Syllabus: Paper I > Prehistoric Archaeology > Lower Palaeolithic > Oldowan and Acheulian traditions
Attributes of Culture — 2024 Paper I
Question · 2024 · Paper I · 10 Marks
Attributes of culture
Model Answer
VAID ICSIntroduction
E. B. Tylor, in Primitive Culture (1871), defined culture as the “complex whole” which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom and other capabilities acquired by human beings as members of society. In simple terms, culture is the learned, shared and symbolically transmitted way of life of a group.
Major Attributes of Culture
Learned
Culture is not biologically inherited. It is acquired through enculturation and socialisation. For example, a child learns language, food habits, manners and rituals from family and society.
Shared
Culture is shared by members of a social group. It gives people a common way of thinking and behaving, and distinguishes collective cultural practices from individual habits.
Symbolic
Culture is based on symbols, especially language. Leslie White, in The Science of Culture (1949), regarded symbolisation as the distinctive feature of human culture. Flags, rituals, myths and sacred objects carry meanings beyond their physical form.
Integrated
Culture is not a random collection of traits. Its parts such as kinship, economy, religion and polity are interconnected. A change in one part may influence the others. Ruth Benedict, in Patterns of Culture (1934), described culture as an integrated configuration.
Adaptive
Culture helps human beings adjust to their physical and social environment. For example, the Inuit use warm fur clothing and snow-based shelter techniques for Arctic survival, while bamboo-based technology in North-East India reflects ecological adaptation.
Dynamic
Culture is stable but not static. It changes through invention, innovation, migration, diffusion, acculturation and assimilation. Modern technology and globalisation have modified dress, communication and food habits in many societies.
Cumulative
Culture is transmitted from one generation to another. Each generation inherits earlier knowledge and adds new ideas to it. Thus, tools, techniques, oral traditions and institutions gradually become cumulative.
Normative
Culture provides values, customs, folkways, mores and laws that regulate social behaviour. It defines what is considered proper, improper, sacred, profane, desirable or undesirable in society.
Conclusion
Thus, culture is learned, shared, symbolic, integrated, adaptive, dynamic, cumulative and normative. These attributes show that culture is not merely a collection of traditions, but a living blueprint of human survival, social organisation and collective identity.
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UPSC Anthropology Optional 2024 — Paper I
28 questionsSyllabus: Paper I > Applications of Anthropology > Forensic Anthropology > Applications and personal identification
1(a) Attributes of culture
10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper I > Nature of Culture > Characteristics of Culture > Attributes of culture
5(d) Authority and forms of political organization
10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper I > Political Organization and Social Control > Power, Authority and Legitimacy > Band, tribe, chiefdom, state
1(c) Critical perspective on avoidance and joking relationship
10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper I > Kinship > Kinship Behaviour > Avoidance and joking relationships
5(a) Chronometric dating
10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper I > Prehistoric Archaeology > Chronology and Dating > Chronometric (absolute) dating methods
Syllabus: Paper I > Research Methods > Fieldwork Tradition > Contemporary challenges in fieldwork
5(b) Cultural relevance of the Kula
10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper I > Economic Organization > Reciprocity and Exchange > Kula ring
Syllabus: Paper I > Anthropological Theories > Post-Modernism > Deconstruction; Derrida
Syllabus: Paper I > Prehistoric Archaeology > Neolithic > Origin of food production; domestication; Mehrgarh
Syllabus: Paper I > Applications of Anthropology > Applied Human Genetics > Genetic counselling
Syllabus: Paper I > Human Genetics > Blood Group Systems > ABO and Rh inheritance
Syllabus: Paper I > Human Evolution > Fossil Hominids > Homo erectus: distribution and phylogenetic status
1(b) Harappan maritime trade
10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper I > Prehistoric Archaeology > Chalcolithic and Bronze Age > Harappan civilization; maritime trade
1(e) Hemoglobin in health and disease
10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper I > Human Genetics > Genetic Polymorphism > Haemoglobinopathies; health and disease
5(c) Heritability and its estimation
10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper I > Human Genetics > Quantitative Genetics > Heritability and its estimation
2(a) Discuss historical particularism as a critical development to the classical evolutionism.
20 Marks
Syllabus: Paper I > Anthropological Theories > Historical Particularism > Critique of classical evolutionism
Syllabus: Paper I > Human Genetics > Chromosomes and Chromosomal Aberrations > Karyotyping
1(d) Lethal and sublethal genes
10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper I > Human Genetics > Mendelian Genetics in Man > Lethal and sublethal genes
Syllabus: Paper I > Anthropological Theories > Structuralism > Levi-Strauss; myth analysis; Asdiwal
Syllabus: Paper I > Human Biology > Epidemiological and Nutritional Anthropology > Lifestyle diseases
Syllabus: Paper I > Human Genetics > Quantitative Genetics > Multifactorial inheritance
Syllabus: Paper I > Anthropological Theories > Culture and Personality > Ruth Benedict; configurational approach
Syllabus: Paper I > Research Methods > Tools of Data Collection > Sampling techniques
5(e) Single-gene mutation disorders in man
10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper I > Human Genetics > Mutation and Genetic Disorders > Single-gene disorders
Syllabus: Paper I > Nature of Society > Social Groups, Status and Role > Social stratification and inequality
Syllabus: Paper I > Human Evolution > Biological and Cultural Factors > Bio-cultural synergy in human evolution
Syllabus: Paper I > Family > Impact of Change on Family > Urbanisation and the family