The 25 most important types of culture

Culture is a difficult concept to define, since it is such a complex phenomenon that there is no single criterion to say what is and what is not culture.

This term is used in a very ambiguous and multifaceted way in popular language, being able to refer to the culture of a country or region to the characteristics of a social class, among many others aspects.

Next we will try to see the different types of culture based on various criteria, in addition to giving several examples of each.

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The main types of culture, classified

The idea of ​​culture has always been very difficult to define. Throughout history the term “culture” has been redefined in so many ways that practically any behavior can be seen as cultural depending on the criteria used.

In popular language, culture is understood as the traits, codes and other aspects of a particular social group, usually referring to those of an ethnic group. However, this same definition can be applied to any group depending on what we take as a reference.

Next we are going to know the different types of culture based on several criteria.

1. According to knowledge of writing

One of the most used criteria to classify a culture is if it has knowledge of writing, since this has been the main tool for the transmission of the culture and knowledge of a group Social. Based on this criterion we have two types of cultures.

1.1. Oral cultures or preliterate cultures

Preliterate cultures, as their name suggests, are those that they lack a writing system with which the transmission of knowledge, traditions and legends are passed from generation to generation orally.

Parents tell their children the same thing that once before their own parents, now dead, told them. In these cultures there is usually a perception of historical time as something cyclical, that is, that historical events happen again sooner or later.

We have a clear example of this type of culture in the tribal indigenous people of Africa who, although in many cases their language already has a writing system, its speakers are unaware of it and continue to transmit legends orally.

1.2. written cultures

Written cultures are those that they have a writing system that they use to write books or any physical medium in which they share their knowledge, history and myths.

In some cases, it is the culture itself that has invented its writing system, as is the case with the hieroglyphs used by the Egyptians or the Greek alphabet used in Ancient Greece.

In other cases, it happens that a culture, already literate, changes its writing system by importing a foreign one that it considers to be better suited to their language, as is the case with modern Turkish, which changed from writing in Arabic letters (aliphate) to using the Latin alphabet.

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2. According to the mode of production

Another aspect used to describe what a culture is like is to take into account what its main mode of production is. This criterion is based on the fact that depending on what the main economic activity of the culture is, it will have created a whole structure and dynamics associated with it.

2.1. nomadic cultures

A nomadic culture is any one that does not establish a root, neither economic nor identity, towards a specific piece of land. Nomadic cultures exploit nature by hunting and gathering fruits and, when these resources are exhausted, they move to a new region in order to survive.

An example of this are the Arab Bedouin peoples, as well as various African tribes who, when there is drought or the region becomes hostile, they move to another place to continue with their style of life.

2.2. Agricultural or rural cultures

Agricultural or rural cultures are those that its main economic engine is planting crops and raising animals for human consumption, that is, agriculture and livestock.

Unlike nomadic cultures, these are sedentary, having a very strong idea of ​​ownership of the land, which they work and care for carefully since it is what feeds them.

These types of cultures They usually live around the countryside and their social hierarchy is strongly conditioned by the degree of ownership of the land they own., having a whole hierarchy of shepherds, ranchers, seasonal workers and landowners

Although they still exist today, the idea of ​​agricultural culture has become much more local, in the sense that it is difficult to find a country that depends 100% on agriculture as the main engine economic.

However, in the past there were strongly agricultural cultures, as is the case of the Egyptian culture, whose main economic engine was agriculture on the banks of the Nile River. The fertile lands on both banks were the ideal place to grow all kinds of food, in addition to picking the papyrus plant with which they made their famous parchments.

23. Urban or commercial cultures

Urban cultures are those whose economic and social model is based on commercial activity, with the city markets being the center of operations. Not only food is traded, but clothing, art and other manufactures are also sold.

The culture of many cities would fall within the category of urban cultures since, directly or indirectly, the lives of its inhabitants depend on trade. Looking back, the moment in which Europe went from an agricultural culture to a more urban one was in the Renaissance, in which artisans and merchants began to act as the main economic engine, sowing the seeds of what would later become the bourgeoisie.

2.4. industrial cultures

Industrial cultures are those that use the industrialized means of production to subsist. They are cultures in which what prevails is the manufacture of products of all kinds in industrial quantities, never better said.

It is the culture of many cities in countries like China or India and, also, in many developing countries. Its origins are in the industrial revolution of the XVIII-XIX, in which England was acquiring industry as the main economic engine to the detriment of agriculture and urban culture anglican

3. According to the religious paradigm

In each culture there is a majority religion or seen as its own, which has influenced the beliefs of that same society. Each culture has its own way of understanding what is life, death or what lies beyond and, also, who are the ones who decide on our destiny. Based on this we can talk about the following types of cultures.

3.1. theistic cultures

They are those in which it is believed in the existence of one or more superior gods. Depending on the number of gods we talk about:

• Monotheistic cultures: they only believe in a single god, as is the case with Jewish, Christian or Muslim cultures.

• Dualistic cultures: admit the confrontation of two gods or opposing forces, such as good and evil or God and Satan, as is the case of the Cathar culture.

• Polytheistic cultures: believe in a whole pantheon of gods, each specialized in one or more powers. Some examples are the Hindu, Greco-Roman, Egyptian, Mayan cultures...

3.2. non-theistic cultures

Theistic cultures are those whose religious thought does not attribute a spiritual order to any specific deity, but rather to nature or to a force with a creative will. We have two examples of this in Taoism and Buddhism.

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4. According to socioeconomic order

In the same society there may be very marked cultural differences related to the socioeconomic order, which influences in the education received, the type of thought, the modes of dissemination, the recognition of rights and participation in the can. As belonging to a social class greatly influences the type of culture that is possessed and enjoyed, we can speak of the following types:

4.1. elite culture

With elitist culture we refer to the set of codes, symbols, values, customs, artistic expressions, references or modes of communication that they share people belonging to the dominant groups in society, whether in political, symbolic or economic terms.

On many occasions, this culture is identified as the official culture or the "true" culture, seeing the entire cultural aspect foreign to their group as a culture of poor quality or foreign. elite culture It is considered as that of the enlightened and the one that has priority to be taught in educational centers..

Various types of institutions, both state and private, are in charge of promoting it or they are pressured to go to centers where impart under the idea that, if they don't, they will end up being a redneck: fine arts museums, academies, universities, centers cultural...

We have an example of elite culture in going to the opera, getting the B2 in English, having a university degree, read books from the Spanish golden century, play golf to get closer to the elite...

4.2. Popular culture

By popular culture is understood set of codes, symbols, values, customs, artistic expressions, traditions, references and modes of communication that correspond to the popular sectors of a society.

It could be defined as street culture, that which is acquired by the fact of living in a certain place, transmitted within the family, the neighborhood and schoolmates, among others contexts.

As it is perceived as a kind of low-key or shoddy culture, there are those who are ashamed of having popular cultural baggage, so they do their best to stay away from it. Others, however, seeing elite culture as too snobbish, parody or mock popular culture through jokes or songs.

Thanks to the appearance of the study of folklore, it has been possible to study and disseminate the contents of popular culture through academic circles or institutions oriented to the protection of cultural heritage, no matter how unselected or elegant the popular may seem.

We have an example of popular culture in the dances of all the towns, the crafts, the regional lexicon, the religious processions, the popular festivities.

4.3. mass culture

mass culture is one that is built from the dissemination of content through mass mediasuch as television or the Internet. Due to its scope, the disclosed contents are consumed by all kinds of people, both belonging to the dominant and popular sectors.

This has caused the boundaries between popular culture and elite culture to blur, since the lower classes have access to entertainment traditionally restricted to the ruling classes (p. g., opera concerts on free digital platforms) while aspects of popular culture can be enjoyed by the upper classes (eg. documentaries of traditional dances), making both types of cultures share a common repertoire of cultural consumer goods.

5. According to internal power struggles

In every society there are a series of dynamics of cultural power struggle. One culture, the hegemonic one, is present in all aspects of society, while others, whether dependent or contrary to it, have to fight to gain a foothold and be recognized. Among these types of cultures we can find:

5.1. hegemonic culture

Hegemonic culture is understood as that which establishes as a norm a certain system of codes, patterns, values, customs or symbols as the most widespread and the one that must be followed within a society, using persuasion or coercion to follow them.

The hegemonic culture dominates over the population and seeks to perpetuate itself, for which it ends up becoming taxing and penalizes those who do not share it. The hegemonic culture is frequently identified with the official culture, the "true" culture of the country or region, the one that must be followed if you want to enjoy of full rights, while the media and institutions themselves can attack any sample of culture that is not within that culture hegemonic.

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5.2. subaltern culture

the subordinate culture is one that has a relationship of dependence and submission with the dominant culture, despite differing in some of its aspects. It usually manifests itself in the most vulnerable sectors of society.

It is quite frequent that the individuals belonging to the subaltern culture do not have their own conscience as long as they culture and, as a consequence, do not organize and exert pressure towards the hegemonic culture or ask for a certain autonomy.

5.3. alternative culture

The term “alternative culture” is a somewhat ambiguous and quite broad term that refers to the set of artistic-cultural manifestations that are presented as an alternative to the hegemonic culture.

It aims to open spaces against the values ​​or cultural goods promoted by the elite culture, the hegemonic culture and the mass media. of communication, although it does not have to be identified with either popular culture or subordinate culture, but rather with a totally different.

5.4. Counterculture

The counterculture is the set of cultures that arise in opposition to the hegemonic culture, challenging imposed values ​​and trying to spread new paradigms and value systems.

It often fights against the hegemonic culture with the intention of eradicating it and usually emerges as a response to processes of frustration, social injustice, nonconformity and resistance, becoming a fight loaded with high content vindictive.

Examples of countercultural movements would be feminism, ecological movements, anarchism, anti-communism in the Soviet Union, the 15M movement...

5.5. Subculture

Within a hegemonic culture, a diversity of marginal cultural groups can be formed that develop a system of values, codes and patterns of their own. It could be said that they constitute minority cultures with defined traits.

Unlike the counterculture, subcultures are not intended to challenge the established order, but showing itself as a culture interested in one or several interests of the dominant culture, so they cannot be seen as an alternative culture either. We have an example of this in gamers, urban tribes or fans of a musical group.

The subculture should not be confused with the subaltern culture either, since the subaltern is fragmentary and disjointed., that is, there is no awareness of being the same culture, while in subcultures there is. The members of the subculture have their own codes, referents and values ​​(p. g., a group's fan club).

6. In the anthropological sense

On many occasions, the word culture is used as a synonym for ethnic group or identity, that is, it is given an anthropological definition, referring to various aspects such as language, religion, traditions and other cultural aspects that define it. Thus, from an anthropological sense we would speak of different types of cultures such as the Catalan culture, the Basque, the Castilian, the English, the Sardinian, the Amish, the Saami...

7. Depending on the historical context

Cultures can be classified according to the historical context, which delimits the universe of current values ​​for a period of time. You can practically make a different culture out of any historical period: the culture of Antiquity. Classical, that of the Middle Ages, the Victorian, the Baroque, that of the 60s, pre- and post-pandemic cultures 2020...

8. According to the sense of gender

Cultures can be studied by reflecting on how gender influences the modes of social organization, and there are two types.

8.1. matriarchal culture

The matriarchal culture is one that is founded and centered around the female figure, especially the mother. Women act as leaders, especially in the most basic social group: the family. Although these types of cultures are not common today, there have been several cases throughout history. Today we have the Minangkabau culture in Indonesia as a modern example of a matriarchal culture.

8.2. patriarchal culture

Patriarchal culture is one in which the figure that dominates practically all public and private life is the man. Although he does not always have to exercise his political, economic, military and family control in a violent way, there have been many cases of cultures in which he has done so. We have a clear example of this in Muslim cultures, especially in the more traditional ones, in which women are practically seen as passive objects limited to procreating and caring for their children. kids.

9. According to the geographical and geopolitical sense

Culture can be classified according to its geographical or geopolitical sense, although it must be said that this criterion is quite complex since responds to a very extensive universe of political interests that changes depending on the borders of the countries and the relations between the civilizations.

9.1. globally

Nowadays Two great poles of cultural power are usually distinguished in geopolitical terms: the West and the East. Western culture is the one with a strong Eurocentric component, based on its roots Greco-Roman and the Judeo-Christian religion, based in the western hemisphere and with systems mostly capitalists.

The idea of ​​Eastern culture does not represent something homogeneous, but rather a contrast to the idea of ​​Western culture. It refers to the entire set of cultures, with very diverse religions, languages, origins and history, traditionally seen as the opposite of Western world, especially in the philosophical and economic, having many cases of countries with communist economic systems (former USSR and China).

9.2. Locally

In a more restricted sense, focused on the most local, we can distinguish different types of culture:

• National culture: refers to the general culture shared in a State: Spanish, French, Mexican, American, British...

• Regional culture: refers to the cultures that develop in specific regions within a country: Catalan, Sardinian, Zapotec, Cajun, Welsh...

10. According to his conservatism

A culture can be categorized based on how conservative it is from generation to generation. Youth have a very strong power when it comes to making the society they belong to change or remain static, just as it was in the youth of their parents and grandparents. Depending on progress and changes in thinking, there may be a more or less pronounced generational gap.

10.1. postfigurative

We say that a culture is postfigurative when relies heavily on repeating and perpetuating customs from the past to the present, without variations. Grandparents, parents and children share a conservative view of culture, considering that it should remain static. This generational behavior usually occurs in primitive peoples.

10.2. Cofigurative

Youth does not take the past as a model, but the behavior of contemporary groups. Young people want to be similar to other people of the same age group in terms of language, religion, traditions and other behaviors.

This is usually seen in descendants of immigrants. Upon going to a new land, to adapt to it, they acquire the cultural traits of the region, differing greatly from their own parents who have grown up abroad.

10.3. prefigurative

Youth shows rejection of the past and projects innovative patterns and behaviors. Due to this, adults are not able to understand the new world that is presented to them, since the youngest barely share cultural traits with their parents and grandparents.

There is a real generation gap and the past is seen as synonymous with underdevelopment, backwardness and staleness, as would be the case of China in times of Cultural Revolution, in which, under the government of Mao Tse Tung, a whole series of reforms were initiated to make the Asian country break with its past imperial.

Bibliographic references:

• Groh, Arnold (2019). Theories of Culture. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-138-66865-2
• Boas, Franz (1964): Fundamental questions in cultural anthropology. Solar/Hachette. Buenos Aires
• Cuche, Denys (1999): The notion of culture in the social sciences. New Vision. Buenos Aires.