Some Anthropological Theories

Unilineal evolution

All societies pass through a series of stages.

Tylor, Morgan

Functionalism

Culture can be understood by how it serves human biological and psychological needs.

Malinowski

Structural functionalism

The primary function of different elements of culture is to keep the entire social system in a steady state, or to maintain social equilibrium.

Radcliffe-Brown

Neo-evolutionism

Cultures evolve in direct proportion to their capacity to harness energy.

White, Steward

French structuralism

Human cultures are shaped by pre-programmed codes of the human mind.

Lévi-Strauss

Ethnoscience

The ethnographer must describe a culture in terms of native categories (emic) rather than in terms of his/her own categories (etic).

Sturtevant, Goodenough

Cultural materialism

Human groups adapt to the conditions in their natural environments.

Harris

Interpretive anthropology

Human behaviour stems from the way people perceive and classify the world around them.

Geertz