Paper No.

: 10 Theories and methods in social and cultural Anthropology

Module : 04 Evolutionism

Development Team

Principal Investigator Prof. Anup Kumar Kapoor

Department of Anthropology, University of Delhi

Prof. Anup Kumar Kapoor

Paper Coordinator
Department of Anthropology, University of Delhi

Prof. Anup Kumar Kapoor

Content Writer Department of Anthropology, University of Delhi

Prof. Subir Biswas, Department of Anthropology, West

Content Reviewer Bengal State University, Barasat, West Bengal

Theories and methods in social and cultural Anthropology

Anthropology Evolutionism
 Description of Module

Subject Name Anthropology

Paper Name 10 Theories and methods in social and cultural Anthropology

Module Name/Title Evolutionism

Module Id 04

Theories and methods in social and cultural Anthropology

Anthropology Evolutionism
 Contents

INTRODUCTION

1. Concept of Evolution

1.1 Herbert Spencer (1820-1903)

1.2 Edward .B .Tylor

1.3 L.H. Morgan

2. Evolution is of two types:

2.1 Classical/19th century evolution/Victorian evolution

2.2 Neo-Evolution

3. Universal and multilinear evolution

4. Multilinear evolution in relation to Unilinear evolution

5. Differential evolution

Summary

Learning outcome:

1. To know the concept of Culture.

2. Able to write short note on contributions of Evolutionary thinkers.

3. Understand the term Evolution and its types.

4. Able to write about the Spencer‘s evolution.

5. Able to write about Evolutionism.

Theories and methods in social and cultural Anthropology

Anthropology Evolutionism
 INTRODUCTION

Evolutionism is a set of ideas or doctrine concept of Evolution. It is a sequential, directional and

gradual occurring process. It is process of systematic change. In cultural and social anthropology the
gradual, structural change of human culture is subject of study by evolutionists. The beginning of the
18th century evolutionary perspective is related to the origins of Europe rapid modernization and some
peoples thought that civilization started from Europe. In 1833 Sir Charles Lyell (1794-1875) published

Charles Lyell (1794-1875) Charles Darwin (1809-1892)

the third and last volume of ―Principles of Geology‘‘, which highly influenced Charles Darwin which
allows him to think evolution as a slow evolving process in which slow changes accumulated over a
span of time. Charles Darwin concentrated his effort on the evolution of biological forms. In his view
the most important principle governing evolution was natural selection, survival of better adapted
species. Lyell said that geological processes present in the past were much the same as those we see
today — forces such as sedimentation in rivers, erosion by wind or deposition of ash and lava by
volcanic eruptions. This is the principle of uniformitarian. This is against the theory of Noah's Flood
which is known as catastrophism. Concept of evolution is a Pre-Darwinian .The evolutionism came
around beginning of 2nd half of 19th century after the publication of Charles Darwin "origin of
species" in 1859. Darwin work was based on the Exploration on "voyage of beagle". Darwin brought
the evidence based on fact, empirical substanted the idea of evolution. These theories later influenced
by biological theory of evolution. Anthropology is a child of Darwinism said by the R.R. Merit. Most
of the early 19th and some of the 20th century aimed to develop approaches of evolution of mankind.
Most 19th-century and some 20th-century approaches aimed to provide models and theories for the
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 evolution of mankind as a single entity. However, most 20th-century approaches, such as multilinear
evolution, focused on changes specific to individual societies.

Unilinear cultural evolution was an important concept in the emerging field of anthropology during the
18th and 19th centuries. Scholars began to propagate theories of multilinear cultural evolution in the
1930s, and these neo-evolutionism perspectives continue. This marks the beginning of Anthropology
as a scientific discipline and shift from ''Primitive to advanced Societies''.

1. Concept of Evolution

Evolution is gradual occurring, slow process and imperceptible i.e. too small to see. Evolution is a idea
of time. It is vertical in approach. The theory of evolution is first discovered by Charles Darwin in his
book "origin of species". Darwin was empiricist while other is metaphysist. Darwin's evidences called
Natural history expedition. Darwin shows with the help of evidences, observation his work become
highly convincing. There is other concept also like Revolution, which came later. Revolution is a
sudden change in structure and produces unanticipated changes, due to this revolution disturbs,
disrupts and disorganized. In other words revolution is a radical, relatively abrupt change that involves
change in some kind of struggle against something and somebody.

Theory of creationism : It is meant by evolution as a change from simple to complex and gradual/
imperceptible(can‘t seen) and this is contrary to the Darwinian ideas as it says that god created the
universe including humans and other living things. Creationists say that creatures started out as distinct
and separate organisms when God created them and they do not believe that organisms change into
complete differently and distinct animals through evolution.

1.1 Herbert Spencer (1820-1903)

He is an English philosopher and Contemporary of Darwin. He is author of book "Principles of

Sociology". He defines evolution as a change from indefinite, incoherent homogeneity to a definite and
coherent homogeneity through continuous differentiation and integration and he gave the concept of
evolution in terms:

1) Process of change where all things change from the simplest of the forms to the most complex.

2) Things which are relatively undifferentiated to the things which are differentiated which mean that
one part is different from other.
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 Example: Amoeba which is undifferentiated and Human being which is differentiated.

3) Change from Homogeneous (part look alike) to the Heterogeneous.

Idea of Evolution in terms of:

 Simple Complex

 Homogenous Heterogeneous

 Undifferentiated Differentiated

He thought the process of evolution is Progressive change, it is not a retrogressive. He said that all
system irrespective to other are evolving therefore he regarded as‘‘ Philosopher of universal
evolution‘‘

Evolution is a process, within it there are 2 processes:

1) Process of Differentiation -Things become different on time or dissimilar on time and it make one
part different from other. Always have probability that these parts will fall apart.Attempt to link one
part to other.

2) Process of Integration-They all are being connected. Integration go side by side with
differentiation. It compensates for differentiation. Spencer said that both the process is required side by
side. Higher the system (more evolved) betters the Integration.Spencer says that some society are
perpetually in motion i.e. unstable and unstable dissipation of motion. As a society evolve they are
more integrations of matter because of instability, motion have been taken away.

Out of Africa –origin

 Evolution involves ―dissipation of Motion and more integration of matter‖.

 Two kinds of societies:

1) Military society and

2) Industrial society.
Survival of the fittest
A major issue of Spencer is:

Struggle for food

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 Elimination of weak

It was Herbert Spencer who actually coined the phrase "Survival of the fittest" in which there is a
constant struggle amongst the species i.e. struggle for food. As a result there is a continual struggle,
the stronger species survived and while the weaker species die, this is known as ―Elimination of weak‖.
J.D.Y. Peel said that most of the scholars were impressed by Spencer‘s ideas than Darwinian ideas.

Many scholars talk about evolution of human society/ culture. Some talk about Biological evolution in
which we study about stages through which we passed. In this we find the reasons origin of a
phenomenon.

Our study comprises of two things:

 Origin of society and

 Sequence of evolution.

It is not that we have to answer both the question because we are not able to answer the Origin but we
should attempt or try to find the answer.

In 1871, two prominent works were published and these are:

Edward .B .Tylor L.H.Morgan (1818-1881)

1.2 Edward .B .Tylor (1832-1917) - He talked about the Primitive culture. He mainly concern with
origin of religion. Tylor look through missionaries' accounts, explorlers' journals, ancient texts and
ethnological reports to search for similarities in human culture. Then he look that how these similarities

Theories and methods in social and cultural Anthropology

Anthropology Evolutionism
 arrive , two possible explanations arrived - one is that the similarities is due to parallel invention or the
evidences of contacts-direct or indirect , contemporary or historical.

1.3 L.H. Morgan (1818-1881) - He talked about Ancient society. He concerns with origin of the entire
society and study the evolution of human society and culture. This is influential and enraging. He was
a pioneering American anthropologist and social theorist and he is best known for his work on kinship
and social structure, his theories of social evolution. Interested in what holds societies together, he
proposed the concept that the earliest human domestic institution was the matrilineal clan not the
patriarchal family.

2. Evolution is of two types:

 Classical/19th century evolution/Victorian evolution

 Neo-evolutionism

2.1 Classical/19th century evolution/Victorian evolution

The nineteenth century concept of evolution is known as unilinear evolution as it emphasized one
straight – line course of development. It is macro-cultural i.e. applicable to entire human society/
culture. It is ceaseless i.e. always continuing, never stop there is apocalyptic aspects (beyond which no
evolution can occur or happen).Initially Unilinear evolution regarded as a progressive change or
development and this change is good, beneficial, improvement in earlier stages. Evolution is separated
from progress. Evolution is a gradual change and a neutral term while progress is value-loaded concept
of goodness. This 19th-century unilinear evolution suggested that societies were in primitive state in
the beginning and gradually become more civilized over time, and equated the culture and technology
of Western civilization with progress. Spencer's theory of 'cosmic evolution' has much more similar
with the works of Jean-Baptist Lamarck and Auguste Comte than with contemporary works of Charles
Darwin. Spencer developed and published his theories several years earlier than Darwin.

The unilinear evolution, according to Steward, was characterize by the classical evolutionist-who ‗dealt
with particular cultures, placing them in the stages of a universal sequence ‘‘Morgan and Tylor fit in
this category. The anthropological theory tried to explain the cultural development in terms of cultural
evolution in which new culture form emerged out of the older ones. Tylor is called as Father of modern
anthropology for his contribution to the concept of culture. In the book ‗Primitive Culture‘ (1871) he
defined culture or civilization. He talk about origin of religion and postulated that culture is evolved
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 from simple to complex and all societies had passed through some stages of development and identify
3 stages:

1) Animism (Worship of Soul) - It is the earliest concept of the religion and it belief in existence
of spiritual things. Belief in existence of Soul (anima).

2) Polytheism-Worship of God and Goddess.

3) Monotheism-Worship of single God.

Morgan believes that it is a uniform and progressive cultural evolution and believed that human
societies had evolved from lower to higher types through successive stages. In the book ‗Ancient
society‘ Morgan wrote about human society that passes from 3 stages:

1) Savagery (lower stage)- when human largely depend on nature for their survival. They are
hunter and food gatherers. They use fire, bow etc.

2) Barbarism (middle stage) – These are perceived to be uncivilized. Discovery of pottery for
food storage.

3) Civilization (final stage) –Human being start using Machines for food production. Technology
arrived which makes things better and easier.

These are applied to human society which includes Institution (religion, polity, kinship, economics,
specific culture traits like language, fire, plough. Cultural parallels thought to be arrive from the idea of
the psychic unity of mankind- belief that in terms of psychic make up Man was same everywhere that
we have same need, same mental framework, and same response and think alike. This psychic unity of
mankind is given by the Adolf Bastian. This account for same stages of evolution, fact that all society
will pass through the same stages (one line of evolution) known as Unilinear evolution. Although
different society have different speed some society become monotheism while other become animism.
Besides Tylor and Morgan, Haddon and Levi Bruhl also contribute in evolutionary sequences. Haddon
trace it through art forms from an early realistic stage through geometric to symbolic or abstract forms.
Because all human think alike thus, everywhere the same phenomena will originate and occurred in all
societies in same manner inspite they were quite apart and isolated from each other. This is known as
idea of Parallelism or idea of Parallel evolution.

Criticism of Unilinear Evolution

1) High degree of Ethnocentrism – People judge other culture in terms of their own belief.
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 2) Over ambitious approach- Approach did not realize that the fact of past can never be
completely known because there are no residue of it or evidence to support it.

3) Archeological implements were shattered not everything available, only some evidences were
available and some are un-perished like stone implements.

4) Based on little ethnographic data- Data collected from travelllers and missionaries in which
some stories about past may be faulty or some may forget about past.

They get information of past society on the basis of contemporary ''Primitive societies''.Society may
have traits of past called as '' Survivals'' / "remnants". These are called ―social fossils" by Tylor
because they are survival of the past. Morgan called them ―remnants of the past” but this was his
assumption. No proof were there that these are characters of past society. Therefore it is Pejorative to
call these people.

A.R. Radcliffe Brown called classical evolution as a ―pseudo historical‖ and ―conjectural history‖.

B.Malinowski said ―limbs of Conjectural reconstruction‖

5) Role of Cultural contact- Use idea of culture sharing and borrowing. Morgan study kinship
terminology and collect data by preparing questionnaire and send to people working in non-western
e.g. missionaries, soldiers. He analysis it but didn‘t understand the role of cultural contact. Due to all
these reasons Unilinear evolution get rejected which led to formation of theory of Neo-evolution.

2.2 Neo-Evolution

Anthropologist revived their interest in evolutionary approaches of culture and it did not wiped out in
the nineteenth century. One of the vehement critics was R.H. Lowie said that, ‗‗evolution is far from
dead and our body is merely to define it with precision‖ (1917). Later idea of neo evolution was
brought up mainly by the anthropologist like V.G. Childe (1892-1957), J.H. Steward and L.A. white.
Neo-evolution emerged in the 1940s, by the work of the American anthropologists Leslie A. White and
Julian H. Steward and others. L.A White hypothesized that cultures became advanced as they became
more efficient at harnessing energy and that technology and social organization were both influential.

Neo-evolution is advanced concept of classical or unilinear theory of evolution. Neo-evolution dealt

with the culture as a whole, than a particular culture. They are in favor that the evolution was
essentially divergent as the cultures of the world did not pass through the similar stages of development
and cultures of development depend upon the bio-cultural balance on the ecological niche. For them
growth of culture is important rather than reconstruction of culture.

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 Marshall Sahlins, co-editor with Elman Service of Evolution and Culture (1960) Marshall Sahlins and
Elman Service were students and colleagues of White and Steward. They combine their views and
form two different kind of evolution, Specific and General Evolution. They concluded that evolution
move in two directions at a time. Specific evolution means that new forms appear from old. This
divergence and adaptation is known as Specific evolution. While General evolution refers as society
for which higher form arise from the lower forms by suppressing it and Sahlins found the Parallelism
and Convergence.

3. Universal And Multilinear Evolution

Steward did not coined the term ―multilinear evolution‖ but theory of multilinear evolution is
associated with him. Universal evolution dealt with culture rather than cultures. Steward coined the
term ‗Universal evolution‘ to label the ideas of L.A. White and V. Gordon Childe who gave the
concept of evolution of a culture as a process of Thermodynamics. It is the increase in energy and
technology for which culture is progressed i.e. culture = Energy X Technology. White focused on how
to harnessing the energy as a measure of cultural development, while Childe focused on the
technological revolution. Ultimately they both the Scholars were focusing on the advancement in the
social and mental plane. Steward did not agree with the theory of universal evolution because it does
not able to explain specific instance of cultural evolution so he came up with multilinear evolution.
Steward‘s third type of evolution called as Multilinear evolution which is a 20th-centuary social theory
and interested in particular cultures instead of finding local variations and diversity. This theory
replaced the older theory of 19th century of Unilinear evolution. The critiques of classical evolution
were widely accepted, which led to emergence of Modern theories which are free from ethnocentric
speculation, comparisons, unsourced, more or less regarding individual societies.

For Steward, ―multilinear evolution is essentially a methodology based on the assumption that
significant regularities in cultural change occur.‖ Multilinear evolution dealt with limited parallels of
forms, function and sequence which have empirical validity. This type of evolution show that social
institution does not develop in an upward straight line but along the parabolic curve. In this it starts
with particular form develop into its opposite form and the returns back to its original form but at a
different higher level. Leslie White asserted that ‗Culture evolved as the amount of energy harnessed
per capital, per year is increased‘.

4. Multilinear evolution in relation to Unilinear evolution

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 The two forms of evolution are by no means antithetical or opposed. Indeed they may occur closely
related in the same historic sequence. At certain stages of development, cultures may evolve similarly,
while at other stages they may diverge and follow separate paths.

http://image.slidesharecdn.com/subsistence-systems-food-producing-systems-1198997949397892-2/95/subsistence-
systems-food-producing-systems-41-728.jpg?cb=1225425149

Steward is basically an ecologist and his focus is on the techno-environment and techno- economic
criteria. He classified the societies on the basis of their level of ecological adjustment to the
environment. He took specific cultural similarities and differences. Still after all his effort the theory of
multilinear evolution failed to yield a wide scope .It does not able to explain the comprehensive set of
evolutionary principles to cover the growth of a culture from early historic time to the present time

5. Differential Evolution

The theory of Differential evolution was proposed by the R.L. Carneiro and S.F. Tobias. This term is
same as term used by the Hooton‘s term ‗asymmetrical evolution‘. In this it show that differential rate
of evolution which occurred in various culture. These differences also found in respect to different
spheres of the same culture.

Neo-evolutionism is more likely to be a methodology than a theory due to various reasons:

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 1) Neo-evolutionism based on the assumption that significant regularities in culture change occur
and concerns with cultural laws.
2) Neo- evolutionism deals with forms, function and sequence of culture, which have empirical
validity.
3) A theory has Concreteness and Specificity but Neo-evolutionism is not a theory in true sense
because it lacks the Concreteness and Specificity.
4) Nature of culture is dynamic i.e. culture changes with time and space. Neo-evolutionary did not
able to solve the problems of time and space to deduce a cross-cultural similarity.
For all these drawbacks, the Neo-evolutionism remains far from being a theory. It regarded as an
essential methodology.

SUMMARY

Evolution is a process of change, which is slow, gradual, directional and gradual occurring process. It is
concept of Pre-Darwinian. In 1833 Sir Charles Lyell (1794-1875) published the last volume of
Principles of Geology and gave the principle of uniformitarian, which highly influenced Darwin. The
evolutionism came around century after the publication of Charles Darwin "origin of species" in 1859.
Darwin work was based on the Exploration on "voyage of beagle. 19th-century unilinear evolution
suggested that societies were in primitive state in the beginning and gradually become more civilized
over time.

Herbert Spencer defines evolution as a change from indefinite, incoherent homogeneity to a definite and
coherent homogeneity through continuous differentiation and integration .He thought the process of
evolution is Progressive change, it is not a retrogressive. In 1871, Edward B. Tylor talked about the
Primitive culture and origin of religion. L.H. Morgan talked about Ancient society and origin of the
entire society. Evolutionism is of two types:

1) Classical/19th century evolution/Victorian evolution-The nineteenth century concept of evolution

is known as unilinear evolution as it emphasized one straight – line course of development. It is
ceaseless i.e. always continuing. E.B. Tylor talks about origin of religion and postulated that culture is
evolved from simple to complex societies. Criticism of Unilinear Evolution-High degree of
Ethnocentrism, over ambitious approach, Archeological implements were shattered not everything
available, Based on little ethnographic data.

2) NEO-EVOLUTION- Neo-evolution was brought up mainly by the anthropologist like V.G. Childe,
J.H. Steward and L.A. white. Neo-evolution emerged in the 1940s, L.A White hypothesized that
cultures became advanced as they became more efficient at harnessing energy and technology. Marshall
Sahlins and Elman Service combine their views and form two different kind of evolution, Specific and
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 General. Sahlins found the Parallelism and Convergence. For Steward, ―multilinear evolution is
essentially a methodology based on the assumption that significant regularities in cultural change
occur.‖ Multilinear evolution dealt with limited parallels of forms, function and sequence which have
empirical validity.

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