A cultural understanding, institution, or artifact thought of as a discrete entity for purposes of analysis, ignoring contexts or links to other traits.
Comment:By isolating a trait in this way, one can study its co-occurrence with another trait across a wide range of societies, for example, as in holocultural analysis. Or one can map its diffusion from one location to another, or chart its transformation over time.
The word "trait" is a term of convenience, the exact scope of which varies depending upon the analytical task at hand. The bow and arrow may be a trait. So may patrilineal descent. Or the presence of a writing system. Obviously such traits may also be seen as complexes of subsidiary traits (such as the bow and the arrow considered separately) or as subtraits of higher-level traits (such as the bow and arrow as part of a trait called "hunting").
In anthropology today, the concept of a trait is most often found in archaeology, where the concept is common even in the absence of the word.
Definition Revised: 2007-12-01
Script Last Modified: 2025-02-04
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