What do I say if asked, 'what is culture'?

There's no easy answer to this, and don't be afraid to say so. Address the fact that there is no set definition and that its ambiguity is precisely what Anthropologists and Archaeologists set out study. Having said that, many scholars will have a working definition they use, and it is helpful to have one yourself. For instance, 'the system of shared beliefs, values, customs, behaviours, and artefacts that the members of society use to cope with their world and with one another, and that are transmitted from generation to generation through learning' (Bates and Plog, 1990: 7).You might then expand on your answer in one of several ways: give an example of a 'culture' and how this may or may not fit your definition precisely; explain how Anthropologists over the history of the discipline have changed their working definitions of culture; or the way in which Anthropologists approach the study of culture (through Ethnography and Anthropological theory. You might also discuss the ways in which Archaeologists might differ in their approach to culture, and why.