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material culture

American  

noun

Sociology.
  1. the aggregate of physical objects or artifacts used by a society.


Etymology

Origin of material culture

First recorded in 1925–30


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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

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On top of its potential communicative importance and intrinsic value as a cultural behavior, accumulative stone throwing involves durable primate material culture, the loss of which would constitute the erasure of primate heritage.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 28, 2026

Africa and Europe, and she has her own design studio, Felemaye, which she describes as “rooted in memory, material culture, and spatial intelligence.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 13, 2026

Each bay presents an aspect of samurai life, collectively producing a robust representation of Edo-period visual and material culture.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 7, 2026

The burials had scanty grave goods—a bead and a dog paw—so it’s hard to connect them to any particular material culture.

From Science Magazine ● Jun. 19, 2024

The remaining type of variation among Polynesian societies to be considered involves tools and other aspects of material culture.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

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