ANTH 101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Enculturation, Edward Burnett Tylor
Document Summary
What is culture: culture is that complex while which includes knowledge, belief, arts, morals, law. Custom, and nay other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society -eb tylor 1871: enculturation: process by which a child learns his or her culture. Mom is doing it so i should too. Babies picking up on family and friends" culture . Culture is not genetic: culture is learned. Unique human capacity to use symbols: signs that have no necessary or natural connection to the things they stand for. Ex: the usa flag (taking it down at sunset, half mass, burning in protest, etc. ) We collectively agree that there is an elaborate way that we communicate to define our culture. Without the ability to manipulate and understand symbols we cannot have culture: culture is symbolic. Symbolic thought is unique and crucial to humans and to cultural learning. Language is one of the distinctive and definitive characteristics of homo sapiens.
