Coinciding with the groundbreaking theory of biological
evolution proposed by British naturalist Charles Darwin in the 1860s, British
social philosopher Herbert Spencer put forward his own theory of biological and
cultural evolution. Spencer argued that all worldly phenomena, including human
societies, changed over time, advancing toward perfection. (41) ______
American social scientist Lewis Henry Morgan introduced another theory of
cultural evolution in the late 1800s. Morgan helped found modern
anthropology—the scientific study of human societies, customs and beliefs—thus
becoming one of the earliest anthropologists. In his work, he attempted to show
how all aspects of culture changed together in the evolution of societies. (42)
______ In the early 1900s in North America, German-born American
anthropologist Franz Boas developed a new theory of culture known as historical
particularism. Historical particularism, which emphasized the uniqueness of all
cultures, gave new direction to anthropology. (43) ______ Boas
felt that the culture of any society must be understood as the result of a
unique history and not as one of many cultures belonging to a broader
evolutionary stage or type of culture. (44) ______ Historical
particularism became a dominant approach to the study of culture in American
anthropology, largely through the influence of many students of Boas. But a
number of anthropologists in the early 1900s also rejected the particularist
theory of culture in favor of diffusionism. Some attributed virtually every
important cultural achievement to the inventions of a few, especially gifted
peoples that, according to diffusionists, then spread to other cultures. (45)
______ Also in the early 1900s, French sociologist Emile
Durkheim developed a theory of culture that would greatly influence
anthropology. Durkheim proposed that religious beliefs functioned to reinforce
social solidarity. An interest in the relationship between the function of
society and culture became a major theme in European, and especially British,
anthropology. A. Other anthropologists believed that cultural innovations,
such as inventions, had a single origin and passed from society to society. This
theory was known as diffusionism. B. In order to study particular cultures as
completely as possible, he became skilled in linguistics, the study of
languages, and in physical anthropology, the study of human biology and
anatomy. C. He argued that human evolution was characterized by a struggle he
called the "survival of the fittest," in which weaker races and societies must
eventually be replaced by stronger, more advanced races and societies, D.
They also focused on important rituals that appeared to preserve a people’s
social structure, such as initiation ceremonies that formally signify children’s
entrance into adulthood. E. Thus, in his view, diverse aspects of culture,
such as the structure of families, forms of marriage, categories of kinship,
ownership of property, forms of government, technology, and systems of food
production, all changed as societies evolved. F. Supporters of the theory
viewed culture as a collection of integrated parts that work together to keep a
society functioning. G. For example, British anthropologists Grafton Elliot
Smith and W. J. Perry incorrectly suggested, on the basis of inadequate
information, that farming, pottery making, and metallurgy all originated in
ancient Egypt and diffused throughout the world. In fact, all of these cultural
developments occurred separately at different times in many parts of the
world.