27/07/2026
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1. Meaning, Definition, Nature and Scope of Cultural Anthropology
2. Culture: Meaning and Definition
3. Characteristics of Culture
4. Culture and Society
5. Culture and Civilization
6. Material and Non-Material Culture
7. Culture Traits
8. Culture Complex
9. Culture Patterns
10. Cultural Universals
11. Cultural Diversity
12. Ethnocentrism & Xenocentrism
13. Cultural Relativism
14. Subculture
15. Counterculture
16. Enculturation
17. Socialization
18. Cultural Transmission
19. Cultural Diffusion
20. Acculturation
21. Assimilation
22. Cultural Integration
23. Cultural Change
24. Cultural Lag — W.F. Ogburn
25. Cultural Ecology
26. Culture and Environment
27. Technology and Culture
28. Language and Culture
29. Personality and Culture
30. National Character
31. Family and Household
32. Marriage: Meaning and Types
33. Monogamy and Polygamy
34. Polyandry and Polygyny
35. Exogamy and Endogamy
36. In**st Taboo
37. Kinship
38. Kinship Terminology
39. Descent Systems
40. Patrilineal Descent
41. Matrilineal Descent
42. Bilateral Descent
43. Clan
44. Lineage
45. Moiety
46. Phratry
47. Tribe and Tribal Organization
48. Social Stratification
49. Caste and Class
50. Religion: Meaning and Functions
51. Magic
52. Science and Religion
53. Animism — E.B. Tylor
54. Animatism
55. Mana — R.R. Marett
56. Totemism
57. Taboo
58. Witchcraft
59. Shamanism
60. Myth and Ritual
61. Secularization
62. Evolutionism
63. Unilinear Evolutionism
64. Diffusionism
65. Historical Particularism
66. Functionalism
67. Structural Functionalism
68. Structuralism
69. Cultural Materialism
70. Neo-Evolutionism
71. Franz Boas — Historical Particularism
72. Bronislaw Malinowski — Functionalism
73. A.R. Radcliffe-Brown — Structural Functionalism
74. Claude Lévi-Strauss — Structuralism
75. Marvin Harris — Cultural Materialism
76. E.B. Tylor — Evolutionism and Animism
77. Lewis Henry Morgan — Evolutionary Theory
78. Margaret Mead — Culture and Personality
79. Ruth Benedict — Patterns of Culture
80. Ethnography
81. Ethnology
82. Fieldwork
83. Participant Observation
84. Direct Observation
85. Interview Method
86. Case Study Method
87. Genealogical Method
88. Life History Method
89. Comparative Method
90. Emic and Etic Approaches
91. Medical Anthropology
92. Economic Anthropology
93. Political Anthropology
94. Urban Anthropology
95. Development Anthropology
96. Educational Anthropology
97. Anthropology of Religion
98. Anthropology of Gender
99. Environmental Anthropology
100. Globalization and Cultural Change
🌍 Cultural Anthropology: Important Facts
E.B. Tylor (Edward Burnett Tylor)
Important Book: Primitive Culture (1871)
Main Contribution: Cultural Evolutionism and Animism
He is widely regarded as the Father of .
Margaret Mead
:
Coming of Age in Samoa (1928)
S*x and Temperament in Three Primitive Societies (1935)
Main Contribution: Culture and Personality, adolescence, gender roles, and cultural patterns.
> Note: “Mother of Cultural Anthropology” is not a universally standardized title, but Margaret Mead is commonly associated with this title in general knowledge and competitive-exam preparation.
1) Primitive Culture — 1871 — E.B. Tylor
2) Anthropology: An Introduction to the Study of Man and Civilization — 1881 — E.B. Tylor
3) Ancient Society — 1877 — Lewis Henry Morgan
4) The Golden Bough — 1890 — James G. Frazer
5) The Mind of Primitive Man — 1911 — Franz Boas
6) Anthropology and Modern Life — 1928 — Franz Boas
7) Race, Language and Culture — 1940 — Franz Boas
8) The Andaman Islanders — 1922 — A.R. Radcliffe-Brown
9) Argonauts of the Western Pacific — 1922 — Bronislaw Malinowski
10) The S*xual Life of Savages in North-Western Melanesia — 1929 — Bronislaw Malinowski
11) Anthropology — 1923 — Alfred Kroeber
12) Coming of Age in Samoa — 1928 — Margaret Mead
13) S*x and Temperament in Three Primitive Societies — 1935 — Margaret Mead
14) The Study of Culture at a Distance — 1953 — Margaret Mead & Rhoda Métraux
15) Patterns of Culture — 1934 — Ruth Benedict
16) The Study of Man — 1936 — Ralph Linton
17) Witchcraft, Oracles and Magic Among the Azande — 1937 — E.E. Evans-Pritchard
18) The Nuer — 1940 — E.E. Evans-Pritchard
19) Structural Anthropology — 1958 — Claude Lévi-Strauss
20) The Savage Mind — 1962 — Claude Lévi-Strauss
21) The Interpretation of Cultures — 1973 — Clifford Geertz
: When, Where and How?
1. Early Roots — 15th to 18th Centuries
The roots of Cultural Anthropology can be traced to the accounts of European explorers, travelers, missionaries and colonial administrators who encountered different societies in Africa, Asia and the Americas.
Their observations created interest in understanding the diversity of human cultures.
2. _Formal Emergence — 19th Century_
Cultural Anthropology emerged as a formal academic discipline during the 19th century, particularly in Europe, especially Britain.
The first major school was *Evolutionism* .
Early evolutionists believed that human societies developed through a universal sequence:
Savagery → Barbarism → Civilization
Important evolutionists included:
_E.B. Tylor_
_Lewis Henry Morgan_
_James G. Frazer_
📌 E.B. Tylor's Primitive Culture (1871) is considered one of the foundational works of Cultural Anthropology.
_3. Development in the United States — Late 19th and Early 20th Century
Cultural Anthropology developed strongly in the United States under Franz Boas.
Boas rejected the idea that all cultures follow one universal path of evolution. He argued that every culture must be studied according to its own unique historical development.
This approach became known as Historical Particularism.
His important students included:
_Margaret Mead_
_Ruth Benedict_
_Alfred Kroeber_
4. Development in Britain — 20th Century
In Britain, the field developed mainly as Social Anthropology.
Important schools included:
_Functionalism_ — Bronislaw Malinowski
_Structural Functionalism_ — A.R. Radcliffe-Brown
_5. Modern Cultural Anthropology_
During the 20th century, new approaches developed:
Evolutionism → Diffusionism → Historical Particularism → Functionalism → Structural Functionalism → Structuralism → Cultural Ecology → Cultural Materialism → Interpretive Anthropology → Applied Anthropology
⭐ Important One-Liners for PPSC
Father of Cultural Anthropology: E.B. Tylor
Mother of Cultural Anthropology: Margaret Mead (commonly associated)
Father of American Anthropology: Franz Boas
Father of British Social Anthropology: Bronislaw Malinowski (commonly cited)
Father of Structural Anthropology: Claude Lévi-Strauss
Father of Cultural Ecology:Julian Steward
Father of Cultural Materialism: Marvin Harris
Founder of Cultural Evolutionism: E.B. Tylor
First major school of Cultural Anthropology: Evolutionism
Foundational book:Primitive Culture — E.B. Tylor (1871)
Formal emergence: 19th century
Major early center: Europe, especially Britain
Major later center: United States under Franz Boas
📚 Important Books in Cultural Anthropology
⭐ Must-Memorize Books
1. Primitive Culture (1871) — E.B. Tylor
Cultural Evolutionism; Animism
2. Ancient Society (1877) — Lewis Henry Morgan
Evolution of Human Society
3. The Golden Bough (1890) — James G. Frazer
Magic, Religion and Science
4. The Mind of Primitive Man (1911) — Franz Boas
Historical Particularism
5. Argonauts of the Western Pacific (1922) — Bronislaw Malinowski
6. The Andaman Islanders (1922) — A.R. Radcliffe-Brown
Structural Functionalism
7. Anthropology (1923) — A.L. Kroeber
Cultural Anthropology
8. Coming of Age in Samoa (1928) — Margaret Mead
Culture and Personality
9. Patterns of Culture (1934) — Ruth Benedict
Culture and Personality
10. The Study of Man (1936) — Ralph Linton
Culture and Society
11. The Folk Culture of Yucatan (1941) — Robert Redfield
Folk Culture
12. The Elementary Structures of Kinship (1949) — Claude Lévi-Strauss
Structuralism
13. The Rise of Anthropological Theory (1968) — Marvin Harris
Cultural Materialism
14. The Interpretation of Cultures (1973) — Clifford Geertz
Interpretive Anthropology
Important cultural anthropology authors include Franz Boas, Margaret Mead, and Clifford Geertz.
Sir Edward Burnett Tylor is known as the founder of cultural anthropology. Tylor's work Primitive Culture (1871) was influenced by Darwin's theory of biological evolution and developed the theory of an evolutionary, progressive relationship from primitive to modern cultures.
