Cultural Universals

     As discussed previously, cultural anthropologists are interested in understanding the similarities and differences among cultures. In seeking to reveal these patterns, we hope to have a better idea of what types of practices are found in all cultures and the degree to which cultures vary in their practices. Cultural anthropologists seek to identify cultural universals, the features that all people share in common. Some general cultural universals are: economic systems, technological systems, kinship systems, childcare and enculturation systems, social control systems, and religious systems.

     Economic systems can vary considerably, but all cultures have some type of organized system of labor to both extract resources from the environment and to distribute resources to members of the group.

     The technological system is related to the economic system. All cultures develop and manufacture tools and transmit these through social learning. A culture's technology can be very simple. For example, people characterized by a foraging mode of subsistence may have fire-making technology and use bows and arrows for hunting. However, even the simplest human technologies are much more advanced than  the capabilities of any other species.

     All cultures also have kinship systems. The kinship system defines the social roles of relatedness among group members. One of the most important roles that are designated is defining which members of the group one can marry and which are taboo. All cultures have an incest taboo, which forbids marriage and sexual relations with closely related family members. In human history, a few examples have existed where brother-sister marriage was permitted among royalty, but virtually all cultures observe taboos for marriage between parents and children, and brothers and sisters. In describing who one can marry, the kinship system provides the rules for the reproduction of new group members. In addition, in defining roles of relatedness among members, kinship systems also include rules for appropriate behaviors among members dependent on their relationship to each other.

     Systems of social control are mechanisms that are in place to maintain order in the group and to encourage members to follow social norms. In small-scale societies, social order may be accomplished through fear of gossip or fear of being accused of witchcraft if one violates cultural norms. In larger scale societies, order may also be maintained through a police force and legal systems. Social control also includes mechanisms for decision making that affect the group. These can range from a council of elders to a formal court system.

     All cultures have language with a complex grammar to communicate and think abstractly. Cultures also have elaborated, nonverbal systems of communication as illustrated in the video Nonverbal Communication, Body Language Expert Jan Hargrave. Social learning through language and nonverbal communication are key for the enculturation of children so they have the knowledge that they need to become full members of the culture. In American society, the education of children takes place both within the home and outside the home in a formal education system. Not all cultures have formal institution systems for educating the young, but all ensure that children know what they need to for survival.

Nonverbal Communication, Body Language Expert Jan Hargrave

     All cultures have a system of religious belief. A culture's system of religious beliefs does not just include organized religions, but more broadly, beliefs about the supernatural, the afterlife, magic, and superstition. Religious systems also include any ritual or ceremony that has spiritual or religious content. Here, it is important to distinguish between the individual and the group. In anthropology, we view religion as a group level phenomenon. Thus, while you may have individuals in a given culture or society who do not adhere to the religion (or religions) of other group members, we do not know of any cultures or societies where religious beliefs are completely absent.

     Finally, the terms of culture and society are sometimes used interchangeably, but they are not identical in meaning. A society refers to the rules of organization that structure the relationships of a group of people. But what those rules are and how people behave towards one another are aspects of culture. For example, American society has kinship rules in which you classify people as fathers, mothers, aunts, uncles, and brothers and sisters. But who those terms refer to and how you behave towards the people you classify as fathers, mothers, aunts, uncles, and brothers and sisters, are an aspect of American culture. While father refers to one specific person in American kinship for example, it might refer to your biological father and all his brothers in another society.

     At another level, the term society is often used to refer to nation-states that may be composed of multiple ethnic groups, or language groups. These cultural variants within the same society are sometimes referred to as “subcultures.” Although subcultures may have important distinctions from one another, members of the same society share and contribute to the same social institutions. For example, the Vietnamese community and the Cajun community in Louisiana may differ in the primary language that is spoken, religious beliefs, traditions, and many other behaviors and practices. However, both are participants in the same society; they share in the same governmental system, educational system, legal system, etc. the term “society” is also sometimes used to refer to nation-states that share similar social institutions. For example, the term “Western society” refers to Western Europe and the United States.