Cultural Materialism

Cultural Materialism is a way to understand why and how societies change. It grew in popularity by Marvin Harris in 1968 through his book The Rise of Anthropological Theory. It brings together many different ideas such as Marxism, cultural evolution, and cultural ecology.

In order to understand societies as a cultural materialist, you need to first divide up societies into three parts: infrastructure, structure, and superstructure.

Infrastructure provides the footing for the following parts, providing basic needs for the society.

Structure, is the well being of a society’s political, social, economic organizations.

Superstructure is the way ideas are used within symbols in a society.

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↑ Harris, Marvin (1968). Harris M. The Rise of Anthropological Theory: a history of theories and culture. New York: Crowell. p. 806.

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↑ Erickson and Murphy, Paul and Liam (2016). A History of Anthropological Theory. University of Toronto Press.

[1] Harris, Marvin (1968). Harris M. The Rise of Anthropological Theory: a history of theories and culture. New York: Crowell. p. 806.

[2] Erickson and Murphy, Paul and Liam (2016). A History of Anthropological Theory. University of Toronto Press.

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