Cultural anthropologists seek to answer questions such as:
“Why are human groups and their ways of life so different around the world? Why, for example, do many New
Zealanders believe it is disgusting and cruel to eat dog,
while Muslims don’t eat pork and Hindus think cows are
sacred? Why do so many young people in New Zealand
decide to get tattoos while many youths in Papua New
Guinea willingly undergo painful scarifi cation rituals?
Why do such cultural differences develop and how might
we understand them better?”