Cultural universal
A practice, belief, or institution found in every known human culture. Examples include language, kinship, and ritual.
Culture: Shared practices, meanings, norms, and knowledge transmitted among members of a social group. Cultural universals are patterns shared across cultures, making culture the broader unit of comparison.
Language: A socially shared system of symbols and rules used to communicate meaning. Every known human culture has language, although languages differ greatly in form.
Cultural particular: A practice or belief distinctive to a particular culture rather than shared across all known cultures. It marks the opposite end of the distinction: a local pattern rather than a universal one.
Human behavioral ecology: The study of how human behavior responds to ecological conditions and affects reproductive success. It examines whether recurring practices reflect shared constraints or local adaptations.
Cultural relativism: The approach of interpreting beliefs and practices within their own cultural contexts. It helps distinguish a recurring human pattern from assumptions imposed by one society.
Kinship: Social relationships organized around descent, marriage, adoption, or other recognized ties. All known societies organize relationships among relatives, though kinship rules vary.
Ethnocentrism: The tendency to judge other cultures by the standards of one's own culture. Ethnocentric assumptions can make local customs seem universal when they are not.
Cultural evolution: The change in culturally transmitted information and practices over time. It offers ways to investigate how common practices emerge, spread, and persist.
Cross-cultural comparison: The systematic comparison of societies to identify similarities, differences, and relationships. Comparative evidence is needed to assess whether a pattern occurs across known cultures.
Ritual: A patterned symbolic action performed according to socially recognized conventions. Ritualized practices occur across cultures, even when their purposes and forms differ.