Final answer:
Malinowski identified three fundamental needs fulfilled by all cultures: basic needs for survival, derived needs for organizing society, and integrative needs providing values and purpose. His work underlined the complexity of cultural systems in meeting these needs across various societies.
Step-by-step explanation:
Bronislaw Malinowski, a renowned anthropologist, identified three fundamental needs that all cultures must resolve to meet human needs. These include the basic, derived, and integrative needs that cultures address in various ways. Basic needs are those necessary for survival, such as the need for food, clothing, and shelter. Cultures develop systems to fulfill these needs through means such as farming, constructing shelters, and creating clothing. From these basic needs arise derived needs, which include organizing work and the distribution of resources, the establishment of family structures, and defining gender roles. Lastly, Malinowski highlighted integrative needs, which refer to a culture's provision of values and purpose for its people. These are met through institutions like religion, law, and ideology, which play a crucial role in creating societal cohesion and guiding behavior. Malinowski's insights were crucial in demonstrating that even societies considered 'primitive' have complex systems in place to satisfy the array of human needs. This perspective has been supported by subsequent anthropologists who have found evidence of cultural universals pertaining to human needs and social structures around the world.