culturehistory

Culturehistory refers to a school of thought in anthropology and archaeology that emphasizes the study of specific cultural traditions and their historical development. It arose in the early 20th century, particularly in Germany and the United States, as a reaction against the evolutionary theories of cultural development that were popular at the time.

Proponents of culturehistory, such as Franz Boas and his students in the US, argued that cultures are not simply stages in a universal evolutionary process. Instead, they believed that each culture has its own unique history and development, shaped by a complex interplay of environmental, historical, and psychological factors. The primary method of culturehistory involved meticulous fieldwork, detailed ethnographic description, and the careful analysis of artifacts and their distribution to reconstruct past cultural patterns and trace their origins and diffusion.

The focus was on understanding the "why" behind cultural practices and beliefs by tracing their historical trajectories. This often involved identifying cultural traits and complexes and then mapping their spread and modification over time and space. While culturehistory was instrumental in establishing anthropology as a rigorous scientific discipline and fostering a greater appreciation for cultural diversity, it has also faced criticism for its perceived limitations in explaining broader cultural dynamics and for sometimes leading to a descriptive rather than an explanatory approach. Nevertheless, its emphasis on historical context and detailed empirical data remains influential in many areas of anthropological and archaeological research.