\[ **BT: [[home]]** ] --- # society ## people and culture - see also: - [[countries of the world]] - [[Anglo-Saxons]] ### culture #### defining ‘culture’ ![[Boyden, ‘Human Biohistory’, 2013#^daa3a8]] [^1] #### development of human culture > [[‘Through the processes of biological evolution, the human species had acquired a distinctive and extraordinarily significant biological attribute — the capacity for culture.’]][^2] > [[Humankind's ‘linguistic aptitude depends on both characteristics of the human brain and on special anatomical arrangements in the region of the larynx, pharynx and tongue which permit us to utter an amazing range of different sounds.’|’The most essential aspect of this capacity is the human ability to invent and learn a symbolic spoken language, and to use it for communicating among ourselves. This linguistic aptitude depends on both characteristics of the human brain and on special anatomical arrangements in the region of the larynx, pharynx and tongue which permit us to utter an amazing range of different sounds.’]][^3] ##### cultural comparisons e.g. ethnocentrism, cultural relativism ##### cultural patterns ###### convergence [[Convergence, within sociology, is the idea that societies move towards a condition of similarity.]][^4] ##### cultural adaptation and change ##### cultural institutions - see: [[#major cultural components and institutions of human society]] #### types of culture in broad sweeps ##### pastoralists and herdspeople [[Polygyny and pastoralism often coevolve with bridewealth (transfers from the groom or his family to the bride’s family).]][^5] #### subcultures > ‘Groups of people belonging to cultures that differentiate them from the larger culture to which they belong. Subcultures develop their own norms and values regarding cultural, political, and sexual matters.’[^6] - see also: - [[fandom]] #### processes of cultural change - see also: [[social change]] ### major cultural components and institutions of human society - see: - [[kinship]] - [[#social status]] (incl. class) - [[production, distribution, and utilisation of wealth|economic systems]] - [[cosmology]] #### manners and customs ##### misc. manners and customs - see: - [[childrearing]] - [[folkways]] - [[food habits]] - [[gender]] - [[gifts]] - [[hugging]] - [[! inbox/kissing|kissing]] - [[nightlife]] - [[oaths]] - [[social norms]] - [[tattooing]] - [[trans|trans*]] - [[undressing]] - [[queer|queer*]] ##### passage and purification rites: birth, puberty, marriage, death ###### birth - see: - [[birth customs]] ###### puberty ###### marriage - see: - [[marriage rites and customs]] - wedding customs - [[wedding customs--China]] ###### death - see: - [[death and dying]] - [[death and dying--China]] - [[funeral rites and ceremonies]] - [[mourning customs]] ##### religious belief, folklore - see: - [[religion]] - [[Buddhism]] - [[Christianity]] - [[Confucianism]] - [[Daoism]] - [[Islam]] - [[religion--China]] - [[folklore]] + [[fortune]] + [[astrology, Chinese|Chinese astrology]] + [[astrology, Western|Western astrology]] ##### legal systems - see: - [[legal systems]] - [[law and legislation--China]] ##### artistic expression: literature, visual arts, performing arts; crafts - see: - [[art]] - [[literature]] ##### linguistic systems - see: [[#language and communication]] ##### recreation, sports and games - see: [[games]] ##### education - [[education]] - [[education--China]] - [[education--England]] ### language and communication - see: [[language and communication]] ## social organisation and social change ### social structure and change - see: - societal structure - social effects of bureaucratic and industrial specialisation - social effects of industrialisation - social effects of modernisation - [[socialisation; social control]] - [[social change]] ### the group structure of society #### various types of groups ##### the family - see: - [[family]] ##### special-interest groups - see: - [[queer|queer people]] - [[trans|trans people]] ##### groups by age - see: [[generations]] ##### special concerns - see: - [[addiction]] - [[non-marital childbearing]] - [[orphans and foundlings]] - [[poverty]] %% #### social services %% ### social status ### human populations - see: - [[human populations]] - [[human life cycle#conception/fertilisation]] - [[contraception]] - [[contraception in China]] - [[population planning]] ## production, distribution, and utilisation of wealth - see: - [[production, distribution, and utilisation of wealth]] ## politics and government - see: - [[politics and governance]] ## education - see: [[education]] - [[education--China]] - [[education--England]] [^1]: Stephen Boyden, ‘[[Boyden, ‘Human Biohistory’, 2013|Human Biohistory]]’, in *Long Term Socio-Ecological Research. Studies in Society: Nature Interactions Across Spatial and Temporal Scales*, ed. Simron Jit Singh et al. (Springer, 2013), p. 140, <https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1177-8_7>. [^2]: ‘Matrifocal family’, Wikipedia, last edited 10 February 2025, 04:26 (UTC), <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matrifocal_family>. [^3]: Stephen Boyden, ‘[[Boyden, ‘Human Biohistory’, 2013|Human Biohistory]]’, *Long Term Socio-Ecological Research. Studies in Society: Nature Interactions Across Spatial and Temporal Scales*, ed. Simron Jit Singh et al. (Springer, 2013), p. 141, <https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1177-8_7>. [^4]: ‘Convergence Theories’, *what-when-how*, accessed 18 April 2024, <https://what-when-how.com/sociology/convergence-theories/>. [^5]: Juan Du and Ruth Mace, ‘[[Du and Mace, ‘Marriage Stability in a Pastoralist Society’, 2019|Marriage Stability in a Pastoralist Society]]’, *Behavioural Ecology*, vol. 30, no. 6 (2019), p. 1567, <https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arz115>. [^6]: ’Subcultures’, [[sources/Homosaurus|Homosaurus: An International LGBTQ+ Linked Data Vocabulary]], last edited 23 February 2025, 07:10:53 (UTC), <https://homosaurus.org/v3/homoit0001345>.