Anthropological
Questions
Social Change & Anthropology
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Anthropologists
regard cultures -the
focus of their studiesas constantly
changing organisms.
Social Change & Anthropology

The change process is
normally gradual, and
cultures normally do
not change suddenly
and completely unless
they are destroyed or
swallowed by another
culture.
The Anthropological Questions

What are the
known basic
mechanisms of
social change?
The Anthropological Questions

In their study about
social change,
anthropologists
identify which factors
are most significant at
any particular time.
The Anthropological Questions

Was a cultural change
caused by a change in the
society’s leadership?
The Anthropological Questions

Was it caused by a
shift in the values and
norms of the
culture’s members?
The Anthropological Questions

Have changes to the
environment resulted
in changes to the
culture?
The Anthropological Questions

In the past,
anthropologists
focused on the
isolated cultures with
little or no influence
from the outside
world.
The Anthropological Questions

In present time
anthropologists have
broadened their scope
to study cultural
groups in mainstream
societies in both rich
and poor nations.
The Anthropological Questions

Anthropologists consider
the roughly 30
industrialized nations of
the world to be developed
countries
 Japan, United States,
Canada, England, ect.
The Anthropological Questions

Anthropologists
consider 180 nations
developing countries
 Sudan, India,
Afghanistan, Ghana,
Rwanda, Peru, ect.
The Anthropological Questions

In the most of
developing countries,
there is no industry
and the population
survives by farming
the land.
The Anthropological Questions

The gap in incomes,
educational levels
infrastructure such
as hospitals and
transportation
prompted
anthropologists to ask
the question:
The Anthropological Questions

How is international
aid from developed to
developing countries
is affecting the
situation ?
The Anthropological Questions

What factors make
international aid
programs effective?
The Anthropological Questions

What can developed
and developing
countries learn from
each other?
The Anthropological Questions

Anthropologists have concluded that
there are three major sources of
cultural change.
The Anthropological Questions


Inventions – new
products, ideas, and
social patterns that
affect the way people
live.
Discovery-finding
something that was
previously unknown
to the culture
The Anthropological Questions

Discovery-finding
something that was
previously unknown
to the culture.
The Anthropological Questions

Diffusion- the spreading of
ideas, methods, and tools
from one culture to another.
The Anthropological Questions

Anthropologists focus
on the process of
enculturation, by
which members of a
culture learn and
internalize shared
ideas, values, and
beliefs.
The Anthropological Questions
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To understand the nature of cultural change, they
classify the various aspects of culture:
Physical environment
Level of technology
Social organization
System of symbols
By examining the four parts of culture, anthropologists
seek answers to the fundamental questions of social
change.
The Anthropological Questions

Physical environment
The Anthropological Questions

Level of technology
(e.g. multi-line
highways can improve
light-rail transit
systems in the cities).
The Anthropological Questions

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Social organization:
What is the kinship
system?
How is labour divided and
allocated?
Are social rules flexible or
tightly regulated?
The Anthropological Questions

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Systems of symbols
To an anthropologist
symbols include not
only physical objects
but also gestures
(e.g. V-symbol for
peace), dance trends,
hairstyles, etc.