By Vladimir I. Ionesov & Elleonora A. Kurulenko
ABSTRACT
In this paper we will attempt to give a social interpretation of material culture through the comprehension
of the symbolic nature of artefacts and the meanings of things in cultural process. It is shown that cultural
things are objects by which people tried to affect and influence their immediate environment. Such
things, which acquired a social sense through becoming a focus of human activity and included in symbolic
activity, began to play a cultural role as an important means of overcoming of social conflicts. Authors
consider the different aspects of existence of things in culture by the material patterns and in the limits of
current theoretical knowledge. It is distinguished such concepts as thing, object, subject and artefact in cognitive
analysis of material culture. Moreover it is necessary not only to distinguish thing as object, but also to
show thing as sign and symbol of human relations. The sense of thing is wider than self-thing as one is not
only matter, but also thing is that we are thinking about it, how using it and how understand it. An anthropological
approach to interpretation of material objects enables to explain the thing as carrier and image of
human qualities, i.e. personages of culture. The data show that things as important means of cultural changes
must be carefully considered in context of urgent tasks and challenges of globalizing culture.
