Order from us for quality, customized work in due time of your choice.
Introduction
While the human race takes great pride in the progressive nature of each subsequent civilization, there exist aspects from past civilizations that are hailed as marvels in the civilization process (Harris 2001). While some of this aspects gain their prominence primarily due to their impact on cultural and social development, others are distinct due to their relevance in fostering understanding in regards to the origin of man and the evolutionary trend followed to reach where we are today.
Anthropology has played a pivotal role in ensuring that man understands his origin and how various environmental factors contribute to the civilization we now enjoy (Moore 2004). By definition, anthropology can be described as a branch of natural and social science dedicated to the study of human origin, behavior and subsequent developments in terms of cultural and social aspects.
With this in mind, this study shall set out to describe the inherent connection between anthropology and various civilizations. This shall be in a bid to explore the various aspects that led to the emergence of these societies and how they lived and developed throughout their historical bracket. Using anthropological theories, this study shall delve into the social, economical, religious and cultural behaviors that guided the societies through time and historical events.
Social anthropology theory
According to Langness (1987), this theory is based on the premises that social interactions play an integral part in the expansion and coexistence of various societies. It asserts that individuals are important to the growth and development of society and collectively, they shape the culture of that given society. For example, trying to trace the origin of the Mayan civilization can be compared to solving a mystery because we have to rely on the available clues left behind by centuries of historical events.
Such events include migrations, cultural and social erosions brought about by external interferences and lack of proper documentation of historical events affecting a particular society (Horevitz 2009). However, what has been agreed upon is that the Mayans have been in existence for as long as 2600BC. In addition, the growth of their civilization as described by Horevitz (2009) indicates that the Mayans occupied a significantly large proportion of central and southern America. However, up-to-date, there still are contentious issues regarding the boundaries that separated early Mayans physical and cultural influences on other neighboring civilizations.
Cultural evolution theory
The theory of cultural evolution (Unilineal Cultural Evolutional) has been used by Langness (1987) to give a description of the Mayan civilization. This anthropological theory is founded on the belief that all communities undergo similar evolutionary stages during the transition from primitiveness to civilized societies. As such, the theory proposes that there is a psychic unity of the humankind (Harris 2001: p. 24). This simply means that all societies had to go through the Morgans ethnical periods which were: savagery, barbarism and finally, civilization.
For example, historians have always agreed on the fact that there existed ancient civilizations which exhibited great cultural growth and development. One of the great ancient civilizations known to people is that of the Mayan people. The Mayans were a Meso-American civilization who occupied the southern part of present day Mexico. The Mayan culture was made possible by the agricultural conquest by the people (Sharer and Traxler 2003). These people had a well developed writing system which made use of phonetics and ideograms.
However, most of their written works perished with the disappearance of the civilization. Priests played an important part in the Mayan community. They notified the people of the passage of time and also acted as seers. One of the bleaker aspects of the Maya was human sacrificing ceremonies which were preceded over by the reverend priests (Sharer and Traxler 2003). While the exact reason for the decline of the Mayan populating remains controversial, Sharer and Traxler (2003) advance that major climate shifts from wet to dry that lasted for more than a century were the causes of the decline of this agriculture based civilization. Conquest by the Spanish In the 16th century further brought down the civilization. From this overview of the Mayan civilization, there is evidence of the Cultural evolution theory. This can be deduced from archaic practices such as human sacrifices to civilized trends such as writing.
Functionalism theory
According to Harris (2001), sociology and anthropology have many ideas in common. As mentioned earlier, anthropology studies behaviors and the origin of humankind. Sociology also focuses on the same ideologies and how they affect the civilization process. Robbins (2008), states that this anthropological theory focuses on the study of social segments and their effects on society. For example, men women and children played different but equally important roles in the development of the Mayan civilization. The women had their duties as caregivers while the men were basically tasked with the duties of hunting and governance (Robbins 2008). The children were gathers and took care of the animals (herding). In addition, women and children were not supposed to interfere with mens affairs and they could not speak or eat in the presence of men.
Materialism theory
As Robbins (2008) asserts, materialism is among the core anthropological perspectives used in the study of human societies. This theory is based on the belief that material possessions (physical world) can have a significant effect on how human beings behave. Proponents of this theory agree that human behavior is an integral part of nature and as such, it can be explored through studying nature. However, they do not disagree with the fact that the mental world also shapes human behavior. Instead, they argue that the physical world can do a better job in explaining human societies. This theory mainly focuses on the technological economical and environmental factors that could be used to explain how various societies survived. In essence, it has its premises on the mode of production used to ensure survival of human societies.
For example, domestication was arguable the most dramatic transformation of nature by the ancient Latin American inhabitants. Tastsoglou (2009), notes that starting from over 10,000 years ago, early Latin America inhabitants began domesticating wild plants and animals. Domestication led to surplus production of food which inevitably led to the growth of settlements such as the Mayan Civilization which had a complex system and rich culture. Domestication led to the development of the Mayan civilization since it resulted in an increase in agricultural production as well as exploitation of water and minerals to ensure the growth and prosperity of the society.
In addition, due to the rapid increase in population, the Mayans had to over cultivate their land so as to cater for the food needs of the people. Invariably, this over cultivation resulted in the decline in soil fertility which necessitated the Mayas had to come up with means of reversing this negative phenomena (Tastsoglou 2009). Clearing and burning of the forests so as to increase soil fertility were practiced as a means of ensuring providence.
Tastsoglou (2009), highlights that the Mayas practiced swidden agriculture which involved the clearing vast areas of forest, burning them so that the crops benefited from the nutrients in the ash and then abandoning the land while the forests rejuvenated. This method was effective since the fertility of the land was assured. The cutting down of trees was followed by a season of reforestation efforts therefore negating the negative effects of deforestation.
The wetland areas that the Maya occupied provided major constraints to both settlement and farming. This is because the constant flooding made the land inhabitable and crops could not survive the waters. However, the Maya developed methods for growing crops in these particular areas by building raised fields which made the crops safe from the flooding while taking advantage of the rich soils that the wetland environment provided (Tastsoglou 2009). By doing this, the Mayans adapted to their environmental condition favorably and were able to produce enough food to sustain the population.
Another innovation used by the Maya was the terracing of edges of plateaus with multiple low walls so as to stop erosion and retain rich soils (Demarest 2004). This technology led to the utilization of steep drop-offs which would otherwise have lain dormant due to soil erosion. In addition to this, small stone box terraces were also used as nurseries in areas near major centers resulting in the availability of food though all seasons (Demarest 2004). By using this technology, the Maya were able to provide food to the busting population by exploiting land that was seemingly not cultivatable.
Historical particularism
According to Harris (2001), this theory is based on the assumption that each society has unique historical developments and must be analyzed based on the specific cultural contexts . In this regard, the proponents of this theory argue that human societies should be evaluated on the basis of historical processes that made their civilizations different and unique from the rest. They argue that history and fieldwork are the best means to carryout cultural analysis of various civilizations.
For example, the great pyramids of Egypt have continued to fascinate people as a result of the ingenuity with which they were created. Explorers from Europe made their way to Egypt to witness this great architectural wonders and as far back as 1842, the Prusian explorer, Karl Richard Lepsius conducted expeditions to Egypt and set out to document the number of pyramids that the North African country boasted of (Harris 2001).
These magnificent structures make the Egyptian civilization unique owing to the great interest that pyramids elicit from people as well as the ancient cultural knowledge concerning ancient Egyptians. Despite the fact that many other ancient civilizations built pyramids which served as temples or tombs, the pyramids of Egypt are by far the most magnificent and well renowned.
Ancient Egyptian religion taught that earthly life was followed by an afterlife and the transition from the world of the living to that of the dead held a special place in Egyptian culture. The preservation of the dead body of an important person was seen as mandatory least the spirit of the said person wonders off unsatisfied bringing great disaster to the living. For this reason the mummification process, which was aimed at preserving the body of the dead, as well as building of durable tombs was practiced by Egyptians (Haughton 2006).
At the onset, dead pharaohs were buried in tombs known as Mastabas. These tombs were built of durable material unlike the houses that the Egyptians lived in which were made of reed, wood and other easily decomposable material. Physically, Mastabas were rectangular blocks made of baked clay and in later years, stones. It is these Mastabas that were enlarged to form a pyramid by stacking them one on top of each other.
The religious basis of the pyramids cannot be overstated and as Haughton (2006) documents, the pyramid, an upward-stepping form whose peak caught the first rays of morning light, was the emblem of the sun god as worshiped at Heliopolis (p.123). Haughton (2006) further notes that the Egyptian pyramids were meant to provide a comfortable afterlife for the deceased and they were therefore built of stone since they were meant to last for eternity.
In regards to the mayan civilization, the Mayan calendar is one of the most important relics from the Mayan civilization. It is widely contended that the greatest Mayan accomplishment was the creation of this intricate calendar system which was based on astronomical events such as the cycles of the sun, moon and planets (Haughton 2006).
The calendar was the center of the life and culture of the Mayan. The significance of the calendar system in the agricultural life of the Mayan is articulated by Haughton (2006) who confirm that the Mayan calendar specified the times when the land was to lie fallow and when it was to be cultivated. From these examples, the theory of historical particularism has been used to highlight historical developments made by the civilization and how these developments shaped the cultural and social behaviors of these civilizations.
Feminist anthropology
Women have in the present day been accredited with playing a pivotal role in the building of our societies. This task did not begin in the recent years but can trace its beginning as far back as the advent of time where the traditional role of women was mainly to serve their male counterparts. However, throughout history, the role that women played in the development of civilizations has not been given as much credit as it deserves (Haughton 2006). As such, proponents of the feminist anthropology theory base their argument on the fact that gender played a central role in the development of human society. They believe that despite the biasness experienced in accrediting women to societal development, women had a huge role to play in the promotion and maintenance of cultural and social underpinnings of their societies.
For example, women in Greek and Egyptian civilizations were generally subjected to chores which evolved around child-care. As Tastsoglou (2009) explains, Greek women often did repetitive tasks which could easily be interrupted incase their attention was required elsewhere. In addition, they were required to work in areas that did not require them to travel far from home and did jobs that would not amount to any losses when they attend to their children.
What Tastsoglou (2009) means is that women were viewed as mules whose main responsibility and purpose was to satisfy the needs of their husbands and children. The same applied to Egyptian women. They rarely had any social interaction with other members of society as they were often confined to their homes or doing odd jobs such as the collection of sea shells, wild plants, making clothed garments and an array of food processing activities (Harris 2001).
Women in both civilizations were expected to teach their children about the culture and customs of their people. It was the duty of every woman to train her children how to lead a moral life. Shame that emanated from a womans undoing was considered as a mans lack of control over his family. As such, Haughton (2006) reiterates that women were expected to follow a prescribed code of moral behavior that included modesty, compliance, submission and most important of all; chastity. Punishment for non-conformity was harsh and in some cases involved caning or even disownment.
In addition, women were supposed to maintain the honor of their homes. It was their duty to ensure that their husbands and male relatives get the respect they deserve. According to Haughton (2006), women were supposed to be sexually reserved. This was to ensure that they discourage tempting other men (both the Greek and Egyptian women were very beautiful and were viewed as sources of temptations by men). To this effect, they were expected to cover their bodies fully while in public and were discouraged to speak in the presence of men.
In regards to religious beliefs, religion played a pivotal role in the lives of everyone. This was mainly because ancient Greek and Egypt had different gods who were believed to be unforgiving in the face of disobedience. To appease these gods, sacrifices were made on a regular basis (Haughton 2006). Women were considered as pure vessels and were therefore tasked with the duty of preparing and offering the sacrifices to the gods. Harris (2001) reiterate that days equivalent to half a year were set aside for various religious ceremonies. Women were expected to teach their children about the religious beliefs, norms and rituals of their societies. They were expected to instill morals in their children and ensure that they understand the value and significance of the gods.
The most important role that women in these civilizations had to play was getting married and bearing children. Marriage as an institution was greatly respected and every woman was to be married (Langness 1987). Children were viewed as a source of pride by the men and having many children was reason enough to boast. This was because, a pregnant woman was perceived as a blessed one. Therefore, the more children one had, the more the blessings he was assumed to have. This was mostly because infertility was seen as a form of punishment from the gods. Therefore, bearing children was the most important role that women in these civilizations had to fulfill.
The proponents of the feminist anthropology theory argue that women had all the above tasks to play in society. However, credit is always given to the men who hunted and denied to the women who raised the men, gathered and ensured the transfer of cultural and social beliefs and mannerisms from one generation to the next(Avdela & Psarra 2005). What this theory asserts is that gender played a pivotal role in shaping the behavior of the civilization. Women played a significant role in the survival of these civilizations and should be considered if conclusive analyses regarding human societies are to be formed.
Conclusion
Anthropology has proven to be a useful area of study in facilitating further understanding of human beings. Not only has anthropological underpinnings helped in understanding society, but they have also been very crucial in comparing human development to these societies. From this study, different theories have been used to explain the various cultural, social and religious behaviors exhibited by different civilizations throughout history. These theories have been used to foster understanding regarding to human behavior and the role they play in the development of civilizations. Arguably, it can be stated without a doubt that anthropology will still remain relevant in the study of human societies even in decades to come.
References
Avdela, E., & Anne Psarra. 2005. Engendering Greekness: Womens Emancipation and Irredentist Politics in Nineteenth-Century Greece. Mediterranean Historical Review. 20: 67 79.
Demarest, Arthur. 2004. Ancient Maya: the rise and fall of a rainforest civilization. London: Cambridge University Press.
Harris, Marvin. 2001. The rise of anthropological theory: a history of theories of culture. USA: Rowman Altamira.
Haughton, Brian. 2006. Hidden History: Lost Civilizations, Secret Knowledge, and Ancient Mysteries. New York: Career Press.
Horevitz, Elizabeth. 2009. Understanding the Anthropology of Immigration and Migration. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment. 19: 745 758.
Langness, Lewis L. (1987). The study of culture. New York: Chandler & Sharp publications.
Moore, Jerry D. 2004. Visions of culture: an introduction to anthropological theories and theorists. USA: Rowman Altamira.
Robbins, Richard H. 2008. Cultural Anthropology: A Problem-Based Approach. New York: Cengage Learning.
Sharer, Robert and Loa Traxler. 2006. The Ancient Maya. USA: Stanford University Press.
Tastsoglou, Evans. 2009. Women, gender, and diasporic lives: labor, community, and identity in Greek migrations. California: Lexington Books
Order from us for quality, customized work in due time of your choice.