Final answer:
Edward Burnett Tylor was the pioneer anthropologist who first introduced the term "culture" in his 1873 work, Primitive Culture, proposing an evolutionary framework for analyzing cultural development from 'savagery' to 'civilization'.
Step-by-step explanation:
The anthropologist who first used the term "culture" in their work was Edward Burnett Tylor. In his seminal work, Primitive Culture (1873), Tylor defined the concept of culture in broad terms, encompassing the 'complex whole' that includes knowledge, beliefs, arts, morals, laws, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by humans as members of society. This definition marked a foundational moment in the field of anthropology, setting the stage for future studies and theoretical developments.
Tylor's proposition that cultures evolve from "savagery" to "civilization" via "barbarism" played a significant role in framing anthropology's early understanding of cultural development. Subsequent anthropologists, such as Lewis Henry Morgan, expanded on Tylor's evolutionary framework, while others like Franz Boas later critiqued and shifted away from the unilinear evolutionary perspective, emphasizing the complex, unique, and interactive pathways of cultural change.