In the 19th century, "culture" was used by some to refer to a wide array of human activities, and by some others as a synonym for "civilization".
In the 20th century, anthropologists began theorizing about culture as an object of scientific analysis.
Both groups understood culture as being definitive of human nature.
According to many theories that have gained wide acceptance among anthropologists, culture exhibits the way that humans interpret their biology and their environment.
Acceleration and amplification of these various aspects of culture change have been explored by complexity economist, W. Brian Arthur.