What is Culture Anthropology: Meaning and Explanation

Culture anthropology is comprised of two words, i.e. culture and anthropology, culture can be well understood as one of the reasons for a social formation it includes in it the language in practice by the people following the single culture; further culture also means the rituals or the traditions in practice in a society.

Anthropology is an ancient word and is derived the two words viz, Anthropos which means man and logs which mean study, so basically what its literal meaning indicates and tells us is that Anthropology is the study of man or in other words science of man and his work and behaviour.

Anthropology also, investigates cultures, the customary beliefs and material traits of groups. It can be defined as the social science most closely related to sociology, as they differ with other with a very less difference, as sociologists focus on modern, industrial societies and anthropologists might study the division of work among family members in ancient Egypt also they may, however, concentrates on the study of preliterate societies.

Together, the word nomenclatures the study of the science, of the culture and structure of the society and also of a community as Cultural anthropology. The subject provides the total information and knowledge of the cultural variation within society and also emphasizes on the deep study of the interrelationships of cultural traits as according to one of the famous myth and theory, every culture is connected with each other from their roots, the reason behind the formation of any culture is basically the same; for example similar interest of speech and language, i.e. culture having linguistic interests in common.  This commonness or similarities may even share a similar historical background or complexes.

Thus  the subject emphasizes the influence of the following factors  in the analysis of the development of the culture they are:

  • geographic
  • Historical
  • Social
  • psychological

Also studies its present characteristics and the changes it is undergoing.

The subject is mostly studied as the subject of sociology, however, it is different from the latter one but still shares many similar traits. The basic difference between the two subjects is that sociology is the subject emphasizing on the facts which are in relation to the society, this subject studies the development, changes, decaying, or the problems which are being experienced by the society. This subject studies the society, it studies such facts which are in relation to the development of the social-psychology, while the cultural anthropology defines and studies the basics of the culture and not the society as a whole. It studies the problems which are experienced by the culture also studies and try to find the solutions to such problems. It studies the cultural diffusion, the reason for such diffusion and the necessity or in other words such facts which made it mandatory for a society to change its culture.  It studies psychology which enables it to put forward the planned changes for the culture such that it grow positively.

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