A comprehensive image of the external world emerges in society, simultaneously fixing the historical experience of mankind. The interaction of nations in diverse periods of their development reinforces interest in a civilizational perception of the social environment singularity. Cultural universals, meaningfully describing the phenomena of human existence, allow us to preserve a person's attitude towards surrounding reality in generations. The content of universals is interrelated with the type of culture that generates the vision about it. One of the issues of social institutions management is the search for benchmark according to which the effectiveness of a particular system of intercultural relations is determined. Thus, the relevance of research related to the development of a mechanism for assessing the impact of the cultural environment on society is increasing. The paper analyzes the experience of determining the meaning and essence of cultural universals. It shows that cultural universals reproduce milestones for social development, according to which socioeconomic relations are built. The author substantiates the necessity of fastening the anthropological approach into the field of study of cultural universals and presents the specifics of displaying the content of cultural universals. The study also clearly outlines properties and criteria that allow for a clear understanding of the context of phenomena inherent in the human community. The research examines terminology related to the use of cultural universals and enabling to systematize the phenomena of the social world order on a scientific basis.