviors in your society.
Acculturation - transfer of values and customs from one group to another.
Music may be one of the most transferred forms of culture from one society to another. For example, the
inclination of some Filipinos toward some elements of Korean culture has led to the acceptance of Korean pop
songs despite their being performed in a foreign language.
(When the culture of the older generation comes into conflict with the needs and realities of the younger
generation,)
Deculturation - happens where the reason for the culture has been lost and even the cultural trait itself is in the
process of being forgotten.
Culture is shared
- The set of behaviors, attitudes, and beliefs that a person possesses is part of a greater collection of values
and ideas that is communally owned and practiced by members of a society.
This implies that a particular behavior cannot considered as a culture if there is only one person practicing it.
Culture is shared intergenerationally. Hence, to share a culture, it must be taught to members of contemporary
society who will, in turn, teach the younger generation.
Diagram on culture formation ( Benn Diagram)

Culture of parent’s Culture of Culture of interacting

Society individual society

Culture affects biology

- Humans are born into cultures that have values on beauty and body.
As such, they alter their bodies to fit into the physiological norms that are dictated by culture. Among the Mursi
tribe of Ethiopia in Africa, wearing lip plates is a sign of beauty. Women are the ones who are expected to wear
them to appear desirable to men.

Lip plate as worn by a Mursi woman Lotus feet in China

Culture is adaptive
- Culture is a tool for survival that humans use in response to the pressures of their environment.
(Both the material and nonmaterial parts of culture are influenced by the goal of humans to address their needs
as dictated by their environment and their biology. The Inuits of the Arctic region are well-known for building
igloos during fishing and hunting expeditions. These dome-shaped homes provide temporary shelter for the
mobile group. During summer, they use tupiqs, which are tents made of animal skin, as their temporary homes.
Another adaptive mechanism that is practiced in most cultures is the creation of food taboos.
food taboos - these are socially constructed and acceptable prohibitions on the consumption of several food items.)
Culture is maladaptive
- Culture can also cause problems for the people who subscribe to it.
These problems arise when the environment has changed and culture has remained the same. (For example, The
“car culture”)
Culture changes
- The final characteristic of culture is that it is never static.
This dynamism of culture is due to the changing needs of humans as they interpret and survive in their
environment. As such, culture is continuously reinvented by people. From the clothes that we wear. To the food
that we eat, culture can be seen as ever changing.
(This module introduced to you the field of anthropology and its study of culture. It informed you of the
definition of anthropology and its five branches. It led you to an understanding of culture as a complex whole
consisting of attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors of people as member of a given society. It was also discussed that
culture has six characteristics: it is learned, adaptive, maladaptive, and shared, it changes, and is capable of affecting
our biology.)