Change implies some kind of continuity. Primordialist conceptions of ethnicity give precedence to elements of continuity whereas instrumentalist and constructivist approaches focus more on what may be malleable or transient. Culture can be passed on from one generation to another irrespective of the presence or absence of outsiders but the concept of ethnicity arises through a contrast with outsiders. Ethnicity is defined not only by what it is but also by what it is not.