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Tyrone Schiff
Anthropology 330
Steps in the Right Direction
Today, society accepts the fact that humanity is diverse. This has not always been
the case, however. In fact, human diversity is a relatively new idea on the immense and
infinite timeline of existence. About 150 years ago, anthropologists and ethnographers
formulated theories and concepts that broke down mental barriers that previously dictated
the common outlook on human diversity. Some of the most significant contributions
came from Thomas R. Trautmann. His work provides a framework for interpreting a
understand the transformation in human diversity, we must understand its past. In order to
further realize how the concept of human diversity has transformed through time, The
Origins of Culture by Edward Burnett (E.B.) Tylor will be cited. E.B. Tylor, an English
Europeans defined human diversity in terms of having similar capacities that evolved into
Trautmann explains that, “each nation in the Bible narrative takes its origin by descent
from Noah and his three sons, Shem, Ham and Japhet, often identified respectively with
the nations of Asia, Africa and Europe” (Trautmann 1992: 386). This view of human
based primarily in biblical text. It pinpoints a start and extrapolates from that the anatomy
of the world. The reason that this view does not promote human diversity is because it
classifies enormous regions together and does not take into account the variances that are
inherent to each. A significant benefit of the revolution was its ability to claim separate
creations of humans or perhaps even the degeneration from an “original” human type.
consequence of the revolution in ethnological time was its ability to welcome diversity
and dissimilarities inherent to human existence. This new view of human life promoted
exploration and education about unique cultures dispersed around the world and spurred
anthropological research. However, there were further strides to make before the
The definitive step towards the revolution in ethnological time was the discovery
“crowded into the space of a few thousand years” (Trautmann 1992: 380). When bones
and extinct animals started to be found by anthropologists, the idea of a short chronology
of life was changed forever (Trautmann 1992: 380). All of a sudden, anthropologists had
great lengths of time to fill. Therefore, they had to develop a new schema or theory to fill
in the immense time gaps that were becoming more evident based on archaeological
findings. The prevailing theory that surfaced out of the revolution in ethnological time is
social evolutionism (Trautmann 1992: 380). This concept is largely the result of Charles
Darwin’s findings and publications. It is not to say that the revolution in ethnological
time was the result of Darwinism, but rather that his theory helped put the pieces of the
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puzzle together (Trautmann 1992: 379). Trautmann explains further by saying, “now it is
certainly the case that anthropology as we know it came into existence in the decade of
Darwin, more or less between the publication of The origin of species in 1859 and that of
The descent of man in 1871” (Trautmann 1992: 379). This, therefore, sets the stage for
Some anthropologists maintained that cultures all possessed similar capacities, but
were at different locations in terms of their progression towards being fully actualized, or
in other words, European. E.B. Tylor articulates this point in The Science of Culture when
he states that, “mankind [is] homogenous in nature, though placed in different grades of
civilization” (Tylor 1958: 7). In order to support this idea with evidence, Tylor studies
civilizations based on similarities that can be found within each. Tylor looks specifically
at the development of weapons, textile arts, and myths (Tylor 1958: 7). Tylor likens the
process of classification to that of a naturalist studying species of plants (Tylor 1958: 8).
ethnological time have therefore become far more systematic and structured. Human
naturalist promoted the importance of geographical distribution (Tylor 1958: 8). Tylor
explains that, “just as certain plants and animals are peculiar to certain districts, so it is
with such instruments as the Australian boomerang, […] and in like manner with many
an art, myth, or custom, found in a particular field” (Tylor 1958: 8). Anthropologists
further gained awareness that regions on Earth could be as populous with diversity as the
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trees and flowers of the world. This is significant because it reveals that there is a wealth
of diversity on the planet. It also reveals a different approach to thinking about diversity.
It suggested that diversity was constantly changing and contorting itself and that one type
items that he refers to as “survivals” (Tylor 1958: 16). Tylor hypothesizes that these
survivals are various habits that persist through the decades, which inevitably provide
proof that there used to be an older culture than the one that exists today (Tylor 1958: 16).
In order to illustrate this point, one could think about a long-bow and a cross-bow. Both
of these instruments are relatively the same. They serve the same general purpose.
However, one of the instruments is perhaps a little more sophisticated and more
developed than its counterpart. It is natural to assume then that the cross-bow was the
result of a modification of the long-bow (Tylor 1958: 15). It is important to note that the
task that is being performed with this instrument, hunting in this case, is central to most
all civilizations. This furthers the idea that civilizations have similar capacities, but
differentiate themselves in how they achieve those means by forming culturally diverse
habits or using special tools. Aside from survival, a civilization has other means of
diversifying itself. Tylor proposes that through means of progress, degradation, revival,
and modification, civilizations can change and grow (Tylor 1958: 17). All of these
knowledge associated with human diversity would never have been as encompassing as it
has become. Before the revolution, the history of mankind was seen as short period in
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time that depended upon old scriptures like the Bible for reference. As Trautmann puts it,
“the decisive event for the formation of anthropology […] [was] the sudden collapse of
the short biblical chronology for human history, and the opening out of an earlier
prehistory of indefinite length” (Trautmann 1992: 379). Prior to this, there was a closed
and ethnographers had to adapt to these new findings. The way that they adapted was
through molding present discoveries at the time to the study of civilizations. Around the
same time that anthropologists were making a number of archaeological finds, which
suggested a much longer human history than initially thought, Charles Darwin developed
his theory of evolution. Anthropologists further adapted this theory to civilizations. This
literally transformed the way that people thought about human diversity. Cultural
evolution forced anthropologists to think about the history of cultures in different ways.
civilizations even more and focus on the minor details that formulated a given culture. All
of these details were weighed on a gradient with European civilization at the top. This
new view did not come without its drawbacks though. By proposing a hierarchical
unjustly. It assumes that European way of life is the pinnacle, which is not warranted by
any scientific reasoning. One ought to be aware of both the positive and negative impacts
Bibliography
Trautmann, Thomas R.
1992 The Revolution in Ethnological Time. Man, New Series 27(2): 379-297.
1958 “The Science of Culture” in The Origins of Culture. New York: Harper and
Brothers Publishers.