Culture, Children and Their Toys

In my cultural anthropology class this year I wrote my own definition of culture.  I normally use the definition used in whatever textbook we happen to be using, and they are always different.  It's daunting to write a definition of culture, but I settled, for better or worse, on the following:

Culture:  The characteristic ways that people learn to think and behave, using symbols,toys and tools in the context of a social structure and a modified environment.

I've never seen a definition of culture that includes "Toys" before, but I think it fits, and I would confidently say that play is a cultural universal.  Indeed, it is found throughout the mammalian order, if not beyond, although human play, if not qualitatively different, is certainly different by degree at the very least.

I've been a fan of Peter Menzel's work, especially his "Material World" and "Hungry Planet" projects where he photographed families with, respectively, all of their material possessions and a weeks worth of their food.  The contrasts between rich and poor are striking, and the cross-cultural comparisons are often surprising and enlightening.

Here, Italian photographer Gabriele Galimberti's "Toy Story" project is described and his photographs featured.  It's much the same idea as Menzel's, but focusing on children and their toys.  Click on the picture below for the story:

Galimberti's site (his name is hotlinked above) is worth checking out in addition to the site above.

Thanks to Sarah Wiese for the reference and link.