Sharon P. answered • 02/14/21
PhD. in Anthropology, 18 years’ experience Educator, Patient
What are the patterns of culture
Let us begin by defining culture. “A shared way of life that includes the material and nonmaterial products (values, norms, beliefs)that are transmitted within a particular society from generation to generation”(Scupin 2008). Anthropologist Ruth Benedict, states that culture “is a unifying force for man, the shared ideas, and norms and that there is no conflict between roles of either the individual or society” (Patterns of Culture, 1934). Also, it is essential to remember that culture is not biological. Hair color is genetic/biological; how hair is maybe worn can be defined with a cultural group.
Donald Brown states that there are Human [cultural] Universals (1991). These cultural universals—are essentially behavioral characteristics of societies found all over the world.
◦ Language
◦ Family
◦ Kin Terms
◦ Religion
◦ Concept of Self
◦ Division of Labor
◦ Subsistence patterns
None of the characteristics stand-alone, or they are always paired, such as family and kinship ties. For example, how does one identify kin and family known as cultural knowledge, which is how people have synthesized life. This is a learning process that begins at birth and is known as an enculturation-the process through which people learn interaction and acquire their culture. This is not cultural assimilation where one group is absorbed into the dominant group. Culture is a historical accumulation of symbolic knowledge identified by the seven characteristics and shared by the group.
