How did Julian Steward explain cultural practices as adaptations to environmental challenges?

Julian Steward, the founder of cultural ecology, rejected both environmental determinism and simple possibilism to explain how societies adapt to their surroundings. Instead, he proposed that cultures interact with their environments by adapting specific features—such as technology, economic organization, and social structures—to effectively pursue their livelihoods.12

Steward argued that social systems arise from patterns of resource exploitation, which are in turn determined by a group's technological ability to adapt to their natural environment. Rather than viewing the environment as a simple limit or a direct cause of behavior, he saw it as presenting a set of problems and opportunities.12

For example, in his study of irrigation civilizations, Steward illustrated how the collective labor and centralized authority required for farming in arid climates led to increased social stratification and the development of the state. Because different physical settings and historical contexts require unique adaptations, Steward concluded that cultures follow a process of "multilinear evolution," where similar environmental challenges may lead to comparable social developments, yet result in distinct manifestations in each case.1