SCCS: The Standard Cross-Cultural Sample (1997)

The Standard Cross-Cultural Sample by Philip Silverman, Department of Anthropology, California State University, Bakersfield.

 

The comparative method has been one of the hallmarks of anthropology since its inception in the middle of the 19th Century. Although at various times it was neglected as researchers focused on the less daunting task of understanding a single cultural system, it remains one of the most distinctive contributions that can be made by a science whose data base attempts to account for all cultural systems both temporally and spatially throughout the world. But the efforts of comparativists have been fraught with controversy and methodological barriers that can defeat the faint-hearted. Examination of the data made available here will provide students with an opportunity to evaluate the usefulness of testing hypotheses globally within the framework of pre-coded variables from a systematic sample of the known cultures in the world.

Suggested Citation:

Silverman, Philip and Messinger, Jacquelyn, 1997. The Standard Cross-Cultural Sample. Unpublished Manuscript.