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This is solved assignment for Introduction to Sociology course. It was submitted to Prof. Arya Sinha at Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology. It includes: Cultural, Anthropology, Phases, Savagery, Kinship, Barbarism, Pottery, Patterns, Irrigation, Iroquis
Typology: Exercises
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Question 1: Your task is to explore the history of one million years and locate the different phases of social and cultural development. In this regard you are supposed to prepare a development tree or table that consists of all the phases of cultural development.
Question 2: After giving the graphical representation of table, explain how material culture, family and kinship establish over this period of time?
The cultural and social development took place in seven stages. In first stage which is usually called as Lower Savagery, there was no fire discovered and human species relied on fruits and nuts for their survival. In this stage, family and kinship were not clearly developed. In this stage brother’s and sisters’ incest was permitted. Hawaiin kinship is an example of this stage. Middle savagery is the second stage of cultural development; fishing expeditions and use of fire are distinctive characteristics of this stage. Human intellect was increasing. In this stage incest of brothers and sisters was prohibited. Iroqouis is a significant kinship system of this stage. In upper savagery, bow and arrow were invented and group competition was started. Lower barbarism is characterized with pottery making and horticulture. Man has found the new ways of existence. New family patterns such as pairing and marriage were introduced. In Middle barbarism, irrigation system was started and animal domestication took place. At the end of this stage patriarchal system was started which continued in upper barbarism as well. In upper barbarism iron tools were made and polygyny was started. Society was turned into more structured form and complexities of social relationships were also started. The last stage of cultural development is known as civilization, in this stage language was developed, use of alphabets and phonetic was started. Therefore, it was a time of revolution which totally changes the course of human social development. Family system was turned from joint and groups to nuclear. The division of labor has changed the economic patterns and material culture. Usually, Eskimos are characterized as civilized groups.
Question 3: In your opinion which theory of cultural anthropology most appropriately justifies this development and how?
After analyzing the development of culture over period of time through this diagram, it can be concluded that the theory of Cultural Evolutionism given by Lewis Henry Morgan best explains the development process.
Social and cultural development evolves from the simple to the complex and all societies undergo three basic stages of deployment: from savagery through barbarism to civilization. To account for cultural variation, early evolutionists postulated that different contemporary societies were at different stages of development. Thus, simple contemporary societies were thought to resemble ancient societies. The more advanced societies on the other hand testified to cultural evolution by traces of earlier customs that prevails in the present day culture.
The making of pottery is an example of a survival that earlier people made their cooking pots out of clay; today we generally made these cooking pots out of metal because it is more durable. On the other hand family units have become progressively smaller and more self-contained.