Classical Evolutionism and Tylor's Theory

Classical Evolutionism

• Classical Evolutionism views human culture as evolving in a linear, progressive manner, moving from simple to complex, homogeneity to heterogeneity, and from indefinite to definite.
• This theory emphasizes the historical explanation of cultural development, drawing on museumology and comparative methods.
• Similarities in cultural traits are attributed to parallel inventions and the psychic unity of mankind.
• Survivals, both material and non-material, are seen as evidence of earlier stages of culture. Survivals persist due to habit even when they lose their utility.

Edward Burnett Tylor

• Tylor believed that culture evolves from simple to complex, with all societies passing through stages of savagery, barbarism, and civilization.
• He argued that progress was possible for all societies.

Psychic Unity of Mankind

• The psychic unity of mankind concept, popularized by Tylor, argues that humans think alike and will thus arrive at similar solutions to the same problems.
• This idea was used by Tylor and Lewis Henry Morgan to explain the shared stages of development (Savagery, Barbarism, Civilization) across different cultures.

Lewis Henry Morgan

• Morgan sub-divided the stages of savagery and barbarism into three groups: lower, middle, and upper.
• He defined these stages based on technological achievements, including inventions and discoveries, government, family organization, and property concepts.
• He believed that technological developments marked the different stages of cultural evolution.
• Morgan identified five main stages in the evolution of the family:
  • Consanguine Family
  • Punaluan Family
  • Syndasmian Family
  • Patriarchal Family
  • Monogamous Family

Evolution of Descent Groups

• According to Morgan, descent groups evolved from promiscuous societies to matrilineal and then patrilineal.
• Matrilineal systems arose because paternity was uncertain in early societies, with descent traced through the mother.
• Patrilineal systems emerged as wealth accumulated, primarily held by males, requiring a system to pass wealth down generations.
• In modern western societies, a combination of paternal and maternal descent rules, resulting in bilineal or bilateral kinship systems.

Evolution of Marriage

• Morgan believed that marriage evolved from sexual promiscuity through group marriage, polyandry, polygamy, and finally monogamy.

Kinship Terminology

• Morgan categorized kinship systems into two types: descriptive and classificatory.
• He believed that early kinship systems were classificatory.
• Classificatory systems use the same term to designate multiple individuals, classifying kin into one category.
• Descriptive systems, associated with "civilized" societies, arose with the rise of property and lineage.

Evolution of Socio-Political Organization

• Morgan distinguished between social order based on kinship ties (societas) and social order based on political ties (civitas).
• He believed that the earliest form of social organization was based on kinship, with gentes, clans, and tribes, while the later political organization was based on territory and property.

Critiques of Cultural Evolutionism

• Cultural Evolutionism has been criticized for its one-sided explanation, ignoring other factors like diffusion that could have influenced cultural change.
• The theory has been criticized for its assumption that all societies have passed through all three stages (Savagery, Barbarism, Civilization), which is not supported by evidence.
• The reliance on armchair anthropology, using data collected by others, resulted in a lack of empirical evidence and potentially biased observations.

Armchair Anthropology

• Armchair anthropology, primarily used by Tylor, involved using data collected by others, like missionaries, explorers, and colonial officials.
• This approach lacked firsthand observation and relied on potentially biased information, leading to flawed conclusions.

Explore the key concepts of Classical Evolutionism, including Edward Burnett Tylor's views on the linear progression of culture. The quiz delves into the historical explanations for cultural development and the idea of the psychic unity of mankind. Understand how survivals in culture provide evidence for earlier stages of human society.