Final answer:
Unilineal cultural evolution is the late-nineteenth-century theoretical perspective that posited that all cultures pass through the same stages from 'savagery' to 'civilization.' This theory has been challenged and largely abandoned in favor of recognizing the unique development paths of individual cultures.
Step-by-step explanation:
The late-nineteenth-century theoretical perspective that emphasized that the development of culture progressed through a series of successive stages is known as unilineal cultural evolution. This perspective, largely associated with theorists like Edward Tylor and Lewis Henry Morgan, posited that all cultures evolve through the same stages of 'savagery,' 'barbarism,' and 'civilization,' with an ethnocentric bias placing European civilization at the apex of this developmental scheme. Critics such as Franz Boas later challenged this view, arguing that cultures evolve uniquely and not in a linear fashion, but rather through complex interactions with other societies.
This early anthropological theory suggested that technological advancements, as suggested by Morgan, were the primary drivers pushing a culture from one stage to the next. However, this view of societal development has been largely abandoned because it failed to account for the diversity and complexity of cultural interactions and changes. Instead, a more nuanced understanding of cultural development that respects the unique historical trajectories of individual cultures without assuming a single, Eurocentric path towards 'civilization' has emerged.