Summary

This brief introduction to cultural anthropology is designed to be used with ethnography's or other supplemental readings. The Tapestry of Culture was written to give students a concise and up-to-date conceptual framework with which to understand classic ethnography's as well as those being written today. The distinguishing conceptual approach of this text is symbolic, emphasizing the arts and symbols of culture. For example, there is a whole chapter devoted to Myths, Legends, and Folktales (Chapter 11), as well as Religion and the Supernatural (Chapter 10). The authors also examine anthropology and the concern with meaning from a postmodernist perspective, looking at the sweeping changes in our world resulting from ethnicity and ethnic identity, technology, and conceptualizations of gender and gender roles, among other issues.