Layered models

This chapter introduces layered models that illustrate culture. The common idea of these models is that culture comprises visible and non-visible parts; the latter are recognizable by their effects on the visible parts. The iceberg model illustrates this two-part structure, warning researchers to ignore the six-sevenths of an iceberg that lie below the surface. The onion model claims that the essence of an onion (i.e., the core of culture) only becomes accessible when removing its outer, visible layers (i.e., cultural symbols, heroes, and rituals). Implicit vs. explicit culture refers to the basic assumptions of a society about human existence (i.e., implicit culture) that manifest themselves in observable artifacts (e.g., products, buildings, monuments, art, and language). The concepta/percepta model distinguishes between non-observable intangible artifacts (e.g., taboos, norms, values, and attitudes), observable immaterial artifacts (e.g., symbols, rituals, or customs), and observable material artifacts (e.g., the agricultural and urban landscape, or traditional clothing).