What is primitive?

Question

What is primitive?

Answer 1

In cultural anthro is refers to technology.  It is not meant as a derogatory term used to judge the people or the culture.  An arrow or spear would be considered primitive, but just try flint knapping--it's hard work that takes skill.

Answer 2

Primitive is a way of saying that something is an evolutionary precursor.  This term can be used to classify previous Hominid species as "primitive" versions of Homo sapiens and this is fine because we are dealing with a singular lineage of evolution.  Incorrectly this term is used to classify other primate species or other ethnic groups.  Other primate species are NOT primitive as they represent a separate evolutionary path and are extremely well adapted to their distinct environments and have a multitude of skills and adaptations that humans could not master nor mimic.  To all the disbelievers in what I just said, please take five of your friends out to Gombe National Park and try to catch a healthy red colobus monkey with your bear hands by coordinating an attack through quick precise vocal signals between you and your friends.  Get back to me on how that works out for you.  Anyways, having a disparate evolutionary path and adapting to a separate and distinct environment does not mean that that creature is "primitive".  The same goes for other human ethnic groups.  Just because another Homo sapiens group's ethnicity has specialized their culture to a different environment and a different level of technology does not mean that they are primitive either.  These groups will have skill sets that make them far superior within their culture and environment.  Essentially our cultural evolution has taken a divergence, albeit of relative recent occurence in evolutionary terms, but separate enough that this cultural evolution is of a separate lineage then of the group that may be calling them primitive.  Once again to the disbelievers, please go out into the Kalahari Desert and try to live for an entire year as the Kung people do.  I'm sure that the neighbouring Kung tribes will be snickering at your ineffectual attempts to survive in that environment and in their own ignorance may be applying a term similar to "primitive" to you and your pals as you become parched from dehydration.  Don't worry however, the Kung are a friendly group and will probably teach the culturally ignorant white Homo sapiens how to survive in their desert environment. To classify other ethnicities as being "primitive" is typical of individuals who have an infinity to being ethnocentric and not being able to see past the achievements, or the faults, of their own culture.

Answer 3

like being primal, early man, relating to the animal, like a feral wolf living on the laws of nature, primative

Answer 4

Old.

Answer 5

Primitive is relative.

However, if you are looking for a definition go here:

http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dic...