Early anthropological writings were riddled with biases due to_______
imperialism
Social Darwinism
manifest destiny
all of the answers provided
The correct answer and explanation is:
The correct answer is all of the answers provided.
Early anthropological writings were heavily influenced by several cultural, political, and intellectual factors, leading to biases in the interpretation of human societies and cultures. One major factor was imperialism, the expansion of European powers across the globe during the 18th and 19th centuries. European colonizers often used anthropology to justify their control over non-European peoples, presenting indigenous cultures as “primitive” or “uncivilized” in order to legitimize imperial rule and exploitation.
Social Darwinism, a theory based on the ideas of Charles Darwin but misapplied to human society, also played a role. Social Darwinists believed that human societies followed the same principles of natural selection as species in the animal kingdom. This led to the view that certain races or cultures were “more evolved” or “superior” to others. Consequently, early anthropologists sometimes portrayed non-Western societies as inferior or stagnant, reinforcing racist stereotypes and justifying colonialism and exploitation.
Manifest destiny, the belief that the United States was destined to expand across the North American continent, was another ideological influence. This concept often framed the displacement of indigenous peoples as a natural or divine right, disregarding the autonomy and cultures of native populations. Early anthropologists, particularly in the context of the U.S., sometimes justified the expansion of the U.S. at the expense of indigenous populations by framing it as part of a larger, inevitable historical process.
These combined factors—imperialism, Social Darwinism, and manifest destiny—shaped early anthropological thought, resulting in writings that were often ethnocentric, reinforcing stereotypes and biases about non-Western peoples. These biases were only gradually addressed as anthropology developed into a more scientific and self-reflective discipline in the 20th century.