Material culture

As material (also: substantive ) the culture spawned by a culture or society all the equipment, tools, buildings, clothing and jewelry, and the like is called. The research on the material culture is concerned with the role of these material objects for people. Studies of material culture ask what meaning is attributed to things and the way in which objects influence the perception.

The material culture is a research field of anthropology, ethnography, sociology, history, art history, art history and archeology. A cross-disciplinary field of " material culture " does not exist. The prehistory and early history is dependent almost entirely on the study of material culture. As the source for conclusions about life in bygone preliterate societies whose only surviving material culture is accessible.

The intangible culture represents the underlying knowledge of the material culture and the environment, and includes the oral traditions. Tangible and intangible cultural identity affect on society.

Connection to social life

Material culture and are without each other unthinkable. Only through a connection with the material and the immaterial prevent access to understanding the everyday life of different societies. You can not establish connection to an object when its spiritual expression (voice and text ) are not considered in connection with the craft. It is always observed: The knowledge and action, as well as material objects, are different in every society and must therefore always be considered anew.

Ding significance

The term was introduced in 1962 by Ding significance Karl Sigismund Kramer. Accordingly, the practical function of an object and its emotional significance should be in relation to each other so that there is no likelihood that the objects under consideration would be regarded as something isolated, Detached. Otherwise, material things would be explained best as "dead", what would be considered wrong because Kramer zusprach them an inspiration.

Attempts a systematic documentation of

In the phase of establishment of anthropology as a science in the 19th century, you could see a rapid growth of ethnographic museum collections. Was hoped this would lead in the context of a basis for a unified description of systematic knowledge about things. However, such collections more difficult to deal with things as they brought about the problematic distinction between spiritual and material culture. Because these are already the result of a selection and thus reflect not only the conditions of the societies from which they come, but also the ideas of European society. Studies of material culture thus may not be confined to museums, but must document dealing with the things in everyday life. When an object is taken out of everyday life, there go a lot of important information is lost.