Tuesday, August 28, 2012

What are the principal components and aspects of culture as traditionally viewed by anthropologists?

The scientific field of anthropology is the study of human beings and their societies; it is generally divided into two disciplines, cultural and physical anthropology. Physical anthropologists typically concentrate on the biological aspects of humans, while cultural anthropologists focus on the culture of human groups.
Anthropologists generally consider culture to encompass beliefs, customs, values, and traditions, as well as the way all of these function in a society.
To further focus on aspects of culture, the principal components include symbols and language; religious and secular beliefs and social mores; food ways; gender; race; family and kinship organization; the governance of cities, states, and nations; medicine; sexuality; art; work; recreation; economic systems; technology; and so on.
Within each of these components, there are further divisions. For example, the cultural component of family or kinship organization includes the division of labor along gender lines; patrilineal versus matrilineal organization; marriage rites and traditions; child-rearing; clothing; and traditions surrounding birth, coming of age, and death.

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