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PROCESSES OF CHANGE CHAPTER 15 FALL 2011 Why do Cultures Change? All cultures change at one time or another for a variety of reasons. Although people may deliberately alter their ways in response to problems or challenges, much change is unforeseen, unplanned, and undirected. Changes in existing values and behaviors may also come about due to contact with other peoples who introduce new ideas or tools. This sometimes involves the massive imposition of foreign ideas and practices through conquest of one group by another. Through cultural change, societies can adapt to altered conditions; however, not all change is positive or adaptive. What is Modernization? Modernization is a problematic term referring to a process of change by which traditional, nonindustrial societies acquire characteristics of technologically complex societies. Accelerated modernization interconnecting all parts of the world is known as globalization. Although commonly assumed to be a good thing, modernization has also led to the destruction of treasured customs and values, leaving many people unsettled, disoriented, and demoralized. How Do Cultures Change? The mechanisms of cultural change include innovation, diffusion, cultural loss, and acculturation. Innovation is the discovery or creation of something that is then accepted by fellow members in a society. Diffusion is the borrowing of something from another group, and cultural loss is the abandonment of an existing practice or trait, with or without replacement. Acculturation is a massive change that comes about in a group due to intensive firsthand contact with another, usually more powerful group. Typically, it occurs when dominant societies forcefully expand their activities beyond their borders, pressuring other societies to abandon their traditional culture and replace it with the foreign one. Culture has become the primary medium through which the human species adapts to change and solves the problems of existence. Various cultural institutions—such as religion, kinship, marriage, and political and economic organization—mesh to form an integrated cultural system. Because systems generally work to maintain stability, cultures are often fairly steady and remain so unless there is a critical change in one or more significant factors such as natural environment, technology, population density—or in people’s perceptions of the various conditions to which they are adapted. 1 Archaeological studies revel how elements of a culture may persist for long periods. In northeastern North America, for example, the cultures of indigenous inhabitants remained relatively consistent over thousands of years because they successfully adapted to relatively minor fluctuations in their social conditions and natural environments, making changes from time to time in tools, utensils, and other material support. Although stability may be a striking feature of many traditional cultures, all cultures are capable of adapting to changing conditions—climatic, economic, political, or ideological. Adaptation is a consequence of change that happens to work favorably for a population. However, not all change is positive or adaptive, and not all cultures are equally well equipped for making the necessary adjustments in a timely fashion. In a stable society, change may occur gently and gradually, without altering in any fundamental way the culture’s underlying structures, as was the case in much of North America before the European invasion several centuries ago. Sometimes, though, the pace of change may increase dramatically, to the point of destabilizing or even breaking up a cultural system. The modern world is full of examples of such radical changes, form the disintegration of the Soviet Union to the utter devastation of many indigenous communities in the Amazon caused by state efforts to develop Indian homelands and capitalize on the rainforest’s natural resources. The causes of change are many, including accidental discoveries, deliberate attempts to solve a perceived problem, and interaction with other peoples who introduce—or force—new ideas or tools or ways of life. Sometimes change is cause by the unexpected outcome of particular actions or events. For example, 500 years ago, with the establishment of European colonies in the homelands of the Algonquian—speaking people. Many people today believe the change came about because the newcomers were more advanced however one could argue that it was the reverse, for at the time these Indians had higher quality diets, enjoyed better health, and experienced less violence in their lives than did most Europeans. Because of displacements of small farmers in England, the English attempted to establish oversees colonies. Early efforts failed, until an epidemic of unprecedented scope resulted in the sudden death of 75-90 % of the indigenous inhabitants. They were exposed to host of foreign diseases through contact with European fishermen and traders. They would not have been successful unless they had the political and military techniques for dominating other peoples. They also came with the ideology of a just war, which they believed justified disposing America’s indigenous peoples who fought back in defense. Change imposed upon one group by another continues in much of the world today as culture contact intensifies between societies unequal in power. When those who have power , they refer it to progress. Progress is relative. Not everyone benefits from changes. Many have become the victims of progress, including foraging, herding, and peasant communities. 2 One of the first individuals who focused on the historical impact of European capitalist expansion was anthropologist Eric Wolf. See (anthropologist of Note 1923-1999) Mechanisms of Change Anthropologists ae not only interested in the structures of cultures as systems of adaption, which help us understand how a population maintains itself in a certain habitat, but also explains processes of cultural change. Innovation The ultimate source of all cultural change is innovation: any new idea, method, or device that gains widespread acceptance in society. Primary innovation is the creation, invention, or chance discovery of a completely new idea, method or device. A secondary innovation is a deliberate application or modification of an existing idea, method, or device. Firing clay is an example of a primary innovation. This discovery took place 25,000 years ago. However, it was not until about 10,000 years ago that people later recognized a highly practical application of fired clay and using it to make pottery containers and cooking vessels—a secondary innovation. See discussion of pottery on page 367. Diffusion The spread of certain ideas, customs, or practices from one culture to another is known as diffusion. So common is cross culture borrowing that North American anthropologist Ralph Linton suggested that it accounts for as much as 90% of any culture’s content. People are creative about their borrowing, however, picking and choosing form multiple possibilities and sources. Usually their selections are limited to those compatible with the existing culture. In Guatemala in the 1960s Maya Indians who then (as now) made up more than half of the country’s population, would adopt Western ways if the practical advantage of what they adopted was self-evident and did not conflict with their deeply rooted traditional values and customs. The use of metal hoes, shovels, and machetes became standard early on, for they were superior to stone tools and yet compatible with the cultivation of corn in the traditional way by using hand tools. Yet, other modern practices that might seem advantageous to Maya were resisted if they were perceived to be in conflict with Indian tradition. Pursuing these practices could make one an outcast. This happened to a young farmer who tried using chemical fertilizers and pesticides to grow cash crops of vegetable not eaten by the Maya to sell in the city. He found that he could not secure a “good” woman for a wife—a good woman being one who had never had sex with another man and is hard working. After abandoning his unorthodox ways, he regained acceptance in his community. 3 Take corn, or maize, first cultivated in Mexican highlands about 7000 years ago, this food crop diffused to much of the rest of North, Central, and South America over the next few millennia. In 1493 Columbus returned to Spain with samples of maize. First planted in kitchen gardens in Andalusia, in the course of several decades spread to other parts of Spain and Portugal. From there it diffused southwest, reaching France and Northern Italy by 1530s and in Southern Europe as cornmeal cakes or porridge. Portuguese traders introduced it to western Africa and across the Indian Ocean to South Asia from where it spread to China before the mid-1500s. Maize diffused across the globe became a major stable food. Not only altered people’s lives. Also can be attributed to enormous population growth since the 18th century. Example of metric system diffusion. Cultural Loss Most look at at cultural change as an accumulation of innovations. Frequently, however, the acceptance of a new innovation results in cultural loss—the abandonment of an existing practice or trait. For example, wheeled vehicles disappeared from Morocco to Afghanistan about 1500 years ago. They were replaced by camels, not because of some reversion to the past, but used as a packed animal worked better. Better suited to the region. Repressive Change Innovation, diffusion, and cultural loss all may take place among people who are free to decide for themselves what changes they will or will not accept. Frequently, changes they would not willingly make have been forced upon them by some group, usually in the course of conquest and colonialism. A direct outcome in many cases is repressive change to a culture, which anthropologists call acculturation. The most radical form of change is ethnocide. Acculturation is the massive culture change that occurs in a society when it experiences intensive firsthand contact with a more powerful society. It always involves an element of force, either directly as in conquests, or indirectly as in the implicit or explicit threat of force will be used if people refuse to make the demands changes. Other variables include degree of cultural differences, circumstances, intensity, frequency, and hostility of contact; relative status of the agents of contact; who is dominant and who is submissive; and whether the nature of the flow is reciprocal or nonreciprocal. Merger or fusion occurs when two cultures lose their separate identities and form a single culture, as historically expressed by the melting pot ideology of English-speaking, Protestant Euramerican culture in the United States. Sometimes thought, one of the cultures loses its autonomy but retains its identity as a subculture in the form of a caste, or ethnic group. This is typical of conquest or slavery situations, and the United States has examples of this despite its melting pot ideology—we need to look no further than the nearest American Indian reservation. Under the sway of powerful outsiders—and—unable to effectively resist imposed changes and obstructed in carrying out many of their own social, religious, and economic activities—subordinated groups are forced into 4 new social and culture practices that tend to isolate individuals and destroy the integrity of their traditional communities. Ethnocide, the violent eradication of an ethnic group’s collective cultural identity as a distinctive people, occurs when a dominant society deliberately sets out to destroy another’s society’s cultural heritage. Typically includes forbidding a subjugated nation’s ancestral language, criminalizing their traditional customs, destroying their religion and demolishing sacred places and practices. Breaking up their social organizations and dispossessing or removing their survivors from their homelands—in essences, stopping short of physical extermination while removing all traces of their unique culture. Tibet is an example of this. Invaded by Chinese in 1950, the government has initiated its ethnocidal policies by means of systematic attacks against traditional Tibetan culture. Seeking to stamp out deeply rooted religious beliefs and practices, it order the demolition of most Buddhist temples and monasteries. Following a mass uprising, hundred of thousands of Tibetans were killed or forced into exile abroad. Examples of violence in Amazon. Page 372. Directed Change One byproduct of colonial dealings with indigenous peoples have been the growth of applied anthropology. Scope and intent expanded. Franz Boas, influenced immigration stats on skull and other related studies. He changed popular race theories of the day. Today, are in the field of international development. Known today as action anthropology, concern with community based research and action in collaboration and solidarity with indigenous societies. Reaction to Repressive Change Indigenous peoples fight through nonviolent means to retain their identities by maintaining cultural boundaries such as holding on to traditional language, festive ceremonies, customary dress, ritual songs and dances, unique food, and so on. Syncretism When people are able to hold on to some of their traditions in the face of powerful outside domination, the results may be syncretism—the creative blending of indigenous and foreign beliefs and practices into new cultural forms. For Trobriand they used changed their practices around cricket using these as a means of celebration. Revitalization Movements Another common reaction to repressive change is revitalization. This is in response to widespread social disruption and collective feelings of anxiety and despair. 1960s movement of middle and upper class young people advocating free love, joining hippie communes, celebrating new forms of rock and folk music, using mindaltering drugs, challenging authority, growing hair long, and wearing unconventional clothes. The 1980s saw the rise of religious right. Rebellion and Revolution When the scale of discontent within a society reaches a certain level, the possibilities are high for rebellion—organized armed resistance to an establish government or authority in power. Many peasant rebellions around the world in 5 the course of history. One such example is the Zapatista Maya Indian uprising in southern Mexico which began in the mid- 1990s and has not been resolved. In contrast to rebellion, which his rather limited objectives, Revolution—a radical change in a society or culture—involves a more dramatic transformation. Revolution occur when the level of discontent in a society is very high. It is clear that the colonial polices of countries like Britain, France, Spain, Portugal, and the United States during the 19th and 20th centuries have created a worldwide situation in which revolution is nearly inevitable. One of the most important facts of our time is that the vast majority of the distinct peoples of the world have never consented to rule by the governments of states within which they find themselves living. Modernization The process of political and socioeconomic change, whereby developing societies acquire some of the cultural characteristics of Western industrial societies. Technological development Agricultural development Urbanization Industrialization Telecommunication Self Determination Saami Herders: The snowmobile revolution and its un-intended consequences. Shuar Indians and Cattle in Amazon Globalization in the Underdeveloped World. 6