Elements of culture can be tangible and intangible. Culture as an object of study of sociology
All social heritage can be viewed as a synthesis of material and non-material cultures. Non-material culture includes spiritual activity and its products. It combines knowledge, morality, upbringing, enlightenment, law, religion. Non-material (spiritual) culture includes ideas, habits, customs and beliefs that people create and then maintain. Spiritual culture also characterizes the inner wealth of consciousness, the degree of development of the person himself.
Material culture includes the entire sphere of material activity and its results. It consists of man-made items: tools, furniture, cars, buildings and other items that are constantly being modified and used by people. Non-material culture can be viewed as a way of society's adaptation to the biophysical environment through its appropriate transformation.
Comparing both of these types of culture with each other, one can come to the conclusion that material culture should be considered as the result of non-material culture. The destruction caused by World War II was the most significant in the history of mankind, but despite this, cities were quickly restored, as people have not lost the knowledge and skill necessary to restore them. In other words, non-destroyed non-material culture makes it quite easy to restore material culture.
Artistic culture is one of the spheres of culture that solves the problems of intellectual and sensory reflection of life in artistic images and various aspects ensuring this activity.
This position of artistic culture is based on the ability of artistic creativity inherent only in man, which distinguishes him from other living beings. It is impossible to reduce artistic culture only to art or to identify it with cultural activity in general.
The structure of artistic culture
Specialized level of artistic culture - built on special education or amateur art under the guidance of professionals; the ordinary level - everyday art, as well as various types of imitation and gaming activities.
Structural art culture includes:
actually artistic creativity(both individual and group);
its organizational infrastructure (creative associations and organizations for placing orders and selling artistic products);
its physical infrastructure (production and demonstration sites);
art education and professional development;
art criticism and scientific art criticism;
artistic images;
aesthetic education and education (a set of means to stimulate the interest of the population in art);
restoration and preservation of artistic heritage;
technical aesthetics and design;
state policy in this area.
Art occupies a central place in artistic culture - literature, painting, graphics, sculpture, architecture, music, dance, art photography, arts and crafts, theater, circus, cinema, etc. Artistic works are created in each of them - books, paintings, sculptures, performances, films, etc.
Everyday culture is connected with the everyday practical life of people - peasants, townspeople, with the direct provision of human life, the upbringing of children, recreation, meetings with friends, etc. Basic knowledge of everyday culture is acquired in the process of general education and everyday social contacts. Everyday culture is a culture that has not received institutional consolidation, it is a part of everyday reality, the totality of all non-reflexive, syncretic aspects of social life.
Ordinary culture covers a small volume of the world (microworld). A person masters it from the first days of life - in the family, in communication with friends, while studying at school and receiving a general education, with the help of the media, through the church and the army. Through close spontaneous contacts, he masters those skills, knowledge, mores, customs, traditions, rules of everyday behavior and stereotypes of behavior, which later serve as the basis for familiarization with a specialized culture.
Specialized culture
A specialized culture was formed gradually, when, in connection with the division of labor, specialized professions began to stand out, for which special education was needed. Specialized cultures cover the distant environment of a person and are associated with formal relationships and institutions. Here people manifest themselves as bearers of social roles and representatives of large groups, as agents of secondary socialization.
In order to master the skills specialized culture not enough communication with family and friends. Professional training is required, which is provided by training in specialized schools and other educational institutions in the profile of the chosen specialty.
Ordinary and specialized culture differ in language (respectively, ordinary and professional), people's attitude to their activities (amateur and professional), which makes them either amateurs or experts. At the same time, the spaces of ordinary and specialized culture intersect. It cannot be said that ordinary culture is associated only with private space, and specialized culture with public space. Many public places - factory, transport, theater, museum, dry cleaning, queue, street, entrance, school, etc. - are used at the level of everyday culture, but each of these places can also be a place of professional communication between people. So, in the workplace, along with formal relationships - official, impersonal - there are always informal - friendly, confidential personal relationships. The main functions of both spheres of culture continue to coexist in different areas of life, and each person is a professional in one area, and in the rest remains an amateur, being at the level of everyday culture.
There are four functional blocks in culture, represented by both ordinary and specialized culture.
Material culture is a culture whose objects are tools of labor, means of production, clothing, life, housing, means of communication - all that is the process and result of human material activity.Things and social organizations together create a complex and branched structure of material culture. It includes several key areas. The first direction is agriculture, which includes varieties of plants and animal breeds bred as a result of breeding, as well as cultivated soils. Human survival is directly related to these areas of material culture, as they provide food, as well as raw materials for industrial production.
The next area of material culture is buildings - the habitats of people with all the variety of their occupations and forms of being, as well as structures - the results of construction that change the conditions of the economy and life. Buildings include housing, premises for management activities, entertainment, educational activities.
Another area of material culture is tools, fixtures and equipment designed to provide all types of physical and mental labor of a person. Tools directly affect the material being processed, fixtures serve as additions to tools, equipment is a set of tools and fixtures located in one place and serving one purpose. They differ depending on the type of activity they serve - agriculture, industry, communications, transport, etc.
Transport and communications are also part of the material culture. It includes:
Specially equipped means of communication - roads, bridges, embankments, runways airports;
- buildings and structures necessary for the normal operation of transport, - railway stations, airports, ports, harbors, gas stations, etc.;
- all types of transport - horse-drawn, road, rail, air, water, pipeline.
This area of material culture ensures the exchange of people and goods between different regions and settlements, contributing to their development.
The next area of material culture is closely connected with transport - communication, including mail, telegraph, telephone, radio, and computer networks. It, like transport, connects people, allowing them to exchange information with each other.
And finally, an obligatory element of material culture is technology - knowledge and skills in all the listed areas of activity. The most important task is not only the further improvement of technologies, but also their preservation and transfer to the next generations, which is possible only through a developed education system. This testifies to the close connection between material and spiritual culture.
The most important form of the existence of material culture are things - the result of the material and creative activity of man. Like the human body, a thing simultaneously belongs to two worlds - natural and cultural. As a rule, they are made from natural materials, and become part of the culture after they are processed by man.
Within the framework of material activity, it is necessary, first of all, to single out economic (economic) activity, which is aimed both at man and nature. Based on this, two areas are distinguished, formed as a result of the communicative activity of people.
The first area of economic culture includes, first of all, the material fruits of material production intended for human consumption, as well as technical structures that equip material production: tools, weapons, buildings, household equipment, clothing, fruits of agricultural, handicraft, industrial production.
The second area includes dynamic, constantly updated methods (technologies) of the productive activity of a social person (production culture).
IN Lately as a continuation of the material, the so-called economic culture is singled out. This concept does not yet have a mature theoretical justification.
In a broad sense, economic culture is a human activity in society, embodied by the specific features of the production, distribution (transfer) and renewal of the value system of economic activity that is dominant in society at this time.
In a narrow sense, economic culture is a socially transmitted level of development of a person's abilities as a subject of economic activity, specific to a given society, embodied by its results - objects, relationships, values.
The structural elements of economic culture include:
Forms of ownership of the means of production, their correlation and interaction;
a certain type of economic mechanism (market - planned), sectoral structure of the economy (agrarian - industrial);
the level of development of productive forces (tools, technologies);
economic needs, interests of various social groups, motives of economic activity;
orientations, attitudes, stereotypes, values of economic behavior of people;
the nature of the development of the subject of economic activity, etc.
So, economic activity is an activity aimed at creating material conditions for human life as the creator of the “second nature”. It includes, economic activity(culture), which includes the means of production, methods of practical activity for their creation (relations of production), as well as creative aspects of everyday economic activity of a person, however, economic culture should not be reduced to material production.
Material and spiritual culture
Human activity is carried out in socio-historical forms of material and spiritual production. Accordingly, material and spiritual production appear as two main areas of cultural development. Based on this, all culture is naturally divided into material and spiritual.Differences in material and spiritual culture are historically determined by the specific conditions of the division of labor. They are relative: firstly, material and spiritual culture are integral parts of an integral system of culture; secondly, there is an increasing integration of them.
Thus, in the course of the scientific and technical revolution (scientific and technological revolution), the role and importance of the material side of spiritual culture increases (the development of media technology - radio, television, computer systems, etc.), and on the other hand, the role of its spiritual side increases in material culture (continuous "scientificization" of production, the gradual transformation of science into the direct productive force of society, the growing role of industrial aesthetics, etc.); finally, at the “junction” of material and spiritual culture, such phenomena arise that cannot be attributed only to material or only to spiritual culture in its “pure form” (for example, design is artistic design and artistic design creativity that contributes to the aesthetic formation of the human environment) .
But with all the relativity of differences between material and spiritual culture, these differences exist, which allows us to consider each of these types of culture as a relatively independent system. The basis of the watershed of these systems is value. In the most general definition, value is everything that has one or another meaning for a person (significant for him), and, therefore, is, as it were, “humanized”. And on the other hand, it contributes to the "cultivation" (cultivation) of the person himself.
Values are divided into natural (everything that exists in the natural environment and is important for a person - these are minerals, and precious stones, and clean air, and clean water, forest, etc., etc.) and cultural (this is everything that a person has created, which is the result of his activity). In turn, cultural values are divided into material and spiritual, which ultimately determine the material and spiritual culture.
Material culture includes the totality of cultural values, as well as the process of their creation, distribution and consumption, which are designed to satisfy the so-called material needs of man. Material needs, or rather their satisfaction, ensure the vital activity of people, create the necessary conditions for their existence - this is the need for food, clothing, housing, vehicles, communications, etc. And in order to satisfy them, a person (society) produces food, sews clothes, builds houses and other structures, makes cars, planes, ships, computers, televisions, telephones, etc. and so on. And all this as material values is the sphere of material culture.
This sphere of culture is not decisive for a person; an end in itself for its existence and development. After all, a person does not live in order to eat, but he eats in order to live, and a person's life is not a simple metabolism like that of some amoeba. Man's life is his spiritual existence. Since the generic sign of a person, i.e. what is inherent only to him and what distinguishes him from other living beings is the mind (consciousness) or otherwise, as they say, the spiritual world, then spiritual culture becomes the defining sphere of culture.
Spiritual culture is a set of spiritual values, as well as the process of their creation, distribution and consumption. Spiritual values are designed to satisfy the spiritual needs of a person, i.e. everything that contributes to the development of his spiritual world (the world of his consciousness). And if material values, with rare exceptions, are fleeting - houses, machines, mechanisms, clothes, vehicles, etc., then spiritual values can be eternal as long as humanity exists.
Say, the philosophical judgments of the ancient Greek philosophers Plato and Aristotle are almost two and a half thousand years old, but they are now the same reality as at the time of their statement - it is enough to take their works in the library or get information via the Internet.
The concept of spiritual culture:
It contains all areas of spiritual production (art, philosophy, science, etc.),
- shows the socio-political processes taking place in society (we are talking about power management structures, legal and moral norms, leadership styles, etc.).
The ancient Greeks formed the classical triad of the spiritual culture of mankind: truth - goodness - beauty.
Accordingly, three most important value absolutes of human spirituality were identified:
Theoreticism, with a focus on truth and the creation of a special essential being, opposite to the ordinary phenomena of life;
- by this, subordinating moral content life all other human aspirations;
- aestheticism, reaching the maximum fullness of life based on emotional and sensory experience.
Thus, spiritual culture is a system of knowledge and worldview ideas inherent in a specific cultural and historical unity or humanity as a whole.
The concept of "spiritual culture" goes back to the historical and philosophical ideas of Wilhelm von Humboldt. According to the theory of historical knowledge he worked out, world history is the result of the activity of a spiritual force that lies beyond the limits of knowledge, which manifests itself through the creative abilities and personal efforts of individual individuals. The fruits of this co-creation constitute the spiritual culture of mankind.
Spiritual culture arises due to the fact that a person does not limit himself to only sensual-external experience and does not assign primary importance to it, but recognizes the main and guiding spiritual experience from which he lives, loves, believes and evaluates all things. With this inner spiritual experience, a person determines the meaning and the highest goal of the outer, sensory experience.
A person can realize his creativity in different ways and the fullness of his creative self-expression is achieved through the creation and use of various cultural forms. Each of these forms has its own "specialized" semantic and symbolic system.
Let us briefly characterize the truly universal forms of spiritual culture, of which there are six, and in each of which the essence of human existence is expressed in its own way:
1. Myth is not only historically the first form of culture, but also a dimension mental life of man, which persists even when the myth loses its dominance. The universal essence of myth lies in the fact that it represents the unconscious meaning of the unity of a person with the forces of the direct being of nature or society. Translated from the ancient Greek mifos - "a legend, a story about what happened before."
The American ethnographer Malinovsky believed that in ancient societies, myth is not just stories that are told, but real events in which the people of these societies lived.
Myths are also characteristic of modern societies, and their function is the creation of a special reality necessary for any culture.
2. Religion - it expresses the need of a person to feel involvement in the fundamental principles of being and the universe. The gods of developed religions are in the sphere of pure transcendence in extra-natural being, thus differing from the original deification of the forces of nature. Such a placement of the deity in an extra-natural sphere eliminates the internal dependence of man on natural processes, concentrating attention on the inner spirituality of man himself. The presence of a developed religious culture is a sign of a civilized society.
3. Morality arises after the myth leaves, where a person internally merges with the life of the collective and is controlled by various prohibitions (taboos). With the increase in the internal autonomy of a person, the first moral regulators appeared, such as duty, honor, conscience, etc.
4. Art is an expression of human needs in figurative symbols experienced by a person at significant moments in his life. This is the second reality, the world of life experiences, initiation to which, self-expression and self-knowledge in it constitute one of the important needs of the human soul, and without this any culture is not conceivable.
5. Philosophy seeks to express wisdom in the form of thought. Arose as a spiritual overcoming of the myth. As thinking, philosophy strives for a rational explanation of all being. Hegel calls philosophy the theoretical soul of culture, since the world with which philosophy deals is also the world of cultural meanings.
6. Science aims at the rational reconstruction of the world on the basis of comprehending its laws. From the point of view of cultural studies, science is inextricably linked with philosophy, which acts as a general method of scientific knowledge, and also allows you to comprehend the place and role of science in culture and culture. human life.
The concept of spiritual culture is connected with the concept of patriotism. Every nation is called to accept its natural and historical reality and work it out spiritually in a national creative act. If the people do not accept this natural duty, then, spiritually decomposed, they will perish and historically descend from the face of the earth.
The spiritualization of oneself and nature in each nation is carried out individually and has its own unique features. These features are the distinctive features of the spiritual culture of each nation and make possible the existence of such concepts as patriotism and national culture.
Spiritual culture is like a hymn, popularly sung in history to the Creator of everything and everyone. For the sake of creating this sacred music, peoples live from century to century in work and suffering, in ups and downs. This "music" is unique for every nation. Having recognized in it consonance with his spirit, a person recognizes his Motherland and grows into it in the same way as a single voice grows into the singing of a choir.
The aspects of spiritual culture outlined above have found their embodiment in various fields of human activity: in science, philosophy, politics, art, law, etc. They largely determine the level of intellectual, moral, political, aesthetic, legal development of society today. Spiritual culture involves activities aimed at spiritual development individual and society, and also presents the results of this activity.
Thus, all human activity becomes the content of culture. Human society has stood out from nature thanks to such a specific form of interaction with the outside world as human activity.
Spiritual culture appears at the beginning of social history and is universal for it, but in the course of development it is closely correlated with the characteristics of historical periods and large social groups. It forms national, confessional, estate, class, etc. varieties, which, in turn, are complex, but constantly interact with each other.
Spiritual culture is not isolated from other spheres of culture and society as a whole, it penetrates, with inevitable differences, into all spheres. human activity, including material and practical ones, setting them value orientations and stimulating them.
Values of material culture
Material culture (material values) exists in an objective form. These are houses, machines, clothes - everything that an object turns into a thing, i.e. an object, the properties of which are determined by the creative abilities of a person, have an expedient purpose.Material culture is the spirituality of a person, transformed into the form of a thing, it is, first of all, the means of material production. These are energy and raw materials, tools (from the simplest to complex), as well as different kinds human practical activity. The concept of material culture also includes the material and objective relations of a person in the sphere of exchange, i.e. production relations. Types of material values: buildings and structures, means of communication and transport, parks and man-made landscapes, are also included in material culture.
It should be borne in mind that the volume of material values is wider than the volume of material production, therefore, they also include monuments, archaeological sites, architectural values, equipped natural monuments, etc.
Material culture is created to improve human life, to develop his creative abilities. In the history of mankind, various conditions have developed for the realization of the material and technical capabilities of a person, for the development of his "I". The lack of harmony between creative ideas and their implementation led to the instability of culture, to its conservatism or utopianism.
Development of material culture
In the era of Hellenism, the gap between theory and practice, science and technology, characteristic of the classical era, disappears to a large extent. This is characteristic of the work of the famous Archimedes (c. 287-212 BC). He created the concept of an infinitely large number, introduced a value for calculating the circumference of a circle, discovered the hydraulic law named after him, became the founder of theoretical mechanics, etc. At the same time, Archimedes made a great contribution to the development of technology, creating a screw pump, having designed many fighting throwing machines and defensive weapons.The construction of new cities, the development of navigation, military technology contributed to the rise of the sciences - mathematics, mechanics, astronomy, geography. Euclid (c. 365-300 BC) created elementary geometry; Eratosthenes (c. 320 -250 BC) accurately determined the length of the earth's meridian and thus established the true size of the Earth; Aristarchus of Samos (c. 320-250 BC) proved the rotation of the Earth around its axis and its movement around the Sun; Hipparchus of Alexandria (190 - 125 BC) established the exact length of the solar year and calculated the distance from the Earth to the Moon and the Sun; Heron of Alexandria (I century BC) created the prototype of a steam turbine.
Natural science, especially medicine, also developed successfully. The ancient Greek scientists Herophilus (at the turn of the 4th-3rd centuries BC) and Erasistratus (c. 300-240 BC) discovered the nervous system, found out the meaning of the pulse, and made a big step forward in the study of the brain and heart. In the field of botany, the works of Aristotle's student, Theophratus (Theophrastus) (372-288 BC), should be noted.
The development of scientific knowledge required the systematization and storage of accumulated information. Libraries are being created in a number of cities, the most famous of them are in Alexandria and Pergamon. In Alexandria, at the court of the Ptolemies, the Museion (temple of the Muses) was created, which served as a scientific center. It contained various offices, collections, auditoriums, as well as free housing for scientists.
In the Hellenistic era, a new branch of knowledge was developing, which was almost completely absent in the classical era - philology in the broad sense of the word: grammar, text criticism, literary criticism, etc. literature: Homer, tragedians, Aristophanes, etc.
The literature of the Hellenistic era, although becoming more diverse, is significantly inferior to the classical one. Epos, tragedy continue to exist, but become more rational, in the foreground - erudition, sophistication and virtuosity of style: Apollonius of Rhodes (III century BC), Callimachus (c. 300 - c. 240 BC) .
A kind of reaction to the life of cities was special kind poetry - idyll. The idylls of the poet Theocritus (c. 310 - c. 250 BC) became models for later bucolic or shepherd poetry.
In the era of Hellenism, realistic everyday comedy continues to develop, perfectly represented by the work of the Athenian Menander (342/341 - 293/290 BC). The plots of his witty comedies are built on everyday intrigues. Short dramatic scenes from the life of ordinary citizens - mimes - are widely used.
Menander is credited with the catchphrase:
"Whom the gods love dies young."
Hellenistic historiography is increasingly turning into fiction, the main attention is paid to the entertaining presentation, harmony of composition, and perfection of style. Almost the only exception is Polybius (c. 200-120 BC), who sought to continue the tradition of Thucydides and was the first to attempt to write a coherent world history.
Items of material culture
Quite often, some Hollywood adventure films feature mysterious, mysterious, or lost artifacts. It is enough to watch such films as "The Da Vinci Code", "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" for such an aura of mystery and mystery to spin around the word "artifact" in our inflamed imagination.Yes, and Russian TV channels add fuel to the fire of the mythology of history, talking about such nonsense that just flows like garbage rivers from such TV channels as Ren-TV or TV-3 (Real mystical!). So in the minds of the layman, not to mention the student youth, the word "artifact" acquires almost a sacred meaning.
What is an artifact from the point of view of historical science? An artifact is any object created by a person that can provide information about the past. Given the modern development of chemistry, physics and biology, not to mention geology, one can draw information from almost any subject. Classical historical science says that any thing already contains data about the past: since all the events that happened to the thing have already been imprinted in its molecular and other structure.
For example, in archeology there were such luminaries who could say everything by one artifact. For example, there was an archaeologist who, using only one half-rotted bone, determined which ancient extinct species of animal it belonged to, when approximately this animal died, from what and how many years it lived.
Many will immediately draw parallels with Sherlock Holmes, the Mentalist and other famous characters. But, I think, it's not a secret for anyone that the legendary Conan Doyle wrote off the portrait of the hero of his works from a real doctor, who, only by one glance at the patient, could determine what he was ill with. Thus, the man himself can be an artifact.
The term "artifact" is associated with such a concept in historical science as a "historical source". A historical source is already any subject that can provide information about the past.
What artifacts can serve as sources? Yes, any. Most often these are objects of material culture: fragments of dishes, utensils and other things. When you find such an artifact at archaeological excavations - delight - through the roof. So if you have never “digged”, I advise you to try at least once in your life - an unforgettable experience!
Geography of material culture
The concept of "culture" means a set of material and spiritual values created by human society, ways of their creation and application, characterizing a certain level of development of society. The natural conditions surrounding a person largely determine distinctive features his culture. Countries are distinguished by the history of their peoples, the peculiarities of natural conditions, culture, and a certain commonality of economic activity. They can be called historical and cultural regions of the world or civilizations.The geography of culture studies the territorial distribution of culture and its individual components - the way of life and traditions of the population, elements of material and spiritual culture, the cultural heritage of previous generations. The first cultural centers were the valleys of the Nile, Tigris and Euphrates. The geographical distribution of ancient civilizations led to the formation of a civilizational zone from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific coast. Outside this civilizational zone, other highly developed cultures and even the independent civilizations of the Mayan and Aztec Indian tribes in Central America and the Incas in South America. The history of mankind has more than twenty major civilizations of the world.
Modern civilizations in various regions of the world preserve their culture, develop it in new conditions. Since the end of the 19th century, they have been influenced by Western civilization.
Within the Yellow River basin, ancient cultural center, an ancient Chinese-Confucian civilization was formed, which gave the world a compass, paper, gunpowder, porcelain, the first printed maps, etc. According to the teachings of the founder of Confucianism, Confucius (551-479 BC), the Chinese-Confucian civilization is characterized by the installation on the self-realization of those human abilities that are inherent in it.
Hindu civilization (the Indus and Ganges basins) was formed under the influence of castes - separate groups of people related by origin, legal status of their members. The cultural heritage of the Islamic civilization, which inherited the values of the ancient Egyptians, Sumerians and other peoples, is rich and varied. It includes palaces, mosques, madrasahs, the art of ceramics, carpet weaving, embroidery, artistic metal processing, etc. The contribution to world culture of poets and writers of the Islamic East (Nizami, Ferdowsi, O. Khayyam, etc.) is known.
The culture of the peoples of Tropical Africa, the Negro-African civilization, is very original. It is characterized by emotionality, intuition, close connection with nature. The current state of this civilization was influenced by colonization, the slave trade, racist ideas, mass Islamization and Christianization of the local population.
The young civilizations of the West include Western European, Latin American and Orthodox civilizations. They are characterized by core values: liberalism, human rights, the free market, etc. The unique achievements of the human mind are philosophy and aesthetics, art and science, technology and economics. Western Europe. The cultural heritage of Western European civilization includes the Colosseum in Rome and the Acropolis of Athens, the Louvre in Paris and Westminster Abbey in London, the polders of Holland and the industrial landscapes of the Ruhr, the scientific ideas of Darwin, Lamarck, the music of Paganini, Beethoven, the works of Rubens and Picasso, etc. The core of Western European civilization coincides with the countries that gave the world ancient culture, the ideas of the Renaissance, Reformation, Enlightenment and the French Revolution.
Russia and the Republic of Belarus, as well as Ukraine, are the core of modern Orthodox civilization. The cultures of these countries are close to those of Western Europe.
The boundaries of the Orthodox world are very blurred and reflect the mixed composition of the Slavic and non-Slavic population. Russia, Belarus and Ukraine serve as a kind of bridge between the Western and Eastern worlds. (What contribution did Belarusians make to world culture, art?)
Latin American civilization absorbed the culture of pre-Columbian civilizations. Japanese civilization is distinguished by its originality, local traditions, customs, the cult of beauty.
Material culture includes tools, housing, clothing, food, that is, everything that is necessary to satisfy the material needs of man. Taking into account the characteristics of the natural environment, a person on Earth builds dwellings, eats those products that can mainly be obtained in the natural zone of his residence, and dresses in accordance with climatic conditions. The essence of material culture is the embodiment of a variety of human needs that allow people to adapt to the natural conditions of life.
dwelling
The ability of people to adapt to natural conditions is evidenced by log houses in the forest zone, in temperate latitudes. The gaps between the logs are caulked with moss and are reliably protected from frost. In Japan, due to earthquakes, houses are built with sliding light walls that are resistant to fluctuations in the earth's crust. In hot desert areas, the settled population lives in round adobe huts with conical straw roofs, while nomads pitch tents. The dwellings of the Eskimos in the tundra zone, built of snow, pile buildings among the peoples of Malaysia and Indonesia are amazing. Modern houses of large cities are multi-storey, but at the same time reflect the national culture and the influence of the West.
Cloth
Clothing is influenced by the natural environment. In the equatorial climate in many African and Asian countries, women's clothing is a skirt and blouse made of light fabric. Most of the male population of the Arab and African equatorial countries prefers to wear floor-length wide shirts. In the tropical regions of South and South-East Asia unsewn forms of wrap-around clothing under the belt - saris, convenient for these countries, are common. Robe-like clothing formed the basis of the modern attire of the Chinese, Vietnamese. The population of the tundra is dominated by a warm deaf long jacket with a hood.
Clothing reflects national traits, character, temperament of the people, the scope of its activities. Almost every nation and individual ethnic groups has a special version of the costume with unique details of cut or ornament. Modern clothes population reflects the influence of the culture of Western civilization.
Food
Features of human nutrition are closely related to the natural conditions of human habitats, the specifics of agriculture. Plant foods predominate in almost all peoples of the world. The diet is based on foods made from grains. Europe and Asia are areas where they consume quite a lot of products from wheat and rye (bread, muffins, cereals, pasta). Corn is the main cereal in the Americas, and rice is in South, East, and Southeast Asia.
Almost everywhere, including Belarus, vegetable dishes are common, as well as potatoes (in countries with a temperate climate), sweet potato and cassava (in tropical countries).
Geography of spiritual culture
The spiritual culture associated with the inner, moral world of a person includes those values that are created to meet spiritual needs. These are literature, theater, fine arts, music, dance, architecture, etc. The ancient Greeks formed the peculiarity of the spiritual culture of mankind in this way: truth - goodness - beauty.
Spiritual culture, just like material culture, is closely connected with natural conditions, the history of peoples, their ethnic characteristics, and religion. The greatest monuments of world written culture are the Bible and the Koran - the Holy Scriptures of the two largest world religions - Christianity and Islam. The influence of the natural environment on the spiritual culture is manifested to a lesser extent than on the material. Nature suggests images for artistic creativity, provides physical material, promotes or hinders its development.
Everything that a person sees around him and that attracts his attention, he displays in drawings, songs, dances. From ancient times to the present, folk art crafts (weaving, weaving, pottery) have been preserved in different countries. Different architectural styles developed and changed in different regions of the Earth. Their formation was influenced by religious beliefs, national characteristics, environment, nature. For example, in European architecture for a long time gothic style, baroque dominated. The buildings of Gothic cathedrals amaze with openwork and lightness, they are compared with stone lace. They often express the religious ideas of their creators.
Many red-brick temples are made from locally available clay. In Belarus, these are the Mir and Lida castles. In the village of Synkovichi, near Slonim, there is a fortified church, which is the oldest defense-type temple in Belarus. Its architecture shows features characteristic of the Gothic style.
The influence of Western European civilization manifested itself in the countries of Eastern Europe. The Baroque style, which became widespread in Spain, Germany, France, is manifested in the architecture of magnificent palaces and churches with an abundance of sculptures, paintings on the walls in Russia and Lithuania.
All peoples of the world have fine and decorative arts - the creation of artistic products intended for practical use. Asian countries are especially rich in such crafts. In Japan, painting on porcelain is widespread, in India - chasing on metal, in the countries of Southeast Asia - carpet weaving. Of the art crafts of Belarus, straw weaving, weaving, and artistic ceramics are known.
Spiritual culture accumulates the history of peoples, customs and traditions, the nature of their countries of residence. Its originality has been known for a long time. Elements of the material and spiritual culture of the peoples of different countries have mutual influence, are mutually enriched and spread throughout the world.
The material and spiritual culture of the peoples of the world reflects the peculiarities of the surrounding nature, the history of the development of ethnic groups, and the peculiarities of the religions of the world. Modern historical and cultural regions of the world are distinguished by their material and spiritual culture, preserve it and develop it in new conditions.
Logistics culture
The content of the material and technical resource of socio-cultural activity is understood as a set of tools, objects and equipment that are of a material nature and necessary for the production, distribution and development of a cultural product, cultural goods and values in accordance with the goals and objectives set.The property of institutions and organizations of the socio-cultural sphere consists of fixed assets and working capital, as well as other values, the value of which is reflected in their independent balance sheet.
Fixed assets as a variety of resources that make up the material and technical base of socio-cultural activities include:
1) architectural and engineering construction objects (buildings and structures) intended for holding social and cultural events, operation and storage of equipment and material assets;
2) engineering and communication (transmission) systems and devices: electrical networks, telecommunications, heating systems, water supply systems, etc.;
3) mechanisms and equipment: attractions, household, musical, gaming, sports equipment, museum valuables, stage equipment and props, library funds, perennial green spaces;
4) vehicles.
The sources of formation of property, as a rule, are: property assigned to institutions and organizations in the prescribed manner; budget allocations from the founder; income from own (main, non-main, entrepreneurial) activities; voluntary donations, gifts, subsidies; interest on bank deposits; other income and receipts.
In accordance with their charter, socio-cultural institutions have the right to act as a tenant and lessor of property, while the lease of property assigned to them is coordinated with the founder. In the same manner, they use their financial resources and other property in their non-core activities.
At the present stage of social development, the effectiveness of cultural activities largely depends on the state of the industry's resources:
Many subjects of culture can fully function only in special buildings equipped with complex household and special equipment.
Amusements are installed in parks of culture and recreation, the technical complexity of which is not inferior to the complexity of production systems.
Cultural and educational institutions are equipped with video equipment, computers and other unique equipment. Naturally, the complexity, range, and quantity of material resources may be different, and in individual programs and in exceptional cases they may be completely absent.
In general, cultural institutions cannot do without material resources, and their structure is characterized by great diversity - from traditional theatrical scenery and costumes to ultra-modern lasers and slot machines based on computers; from the rarest musical instruments with hundreds of years of service to mechanical systems that embody all the achievements of modern technical thought; from the ruins of once majestic masterpieces of architecture to green spaces in parks and gardens.
Along with the listed resources, the sphere of culture uses in economic processes tens of thousands of historical, cultural and architectural monuments, museum items, which are often unique material objects in terms of their social or cultural significance.
But at the same time, the role of material resources in the sphere of culture differs significantly from their role in other sectors of the economy.
Despite the existing similarity with other sub-sectors of the economy, the material resources of the sphere of culture have their own specifics, which qualitatively distinguishes them from the resources of other sectors of the economy. And the more time has passed since the creation of a material object, the more dilapidated it is, the higher its value becomes.
This difference in economic science is reflected in the method of calculating depreciation and amortization. In all economic sectors, depreciation and amortization are charged in relation to the material means of production. But in the field of culture, the official methodology requires depreciation of material resources, and depreciation for restoration is not taken into account in economic calculations. And in this one can see a methodological contradiction generated by time, which in the new socio-economic conditions must be corrected.
The fact is that in the sphere of culture, material resources can be confidently divided into 2 groups that are not in the general economy:
Material resources to be reproduced;
material resources that are not subject to reproduction, but are subject to conservation and conservation.
The group of material resources to be reproduced includes the buildings of the operating theater and museum, the club and the library, the green spaces of the park and the museum garden, amusement devices, etc. For a greater or lesser amount of time before their physical wear and tear, they perform a functional role similar to the role of industrial or production assets of economic sectors. But note that they simultaneously accumulate a special cultural value - the memory of people and events that were related to this originally ordinary object.
The group of material resources that cannot be reproduced, but are subject to conservation and preservation, includes, first of all, objects recognized as monuments of the history of culture and architecture. Monuments are divided into two categories - "movable" and "immovable". Immovable property includes buildings, structures, green spaces, etc. Movables include paintings, furniture, dishes, household items, books, manuscripts, etc.
The fundamental property and feature of the material resources recognized as a monument is that they can participate in economic life. Buildings - monuments can be residential or non-residential. Paintings can decorate residential or office premises, but they can be kept in the storerooms of museums or on display.
The division of material resources is necessary due to the fact that in relation to objects classified in different groups, a fundamentally different methodology of involvement in the economic turnover would have to be applied.
Material resources that are not subject to reproduction, but are subject to conservation and preservation - historical and architectural monuments, paintings, sculptures, etc. Here, as it wears out, the value of the monument only increases. And at the same time, monuments can be in any property (state or private), but in any case they are recognized as a national treasure. This recognition imposes on their owner or possessor special rights and obligations. Accordingly, the nature of their involvement in the economic turnover is the same regardless of the nature of ownership.
But the differences between material resources that are subject to and are not subject to reproduction do not end there.
The status specificity of an object involved in the sphere of culture is determined by the following aspects:
1. How do the "object" and "subject" of the sphere of culture relate to each other;
2. How the "object" is assigned to the economic entity;
3. How should the relationship be built between the owner and the economic entity that uses this property.
Most of these questions are procedural.
It can be said that the material resources of the sphere of culture, subject to reproduction, do not have the status of an exclusive sectoral specificity. The theater building can be easily separated from the theater troupe, which the founder disbands when deciding to liquidate the theater institution. The building, at some cost, if desired, can be converted into a concert and exhibition hall or a museum complex, and perhaps also for administrative and representative purposes. Elsewhere, a building built to house the administration of the municipality can be converted into a theater building.
Material resources that are not subject to reproduction, but are subject to conservation and conservation, have an exclusive status belonging to the sphere of culture. It doesn't matter which business entity occupies Historical building Built in the 17th century, if this building has been given the status of a "monument protected by the state." In the same way, from the standpoint of the state, in principle, it should not matter which economic entity stores paintings or museum exhibits: a private collector, or a legal entity. The challenge is to ensure that security is maintained. True, a reservation must be made here: the interests of the state may sometimes not coincide with the interests of society regarding material resources that are not subject to reproduction, but are subject to conservation.
History of material culture
The era of primitiveness, or primitive society, is the longest phase in the history of mankind. According to modern science, it began about 1.5 - 2 million years ago (and possibly even earlier) with the appearance of the first humanoid creatures and ended around the turn of our era. However, in certain regions of our planet - mainly in the northern subpolar, equatorial and southern latitudes- the primitive, in fact, the primitive level of culture of the indigenous population has been preserved to the present time, or was such until relatively recently. These are the so-called traditional societies whose way of life has changed very little over the past millennia.The material culture of the primitive society was formed during the process of "humanization" of man in parallel with his biological and social evolution. The material needs of primitive man were very limited and were reduced mainly to the creation and maintenance of the most important conditions for life. The basic needs were: the need for food, the need for housing, the need for clothing, and the need to make the simplest tools and implements needed to provide food, shelter and clothing. The historical evolution of man as a biological species and social being was also reflected in the dynamics of his material culture, which, although slowly, but still changed and improved over time. In the material culture of the primitive society, its adaptive (adaptive) function is clearly expressed - the most ancient people were extremely dependent on the natural environment around them and, not being able to change it yet, sought to optimally fit into it, get used to the outside world, being an integral part of it.
The foundations of the material culture of mankind were laid in the era of the Paleolithic (Old Stone Age), which lasted from 1.5 - 2 million years to 13 - 10 thousand years ago. It was during this era that the processes of separating a person from the animal world, the addition of the biological species Homo sapiens (House Homo sapiens), the formation of human races, the appearance of speech as a means of communication and information transmission, the addition of the first social structures, the settlement of man over the vast expanses of the Earth took place. The Paleolithic era is conditionally divided into the early Paleolithic and late Paleolithic, the chronological boundary between which is considered the time of the appearance of Homo sapiens about 40 thousand years ago.
Mankind at the dawn of its history in the Paleolithic era experienced serious transformations in the natural and climatic environment, which could not but affect the way of life, occupations, and material culture in general. The first anthropoid creatures appeared and lived for a long time in a very warm, humid climate. However, about 200 thousand years ago, a sharp cooling began on Earth, which led to the formation of powerful ice sheets, drying up the climate, a significant decrease in average annual temperatures, and changes in the composition of flora and fauna. The Ice Age lasted a very long time and consisted of several periods of cooling lasting many thousands of years, followed by short phases of warming. Only about 13 - 10 thousand years ago, an irreversible and sustainable climate warming began - this time coincides with the end of the Paleolithic era. Some researchers believe that the need to adapt to the harsh conditions of the Ice Age played a positive role to a certain extent in the evolution of mankind, mobilizing all life resources, the intellectual potential of the first people. Be that as it may, but the formation of Homo sapiens falls precisely on the difficult time of the struggle for survival.
The provision of food in the Paleolithic era was based on the appropriating branches of the economy - hunting, gathering and partly fishing. The objects of hunting were rather large animals, typical for the glacial fauna. The mammoth was the most impressive representative of the animal world - hunting for it required collective efforts and provided a large amount of food for a long time. In the places where mammoths lived permanently, hunters' settlements arose. The remains of such settlements, which existed about 20 - 30 thousand years ago, are known in Eastern Europe.
The objects of gathering were various edible plants, although in general the glacial flora did not differ in particular diversity and richness. Fishing played a relatively small role in obtaining food during the Paleolithic era. The methods of cooking in the Paleolithic era were based on the use of open heat treatment - roasting and smoking over a fire, drying and drying in the air. Boiling water brewing, requiring heat-resistant containers, was not yet known.
The problem of housing was solved ancient people primarily through the use of natural shelters - caves. It is in the caves that the remains of human activity of the Paleolithic era are most often found. Cave sites are known in South Africa, Western and Eastern Europe, and East Asia. Artificially created housing appears in the late Paleolithic period, when Homo sapiens had already formed. The dwellings of that time were a leveled rounded area, surrounded around the perimeter by stones or large mammoth bones dug into the ground. The tent-type ground frame was constructed from tree trunks and branches covered with skins on top. The dwellings were quite large - their internal space reached 100 square meters. For heating and cooking, hearths were arranged on the floor of the dwelling, the largest of which was located in the center. Two or three such dwellings usually accommodated all the inhabitants of the settlement of Paleolithic mammoth hunters. The remains of such settlements, which existed about 20-30 thousand years ago, have been excavated by archaeologists in Ukraine, on the territory of Czechoslovakia, and in Japan.
The task of providing people with clothing became acute with the onset of the Ice Age to protect them from the cold in those parts of the world where the climate was especially severe. According to archaeological research, it is known that during the Late Paleolithic period, people were able to sew clothes such as fur overalls or parkas and soft leather shoes. The fur and skin of slaughtered animals were the main materials for making clothes. It is also known that already in this distant time, clothes were often decorated with various decorative details. For example, burials of Paleolithic hunters have been excavated on the Kamchatka Peninsula, whose burial costume was embroidered with small stone beads - beads. The age of these burials is about 14 thousand years.
The set of tools and tools of the Paleolithic people was quite primitive. The main material for the manufacture of inventory was suitable for processing stone breeds. The evolution of primitive tools reflected the development of man and his culture. The tools of the early Paleolithic period, before the formation of Homo sapiens, were extremely simple and versatile. Their main types are an axe, sharpened at one end, suitable for many labor operations, and a pointed one, which could also serve for various practical purposes. During the Late Paleolithic period, the tool set noticeably expanded and improved. First of all, the technique of making stone tools is progressing. The technique of lamellar stone processing appears and is widely spread. A piece of rock suitable in shape and size was processed in such a way that it was possible to obtain elongated rectangular plates - blanks for future tools. With the help of retouching (removal of small scales), the plate was given the necessary shape and it turned into a knife, scraper, tip. Late Paleolithic man used stone knives for cutting meat, scrapers for processing skins, and hunted animals with spears and darts. There are also such types of tools as drills, piercers, cutters - for processing stone, wood, leather. In addition to stone, the necessary tools were made of wood, bone and horn.
During the late Paleolithic period, a person gets acquainted with a new, previously unknown material - clay. Archaeological finds at settlements aged 24-26 thousand years on the territory of Moravia in Eastern Europe indicate that at that time in this region of the world people mastered the skills of plastic transformation of clay and its firing. In fact, the first step was taken towards the manufacture of ceramics - an artificial material with properties different from clay. However, they applied their discovery not in the practical sphere, but for the manufacture of figurines of people and animals - possibly used in ritual practice.
The next era in the history of mankind and its material culture is the Neolithic (new stone Age). Its beginning dates back to the time of global climatic transformations that occurred about 13 - 10 thousand years ago on a scale of the entire Earth. The irreversible warming of the climate has entailed - as once the onset of the ice age - significant changes in the composition of flora and fauna. Vegetation has become more diverse, cold-loving species have been replaced by heat-loving ones, and numerous shrubs and herbaceous plants, including edible ones, have spread widely. Large animals disappeared - mammoth, woolly rhinoceros and others, unable to adapt to new conditions. They were replaced by other species, in particular, a variety of ungulates, rodents, and small predators. Warming and rising levels of the world's oceans, lakes and rivers have had a positive impact on the development of the ichthyofauna.
The changing world forced a person to adapt to it, look for new solutions and ways to provide the most necessary. In different regions of the planet, however, the features and rates of changes in human culture associated with changes in natural conditions were different. New features in the economy, everyday life, technologies had their own specifics in certain geographical zones - in the subtropics, temperate latitudes, in the northern polar territories, among the inhabitants of the continental land and sea coasts. The most significant achievements of human material culture, which marked the advent of a new era, include the development of a new stone processing technology - grinding, the invention of ceramic dishes, the spread of fishing as an important, and in some areas - the leading branch of the economy, the use of new types of hunting weapons, primarily bows. and arrows.
In most territories developed by man in the Neolithic era, activities aimed at obtaining food were appropriating. Bow and arrows for hunting birds and small animals, javelins and spears for killing larger game, snares and traps - primitive hunters had all this equipment. For fishing, spears and nets woven from vegetable raw materials were used. In the areas of the sea coast - for example, on the Japanese islands, on the shores of the Baltic Sea - the gathering of seafood - shellfish, crabs, seaweed, etc. - also developed. Everywhere the diet of ancient people was supplemented by gathering products - nuts, root crops, berries, mushrooms, edible herbs, etc.
The sphere of manufacturing tools and tools is becoming more diverse and complex. The methods of lamellar processing of stone and retouching, which appeared during the late Paleolithic period, are also used. But the technique of grinding is becoming more and more important. The grinding technology was focused on certain types of stone and made it possible to obtain tools with high coefficient useful action, various functions. The essence of grinding was the mechanical action on the surface layer of the processed stone blank with the help of a special tool - an abrasive. Grinding has found the widest application in the manufacture of chopping and throwing tools. A polished ax was much more efficient than a Paleolithic axe, more convenient in practical use. As modern experimental studies show, in order to make a polished ax or adze, it takes about 6-8 hours of work, i.e. one day. With such an ax, you can quickly cut down a tree of medium thickness and clear it of branches. Polished axes and adzes were intended primarily for woodworking.
The importance of the invention of ceramic dishes cannot be overestimated. If people of the late Paleolithic period only approached the comprehension of the properties of clay and the production of ceramics, then at the time under consideration a new production was already born - the manufacture of ceramic dishes. According to scientific data, the first clay vessels were made in East Asia (the Japanese archipelago, East China, the south of the Far East) about 13 - 12 thousand years ago. For the first time, man switched from using natural raw materials (stone, wood, bone) to creating an artificial material with new properties. The technological cycle for the manufacture of ceramics included the extraction of clay, mixing it with water, molding the necessary shapes, drying and firing. It was the firing stage that was the most important in the chemical and physical transformations of clay and ensured the production of ceramics proper. The oldest pottery was fired in ordinary fires at a temperature of about 600 degrees. Thus, the foundations of a fundamentally new technology aimed at changing the properties of natural raw materials were laid. In later eras, man, using the principle of thermal transformation of the initial substance, learned to create such artificial materials as metal and glass.
Mastering the skill of making ceramic dishes had a positive effect on some important aspects of the life of ancient people. Scientists believe that the first clay vessels were used primarily for cooking in boiling water. In this regard, ceramics had undeniable advantages over wicker, leather, and wooden containers. In a vessel from organic material it is almost impossible to boil water and cook food, and a sealed, heat-resistant ceramic vessel made it possible. The cooking method was most suitable for cooking plant foods, some species of ichthyofauna. Liquid hot food was better absorbed by the body - this was especially important for children and the elderly. As a result - an increase in overall life expectancy, physiological comfort, population growth.
Ceramic containers turned out to be useful not only for cooking food, but also for other household purposes - for example, storing certain types of food, water. The skills of producing pottery quickly became known to the ancient population of the planet - most likely, people in different regions independently came to the development of clay as a raw material for producing ceramics. In any case, 8 - 7 thousand years ago, in the Neolithic era, ceramic utensils became an integral and, perhaps, the most important part of household utensils among the inhabitants of Asia, Africa and Europe. At the same time, local styles were formed in the manufacture of ceramics, reflecting the characteristics of specific cultures. This local specificity was most clearly reflected in the decor of dishes, i.e. in the ways and motives of its ornamentation.
Noticeable progress in the Neolithic era was associated with the design of the dwelling. A new type of housing appears - a building with a pit deepened into the ground and a system of supporting pillars to support the walls and roof. Such a dwelling was designed for a fairly long habitation, it reliably protected from the cold in the winter season. Inside the house, a certain layout was observed - residential and economic halves were allocated. The latter was intended for storing household utensils, food supplies, and for various labor operations.
Technological innovations also affected the manufacture of clothing. In the Neolithic era, a method for obtaining threads and coarse fabrics from vegetable raw materials - nettle, hemp, etc. - appeared and spread. For these purposes, a spindle was used with a ceramic or stone weighting disc mounted on one end, the simplest devices for knitting and weaving fabric. Clothes were sewn with the help of bone needles - they are often found during excavations of ancient settlements. In the burials of the Neolithic period, items of clothing that were on the deceased at the time of burial are sometimes found. The cut of the dress was very simple and resembled a shirt - in those days there was no division of clothing into upper and lower.
In the Neolithic era, a new sphere of material culture appears - vehicles. Population growth, the need to develop new territories in search of the best hunting and fishing grounds, the development of fishing as a branch of the economy stimulated the development of waterways. The presence of tools that were quite perfect for those times - polished axes and adzes - made it possible to build the first boats for traveling along rivers and lakes. The boats were hollowed out from tree trunks and vaguely resembled a modern canoe. The remains of such wooden boats and oars have been found by archaeologists in the Neolithic settlements of East China and the Japanese islands.
In general, the population of most parts of the world in the Neolithic era existed within the framework of an appropriating economy, led a mobile (nomadic) or semi-sedentary - in places of developed fishing - lifestyle. The material culture of these ancient tribes corresponded to their needs and environmental conditions.
A special layer of the material culture of the Neolithic era is associated with the population of some areas of the subtropical zone. These are separate zones of the Middle East, North Africa, East Asia. Here, a combination of favorable climatic conditions and the presence of wild edible cereals in the vegetation, as well as some other factors, made it possible for the cultivation of plants to obtain a permanent source of food. In fact, these areas have become the birthplace of the world's oldest agriculture. The development of a new type of economic activity, which was destined to subsequently provide the economic basis and progress of all the early civilizations of the world, could not but affect the culture and lifestyle of the first farmers.
The production cycle for cultivating the land, growing and harvesting tied people to a specific area, suitable in terms of its conditions for conducting such a farm. For example, in North Africa it was a fertile valley great river Nile, where already 9 - 8 thousand years ago settlements of early farmers arose. In Eastern China, tribes cultivating wild rice settled in the Yangtze River basin about 7 thousand years ago, and 6-5 thousand years ago in the Yellow River basin people learned to cultivate millet. Early farmers led a sedentary lifestyle, unlike their contemporaries, who obtained their food by hunting and gathering. The settlements consisted of long-term houses. For their construction in the Middle East and North Africa, clay was used, often mixed with reeds. The oldest rice growers in East China built large elongated rectangular houses on stilts from wood, which protected the villages from flooding during the rainy season.
The tool kit of the ancient farmer included tools for cultivating the land and harvesting - hoes made of stone, bone and wood, stone sickles and reaping knives. The inventors of the first sickles were the inhabitants of the Middle East, who had the original idea to make a combined tool, consisting of a crescent-shaped bone or wooden base with a groove along the inner bend, into which a dense row of thin sharp stone plates was inserted, forming a cutting edge. Farmers of subsequent cultural and historical eras, up to the 19th century, used the sickle as their main tool - and although it was already made of metal (first from bronze, and then from iron), its form and function remained unchanged for thousands of years.
In all these areas, early agriculture was accompanied by the initial forms of animal domestication. In North Africa and the Middle East, various ungulates were tamed and bred, in Eastern China - a pig and a dog. Animal husbandry thus becomes an important source of meat food. For a long time, agricultural and livestock farming was not yet able to provide people constantly and in full with the necessary food. With the then level of technical means and knowledge about the surrounding world, it was too difficult for a person to find the right strategy for interacting with nature. Therefore, hunting, gathering and fishing continued to play a significant role in life support.
The needs of agriculture and a sedentary lifestyle contributed to the development of various technologies and industries. So, among the early farmers of Africa, the Middle East, and East Asia, pottery (making ceramic dishes), spinning and weaving, woodworking, weaving, and making jewelry reach a special flowering. Judging by the findings of archaeologists, the latter were widely used as costume details. In the Neolithic, the main types of jewelry that have survived to this day are formed - bracelets, beads, rings, pendants, earrings. Jewelry was made from a variety of materials - stone, wood, bone, shells, clay. For example, the inhabitants of Eastern China, who grew rice and millet in the Neolithic era, widely used semi-precious stone jade for making jewelry, which remained a favorite material for decorative crafts over the next millennia.
In general, the development of farming and animal husbandry skills was the greatest achievement of mankind in the Neolithic era, laying the foundations for subsequent cultural and historical progress. It is no coincidence that researchers have proposed a special term for this phenomenon - "Neolithic revolution", emphasizing the truly revolutionary significance of economic innovations. Gradually, the population of many parts of Europe and Asia, with the exception of the northernmost latitudes, became acquainted with the skills of cultivating plants and breeding domestic animals. On the American continent, agriculture becomes known starting from the 1st millennium BC, where maize and corn were the main crops.
The pace of technical and cultural progress was different in different regions of the globe - the zones of early agriculture developed most dynamically. It was there, on these territories generously endowed with natural resources, that the next major qualitative leap in the history of material culture took place - the development of metal. According to scientists based on the latest data, in the Middle East the first metal - copper - became known as early as 7-6 millennium BC, and in North Africa - at the end of the 5 millennium BC. For a long time, copper was used to make jewelry and small tools (fish hooks, awls), and stone tools still played the leading role in the arsenal of technical means. At first, native copper was processed in a cold way - forging. Only later is the hot processing of metal ore in special smelting furnaces mastered. In the 3rd millennium BC, the technology for manufacturing alloys that increase the hardness of copper by adding various minerals to it becomes known. This is how bronze appears - first an alloy of copper with arsenic, then with tin. Bronze, in contrast to soft copper, was suitable for the manufacture of a wide range of tools - in particular, cutting and throwing.
In the 3rd - 2nd millennium BC, knowledge about the extraction and processing of metal ore, about the manufacture of various tools from metal, spread over the vast expanses of Eurasia. It is with this time that it is customary to associate the main chronological framework bronze age. The process of mastering the metal proceeded unevenly, and success in this area depended primarily on the availability of natural resources ores in a particular region. So, in areas rich in polymetallic ores, large centers of bronze metallurgy are formed - in the Caucasus at the end of the 3rd - 2nd millennium BC, in Southern Siberia in the 2nd millennium BC.
Bronze tools and weapons had undoubted advantages over stone tools - they were much more efficient in work and more durable. Gradually, bronze replaced stone from the main spheres. labor activity. Bronze axes, knives and arrowheads gained particular popularity. In addition, decorative items were made from bronze - buttons, plaques, bracelets, earrings, etc. Metal products were obtained by casting in special molds.
Following copper and bronze, iron was mastered. The birthplace of the first iron products was South Transcaucasia (modern Armenia) - it is believed that they learned to melt this metal there already in the second half of the 2nd millennium BC. Iron is rapidly spreading across the Eurasian continent. The 1st millennium BC and the first centuries of our era are commonly referred to as the Iron Age. Magnetite and red iron ore were the main sources of obtaining new metal - these ores are especially rich in iron. The population of those territories where there were not enough favorable conditions for the emergence of their own iron metallurgy, this metal and products from it become known from more progressive neighbors. For example, on Japanese islands both bronze and iron came almost simultaneously in the 1st millennium BC due to cultural contacts with the inhabitants of the mainland regions of East Asia.
Iron as a material for making tools gradually replaced bronze, just as it once replaced copper. The extraordinary strength of this metal was the main prerequisite for its economic use - for the manufacture of weapons, tools for working the land, various tools, horse harness, parts of wheeled vehicles, etc. The use of iron tools ensured rapid progress in all branches of economic and industrial activity.
The process of distribution of metals - copper, bronze and iron - in a significant part of the globe took place within the framework of the primitive era. The tribes that mastered the skills of mining and metal processing inevitably overtook those groups in their development. ancient population who were not yet familiar with this technology. In societies familiar with metal, the producing sectors of the economy, various crafts and industries became more active. For example, the use of heat engineering means for smelting metal ore influenced the progress in the field of pottery, namely, in the technique of firing ceramic dishes. Iron tools, in whatever industry they were used, made it possible to carry out more complex technological operations and obtain high-quality products.
Sphere of material culture
Material culture includes all spheres of material activity and its results: dwellings, clothing, objects and means of labor, consumer goods, etc. That is, those elements that serve the natural organic needs of a person belong to material culture, which in the literal sense content satisfies these needs.Material culture has its own (internal) structure. The material fruits of material production - a heritage intended for consumption, as well as equipping material production - is the first side of material culture. These are things, clothes, industrial equipment, technologies, creative potential workers.
The second side is the culture of human reproduction, ways of human behavior in the intimate sphere. The relationship between a man and a woman determines the nature of a person's general culture. The birth and formation of people is mediated by culture and is represented by many models and details, an amazing variety. Physical culture is the third side of material culture. Here the human body is the object of its activity. The culture of physical development includes: the formation and change of the physical capabilities of a person, healing. These are sports, gymnastics, body hygiene, disease prevention and treatment, outdoor activities. Socio-political culture as a side of material culture is a sphere of social existence in which the practice of establishing, maintaining and changing, changing social institutions is organized.
Material culture in the unity of its aspects presupposes peculiar forms of material communication between people carried out in everyday life, economic activity, and socio-political practice.
Spheres of culture
Everyday and professional cultures are spheres of highly differentiated culture. Professional culture- this is a necessary measure of the consistency of official and informal relations with each other and with the personality of the employee. Professional culture presupposes the unity of the organizational and professional identification of employees; then the desire for a common goal, the enthusiasm of the search, the growth of professional skills are possible.
The structure of professional culture includes: the intellectual culture of a specialist; a way to connect a person with production technology; model of labor behavior; samples, norms, values of the common culture of the team, reflected in the behavior of the reference groups. The infrastructure for the development of professional culture is the mechanisms of involvement, identification and institutionalization of individuals employed in this profession. An exceptional role in professional culture is played by the intellectual culture of the individual; it provides flexibility of thinking, as well as adaptation to changing working and living conditions.
The professional culture of the individual is the result of the joint efforts of society and the individual. Sociocultural institutions are called upon to form mechanisms for attracting young people to the professions necessary for society, providing a standard of living and status for professionals. Labor markets and educational services must be linked. Professionally employed people make up the socio-professional pyramid of society. The harmony and stability of the socio-cultural pyramid is due to the wide base and close connection between the layers. Stimulating the behavior of a professional within the pyramid allows society to maintain the stability and dynamism of the culture as a whole.
Everyday culture (sometimes identified with everyday culture) carries the historically changing experience of reproducing people's lives. The elements of the structure of everyday culture are the culture of everyday life, the culture of the environment, the culture of maintaining and reproducing the human life cycle. The content of everyday culture includes: food, clothing, housing, type of settlement, technology and means of communication, family values, communication, housekeeping, artistic creativity, organization of leisure and recreation, everyday thinking, behavior, and others.
Elements of material culture
The American sociologist and ethnographer George Murdoch identified more than 70 universals - elements common to all cultures: age gradation, sports, body jewelry, calendar, cleanliness, community organization, cooking, labor cooperation, courtship cosmology, dancing, decorative arts, divination, interpretation dreams, division of labor, education, eschatology, ethics, ethnobotany, etiquette, belief in miraculous cures, family, festivities, fire-making, folklore, food taboos, funeral rituals, games, gestures, custom of giving gifts, government, greeting, hair styling , hospitality, household, hygiene, prohibition of incest, inheritance, jokes, kinship groups, nomenclature of relatives, language, law, superstition, magic, marriage, meal times (breakfast, lunch, dinner), medicine, decency in the administration of natural necessities, mourning, music, mythology, number, midwifery, punitive sanctions, personal name, police, postnatal care, treatment of pregnant women, property rights, supernatural propitiation, puberty customs, religious rituals, settlement rules, sexual restrictions, teaching about the soul, status differentiation, making tools, trading, visiting, weaning a child from the breast, observing the weather.Cultural universals arise because all people, no matter where they live in the world, are physically the same, they have the same biological needs and face common problems that the environment poses to humanity. People are born and die, so all nations have customs associated with birth and death. Since they live together, they have a division of labor, dances, games, greetings, etc.
In general, social culture determines the way of life of people, gives them the necessary guidelines for effective interaction in society. According to a number of sociologists, it contains a system of spiritual codes, a kind of information program that makes people act this way and not otherwise, perceive and evaluate what is happening in a certain light.
In the sociological study of culture, two main aspects are distinguished: cultural statics and cultural dynamics. The first involves the analysis of the structure of culture, the second - the development of cultural processes.
Considering culture as a complex system, sociologists distinguish in it the initial, or basic units, which are called cultural elements. Cultural elements are of two types: tangible and intangible. The first form the material culture, the second - the spiritual.
Material culture is everything in which the knowledge, skills and beliefs of people are materialized (tools, equipment, buildings, works of art, jewelry, religious objects, etc.). Spiritual culture includes language, symbols, knowledge, beliefs, ideals, values, norms, rules and patterns of behavior, traditions, customs, rituals and much more - everything that arises in the minds of people and determines their lifestyle.
Cultural universals do not exclude the rich diversity of cultures, which can manifest itself literally in everything - in greetings, manner of communication, traditions, customs, rituals, in ideas of beauty, in relation to life and death. In this regard, an important social problem arises: how people perceive and evaluate other cultures. And here sociologists identify two trends: ethnocentrism and cultural relativism.
Ethnocentrism is the tendency to evaluate other cultures according to the criteria of one's own culture, from a position of its superiority. Manifestations of this tendency can take a variety of forms (missionary activity with the aim of converting "barbarians" to their faith, attempts to impose one or another "way of life", etc.). In conditions of social instability, weakening of state power, ethnocentrism can play a destructive role, giving rise to xenophobia and militant nationalism. However, in most cases, ethnocentrism manifests itself in more tolerant forms. This gives grounds for some sociologists to find positive aspects in it, linking them with patriotism, national self-consciousness, and even ordinary group solidarity.
Cultural relativism proceeds from the fact that any culture must be considered as a whole and evaluated in its own context. As the American researcher R. Benedict notes, not a single value, not a single feature of a given culture can be fully understood if they are analyzed in isolation from the whole. Cultural relativism softens the effect of ethnocentrism and promotes the search for ways to cooperate and mutually enrich different cultures.
According to some sociologists, the most rational way for the development and perception of culture in society is a combination of ethnocentrism and cultural relativism, when an individual, feeling pride in the culture of his group or society, is at the same time able to understand other cultures, evaluate their originality and significance.
Girtz believes that in every culture there are key words-symbols, the meaning of which opens access to the interpretation of the whole.
The ability to effectively fulfill its role in society depends largely on the development of the structural elements of culture.
As the main, most stable elements of culture, language, social values, social norms and customs, traditions and rituals are distinguished:
1. Language - a system of signs and symbols endowed with a specific meaning. Language is an objective form of accumulation, storage and transmission of human experience. The term "language" has at least two interrelated meanings: 1) language in general, language as a certain class of sign systems; 2) specific, so-called. ethnic language - a specific real-life sign system used in a specific society, at a specific time and in a specific space.
Language arises at a certain stage in the development of society to satisfy many needs. Therefore, language is a multifunctional system. Its main functions are the creation, storage and transmission of information. Acting as a means of human communication (communicative function), language ensures the social behavior of a person.
One of the hallmarks of a primitive language is relative ambiguity. In the language of the Bushmen, "gone" means "sun", "heat", "thirst" or all of these together (it is noteworthy that the meaning of the word is included in a certain situation); "neni" means "eye", "see", "here". In the language of the inhabitants of the Trobriand Islands (east of New Guinea), one word denotes seven different relatives: father, father's brother, father's sister's son, father's mother's sister's son, father's sister's daughter's son, father's father's father's sister's son's son, and father's father's sister's son's son's son .
The same word often performs several different functions. For example, among the Bushmen, "na" means "to give." At the same time, "on" is a particle indicating the dative case. In the Eve language, the dative case is also built using the verb "na" ("give").
Few words denoting generic concepts. The Bushmen have many words for various fruits, but no word for the corresponding general concept. The words are full of visual analogies. In Bushmen, the expression "ka-ta" is "finger", but when translated literally, it means "head of the hand." "Hunger" translates as "the stomach kills a man"; "elephant" - "the beast breaks trees", etc. The real element is included here in the very name of the object or state. Being the initial condition for the formation of any communities, a prerequisite for any social interaction, language performs various functions, the main of which is the creation, storage and transmission of information.
Acting as a means of human communication (communicative function), language ensures the social behavior of a person. The language also acts as a relay of culture, i.e. its distribution. Finally, the language contains the concepts with which people comprehend the world make it understandable.
What signs characterize the main trends in the development of the language towards more advanced forms? First of all, there is a replacement of rough, hardly distinguishable sound complexes by more fractional units with clear discrete semantic features. These units are our phonemes. Due to the provision of better recognition of speech messages, the energy costs of participants in the process of speech communication are sharply reduced. Increased emotional expressiveness also disappears, being replaced by a relatively neutral form of expression. Finally, the syntactic side of speech is undergoing significant development. Words of oral speech are formed from a combination of phonemes.
The “Language Relativity Hypothesis”, or the Sepi-ra-Whorf Hypothesis, is associated with the idea of W. Humboldt (1767-1835) that each language has a unique worldview. The peculiarity of Sapir Whorf's hypothesis is that it was built on extensive ethno-linguistic material. According to this hypothesis, natural language always leaves its mark on thinking and forms of culture. The picture of the world is largely unconsciously built on the basis of language. Thus, the language unconsciously for its speakers forms their ideas about the objective world up to the basic categories of time and space; so, for example, Einstein's picture of the world would be different if it was created on the basis of, say, the language of the Hopi Indians. This is due to the grammatical structure of languages, which includes not only the ways of constructing sentences, but also a system for analyzing the world around.
Proponents of the impossibility of cultural dialogue refer primarily to the words of B. Whorf that a person lives in a kind of "intellectual prison", the walls of which are erected by the structural rules of the language. And many people are not even aware of the fact of their "imprisonment".
2. Social values are socially approved and accepted beliefs about what a person should strive for.
In sociology, values are considered as the most important element of social regulation. They determine the general direction of this process, set the moral system of coordinates in which a person exists and is oriented towards. Based on the commonality of social values, agreement (consensus) is achieved both in small groups and in society as a whole.
Social values are the product of people's interaction, during which their ideas about justice, good and evil, the meaning of life, etc. are formed. Each social group puts forward, approves and defends its own values. At the same time, there may be universal human values, which in a democratic society include peace, freedom, equality, honor and dignity of the individual, solidarity, civic duty, spiritual wealth, material well-being, etc.
There are also individual values, for the characteristics of which sociologists use the concept of "value orientations". This concept reflects the individual's orientation towards certain values (health, career, wealth, honesty, decency, etc.). Value orientations are formed during the assimilation of social experience and are manifested in goals, ideals, beliefs, interests and other aspects of the individual's consciousness.
On the basis of social values, another important element of the system of regulation of people's life activity arises - social norms that determine the boundaries of acceptable behavior in society.
3. Social norms are rules, patterns and standards of behavior that regulate people's interactions in accordance with the values of a particular culture.
Social norms ensure the repetition, stability and regularity of human interactions in society. Due to this, the behavior of individuals becomes predictable, and the development of social relations and ties becomes predictable, which contributes to the stability of society as a whole.
Social norms are classified on various grounds. It is especially important in relation to the value-normative regulation of social life, their distinction between legal and moral. The former are manifested in the form of laws and contain clear guidelines that determine the conditions for the application of a particular norm. Compliance with the latter is ensured by the power of public opinion, the moral duty of the individual. Social norms can also be based on customs, traditions and rituals, the totality of which forms another important component of culture.
4. Customs, traditions and rituals are forms of social regulation of people's behavior taken from the past.
Customs mean historically established mass patterns of actions that are recommended to be performed. This is a kind of unwritten rules of conduct. Their violators are subject to informal sanctions- comments, disapproval, censure, etc. Customs that have moral significance form mores. This concept characterizes all those forms of human behavior that exist in a given society and can be subjected to moral assessment. If customs pass from one generation to another, they acquire the character of traditions.
Traditions are elements of social and cultural heritage that are passed down from generation to generation and preserved for a long time. Traditions are a unifying principle, they contribute to the consolidation of a social group or society as a whole. At the same time, blind adherence to tradition breeds conservatism and stagnation in public life.
A rite is a set of symbolic collective actions determined by customs and traditions and embodying certain norms and values. Rites accompany the most important moments of human life: baptism, engagement, wedding, burial, funeral service, etc. The power of rituals lies in their emotional and psychological impact on people's behavior.
Ceremonies and rituals are closely related to rituals. A ceremony is understood as a certain sequence of symbolic actions on the occasion of some solemn event (coronation, awarding, initiation into students, etc.). In turn, rituals are associated with symbolic actions in relation to the sacred or supernatural. It is usually a stylized set of words and gestures, the purpose of which is to evoke certain collective emotions and feelings.
The elements noted above (first of all, language, values, norms) form the core of social culture as a value-normative system for regulating people's behavior. There are other elements of culture that perform certain functions in society. These include habits (stereotypes of behavior in certain situations), manners (external forms of behavior that are subject to evaluation by others), etiquette (special rules of behavior adopted in certain social circles), fashion (as a manifestation of individuality and as a desire to maintain one's social prestige). ) and etc.
Thus, culture, being a complex system of functionally interconnected elements, acts as an important mechanism of human interaction that determines the social space of people's activities, their way of life and the main guidelines for spiritual development.
Achievements of material culture
The main achievements and symbols of material and spiritual culture date back to the end of the 3rd millennium BC. e. The art of the Ancient East is monumental, calm and solemn, in it the regularity, rhythm, majesty that is so characteristic of ancient art at all.Nevertheless, the culture of the East is not only art, it is also the culture of agriculture, science, mythology. Thus, the most important achievement of the material culture of the Ancient East, the determining factor in its development, was the creation of a culture of agriculture. “Don't you know that the fields are the life of the country,” says one of the texts of the Babylonian kingdom (II millennium BC). The construction of irrigation facilities has reached a high level; their remnants have survived to the present day (Southern Mesopotamia). River vessels could pass freely along some irrigation canals. The construction of canals is mentioned by the rulers of antiquity in laudatory inscriptions, along with their military victories and the construction of temples. So Rimsin, the king of Larsa (XVIII century BC), reports that he dug a canal, "which supplied drinking water to a large population, which gave an abundance of grain ... right up to the seashore." On ancient images The pharaoh of Egypt draws the first furrow with a hoe, illuminating the beginning of agricultural work. In the East, cultivated cereals and plants were first bred: wheat, barley, millet, flax, grapes, melons, date palm. For thousands of years, valuable agricultural skills have been developed, new tools have been invented, including a heavy plow. Along with agriculture, pastures in floodplains contributed to the widespread development of cattle breeding, many types of animals were domesticated: goat, sheep, bull, donkey, horse, camel.
Along with agriculture, especially in urban centers, the development of handicrafts has reached a high level. In ancient Egypt, the highest culture of stone processing developed, from which giant pyramids were built, and the thinnest alabaster vessels were made as transparent as glass. In Mesopotamia, stone, where it was the greatest rarity, was successfully replaced by baked clay; buildings were erected from it and household items were created. Artisans and artists of the East achieved great skill in the production of glass, faience, and tiles. The Hermitage collection contains several examples of amazing pieces of ancient Egypt made of colored glass, decorated with animal and plant ornaments. At the same time, the gates of the goddess Ishtar of Ancient Babylon, completely covered with tiled mosaics with images of fantastic animals, amaze with their monumentality. Great heights were reached in the East by the processing of metals (primarily lead, copper, gold, their various alloys, and - occasionally - meteoric iron). Weapons and tools were made from copper, jewelry for the nobility and temple utensils were made from precious metals. The highest technique of metal craftsmen can be judged at least by such a famous masterpiece as the golden royal helmet from the city of Ur, made around 2600 BC. e. and, of course, the incomparable gold from the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamen of the 14th century. BC e. However, both Egypt and Mesopotamia were not rich in minerals. This gave rise to the need international trade, exchange, which contributed to the development of wheeled transport, the construction of durable ships. Trade and military expeditions helped the penetration of the achievements of river civilizations to adjacent lands to neighboring peoples. North Africa, Nubia, the Eastern Mediterranean, the Caucasus and Iran were drawn into the sphere of economic, political and cultural influence of these civilizations.
The needs of economic activity, the development of trade and exchange, the experience of observing natural phenomena contributed to the emergence of the first scientific knowledge. The necessity of measuring land, counting crops, building canals, constructing grandiose buildings and military installations led to the emergence of the foundations of mathematics. The ancient Egyptians owe mankind the creation of a decimal number system, they even had a special hieroglyph for a million. Egyptian mathematicians were able to determine the surface of a rectangle, triangle, trapezoid, circle, calculate the volume of a truncated pyramid and a hemisphere, solve algebraic equations with one unknown (which they called a “heap”, maybe a pile of grain?). In ancient Mesopotamia, the Sumerians created a sexagesimal number system: they also knew the decimal system. The combination of the two systems is reflected in the division of the year into 360 days and the circle into 360 parts. The mathematical texts that have come down to us speak of the ability of the inhabitants of Mesopotamia to raise a number to a power, extract square and cube roots using special formulas, and calculate volume. Fractions were used in the calculations. It is assumed that they knew the arithmetic and geometric progression. Cuneiform multiplication tables (up to 180 thousand) and division have been preserved. The civilizations of the East also had quite extensive knowledge in astronomy. Ancient scientists established the relationship of natural cycles, river floods with a change in the position of heavenly bodies. On the basis of thousands of years of observations, passed down from generation to generation, calendar systems were compiled, star maps were created.
Deep knowledge was accumulated by scientists of the Ancient East and in the field of medicine. Thus, the mummification of the dead in ancient Egypt allowed doctors to perfectly study the anatomy of the human body and the circulatory system. At a high level in Egypt and Mesopotamia was the diagnosis of the definition of diseases, the recognition of their symptoms. The doctor had to openly declare to the patient whether his disease is curable. There was a medical specialization. Various means have been used for treatment. First of all, it is the experience accumulated over the centuries in the preparation of very complex drugs, organic and inorganic compounds. Massages, ointments, compresses were widely practiced. If necessary, surgical operations were performed. Brilliantly made of hard alloys of bronze and quite perfect instruments of ancient Egyptian surgeons have survived to this day.
The urgent need of the state for a large number of literate people led to the creation of the initial educational systems. Thus, in ancient Egypt, court schools of scribes for the aristocracy and departmental schools for the training of scribes-officials were created. The scribe was considered an important statesman, and some of them even had magnificent tombs built and statues erected. The centers of education were also the temples of various gods. In ancient Egyptian mythology, the god of the moon, wisdom and writing. He was even considered a special patron of sciences, sacred books and witchcraft.
In Mesopotamia, the scribes trained at the temples were at the same time the priests of the gods. The program of their education included the teaching of writing, knowledge of mathematics, astronomy and astrology, divination by the entrails of animals, the study of law, theology, medicine and music. The teaching methodology, as the texts of cuneiform manuals-tables that have come down to us, was very primitive and consisted of questions from the teacher and answers from students, memorization and written exercises.
The entire system of education of ancient Eastern civilizations was closely intertwined with religious and mystical ideas. Therefore, objective scientific data were presented in inseparable unity with ancient religious myths. This was especially true of historical science, which was at a primitive level and fed on fantastic legends about the origin of gods and kings.
A huge number of remnants of majestic temples, images of gods, cult objects and religious texts of ancient Eastern civilizations have survived to this day. This indicates that the whole life of these peoples was closely connected with religion. At the primitive stage of development, mankind knows the primitive forms of religion - totemism, the deification of nature. With the advent of civilization, whole religious systems appear with cycles of myths about gods and kings. Sumerian mythology in its later form, enriched with Akkadian deities, formed the basis of Assyro-Babylonian mythology, albeit with some important changes. First of all, there are no mentions of the actual Semitic gods in Mesopotamia at all: all the Akkadian gods were borrowed in one way or another from the Sumerians. Even during the time of the Akkadian kingdom, when the main myths were recorded in Sumerian and Akkadian, these were Sumerian myths, and the gods in these texts bore predominantly Sumerian names.
The main text that helps to recreate the system of Assyro-Babylonian beliefs is the epic poem "Enuma Elish", named after the first words, meaning "When above". This poem gives a picture of the creation of the world and man, similar to the Sumerian, but more complex in comparison with it. The Babylonians have quite complex religious concepts: for example, the idea of the existence of several generations of deities, the younger of which fight with the older ones and defeat them. The role of the younger generation in this battle is assigned to the Sumerian gods, from whom all the gods of the Babylonian pantheon subsequently descended, starting with Marduk, the supreme deity. Among the Assyrians, the place of Marduk is taken by Ashur.
The tendency to single out one supreme god, commanding all the others, is directly related to the social development of Mesopotamia in the Assyro-Babylonian era. The unification of the country under the rule of a single ruler presupposed the unification of religious beliefs, the presence of a supreme god-ruler, transferring his power over people to the legitimate king. Among the gods, as among men, the communal system is being replaced by a despotic monarchy.
A common theme for Sumero-Akkadian and Assyro-Babylonian myths is the Flood. Both there and there the plot is the same - the gods, angry with people, send a thunderstorm to the earth, under the waters of which all living things die, with the exception of one righteous man with his family, who was saved thanks to the patronage of one of the main gods.
Interestingly, all Mesopotamian flood myths are associated with heavy rains sent by the gods. This, undoubtedly, explains the reverence with which in Mesopotamia in all periods they treated the gods of bad weather, thunderstorms and winds. The ability to command destructive thunderstorms and winds since Sumerian times was attributed, in addition to "special" deities, to all the supreme gods - in particular, to Enlil and his sons Ningirsu and Ninurta.
Assyro-Babylonian mythology differs from Sumerian mythology primarily in that the Babylonians and Assyrians practically do not introduce demigod heroes of human origin into the pantheon. The only exception is Gilgamesh. And almost all the legends about people who have become equal to the gods in Assyro-Babylonian literature have a clearly defined Sumerian origin. But the Babylonian and Assyrian gods perform much more great feats than the Sumerian ones.
emergence new form state rule was reflected not only in the general character of the Assyro-Babylonian mythology. In the Assyro-Babylonian period, the concept of "personal" deities appears. Just as the king serves as a protector and patron for any of his subjects, each subject has his own guardian god, or even several, each of which opposes one or another group of demons and evil deities attacking a person.
To exalt the gods and kings, monumental structures are created, temples in which the gods live, and through which one can approach the gods. In Egypt, these are huge tombs of the pharaohs - pyramids and temples, in Mesopotamia - colossal stepped pyramids - ziggurats, from the tops of which the priests spoke with the gods. Most of the peoples of the Ancient East (Nubians, Libyans, Hittites, Phoenicians, etc.) created similar polytheistic religious-mythological systems. However, in the same place, in the east, among the Semitic tribes of the Jews in the II millennium BC. a completely new religious direction was born and developed - monotheism (monotheism), which became the basis of the world religions of the future - Christianity and Islam. Writing. An integral part of the temples and tombs, which are the embodiment of the monumental art of the Old Kingdom, were reliefs and statues of pharaohs, nobility, court scribes. All of them were performed within the framework of strict canons. The reliefs and paintings that adorn the walls of the tombs are also associated with the funeral cult.
The ancient civilizations of the East left the richest literary heritage to humanity. The most characteristic features of ancient Eastern literature are its inextricable connection with the religious and mystical worldview and, in accordance with this, the indispensable traditional character of ancient plots, literary motifs, genres and forms that have been preserved for millennia. Literature performed the function of a religious explanation of the questions that arose before a person, about the meaning of life and death, about the origin of the world, about natural phenomena, etc. A significant layer of the literature of antiquity consisted of religious hymns, psalms, and spells clothed in artistic form, performed in temples during the ceremony of worshiping the gods. The same can be said about the ancient Eastern epic literature- these are mainly religious myths about the golden age, about gods and heroes. A typical example of this kind of literature is the Babylonian poem "On the Creation of the World", the plot of which is largely borrowed from ancient Sumerian prototypes. The pinnacle of Babylonian literature is the poem about the hero-king Gilgamesh, a half-god, half-man. In this philosophical and poetic work, an attempt is made to answer the eternal questions about life and death. The hero performs great deeds in search of immortality, but he fails to avoid the inevitable. In ancient Egyptian literature, we find a whole similar cycle of myths about Isis and Osiris. The official literature includes hymns in honor of the kings, such as "Hymn to Senusret III", praising the ruler, "protecting the country and expanding its borders, conquering foreign countries." Along with religious and official literature, elements of folk art have come down to us in the form of proverbs, sayings, fairy tales, depicting the true life of ordinary people intertwined with fairy-tale fantasy. Such are the ancient Egyptian tales “About two brothers”, “About truth and falsehood”, the Babylonian fable “About a fox”, etc. Descriptions of travels popular in Ancient Egypt also belong to secular literature.
The main features of ancient Egyptian art, which originated in the archaic period, are, first of all, majesty, monumentality of forms, rigor and clarity, stinginess, almost primitive line and drawing, frontal unfolding of the image. Quite a lot of architectural monuments, works of fine art of the Egyptians have come down to us, since the masters widely used in their work very durable rocks (basalt, diorite, granite), which the country was rich in. Much less preserved monuments of architecture and art of Ancient Mesopotamia. The material used for the work (raw and burnt clay) turned out to be short-lived. There are many common features in the art of the two civilizations. This is the closest connection with religion, the function of exalting and strengthening royal power and a thousand-year loyalty to the traditions laid down by the culture of the Sumerians. Architecture. In ancient Egyptian art, the leading role belonged to architecture, closely associated with religion, and especially with the funeral cult. To preserve the remnants of the pharaohs and nobles, already in the Old Kingdom majestic tombs were built - pyramids, the construction of which required great technical perfection.
Types of material culture
Culture in general and any specific regional, historical form of culture is a complex phenomenon that can be considered in two most important aspects: static and dynamic. Cultural statics involves the study of the spread of culture in space, its structure, morphology and typology. This is a synchronous approach to the study of culture.Within the framework of cultural statics, culture must be classified on the basis of its structure: material, spiritual, artistic and physical culture.
Material culture is based on a rational, reproductive type of activity, expressed in an objective-objective form, satisfies the primary needs of a person.
Composition of material culture:
Work culture (machinery and tools, energy sources, production facilities, communication systems and energy infrastructure);
culture of everyday life - the material side of human life (clothes, furniture, utensils, household appliances, utilities, food);
culture of the topos or place of settlement (type of dwelling, structure and features of settlements).
Material culture is divided into:
Production and technological culture, which is the material results of material production and methods of technological activity of a social person;
- the reproduction of the human race, which includes the entire sphere of intimate relations between a man and a woman.
It should be noted that material culture is understood not so much as the creation of the objective world of people, but as the activity to form the "conditions of human existence". The essence of material culture is the embodiment of a variety of human needs that allow people to adapt to the biological and social conditions of life.
Material culture is more directly and more directly conditioned by the qualities and properties of natural objects, by the variety of forms of matter, energy and information that are used by man as starting materials or raw materials in the creation of material objects, material products and material means of human existence.
Material culture includes artifacts of various types and forms, where a natural object and its material are transformed so that the object is turned into a thing, that is, into an object whose properties and characteristics are set and produced by the creative abilities of a person so that they are more accurate or more fully satisfied the needs of man as "homo sapiens", and, therefore, had a culturally expedient purpose and civilizational role.
Material culture, in another sense of the word, is the human "I" disguised as a thing; it is the spirituality of man embodied in the form of a thing; it is the human soul realized in things; it is the materialized and objectified spirit of mankind.
Material culture primarily includes various means of material production. These are energy and raw materials of inorganic or organic origin, geological, hydrological or atmospheric components of the technology of material production. These are tools of labor - from the simplest tool forms to complex machine complexes. These are various means of consumption and products of material production. These are various types of material-objective, practical human activity. These are the material and objective relations of a person in the sphere of production technology or in the sphere of exchange, that is, relations of production. However, it should be emphasized that the material culture of mankind is always wider than the existing material production. It includes all types of material values: architectural values, buildings and structures, means of communication and transport, parks and equipped landscapes, etc.
In addition, material culture contains the material values of the past - monuments, archaeological sites, equipped monuments of nature, etc. Consequently, the volume of material values of culture is wider than the volume of material production, and therefore there is no identity between material culture in general and material production in particular. . In addition, material production itself can be characterized in terms of cultural studies, that is, we can talk about the culture of material production, the degree of its perfection, the degree of its rationality and civilization, the aesthetics and environmental friendliness of the forms and methods in which it is carried out, morality. and the justice of those distributive relations that develop in it. In this sense, they talk about the culture of production technology, the culture of management and its organization, the culture of working conditions, the culture of exchange and distribution, etc.
Consequently, in the culturological approach, material production is studied primarily from the point of view of its humanitarian or humanistic perfection, while from an economic point of view, material production is studied from a technocratic point of view, that is, its efficiency, efficiency, cost, profitability, etc. P.
Material culture in general, as well as material production in particular, is evaluated by culturology in terms of the means and conditions they create for improving human life, for developing his “I”, his creative potentials, the essence of man as a rational being, from the point of view of growth and expansion. opportunities for the realization of human abilities as a subject of culture. In this sense, it is clear that both at different stages of the evolution of material culture, and in specific historical social methods of material production, different conditions were formed and means of different levels of perfection were created for the realization of creative ideas and plans of man in an effort to improve the world and himself.
Harmonious relationships between material and technical possibilities and the transforming intentions of man in history do not always exist, but when this becomes objectively possible, culture develops in optimal and balanced forms. If there is no harmony, the culture becomes unstable, unbalanced, and suffers either from inertia and conservatism, or from utopianism and revolutionism.
So, material culture is a system of material values that arises as a result of human activities.
The totality of material and spiritual culture
Modern science has come to the need to highlight specific aspects of culture as a social phenomenon:Genetic - culture is presented as a product of society.
- epistemological - culture acts as a set of material and spiritual values achieved in the process of mastering the world.
- humanistic - culture is revealed as the development of the person himself, his spiritual, creative abilities.
- normative - culture acts as a system that regulates social relations in society.
- sociological - culture is expressed as the activity of a historically specific social object.
Culture is the core, foundation, soul of society:
These are the material and spiritual values of a person,
is the way people live
is their relationship to each other
- this is the originality of the life of the nation and peoples,
is the level of development of society,
is the information accumulated in the history of society,
is a set of social norms, laws, customs,
is religion, mythology, science, art, politics.
World culture is a synthesis of the best achievements of all national cultures of various peoples inhabiting our planet.
Culture is divided into certain types and genera. It is customary to distinguish between material and spiritual culture. The material culture includes the culture of labor and material production, the culture of everyday life, the culture of the place of residence, the culture of attitude towards one's own body, and physical culture. Material culture is an indicator of the level of practical mastery of nature by man.
Spiritual culture includes cognitive, moral, artistic, legal, pedagogical, religious.
The multiple structure of culture determines the diversity of its functions. The main one is humanistic. All the others are somehow connected with it or follow from it. The function of translation is the transfer of social experience. Cognitive function - accumulating knowledge about the world, creates an opportunity for its development. Regulatory function - regulates various aspects, types of social activities.
Semiotic function - without studying the corresponding sign systems, it is not possible to master the achievements of culture. Value function - culture is defined as a system of values.
Material culture of nomads
If you look at the objects of material culture of people who lived between the 7th century. BC e. and IV c. n. e., it can be seen that in terms of their qualities they have become much more convenient, more complex and more perfect than objects of the Bronze Age. If bronze knives, axes, sickles and other tools and instruments of labor were brittle, bulky, then iron steels were much stronger and lighter than them. New tools contributed to an increase in labor productivity, the amount of output. But since the products of labor were mainly used by the strong and rich, this led to the fact that social inequality appeared in society.The material culture of the Saks and Sarmatians, who lived on a vast territory from Southern Siberia, Altai and to the Northern Black Sea region, has much in common, and only in the art of these tribes there are some differences.
The similarity of the material culture of these tribes proves their relationship. This similarity did not change much later, when the Usun and Kanly tribes appeared. Only in connection with the further development of society did the material culture of the tribes become more perfect and diverse.
Herodotus wrote that the Saks lived in wooden houses. In winter they were covered with dense white felt. Apparently, these were yurts. According to Hippocrates, nomads during their journey put yurt dwellings on four-wheeled or six-wheeled carts. The fact that the yurts that the Kazakhs use at the present time do not differ in shape from the ancient yurts should not cause any doubts.
If we talk about permanent sites, then the Usuns built buildings from stone bricks, while the Kanly dwellings were built from raw bricks.
In clothing, the Saks and Sarmatians also had much in common. The Saks had pointed headdresses and shoes without heels. Caftans are short, to the knees, no waist belts were used. Pants were worn long, narrow, on the right - a dagger, on the left - a saber or bow. For example, the clothing of a warrior from a burial in the Issyk kurgan was ceremonial, richly decorated with gold plaques and plates. The headdress was embroidered with gold plates depicting horses, leopards, argali, mountain goats, birds, etc.
The skilfully executed silhouette of a deer on a belt plate gave the Golden Man a special beauty and attractiveness. Ritual vessels were also found here - wooden and clay jugs, a silver bowl and spoons, a wooden scoop, a bronze bowl. All items are unique works of art. With great skill and artistic taste, the horse harness and items for riding, found in the Great Berel Kurgan in Altai, were made by an ancient master. Together with the leader of the tribe, 13 horses were buried. The horse harness, remains of saddles and leather bridles with iron bits and wooden plaques covered with gold leaf are well preserved.
Features of material culture
In general, approaches to the definition of culture can be divided into two large groups: culture as a world of accumulated values and norms, as a material world outside of a person, and culture as a world of a person. The latter can also be divided into three groups: culture - the world of an integral person in the unity of his physical and spiritual nature; culture world spiritual life of man; culture is a living human activity, a method, a technology of this activity. Both are true. For culture is two-dimensional: on the one hand, culture is the world of human social experience, accumulated by him enduring material and spiritual values. On the other hand, it is a qualitative characteristic of living human activity.Already here it is difficult to distinguish material culture from spiritual culture. N. Berdyaev said that culture is always spiritual, but it is hardly worth arguing the existence of material culture. If culture forms a person, then how can one exclude the influence of the material environment, tools and means of labor, the variety of everyday things on this process? Is it possible to form a person's soul in isolation from his body? On the other hand, as Hegel said, the spirit itself is cursed to be embodied in material substrates. The most brilliant thought, if it is not objectified, will die together with the subject. Leaving no trace in the culture. All this suggests that any opposition between the material and the spiritual and vice versa in the sphere of culture is inevitably relative. The complexity of distinguishing between material and spiritual culture is great, you can try to make it according to their influence on the development of the individual.
For the theory of culture, understanding the difference between material and spiritual culture is an important point. In terms of physical survival, biological needs, even in a purely practical sense, spirituality is redundant, superfluous. This is a kind of conquest of mankind, a luxury available and necessary for preserving the human in a person. It is the spiritual needs, the needs for the holy and eternal, that confirm for a person the meaning and purpose of his existence, correlate a person with the integrity of the universe.
We also note that the correlation of material and spiritual needs is quite complex and ambiguous. Material needs cannot simply be ignored. Strong material, economic, social support can facilitate the path of a person and society to the development of spiritual needs. But this is not the main premise. The path to spirituality is the path of conscious education and self-education, requiring effort and labor. E. Fromm "To have or to be?" believes that the very existence of spirituality and spiritual culture depends primarily on the value setting, on life guidelines, on the motivation of activity. “To have” is an orientation towards material goods, towards possession and use. In contrast to this, “to be” means to become and create, to strive to realize oneself in creativity and communication with people, to find a source of constant novelty and inspiration within oneself.
It is impossible to establish a clear demarcation line separating the material from the ideal in human life and activity. Man transforms the world not only materially, but also spiritually. Any thing has along with a utilitarian and cultural function. The thing speaks about a person, about the level of knowledge of the world, about the degree of development of production, about his aesthetic, and sometimes about moral development. Creating any thing, a person inevitably “invests” his human qualities into it, involuntarily, most often unconsciously, imprinting in it the image of his era. The thing is a kind of text. Everything created by the hands and brain of a person bears an imprint (information) about a person, his society and culture. Of course, the combination of utilitarian and cultural functions in things is not the same. Moreover, this difference is not only quantitative, but also qualitative.
The works of material culture, in addition to influencing the spiritual world of man, are intended primarily to satisfy some other function. Material culture includes objects and processes of activity, the main functional purpose of which is not the development of the human spiritual world, for which this task acts as a secondary one.
In many things, these two functions are combined, for example in architecture. And here a lot depends on the person himself, since in order to extract a non-utilitarian meaning from a thing, a certain level is needed, for example, aesthetic development. The “spirituality” of a thing is not originally created, it is embedded in it by a person and turns this thing into a means of dialogue between people. Spiritual culture is specially created for the sake of such a dialogue with contemporaries and descendants. This is its only functional purpose. Material culture, as a rule, is multifunctional.
It is worth noting that the universal is most clearly and distinctly manifested precisely in material culture. Its values, principles and norms turn out to be more durable than the values, principles and norms of spiritual culture.
Material culture serves the purpose of man doubling himself in the objective world (K. Marx). A person works by applying his human measure to the product of labor, proceeding from the unity of the “measure of a thing” and the “measure of a person”. Spiritual culture has only one measure - human. Material culture is internally hidden, latently contains the spiritual. In spiritual culture, the spiritual is objectified into material sign systems. The spiritual text of material culture is hidden, hidden in it; spiritual culture gives its humanistic content openly.
Intangible cultural heritage is a set of forms of cultural activity and representations of a human community based on tradition, which forms a sense of identity and continuity among its members. The rapid disappearance of intangible cultural heritage in the context of globalization and mass culture has forced the international community to turn to the problem of its preservation. The transfer of traditional intangible values is carried out from generation to generation, from person to person, bypassing institutionally organized forms, they must be constantly recreated by the human community; this mode of inheritance makes them particularly fragile and vulnerable. Along with the term "non-material" in foreign practice, the term "intangible" is often used, emphasizing that we are talking about objects that are not materialized in an objective form.
In the last years of the twentieth century, the fate of intangible heritage objects was in the center of attention of the world community. The threat of the complete disappearance of many forms of culture important for human self-identification required discussion of this problem at major international forums and the development of a number of international documents. The concept of intangible cultural heritage was developed in the 1990s as a counterpart to the World Heritage List focusing on material culture. In 2001, UNESCO conducted a survey among states and non-governmental organizations in order to develop a definition. In 2003, the Convention for the Protection of the Intangible Cultural Heritage was adopted. The Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (2003) was the first international instrument to provide a legal framework for the protection of the intangible cultural heritage. Prior to the entry into force of the Convention, there was a Program for the Proclamation of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.
The General Conference of the United Nations Educational Organization (UNESCO) noted the close interdependence between intangible cultural heritage and tangible cultural and natural heritage. The processes of globalization and social transformation, while creating conditions for the resumption of dialogue between communities, are at the same time, like the phenomenon of intolerance, sources of a serious threat of degradation, disappearance and destruction that hangs over intangible cultural heritage, in particular as a result of the lack of funds for the protection of such heritage .
The international community has almost unanimously recognized the invaluable role of intangible cultural heritage as a factor contributing to rapprochement, exchanges and understanding between people, as well as maintaining cultural diversity. Communities, in particular indigenous communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals play an important role in the creation, protection, preservation and recreation of intangible cultural heritage, thereby enriching cultural diversity and facilitating human creativity. Appreciating the importance of intangible cultural heritage as a guarantee of sustainable development, it was recognized as a crucible of cultural diversity.
In its discussions on the concept, UNESCO noted the general desire to protect the intangible cultural heritage of mankind and the general concern expressed in this regard, but recognized that at the moment there is no binding multilateral legal instrument regarding the protection of the intangible cultural heritage. The current international agreements, recommendations and resolutions on cultural and natural heritage need to be enriched and effectively supplemented with new provisions relating to the preservation of intangible cultural heritage.
On October 17, 2003, the INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE INTANGIBLE CULTURAL HERITAGE 15 was adopted, the objectives of which are:
protection of intangible cultural heritage;
respect for the intangible cultural heritage of the communities, groups and individuals concerned;
drawing attention at the local, national and international levels to the importance of intangible cultural heritage and its mutual recognition;
international cooperation and assistance.
The Convention has adopted the following definition of intangible cultural heritage: “Intangible cultural heritage” means the practices, representations and expressions, knowledge and skills, and associated instruments, objects, artefacts and cultural spaces recognized by communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals as part of their cultural heritage. Such intangible cultural heritage, passed down from generation to generation, is constantly recreated by communities and groups based on their environment, their interaction with nature and their history, and instills in them a sense of identity and continuity, thereby promoting respect for cultural diversity and human creativity. For the purposes of this Convention, only that intangible cultural heritage shall be taken into account that is consistent with existing international human rights law and the requirements of mutual respect among communities, groups and individuals, and sustainable development. 16
The Intangible Cultural Heritage thus defined manifests itself in the following areas:
oral traditions and forms of expression, including language as a carrier of intangible cultural heritage;
performing arts;
customs, rituals, festivities;
knowledge and practices relating to nature and the universe;
knowledge and skills related to traditional crafts.
One of the main areas of work of the UNESCO Intangible Heritage Division was the program on endangered languages.
We know that language appeared about 150,000 years ago in East Africa and then spread across the planet. Experts believe that several millennia ago, the number of languages was significantly higher than today's generally accepted number of 6,700. Over the past centuries, the number of languages has decreased significantly due to the economic and cultural expansion of a few dominant countries, resulting in the primacy of their languages and the formation of states. one nation. Recently, the rate of decline has accelerated significantly as a result of modernization and unbridled globalization. More than 50% of the world's languages, totaling 6700, are under serious threat and may disappear in 1-4 generations.
“The ability to use and modify the environment, as well as to engage in dialogue and communication, depends entirely on language proficiency. This means that the processes of marginalization and integration, exclusion and empowerment, poverty and development are largely dependent on linguistic choice,” said Koichiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO.
Why do languages matter so much? Being the main means of communication, they not only convey messages, but express emotions, intentions and values, establish social relations and convey cultural and social forms of expression and customs. Memories, traditions, knowledge and skills are transmitted orally or in writing, or with the help of gestures. Therefore, for individuals and ethnic groups, language is a defining factor in identity. The preservation of linguistic diversity in the global community contributes to cultural diversity, which UNESCO considers a universal ethical imperative vital for sustainable development in today's increasingly globalized world.
Specific practice has shown that all the areas of manifestation of intangible cultural heritage listed in the Convention are associated with language - from ideas about the life of the Universe to rituals and crafts - in their daily practice and transmission from generation to generation depend on the language.
According to the eminent linguist David Crystal, “The world is a mosaic of worldviews, and each worldview is expressed in language. Every time a language disappears, another worldview disappears.”
Under the conditions of universal education, the process of the disappearance of dialect vocabulary and its replacement by the literary language is generally natural. Dialectically colored speech disappears even in the countryside. In cities, it is occasionally preserved by some representatives of the older generation.
The oral tradition of transmitting spiritual culture was replaced by a written one. It actually disappeared even among such an ethno-confessional group of Russians as the Dukhobors, who recognized only the spoken word. At present, even conspiracies are handed down to successors in writing, which is not at all typical of the conspiracy tradition.
Although the main folklore genres are still preserved in the memory of individual carriers, the fixation of "senior" spiritual poems, and even more so bylinas and ballads, is extremely rare. Mostly there are late spiritual poems associated with funeral and memorial rituals, healing spells, wedding folklore.
Urban folklore is significantly "modernized" and, unlike rural folklore, it exists much more widely. In cities, including Moscow, the all-Russian folklore Orthodox tradition continues to live, continuing the pre-revolutionary one. New texts are created according to old models, legends that originated in other cities and brought to Moscow are often mastered.
Today, there is a rapid extinction of folk crafts. Those industries that were taken under the care of the state and put on an industrial basis survived. State workshops were established for the production of Dymkovo toys, Zhostovo trays, Gorodets wood painting, Palekh lacquer miniatures, Bogorodsk carved toys, Khokhloma dishes, Skopin ceramics. The products of these "crafts" have become a kind of hallmark of Russia, but in fact this is a commercially profitable production of souvenirs, outwardly very beautiful, cleanly executed, which is not typical for folk crafts.
At present, there is still a craft for the manufacture of products woven from wicker and bast: baskets, boxes, sets, etc. They are made for themselves, to order or for sale to buyers. Bast products, wood chips are made in some places in the Arkhangelsk region, mainly in Pinezhye. Patterned knitting of socks and mittens from wool is widespread among the rural female population of different regions. For two centuries they have been sharpening toys in the Murom district of the Vladimir region. Most attempts at revival were made in relation to the manufacture of clay toys. There were many centers for making clay toys in the country. At present, the vast majority of them do not exist.
The storage of collected folklore and ethnographic materials and access to them is currently becoming a big problem. Many institutions and centers have their own archives. Actually, records made 20-30 years ago are already in a critical state, as they are often stored without observing the temperature and humidity regime due to the poor technical equipment of these archives.
A serious problem is the preservation of traditional rituals.
Birthing rituals among the Russian population, especially the townspeople, were lost everywhere as early as the 1950s. in connection with the development of medical care for the population and the legally enshrined protection of motherhood and childhood. In the early 1990s in connection with the lifting of bans on religious worship, the increased interest in Orthodoxy, baptismal rituals, which continued to exist illegally in Soviet times, ceased to be a secret and became widespread.
Wedding rituals have long lost many of the traditional elements and spiritual content of the rites. It continues to be better preserved in rural areas, mainly those of its elements that are interpreted as playful. At the same time, the leveling of rural and urban weddings continues.
The most stable remains the funeral rite and funeral rites. The funeral service of the deceased is widely practiced (full-time and in absentia). In rural areas, especially among the older generation, non-canonical ideas about the afterlife of the soul and the rituals associated with them are preserved, especially on the 40th day after death.
Funeral rituals are one of the strongest aspects of spiritual culture. Parent Saturdays, especially Trinity Saturday, are massively observed mainly in rural areas and small towns. On calendar memorial days, not only locals gather at the cemetery, but also those who have long left their native village. This allows not only to feel unity with your ancestors, to return to your roots, but also to reunite with your fellow villagers for a while. This ritual contributes to the maintenance of group identity.
In accordance with the Convention, “Protection” means taking measures to ensure the viability of the intangible cultural heritage, including its identification, documentation, research, preservation, protection, promotion, promotion of its role, its transmission, mainly through formal and non-formal education, as well as the revival of various aspects of such a heritage.
Each State Party bound by the International Convention shall:
take the necessary measures to ensure the protection of the intangible cultural heritage present on its territory;
within the framework of protection measures, to identify and define the various elements of the intangible cultural heritage present on its territory, with the participation of communities, groups and relevant non-governmental organizations.
In order to ensure identification for the purpose of protection, each State Party, taking into account the prevailing situation, draws up one or more lists of the intangible cultural heritage present on its territory. Such lists are subject to regular updating. Periodically, the lists are submitted to the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Heritage. In addition, in order to ensure the protection, development and promotion of the intangible cultural heritage present in its territory, each State Party shall endeavor to:
the adoption of a common policy aimed at enhancing the role of intangible cultural heritage in society and the inclusion of the protection of this heritage in planning programs;
determination or creation of one or more competent authorities for the protection of the intangible cultural heritage present on its territory;
promoting scientific, technical and artistic research and the development of research methodologies for the effective protection of intangible cultural heritage, in particular intangible cultural heritage in danger;
adoption of appropriate legal, technical, administrative and financial measures aimed at: promoting the establishment or strengthening of institutions for training in the management of intangible cultural heritage, as well as the transmission of this heritage through forums and spaces intended for its presentation and expression; ensuring access to intangible cultural heritage, subject to accepted practice that determines the procedure for access to certain aspects of such heritage; establishment of institutions dealing with documentation of intangible cultural heritage and facilitating access to them.
Each State Party must make efforts to:
ensuring recognition, respect and enhancement of the role of intangible cultural heritage in society, in particular through: programs in the field of education, awareness and information of the public, in particular young people; specific education and training programs targeting relevant communities and groups; capacity-building activities in the field of safeguarding the intangible cultural heritage, in particular related to management and research; informal ways of transferring knowledge;
informing the public about the dangers that threaten such heritage, as well as about the activities carried out in pursuance of this Convention;
promoting education on the protection of natural spaces and places of memory, the existence of which is necessary for the expression of intangible cultural heritage.
As part of its efforts to safeguard the intangible cultural heritage, each State Party shall endeavor to ensure the widest possible participation of communities, groups and, as appropriate, individuals who are involved in the creation, preservation and transmission of such heritage, and to actively involve them in the management of such heritage. heritage.
In order to enhance the visibility of intangible cultural heritage, promote awareness of its significance and encourage dialogue based on respect for cultural diversity, the Committee, at the request of the States Parties concerned, shall compile, update and publish Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
In September 2009, the compilation of the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage and the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding began. 17
In order to be included on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, elements must meet a number of criteria: their contribution to better knowledge of the intangible cultural heritage and to a greater understanding of its importance. Candidates for the List must also justify the protective measures taken to ensure their viability.
Among the objects of cultural heritage, forms of living traditional culture are of particular interest, reflecting the cultural skills and traditions of arranging the living space of specific people living in a certain territory.
The UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (non-material cultural heritage, intangible cultural heritage) proceeds from the fact that the preservation of a very fragile, "intangible" intangible cultural heritage requires the creation of such conditions to ensure its viability, under which "living cultural manifestations” can take on a material form, for example, in the form of music, audio and video recordings, which allows them to be preserved as cultural property.
In the field of studying and preserving intangible cultural heritage, the development of new ways of processing and presenting information is of great importance.
The first Internet projects devoted to the problems of preserving and studying Russian folklore appeared in the late 90s of the XX century (computer description of the folklore archive of the Nizhny Novgorod State University; an insurance fund of phonograms of the archive of the Institute of Russian Literature of the Russian Academy of Sciences was created; an electronic version of the archive of folklore phonetics of the Institute of Language, Literature and history of the Karelian Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences; the database of the archive of the Faculty of Philology of St. N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov), a consolidated electronic inventory of the collections of the author's song of the 1950s-1990s (ANO "Rainbow" at the All-Russian Museum Society)).
In the second half of the 1990s. joint efforts of the Institute of World Literature. A.M. Gorky of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Scientific and Technical Center "Informregister" of the Ministry of Information Technologies and Communications of the Russian Federation, one of the largest and scientifically flawless projects was laid - the creation of a fundamental electronic library (FEB) "Russian Literature and Folklore" (http:// feb-web.ru). FEB is a network multifunctional information system that accumulates information of various types (textual, sound, visual, etc.) in the field of Russian literature and Russian folklore of the 11th–20th centuries, as well as the history of Russian philology and folklore.
A characteristic feature of most of the projects on the use of modern information technologies in the interests of studying, promoting and preserving folklore is that they are carried out in academic institutions and universities. 18 A significant array of folklore material is contained on the websites of central and regional institutions related to the study, preservation and promotion of folklore 19 .
The Internet presents the traditional culture of many small peoples living in Russia. On the sites you can get acquainted with the folklore of the Tver Karelians, Mari, Altaians, mountaineers of the Caucasus, Saami, Gypsies, Chukchi, etc.
An analysis of Internet resources allows us to conclude that there are no specialized sites on the modern Runet dedicated to the preservation of the Russian intangible cultural heritage. The existing folklore databases can be divided into three types: 1) focused on folklore texts (both written and oral (audio recording); 2) focused on musical culture; 3) focused on the traditional culture of a particular territory. Although uncommon, some databases contain a combination of these types.
Detailed solution paragraphs §17 on social science for students of grade 9, authors A.I. Kravchenko, E.A. Pevtsova 2015
Questions and tasks
1. What is the meaning of the word "culture"? What do you think, what are such phenomena as the culture of everyday life and the culture of the individual?
The word "culture" is used in the following meanings:
1. translated from Latin “culture” (cultura) means “cultivation”, “development”, “education”, “education”, “reverence”. In ancient Rome, culture was understood as the cultivation of the land.
2. culture as the improvement of human qualities (in the 18th century in Europe), a cultured person was a well-read and refined in manners. This understanding of "culture" has survived to this day and is associated with us with belles-lettres, art gallery, a conservatory, an opera house and a good upbringing.
3. as a synonym for "culture" - "a cultured person", "behave in a cultured way."
4. as a system of norms and values, expressed through the appropriate language, songs, dances, customs, traditions and behaviors, through which life experience is ordered, human interaction is regulated.
Personal culture - in this case, the concept of culture captures the qualities of a person, the way of her behavior, attitudes towards other people, to activities.
The culture of everyday life represents the features of the way of life, conduct of activities in different periods of history.
2. What are the elements of culture? Do they include making fire, the custom of giving gifts, language, the art of hairdos, mourning? Or is it cultural complexes?
Elements, or traits, of cultures are the starting points of culture, what culture has been created from for thousands of years. They are divided into material and non-material culture.
The production of fire, the custom of giving gifts, language, the art of hairdos, mourning are all elements of culture. However, mourning and the art of hairstyles can be attributed to cultural complexes, as they include several elements of culture. If we consider the custom of giving gifts in modern society, then it can also be attributed to cultural complexes, since we use several elements (gift wrapping, a postcard and the gift itself, that is, there are minimum conditions for this custom). If the production of fire is attributed to the time of primitive people, then this is an element of culture, since a person used what nature gave him (wood, stone). Language can also be seen as a cultural complex. It served to accumulate, store and transfer knowledge. Over time, the sounds in the language come up with graphic signs. In this case, several separate elements of culture are used to record the language (what they write with and what they write in).
3. Tell us about cultural universals and their purpose.
Cultural universals are norms, values, rules, traditions, and properties inherent in all cultures, regardless of geographical location, historical time, and social structure.
Cultural universals include sports, body jewelry, calendar, cooking, courtship, dancing, decorative arts, divination, dream interpretation, education, ethics, etiquette, belief in miraculous cures, festivals, folklore, funeral rituals, games, gestures, greetings. , hospitality, household, hygiene, jokes, superstition, magic, marriage, meal times (breakfast, lunch, dinner), medicine, decency in the administration of natural necessities, music, mythology, personal name, postnatal care, treatment of pregnant women, religious rituals , the doctrine of the soul, the manufacture of tools, trade, visiting, observing the weather, etc.
The family exists among all peoples, but in a different form. The traditional family in our understanding is husband, wife and children. In some cultures, a man may have several wives, while in others a woman may be married to several men.
Cultural universals arise because all people, regardless of where they live, are physically the same, have the same biological needs and face common problems that the environment poses to humanity. People are born and die, so all nations have customs associated with birth and death. Since they live together, they have a division of labor, dances, games, greetings, etc.
4. * Are such universals characteristic of the Russian people as gestures, body jewelry, mythology, cooking? What are they expressed in?
Yes, the Russian people are characterized by such universals as gestures, body jewelry, mythology, cooking. They are expressed as follows:
Gesticulation - for example, in order to answer in a lesson, we raise our hand, thereby drawing attention to ourselves.
Wearable jewelry - for example, wedding rings that newlyweds wear as a sign that they are married; a cross as a sign of belonging to the Orthodox faith.
Mythology - in modern times mythology includes astrological forecasts, belief in the supernatural abilities of a person (clairvoyance, telekinesis), the use of non-traditional methods of treatment, the use of various amulets, etc.
Cooking - for example, the use of fermentation and salting is still used as a way to prepare food for the winter.
5. What is a cultural complex? Give examples from everyday life. Can computer piracy, science, schooling be attributed to the cultural complex?
Cultural complex - a set of cultural features or elements that arose on the basis of the original element and are functionally related to it.
1. Education, which includes kindergarten, school, university, tables, chairs, blackboard, chalk, books, educator, teacher, student, etc.
2. Sports: stadium, fans, referee, sportswear, ball, penalty kick, forward, etc.
3. Cooking: cook, kitchen, dishes, stove, food, spices, cookbooks, etc.
Yes, software piracy, science and schooling can be attributed to the cultural complex, because these concepts include several cultural elements that are interconnected.
6. * What is cultural heritage? How does the state and ordinary citizens protect it? Give specific examples.
Cultural heritage is a part of the material and spiritual culture, created by past generations, withstood the test of time and passed on to the next generations as something valuable and revered.
The protection of cultural heritage is enshrined in the legal acts of various states. In the Russian Federation, this is the Constitution of the Russian Federation, art. 44, which states that “everyone has the right to participate in cultural life and use cultural institutions, to have access to cultural property; everyone is obliged to take care of the preservation of historical and cultural heritage, to protect historical and cultural monuments. There are also various federal laws and acts that help in the protection of the cultural heritage of the Russian Federation. For example, “Fundamentals of Legislation on the Culture of the Russian Federation” (1992), “Federal Law “On Cultural Heritage Objects (Monuments of History and Culture) of the Peoples of the Russian Federation” (2002), “Regulations and State Historical and Cultural Expertise” (2009), "Regulations on the zones of protection of cultural heritage objects (monuments of history and culture) of the peoples of the Russian Federation" (2008), etc.
Ordinary citizens can participate in the protection of cultural heritage in the following ways:
1. Introducing people to creativity and cultural development, amateur arts (folk dances, folk songs), crafts (pottery, blacksmithing).
2. Charity, patronage and sponsorship in the field of culture, i.e. the purchase of paintings for museums, support for artists, organization of theater tours.
As well as customs and cultural monuments are passed down from generation to generation.
As examples of the participation of citizens in the protection of the spread of the country's cultural heritage, one can cite folk choirs that exist on the territory of the Russian Federation - the Kuban Cossack Choir, the Siberian folk choir, Russian folk choir, etc. As well as various ensembles of Russian folk dances which are engaged in the dissemination and propaganda of folklore.
7. What is the difference between material and non-material culture? Which type are: theater, pen, book, greeting, smile, gift exchange?
Material culture is what was created by human hands (a book, a house, clothes, jewelry, a car, etc.).
Non-material culture, or spiritual culture is the result of the activity of the human mind. Non-material objects exist in our consciousness and are supported by human communication (norms, rules, samples, standards, models and norms of behavior, laws, values, ceremonies, rituals, symbols, myths, knowledge, ideas, customs, traditions, language).
Theater as a building belongs to material culture, and theater as an art form belongs to non-material culture.
A greeting, a smile, an exchange of gifts are elements of intangible culture.
8. Tell us about the rules of etiquette that you have to follow in everyday life.
In the morning we say “good morning” to our relatives, say hello to neighbors, teachers, friends. When eating, we use a plate, fork, spoon, knife, and do not eat with our hands. We all remember how our parents told us not to champ, not to put our elbows on the table. We maintain order in our rooms and in the apartment as a whole. At school, in the classroom, we should not make noise and not shout from a place, but raise our hand to answer, not talk, treat classmates and teachers with respect and not damage school property. And we must come to school prepared for lessons and in school uniform.
When we make a request to someone, we say “please”, and after fulfilling our request, we say “thank you”.
9. * Do you consider etiquette important in life? Argument your point of view.
Yes, I consider etiquette important in life. Rules of good behavior help people feel more confident in any situation. Good manners win people over. Polite and friendly people are the most popular. Good manners help to enjoy communication with relatives, friends and just strangers.
Problem. Does cultural heritage contribute to the further development of society or, on the contrary, slows it down?
Cultural heritage contributes to the development of society. Mankind has vast experience in various fields, such as construction, cooking, art, raising children, etc. Modern people bring something new to the existing knowledge, thereby improving and developing. For example, building houses. Already accumulated knowledge is used, but something new is also introduced, which contributes to the improvement of the qualities of modern houses in comparison with the houses of previous eras. It's the same with raising children. People use what they inherited from previous generations, adjusting the methods of education based on modern realities.
Workshop
1. Scientists often define culture as the form and result of adaptation to the environment. Doesn't this ease of handling concepts puzzle you? What is in common, we ask scientists, between the folk epic, Prokofiev's sonatas and Raphael's Sistine Madonna, on the one hand, and the harsh, but very mundane need to get food, keep warm, build housing, dig in the ground? Give a reasoned answer.
In the modern sense, the environment is not only the natural conditions in which a person lives, but also the environment of human activity, which includes interaction with other people or groups of people. And if initially the word "culture" was associated only with the cultivation of the land, then over time it acquires other meanings. Initially, people had a goal to survive. But over time, society developed, and in addition to building housing, people began to decorate it; clothing began to perform a different function - it not only warmed a person, but also decorated him, respectively, fashion appears. And this is also a peculiar way of adapting to the environment, a way to fit into society, to adapt to new conditions. It's the same with painting. Rock paintings were of a ritual nature and were supposed to contribute to a successful hunt. Over time, people domesticated animals, learned to breed them, mastered the cultivation of crops. And over time, painting acquires an aesthetic character, but at the same time does not leave its foundations (painting of temples with biblical scenes). The same applies to music. Initially, it is used in rituals (religious, during weddings, funerals, lullabies for children) and over time it also acquires an aesthetic character.
Thus, what these examples have in common is that they are all phenomena of culture, but phenomena of different periods of history that have developed throughout the history of mankind.
2. Determine whether material or spiritual culture includes: duel, medal, carriage, theory, glass, magic, amulet, dispute, revolver, hospitality, baptism, globe, wedding, law, jeans, telegraph, Christmas time, carnival, school, bag , doll, wheel, fire.
Material culture includes: a medal, a carriage, a glass, an amulet, a revolver, a globe, jeans, a telegraph, a school, a bag, a doll, a wheel, fire.
Non-material culture includes: duel, theory, magic, debate, hospitality, baptism, wedding, law, Christmas time, carnival.
Culture is a diverse concept. This scientific term appeared in ancient Rome, where the word "cultura" meant the cultivation of the land, upbringing, education. With frequent use, this word has lost its original meaning and began to denote the most diverse aspects of human behavior and activity.
The sociological dictionary gives the following definitions of the concept of "culture": "Culture is a specific way of organizing and developing human life, represented in the products of material and spiritual labor, in the system of social norms and institutions, in spiritual values, in the totality of people's relations to nature, among themselves and to ourselves."
Culture is phenomena, properties, elements of human life that qualitatively distinguish a person from nature. This difference is connected with the conscious transforming activity of man.
The concept of "culture" can be used to characterize the behavior of the consciousness and activities of people in certain areas of life (work culture, political culture). The concept of "culture" can fix the way of life of an individual (personal culture), a social group (national culture) and the whole society as a whole.
Culture can be divided according to various criteria into different types:
1) by subject (bearer of culture) into social, national, class, group, personal;
2) by functional role - into general (for example, in the system of general education) and special (professional);
3) by genesis - into folk and elite;
4) by type - into material and spiritual;
5) by nature - into religious and secular.
2. The concept of material and non-material cultures
All social heritage can be viewed as a synthesis of material and non-material cultures. Non-material culture includes spiritual activity and its products. It combines knowledge, morality, upbringing, enlightenment, law, religion. Non-material (spiritual) culture includes ideas, habits, customs and beliefs that people create and then maintain. Spiritual culture also characterizes the inner wealth of consciousness, the degree of development of the person himself.
Material culture includes the entire sphere of material activity and its results. It consists of man-made items: tools, furniture, cars, buildings and other items that are constantly being modified and used by people. Non-material culture can be viewed as a way of society's adaptation to the biophysical environment through its appropriate transformation.
Comparing both of these types of culture with each other, one can come to the conclusion that material culture should be considered as the result of non-material culture. The destruction caused by World War II was the most significant in the history of mankind, but despite this, cities were quickly restored, as people have not lost the knowledge and skill necessary to restore them. In other words, non-destroyed non-material culture makes it quite easy to restore material culture.
3. Sociological approach to the study of culture
The purpose of the sociological study of culture is to identify the producers of cultural values, the channels and means of its dissemination, to assess the influence of ideas on social actions, on the formation or disintegration of groups or movements.
Sociologists approach the phenomenon of culture from different points of view:
1) subject, considering culture as a static entity;
2) value, paying great attention to creativity;
3) activity, introducing the dynamics of culture;
4) symbolic, asserting that culture consists of symbols;
5) gaming: culture is a game where it is customary to play by your own rules;
6) textual, where the main attention is paid to language as a means of transmitting cultural symbols;
7) communicative, considering culture as a means of transmitting information.
4. Main theoretical approaches in the study of culture
Functionalism. Representatives - B. Malinovsky, A. Ratk-liff-Brown.
Each element of culture is functionally necessary to meet certain human needs. Elements of culture are considered from the point of view of their place in an integral cultural system. The system of culture is a characteristic of a social system. The "normal" state of social systems is self-sufficiency, balance, harmonious unity. It is from the point of view of this "normal" state that the functionality of the elements of culture is assessed.
Symbolism. Representatives - T. Parsons, K. Girtz.
The elements of culture are, first of all, symbols that mediate the relationship of a person with the world (ideas, beliefs, value models, etc.).
Adaptive-activity approach. Within the framework of this approach, culture is considered as a way of activity, as well as a system of non-biological mechanisms that stimulate, program and implement the adaptive and transformative activities of people. In human activity, two sides of it interact: internal and external. In the course of internal activity, motives are formed, the meaning that people give to their actions, the goals of actions are selected, schemes and projects are developed. It is culture as a mentality that fills internal activity with a certain system of values, offers choices and preferences associated with it.
5. Elements of culture
Language is a sign system for establishing communications. Signs distinguish between linguistic and non-linguistic. In turn, languages are natural and artificial. Language is considered as the meanings and meanings contained in the language, which are generated by social experience and the diverse relationship of man to the world.
Language is a relay of culture. Obviously, culture is spread by both gesture and facial expressions, but language is the most capacious, accessible relay of culture.
Values are ideas about the significant, important, which determine the life of a person, allow you to distinguish between desirable and undesirable, what should be strived for and what should be avoided (assessment - attribution to value).
Distinguish values:
1) terminal (goal values);
2) instrumental (mean values).
Values determine the meaning of purposeful activity, regulate social interactions. In other words, values guide a person in the world around and motivate. The subject's value system includes:
1) meaningful life values - ideas about good and evil, happiness, purpose and meaning of life;
2) universal values:
a) vital (life, health, personal security, welfare, education, etc.);
b) public recognition (industriousness, social status, etc.);
c) interpersonal communication (honesty, compassion, etc.);
d) democratic (freedom of speech, sovereignty, etc.);
3) particular values (private):
a) attachment to a small homeland, family;
b) fetishism (belief in God, striving for absolutism, etc.). Today there is a serious breakdown, a transformation of the value system.
Norms of admissible actions. Norms are forms of regulation of behavior in a social system and expectations that determine the range of acceptable actions. There are the following types of norms:
1) formalized rules (everything that is officially recorded);
2) moral rules (associated with people's ideas);
3) patterns of behavior (fashion).
The emergence and functioning of norms, their place in the socio-political organization of society are determined by the objective need to streamline social relations. Norms, ordering the behavior of people, regulate the most diverse types of social relations. They are formed into a certain hierarchy, distributed according to the degree of their social significance.
beliefs and knowledge. The most important element of culture are beliefs and knowledge. Beliefs are a certain spiritual state, a property in which the intellectual, sensual and volitional components are combined. Any beliefs include in their structure certain information, information about this phenomenon, the norm of behavior, knowledge. The connection between knowledge and beliefs is ambiguous. The reasons may be different: when knowledge is contrary to human development trends, when knowledge is ahead of reality, etc.
Ideology. As noted above, beliefs have certain information as their basis, statements based on theoretical level. Accordingly, values can be described, argued in the form of a strict, logically justified doctrine or in the form of spontaneously formed ideas, opinions, feelings.
In the first case, we are dealing with ideology, in the second - with customs, traditions, rituals that influence and convey their content at the socio-psychological level.
Ideology appears as a complex and multi-tiered formation. It can act as the ideology of all mankind, the ideology of a particular society, the ideology of a class, a social group and an estate. At the same time, different ideologies interact, which, on the one hand, ensures the stability of society, and on the other hand, allows you to choose, develop values that express new trends in the development of society.
Rites, customs and traditions. A rite is a set of symbolic collective actions that embody certain social ideas, ideas, norms of behavior and evoke certain collective feelings (for example, a wedding ceremony). The strength of the rite is in its emotional and psychological impact on people.
A custom is a form of social regulation of the activities and attitudes of people taken from the past, which is reproduced in a particular society or social group and is familiar to its members. The custom consists in steadfast adherence to the prescriptions received from the past. A custom is an unwritten rule of conduct.
Traditions are social and cultural heritage passed down from generation to generation and preserved for a long time. Traditions function in all social systems and are a necessary condition for their life. A disdainful attitude towards traditions leads to a violation of continuity in the development of culture, to the loss of valuable achievements of the past. Conversely, worship of tradition breeds conservatism and stagnation in public life.
6. Functions of culture
The communicative function is associated with the accumulation and transmission of social experience (including intergenerational), the transmission of messages in the course of joint activities. The existence of such a function makes it possible to define culture as a special way of inheriting social information.
Regulatory is manifested in the creation of guidelines and the system of control of human actions.
Integrating is associated with the creation of a system of meanings, values and norms, as the most important condition for the stability of social systems.
Consideration of the functions of culture makes it possible to define culture as a mechanism for the value-normative integration of social systems. This is a characteristic of the integral property of social systems.
7. Cultural universals and diversity of cultural forms
cultural universals. J. Murdoch singled out common features common to all cultures. These include:
1) joint work;
3) education;
4) the presence of rituals;
5) kinship systems;
6) rules for the interaction of the sexes;
The emergence of these universals is connected with the needs of man and human communities. Cultural universals appear in the variety of specific variants of culture. They can be compared in connection with the existence of East-West supersystems, national culture and small systems (subcultures): elite, popular, mass. The diversity of cultural forms raises the problem of the comparability of these forms.
Cultures can be compared by elements of culture; manifestation of cultural universals.
elite culture. Its elements are created by professionals, it is focused on a trained audience.
Folk culture is created by anonymous creators. Its creation and functioning are inseparable from everyday life.
Mass culture. These are cinema, print, pop music, fashion. It is publicly available, targeted at the widest audience, and the consumption of its products does not require special training. The emergence of mass culture is due to certain prerequisites:
1) the progressive process of democratization (destruction of estates);
2) industrialization and the associated urbanization (the density of contacts increases);
3) the progressive development of means of communication (the need for joint activities and recreation). Subcultures. These are parts of a culture that belong to certain
social groups or associated with certain activities (youth subculture). The language takes the form of jargon. Certain activities give rise to specific names.
Ethnocentrism and cultural relativism. Ethnocentrism and relativism are extreme points of view in the study of the diversity of cultural forms.
The American sociologist William Summer called ethnocentrism a view of society in which a certain group is considered central, and all other groups are measured and correlated with it.
Ethnocentrism makes one cultural form the standard against which we measure all other cultures: in our opinion, they will be good or bad, right or wrong, but always in relation to our own culture. This is manifested in such expressions as "chosen people", "true teaching", "super race", and in negative ones - "backward peoples", "primitive culture", "rude art".
Numerous studies of organizations conducted by sociologists from different countries show that people tend to overestimate their own organizations and underestimate all others.
The basis of cultural relativism is the assertion that members of one social group cannot understand the motives and values of other groups if they analyze these motives and values in the light of their own culture. In order to achieve understanding, to understand another culture, it is necessary to connect its specific features with the situation and the characteristics of its development. Each cultural element must be related to the characteristics of the culture of which it is a part. The value and meaning of this element can only be considered in the context of a particular culture.
The most rational way of development and perception of culture in society is a combination of ethnocentrism and cultural relativism, when an individual, feeling pride in the culture of his group or society and expressing adherence to samples of this culture, is able to understand other cultures, the behavior of members of other social groups, recognizing their right to existence.
