A. Kroeber, American anthropologist, cultural scientist, ethnologist, made a huge contribution to the development of American anthropology. The nature of culture is one of the key themes in his work. Having carried out a thorough analysis of the historical development of the world's largest cultures (Egyptian, Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Greek, Roman, European, etc.), Kroeber came to the conclusion that, despite the presence of certain common features, the development of culture is not subject to rigid and unambiguous laws; He considered the hypothesis of linear progress equally untenable. The results of Kroeber's research largely refuted the speculative provisions of Spengler's theory of cyclic development. In Kroeber's interpretation, culture is a much more flexible and mobile entity: it can absorb elements and entire complexes of elements from other cultures, can resume its growth after periods of seemingly inevitable decline, transform existing ones and produce new cultural models.