Does Culture Evolve - Essay Example

Does Culture Evolve? Order No. 506328 Leslie A. White made an important contribution towards anthropology and gave us a better understanding of the concept of culture in our lives. In his article he coined the term ‘Culturology’ when referring to the science of culture. According to White, the evolution of culture was a science that grew and progressed much later than other sciences such as astronomy. White explains that during the first half of the century the evolutionary theory of culture had not been explored and developed in America and White was responsible for setting the stage for the theory of evolution of culture based on the use of energy in relation to technology.

In White’s opinion, human civilization has always attempted to the control over nature through culture. According to White’s perspective on the evolution of culture, the more a culture is able to harness energy from nature using efficient technology, the more evolved a culture becomes. From his point of view, both energy and technology play major roles by bringing about a much better evolvement of ideology and social organization of culture. In his article Eric Wolf, looks at culture from a very different angle when compared to White’s perspective.

According to Wolf, culture evolved and progressed through trade and commerce. Wolf explains how traders traveled across the rivers and carried on fur trade along the coasts. Due to the increase in trade, there was great development in different kinds of transport which was so necessary to carry on trade across different borders. During the 18th century, traders made use of Native American middle men to deliver their products but gradually trade took on a whole new dimension by becoming more organized and sophisticated.

Gradually, traders got rid of the middle men and carried on the business directly with the primary producer. Agriculture, hunting and fishing were the some of chief of the chief occupations of the people in the beginning, but slowly with the increase of trade and commerce across different borders, culture began to get more refined. Wealth was distributed according to their social standing. With the advent of the horse and buffalo in trading circles, people began making and trading more sophisticated weapons such as the gun.

With the emergence of the Plains Indian configuration comprising of hunters, gatherers and cultivators, diverse populations despite their origins, drew closer to one another both culturally as well as socially. People began to live in groups and adapted themselves according to the seasonal demands. Gradually the concept of kinship further ushered in a more egalitarian society whose culture was more developed and refined. Thus we find that both authors – Leslie White and Eric Wolf had different perceptions of culture and how it had evolved over the years.

References Leslie White. (article) Energy and the Evolution of Culture. Eric Wolf (article)