Known for its cultural ecology approach, this new edition of Cultural Anthropology conveys the excitement and controversy that are part of the ongoing, developing science of anthropology and now has a more affordable price tag. Cultural Anthropology, Third Edition, is based on the central theme that individuals are active decision-makers, continually involved in creating and using their culture. Faced with new problems and new situations in their environment, people will often attempt to find solutions that go beyond traditional customs and cultural prescriptions. It also stresses the importance of placing humans in a wider evolutionary context. The objective of this book remains to introduce cultural anthropology to readers with limited background in the subject. Material is presented in a unified framework rather than as an encyclopedia of anthropological concepts and findings or a series of subtopics.