JULIAN STEWARD: BIOGRAPHY AND THEORY OF CULTURAL CHANGE - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

Julian Steward (1902-1972) was a renowned American anthropologist who gained popularity as one of the leading neo-evolutionists of the mid-20th century. In addition, he was the founder of cultural ecology.

He was also recognized for developing the Theory of Cultural Change: The Multilinear Evolution Methodology, considered his most important work.

Unidentified native man (possibly Steward's informant, Chief Louis Billy Prince) and Julian Steward (1902-1972)

His interest in anthropology led him to teach classes related to this area at various universities, including those in Michigan, California and Columbia.

It is considered that his time at Columbia was when he generated the greatest theoretical influence, which gave rise to the formation of a group of students who became great influences of anthropology worldwide.

Steward died on February 6, 1972 in Illinois, United States. While the exact cause is not known, he passed away shortly after his 70th birthday.

Biography

Early years

Julian Haynes Steward was born on January 31, 1902 in Washington, United States. The first years of his life were spent in uptown Cleveland Park.

At the age of 16, he left Washington to receive an education at the Deep Springs High School boarding school, located in California. The training she received at this institution laid the foundations for what later became her academic and professional interests.

Higher education

In 1925, when Steward was approximately 23 years old, he received a BA in zoology from Cornell University. His greatest interests were inclined towards the study of anthropology; however, most universities at the time did not have a department dedicated to studying this area.

Despite the situation, the president of the Cornell institution, Livingston Farrand, obtained the position of professor of anthropology at Columbia University. He suggested to Steward that he continue his education in the area that appealed to him the most if he had the chance.

Four years later, in 1929, he received another very important degree: a Ph.D. from the University of California.

During his professional training, he came to share study hours with Alfred Kroeber and Robert Lowie. In addition, he received training from professionals of the time in regional geography.

He studied the social organization of peasant villages and conducted ethnographic research among the Shoshone Indians of North America and various tribes of South America. In addition, he became one of the greatest advocates of area studies.

Teaching exercise

After receiving professional training in anthropology, Julian Steward began teaching at the University of Michigan. He held the position until 1930, when Leslie White replaced him.

The anthropologist moved from the institution the same year that he stopped working as a professor in Michigan, and moved to the University of Utah. The location of the college attracted Steward for the archaeological job opportunities it offered.

Steward focused his research on the areas that most intrigued him. Among them were subsistence, the interaction of man, the environment, technology, the social structure and the organization of work.

Other works

In 1931, a year after arriving at the University of Utah, the anthropologist began to have financial problems and found it necessary to start field work in the Great Shoshone Basin with the collaboration of Kroeber, his classmate.

Four years later, in 1935, he joined the Smithsonian Institution's Office of American Ethnology. The institution published some of his most outstanding works, which were of great influence for the time.

Among these works stood out Aboriginal Sociopolitical Groups of the Cuenca-Meseta, which was prepared in 1938. The work explained in an extensive way the paradigm of cultural ecology. It was in this year when he consolidated as an anthropologist.

Growth at the Smithsonian Institution

Julian Steward's studies of the indigenous people of South America helped him to become a highly influential professional thanks to his participation in the edition of the Manual of Indians of South America. The work took him more than 10 years.

In 1943 the anthropologist founded the Institute for Social Anthropology at the Smithsonian Institution. Steward became the director of this area as soon as it was founded.

Part of his work also included serving on a committee for the reorganization of the American Anthropological Association and in the creation of the National Science Foundation. On the other hand, he promoted the creation of the Committee for the Recovery of Archaeological Remains.

Return to teaching

In 1946, Steward returned to teaching at Columbia University, where he worked until 1953. During this period, he made some of his most important theoretical contributions.

The anthropologist was the teacher of a group of students who became great influences in the history of anthropology, among whom were Sidney Mintz, Eric Wolf, Roy Rappaport, Stanley Diamond, Robert Manners, Morton Fried and Robert F. Murphy

After teaching at Columbia, he joined the University of Illinois, where he became a professor emeritus in 1967 and went on to chair the Department of Anthropology. He held his position until 1968, when he finally retired.

Death

Little information exists regarding the exact causes of Julian Steward's death; however, it is known that he died on February 6, 1972 in Illinois, at the age of 70.

Theory of cultural change

Importance of work

Considered as Steward's most important theoretical work, Theory of Cultural Change: The Multilinear Evolution Methodology was developed in 1955.

With this work he tried to demonstrate that the emergence of social systems came from resource exploitation patterns, determined by the adaptation of a population's technology to its natural environment.

In other words, Steward made an analysis of how societies adapted to their environment. The anthropologist considered "multilinear evolution" to the demands of the various physical and historical environments to produce social manifestations.

Steward's interest in social evolution motivated him to study modernization processes; with which he became one of the first anthropologists to study the relationship between the different levels of society.

References

1. Julian Steward, editors of Encyclopedia Britannica, (nd). Taken from britannica.com
2. Julian Steward, Wikipedia in English, (nd). Taken from wikipedia.org
3. Julian Steward, Portal EcuRed, (nd). Taken from ecured.cu
4. Julian Haynes Steward, Author: Manners, R. Portal National Academy of Sciences, (1996). Taken from nasonline.org
5. Julian H. Steward, Portal Archives Library Illinois, (2015). Taken from archives.library.illinois.edu
6. Julian Steward, Portal New World Encyclopedia, (nd). Taken from newworldencyclopedia.org