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American
Anthropologist
Adcock, Cyril
J. and James E. Ritchie. Intercultural Use of Rorschach. American
Anthropologist 1958. Vol. 60: 881-892. Adcock and Ritchie
argue against the cross-cultural use of the Rorschach test. They believe
that the test does not accurately portray the culture they are testing
because it uses Western meanings to the translation. They also argue
that the Rorschach symbols in the scoring come from the tester’s culture. The Rorschach test
is a test on physical and mental ability (the physical ability was
not looked at in this article). The mental component to the test is
a series of inkblots and the tester compares the answer the informant
gives to a chart, which analyzes the informants "intelligence".
Adcock and Ritchie warn that the test, if given to a group, in their
case the Maori in New Zealand, who don’t emphasize the imagination,
the test could be read in an unflattering way towards the Maori people.
Therefore, the test, if given at all, should be analyzed cautiously,
because there could be influences that are not present in Western beliefs. CLARITY RANKING:
4 CHRISTINA SAUNDERS York
University (Naomi Adelson)
Adcock, Cyril
J. and James E. Ritchie. Intercultural Use
of Rorschach. American Anthropologist October, 1958. Vol. 60
(5): 881-892. Rorschach tests,
often used in cross-cultural studies, are most effectively used in
conjunction with one’s own observations and data. They should be regarded
and used as collateral to interview material and as a personal manifestation
of a culturally patterned response. One problem inherent in the use
of these tests lies in the inseparability of the test and its interpreter.
To minimize problems and questions of validity, a researcher should
use them in one of four ways: (1) as verbal or behavioral data, (2)
as a check against interview and other data, (3) as another tool to
help to form a hypothesis and analysis, or (4) as a limited interpretation. Using Rorschach
cards presupposes cross-cultural universality in responses and situations.
Given that this is likely not the situation, this assumption becomes
invalid. Therefore, we studied the validity of Rorschach tests and
their concomitant assumptions to determine personality using two Maori
student groups (high school and college) and Caucasian New Zealand
student groups (high school and college). Both groups underwent the
same physical and psychological tests, which were then analyzed. The factorial analysis
revealed several important personality factors: imaginative thinking,
mature spontaneity, introversion, insecurity, and affective extraversion.
The biggest difference between the two ethnic groups, regardless of
age, lies in imaginative abilities; Caucasians displayed more creativity
and imagination, while the Maori tended to be more prosaic, more concrete.
However, this may not be the only major difference, as the Maori groups
worked with in this study may be more acculturated than the average
Maori, given that they attend Western-style schools. Since Rorschach
tests are often used to test imagination (in order to elicit material
to work with), and the Maori, as well as other Polynesian cultures,
have been analyzed as "non-imaginative," extreme caution
should be taken not to equate their results with intelligence. This
leads us to five conclusions: (1) one cannot assume the meaning of
a Rorschach test cross-culturally, (2) take the symbols and meaning
from the tester’s culture, (3) re-establish the meanings for each culture
studied, (4) use a factorial analysis, and (5) limit the use of results
from cross-cultural Rorschach research. CLARITY RANKING:
4 MARGARET ANN
GRILLO University of Pennsylvania (Melvyn Hammarberg)
Anderson, Robert
T. Danish and Dutch Settlements on Amager Island: Four
Hundred Years of Socio-Cultural Interaction. American Anthropologist
August, 1958 Vol. 60 (4):683-701 This article was
very interesting for me. It outlines the history of Dutch occupation
on Denmark’s Amager Island, which began in the year of 1520. Robert
Anderson has done a very good job in giving us the developmental trajectory
of the settlers, which he groups into three successive phases. These
phases are one, the ethnic acculturation which lasted two centuries
(16th and 17th), phase two lasted two centuries
as well; the 18th and 19th and was known as the
era of "folk amalgamation" and finally, phase three, the
20th century became the time of "urban assimilation." Anderson cites as
the reason for this colonization’s beginning seems to have started
with a love affair. Apparently, the crown prince of Denmark, Christian
II, had fallen in love with an exiled girl from Northern Holland who
he later brought to Copenhagen along with her overbearing mother. The
writer believes that it was the mother of this girl that coerced Christian
II into inviting the Dutch to settle in Denmark in order to take advantage
of their considerable skill and "advanced techniques in agriculture
and dairying that would enable them to supply the court…with high quality
vegetables, butter, and cheese…" (683). During colonization,
the Dutch land was made private belonging to the settlers outright
while that of the existing Danish occupants remained leased from the
Royal Court. The Dutch settlers were also able to run their own local
area government while the Danes paid taxes to the Court. Over time, special
privilege allowed for great success of the Dutch settlers and eventually
the Danes became more and more like the Dutch by adopting their methods
in areas such as economy and farming technique. Anderson here states
that what emerged was a distinct cultural environment that was neither
Dutch nor Danish. The article was
interesting because it discussed the processes by which Amager Island
became a culture unto itself through occupation that was isolated from
Mainland Denmark thereby producing a new way of life for the Dutch
settlers and Danish immigrants that would foster a separate and independent
way of life. CLARITY RANKING:
4 CARIANNE SWANSON University
of Pennsylvania (Dr. Melvyn Hammarberg)
Barker, George
C. Some Functions of Catholic Processions in Pueblo
and Yaqui Culture Change. American Anthropologist June, 1958
Vol. 60 (3):449-453 This article examines
the ways that specific religious processions were transmitted from
Spanish Catholicism to the Yaqui and Pueblo Native American groups.
These processions, according to Barker, served "as a means of
venerating the image of the organization’s patron saint," as well
as to "dramatize episodes from the Bible and the lives of the
saints" (449). The Spanish used
these processions to convert the Native Americans to Christianity.
Not only did the processions teach the Yaqui and the Pueblo about biblical
preaching, they also were viewed as a legitimate religious practice
to replace indigenous dances and ceremonies. The Native Americans,
however, accepted the processions by reinterpreting them into their
own traditional beliefs. Barker claims that
Spicer’s earlier article in this issue differentiates between the Pueblo
and Yaqui conversion processes. Spicer categorized the coexistence
of indigenous and Catholic ritual ceremonies as "compartmentalization" by
the Pueblo, and "fusion" by the Yaqui. Barker goes on to
examine whether these are two distinct patterns of culture change. Reviewing the evidence,
Barker finds that these are two separate processes. The Pueblo
follow Catholic Lenten practices inside the church, but do not have
any kind of public procession. The worship service itself is a prelude
to their annual Green Corn Dance, which asks the gods to send rain
to the crops, thereby renewing village life. This dance is entirely
indigenous, and separate from Catholic religious practices. The Yaqui, however,
combine native practices with Catholic Saint’s Day processions. Their
indigenous ritual dances are frequently intermingled with Catholic
ceremonies, most noticeably the Yaqui Easter ceremony. According to
Barker, "penitential and festive processions are among the chief
ritual vehicles of the ceremonial societies" for the Yaqui (452).
Thus, though Yaqui indigenous practices remain, they are completely
intermixed with the Catholic religious ceremonies. Barker posits that
the differences between the Pueblo and Yaqui adaptations to Catholic
religious processions illustrates the differing roles of Catholicism
in each society. The successful transformation of Yaqui indigenous
dances into Catholic practices, claims Barker, shows that such practices
met their needs, and aided in the transformation of Yaqui culture. CLARITY RANKING:
5 LINDA SIMON University
of Pennsylvania (Dr. Melvyn Hammarberg)
Barker, George. Some
Functions of Catholic Procesions in Pueblo and Yaqui Culture Change. American
Anthropologist 1958 Vol. 60:449-455. George Barker’s
article investigates the "nature of cultural change" in supplanted
Spanish religious processions in American Indian groups of the Pueblo
and Yaqui. The article examines Fransican and Jesuit missionaries in
terms of the "conditions of the contact" to trace Spanish
influence to colonial contact. Barker’s hypothesis is simple: the functions
of catholic procession in each group reflect the cultural role of the
catholic religion. Cultural change
through Spanish influence in the Yaqui and Pueblo groups is centred
on two possible processes: autonomous integration by each; or unified
integration within different developmental fields. The Jesuit missionaries
applied catholic processions to similar elements of drama and ritual
in indigenous Yaqui ceremony. The Yaqui have few surviving indigenous
dances and themes are centred around catholic ritual drama. A psychological
need was filled and the result was an infusion of catholic procession
into the form and function of the existing indigenous ceremony. The
Pueblo however, maintained a distinct separation of indigenous ritual,
despite incorporating catholic elements. Distinctions was retained
through ceremony: church and plaza are engaged separately; catholic
saints are simply acknowledged respectfully; themes and dances remain
centred an indigenous ideology. The author supports
Edward Spicer’s evaluationof the co-existence of the two religious
ceremonial aspects through direct observation of both group’s ceremony.
Spicer’s study of the conditions of colonial contact led to his characterization
of Pueblo culture as "compartmentaliation" and Yaqui as "fusion". Barker’s extension
of Yaqui and Pueblo adaptation to Spanish influence is broadened into
a conceptual study of the nature of cultural change. He stretches Spicer’s "compartmentalization" and "fusion " beyond
describing conditions of change into frameworks that are useful in
studying cultural change in general or within other contexts. CLARITY RANKING:
4 SUSIE MORGADO York
University (Naomi Adelson)
Bohannan, Paul. Extra-Processual
Events in Tiv Political Institutions. American Anthropologist,
1958 Vol 60:1-12 This article focuses
on four "movements" or sequences of events of a sort which
Akiga writes about his own people, the Tiv of central Nigeria. These
movements swept the country in the half century before he wrote. It
is the purpose of this article to provide a more far-reaching analysis
of the movements which Akiga describes and to add the description of
another such movement which has occurred since he wrote. This article states
that there are certain institutions which are part of the social morphology
accepted and approved by the folk of a society. These institutions
are looked at as necessary evils. They also occur in primitive societies,
but their description has been relatively neglected and this is for
two reasons. The first is that the ethnographer must have enough time
depth to know what the normal process cycles of his institutions are.
Secondly, anthropologists have in the last twenty years shown an alarming
tendency to blame everything on culture contract. In other words, they
are put down as nativistic movements because they contain some bits
of European culture. These movements
are examples of the way in which the Tiv political action, with its
distrust of power, gives rise so that the greater political institutions-
the one based on the lineage system and a principle of egalitarianism-
can be preserved. Bohannan concludes
that in at least some primitive societies as in our own, both social
morphology and social process are marked by institutions and events
which are considered to be extra-constitutional, or which we might
call extra-processual. This article does
a good job at examining another cultures movements. However there are
certain highlights in the article that may be confusing or hard to
follow. CLARITY RANKING:
2 SHANE MATTE York
University (Naomi Adelson)
Bohannan, Paul. Extra-Processual
Events in Tiv Political Institutions. American Anthropologist
February, 1958 Vol. 60 (1): 1-11. Paul Bohannan’s
article examines the development of what he calls extra-normal activities
- phenomena or institutions that become part of society, not necessarily
accepted or approved, but which are necessary for a functioning world.
These "extra-normal" events are necessary for the "normal
events" taking place in society and are often necessary evils.
He integrates Akiga’s study of the Tiv of central Nigeria and the descriptions
of "extra-normal movements," discussing the tsav or "anti-witchcraft" movement.
The purpose of the article is to provide a more in-depth analysis of
the 1939 Tiv anti-witch movement, to examine its origins, its rituals,
and its significance relating to "extra-normal" events. Bohannan tries to
define tsav, who has it, how to acquire it, and what its purpose
is. Tsav is a power that man experiences in social relationships
with a clear distinction between institutionalized power (authority)
and simply power (not institutionalized). By exploring the culture
of the Tiv society, Bohannan realizes tsav is a natural growth
in people who have power: born leaders, but which can also be gained
through cannibalism and these men should not be trusted. This is the
dilemma: tsav is a power that allows for death, so men of tsav have
the power to kill, and power corrupts. Of course, men with tsav are
natural and necessary, yet those who overstep their boundaries are
considered dangerous. The investigation
traces the origin of the Nyambua cult, which offered protection from
the witches (this "anti-witchcraft" movement developed into
the "extra-normal" event). Governmental reports pinpoint
its origins to ceremonious rituals giving protection against the mbatsav or
witches. These mbatsav formed organizations where they would
rob graves and eat corpses trying to gain tsav. So tsav in
essence has two meanings: powerful people and a group of witches who
do evil things, a combination that gives rise to confusion. A further examination
of Tiv culture brings to light the reasons for the movement. The British
had set up an administrative authority after WWI in Tivland, but the
Tiv does not grant institutionalized political power to anyone. The
British officials would acknowledge "clan spokesmen" as Tiv
leaders, yet in the eyes of the Tiv these men held false power. The
article illustrates that the Nyambua sought to counter the power in
the British authority to "refortify aspects of Tiv authority,
which made the distinction between those who held legitimate versus
false power (8)." The Nyambua developed a local organization around
important cult priests who set out to protect graves from the mbatsav who
wanted to obtain false power. Bohannan quotes official reports of events
leading to the witch-hunt phenomena. They were seen as a direct threat
to the English, but Bohannan wants to make clear that the Tiv movement
was not anti-British, rather it was anti-authority against those with
false power. By the end of 1939,
there was a societal breakdown, which left a large part of a country
politically upset – this allowed for the Nyambua cult to catch on and
spread to other communities. It came down to this: anyone in Tiv who
gained too much power grows tsav - if the person handles it
in a constitutional manner, he is acknowledged to have real tsav.
But at the moment he oversteps his power, he is a counterfeit and the
necessary measures are taken against him. Using Akiga’s research, Bohannan
realizes that the anti-witchcraft movements resulted when men acquired
too much power illegitimately, which in the end resulted in a reconstructing
of the Tiv power structure. The Nyambua movement
depicts one example where a necessary evil (witch-hunts) gave rise
to a greater political institution based upon the lineage system and
egalitarianism. Those familiar with Akiga’s investigation will particularly
enjoy this article, but Paul Bohannan exposes a universal theme of "extra-normal" phenomena
that can be applied to every culture, where its development is a necessary
evil - a part of society’s process. CLARITY RANKING
- 3 TIMA BUDICA University
of Pennsylvania (Melvyn Hammarberg).
Braidwood, Robert J. Vere
Gordon Childe 1892-1957 American Anthropologist August 1958 Vol.
60 (4):733-736 This obituary opens
by stating that V. Gordon Childe fell to his death while "studying
rock formations in the mountains of New South Wales on October 19,
1957" (733). From here the writer
takes us on a quick tour of Childe’s life and contributions from the
time he left his home in Australia in 1914 to study at Oxford to his
early retirement as Director of the Institute of Archaeology of the
University of London. The writer reminds
us of V. Gordon Childe’s unique ability to see "the Indian behind
the artifact" and that he had a natural gift for seeing "the
woods as well as the trees" (734). It was this stance in life
that made Childe a great humanitarian and revolutionary thinker and
that he extended his warmth toward all. It is evident that
Childe brought the whole of himself to his work and loved what he did.
His contributions will not be forgotten by those who knew and him and
his work. CLARITY RANKING:
5 CARIANNE SWANSON University
of Pennsylvania (Dr. Melvyn Hammarberg) Boggs, Steven
T. Culture Change and the Personality of Ojibwa Children. American
Anthropologist 1958 Vol.60: 47-58. Boggs’ article is
based on observations of acculturated groups who have undergone substantial
changes in their traditional structure, but whose individual personality
structures have remained intact. Boggs believed individual personality
structures remain unaffected as a result of a parents’ continual pattern
of interaction with their offspring. To test this hypothesis, he observed
the behavioral patterns of parents and children in the Ojibwa community,
specifically the Manitoba and the Wisconsin tribe. In formulating his
argument, Boggs’ describes the effect acculturation has on these groups.
He focuses on three different categories: labor by division of sex,
extended family, and religious orientation. He first describes the
effect of acculturation on these categories as it regards to the Manitoba
and then describes the changes in relation to the more extreme of the
groups, the Wisconsin. After he analyzes the effect of these changes,
he relates these changes to parental behavior in each society. The presence of
acculturation on the Manitoba is not as evident as it is in the Wisconsin.
Because Manitoba subsistence strategies are stable and constant, Manitoba
gender roles are more defined; men provide for the household, while
women tend to household chores and childcare. In Wisconsin tribes subsistence
strategies change constantly and often shift the role of the worker
to that of the female; this causes gender roles to be undefined. In
some instances women provide, in others male. The lack of specific
gender roles leads to neglect of the children. Some men refuse to take
care of the child while the wife is at work. In contrast, because of
the clear outline of gender role in Manitoba society, children are
not neglected because females who remain at home are traditionally
expected to take care of the children. The effects of acculturation
on the role of the extended family also affected parental behavior. Traditionally,
extended families were a means of subsistence and survival. After
acculturation the extended family was no longer dominant. Traces
of it however, are more evident in the Manitoba. The Wisconsin have
no traces of extended family; their family structure is predominantly
nuclear, which is a direct cause of constant change in their subsistence
strategies. The lack of the extended family too has its effects on
parental care. For example, if a child’s parent were to die in Manitoba
many relatives would adopt the child and provide for him; where as,
in Wisconsin, this would not be possible. While Boggs’ arguments are very concise and logical, he concludes
that his question remains unanswered based on the behaviors of the
Manitoba and the Wisconsin. Although acculturation has an effect
on parenting, there was no evidence of parenting having an effect
on the traditional introverted personality structure of the Ojibwa. CLARITY RANKING:
4 ELIZABETH PANTALEON Barnard
College (Paige
West) Bushnell, John. La
Virgen de Guadalupe as Surrogate Mother in San Juan Atzingo. American
Anthropologist 1958 Vol.60:261-265. John Bushnell argues
that emotional involvement of the San Juaneros in the worship of the
Virgin of Guadalupe stems from a need to release emotion and retain
a mother figure that will not abandon them. Many evidences are given
to support this position: the celebrations for San Juan, weaning practices,
kinship and the prominence of the worship of the Virgin in Mexican
Catholicism. Bushnell points
out that the celebration for San Juan, patron saint of the area, is
a very formal occasion and the rituals are "…carried through with
great formality" (Bushnell 261). Contrary to this, the celebrations
for the Virgin of Guadalupe constitute "weepy processions," and
addressing the saint as "Little Mother" (Bushnell 262). Bushnell
posits that the need for a surrogate mother is created in childhood
by the weaning process and purposeful distrust created in children
by their parents. Because of the "loss" of the mother (weaning)
and the taboo against a close relationship with the father, the San
Juaneros have to look elsewhere. Relationships with other kin and the
compadrazgo relationships are not close as they are governed by formality
and there is little trust shown in age-mate relationships or marriages.
Therefore, Bushnell determines that "…social relationships in
the community of San Juan represents a condition of affect starvation" (Bushnell
264). Instead of close relationships with other people, the San Juaneros
direct their emotions in a socially acceptable way towards the Virgin
of Guadalupe. In general, men are required to show little emotion.
Women are not as involved with the worship of the Virgin, as they assume
a motherly role early on and thereby have an identification with the
concept of motherhood. Bushnell concludes
that, although the amount of fervour in San Juan Atzingo is unparalleled,
worship of the Virgin is a large part of Catholicism in Latin America. CLARITY RANKING:
5 AMANDA JONES York
University (Naomi Adelson)
Bushnell, John. La
Virgen de Guadalupe as Surrogate Mother in San Juan Atzingo. American
Anthropologist April, 1958 Vol.60 (2):261-265. In the village of
San Juan Atzingo, the people there celebrate the fiesta of the Virgin
of Guadalupe. This celebration is quite unlike any other celebration
in this village. John Bushnell observed the differences between one
of the biggest celebrations, the San Juan celebration, and the Virgin
of Guadalupe celebration. He relates the occurrences of the latter
celebration to the deeper feelings of the people in the village concerning
the topic of the loss of a mother. During the fiesta
of the Virgin of Guadalupe, there is much emotion, especially shedding
of tears involved with men and women. To further acknowledge this depth
of feeling, Bushnell observes that even at funerals "men are rarely
given to tears." Bushnell analyzes the effect of the Virgin of
Guadalupe as a result to the need of a mother figure especially for
men. Bushnell hypothesizes that there is an early partial loss of the
real mother and hence the need to replace it with the Virgin of Guadalupe.
Although there are "close, warm, (and) affectionate ties" during
infancy, as they are weaned, these ties slowly break. As children growing
up, they are faced with sibling rivalry, taboos against open displays
of affection and the patriarchal status of the father. This deepens
the lack of trust and confidence in children that they once had as
infants with their close ties to their mothers. These feelings are
further exacerbated by distrust of relatives and even friendships made
that shows no evidence of "deep trust and loyalty." San Juan Atzingo
men replace this loss of their mother with the Virgin of Guadalupe.
This is what causes the depth of feeling that is unseen in other celebrations
or ceremonies at the village of San Juan Atzingo. The women are also
affected but the feeling is not as profound because even though they
experience loss, they quickly reclaim the mother figure by being one
themselves. In both cases, the people of San Juan Atzingo have "found
a mother who will never reject them." CLARITY RANKING:
5 PEGGY WANG University
of Pennsylvania (Melvyn Hammarberg)
Chang, Kwang-Chih. Study
of the Neolithic Social Groupings: Examples from the New World. American
Anthropologist April, 1958 Vol.60 (2):298-334. Chang is concerned
with how anthropologists have reconstructed social organizations of
the inhabitants of particular sites. He believes them to be incorrectly
done as they do not follow a specific orderly method or procedure.
Therefore, his main concern is providing an object procedure that anthropologists
should follow when attempting to restructure a site. He outlines his
procedure applying it to the subject of social groupings in the Neolithic
period. He does this in two steps. First he looks at and examines literature
about settlement and community in order to find a relation between
a settlement pattern of a dwelling site and the social groupings of
its occupants. Then he uses this information and applies it to specific
New World Neolithic societies in Mesoamerica, Peru and the Southwest
to see if they provide useful information for anthropologists. Chang tries to prove
his method by using various examples and detailing each site in accordance
to spatial identification, functions and symbolic aspects, composition
and pattern correlation of house grouping and kinship grouping of each
site. In addition, he provides supplementary notes such as defining
certain specific household dwellings and other terms that otherwise
might be confusing in trying to categorize certain characteristics
of a site. While he might appear
confident that his method and procedure is useful, he does acknowledge
some problems and glitches he encountered in his study. However, he
makes the important point that archeologists, when encountered with
a particular site, should first study social groupings in order to
interpret pre-historic societies. He provides numerous
and exhaustive examples of many sites and shows how certain aspects
of a particular site are connected to the social organization and groupings
of a specific society. His descriptive examples, according to Chang,
should provide a useful example in the way other archeologists and
anthropologists should carry out and describe their work. CLARITY RANKING:
4 TRACY OLIVEIRA York
University (Naomi Adelson)
Chang, Kwang
Chih. Study of the Neolithic Social Grouping:
Examples from the New World. American Anthropologist April, 1958
Vol.60 (2):298-334 Through this article
an attempt is being made to demonstrate how to reconstruct the social
organization of the people of an archaeological site. Chang presents
a method that includes a literature review which attempts to "find
some correlation between the settlement patterns of a dwelling site
and the social grouping of its occupants." With the review, he
applies what he has found to look at three Neolithic societies and
how well it fits into his theory of the social organization of groups
of people. In particular, he examines three regions-Mesoamerica, Peru
and the Southwest. Within his literature
review, he develops a structure of how to examine social groups. He
looks at local groups and divides it into three categories- household,
community and aggregate of community. For the first two he defines
them further by spatial identification, functions and symbolic aspects
and composition of the categories. For the third, he looks at territorial
dimensions, nature of aggregates, political, industrial and ceremonial
roles of communities, where the political authority is located and
the marketplace where groups of people can further interact. In this
part of the article is only a definition of these categories rather
than an application. After he has defined the categories, he applies
this structure and sees how well they fit into the three regions of
Neolithic societies. The methodological procedure he has outlined previously
shows how it identifies and characterizes the social groups of archaeological
culture. With this method, it better demonstrates what the groups were
like at the time rather than a general or broad culture that has usually
been applied to these sites in the past. Chang proposes that
instead of looking at archaeological sites as cultures or phases, they
must instead examine them as local social groups. The study he has
done can be similarly applied to other areas of the world such as the
Old World. He shows how community patterning study is possible and
should be something that is undertaken by archaeologists to further
the study of past societies. CLARITY RANKING:
5 PEGGY WANG University
of Pennsylvania (Melvyn Hammarberg)
Count, Earl W. The
Biological Basis of Human Sociality. American Anthropologist
December, 1958 Vol. 60(6): 1049-1081 The core of Earl
Count’s article is that he believes that man has not escaped from an
innate vertebrate biogram, i.e.: biogram is morphology of behavior
and characteristic way of living. Mr. Count states that if there is
morphology of the nervous system there must be one of behavior. Count
argues that despite man’s position in the hierarchy, culture is his
elaborate way of expressing his biogram and though it might have been
changed over time, it still exists. The author uses
examples from the social insects such as ants, where everything seems
to be "hard wired" or predetermined. The purpose of this
example is the opposite of an evolutionary biogram. He then steps a
little higher up the ladder and speaks to a vertebrate biogram. Schools
of fish and the non-reproductive phase and questions whether they are
a society or a congregation. The difference being, schools of fish
will turn when the leader alone turns due to danger. The animals react
to each other not to the external stimuli. He then proceeds to discuss
varying patterns of parenting among fish and lower life forms. He suggests
all vertebrates follow a particular pattern of behavior during the
mating phase. Mr. Count makes
statements regarding vertebrate sexuality that I do not believe he
adequately backs up with scientific proof, i.e.: "all vertebrate
individuals are ambisexual". He believes nothing is more important
in this class of phylum than that. He then goes on to state "differential
hormonal patterning released a common neurological mechanism in such
a way resulting in a particular group of psychic symptoms which causes
species specific behavior symptoms". Is this true all the time?
Count causes me to question much of the correlation’s of his reasoning
oft times, it escapes me in terms of the larger picture and it’s relationship
to his thesis. Throughout this
reading, he uses multiple examples of different animal kingdom details
that he cannot and does not seem to correlate over to man. In what
took him roughly 13,000 words to write, he set out to prove that humans
are biologically determined and that there is heredity. This article
was poorly written with no clarity, obscure references and often times
incoherent. CLARITY RANKING-1 AARON GOLDBERG University
of Pennsylvania (Melvyn Hammarberg)
Count,
Earl W. Biological
Basis of Human Sociality. American
Anthropologist 1958 Vol.60(6):1049-1081 The aim of the article
by Earl Count is to show that the nature of man was predetermined and
could be predicted by looking at the biogram or the “way of life” of
the predecessors. The
article starts of with the simplest organisms and progresses into more
complex until it gets to the human race and attempts to answer the
posed question. Insects,
being the simplest organisms described in the article are discussed
first. According to Earl
Count insects are more primitive because they do not posses a lot of
relationships between themselves; insects do not have any kinship ties,
they do not share experiences, do not train their offspring, do not
interact between themselves. They
resemble robots that are organized according to caste – “social role
is genetically predetermined”. Next
the author moves up the ladder of biological evolution and discusses
the way more advanced organisms such as fish and birds interact and
behave. Both groups appear
to be more advanced, for each of them has developed reactions to members
of their species and not only to the environment. When
the leading rank of the fish senses danger the rest of the fish start
to swim away without encountering the actual danger. This
is reminiscent of the flock of birds that could harmoniously maneuver
in the air as if an imaginary rope ties them to each other. While discussing the more advanced organisms Earl Count comments
on how each behaves during mating as well as during non reproductive
phases of life, courting rituals, the roles of males and females in
offspring life, interactions with each other. At
the end of the article the author get to humans and discusses how their
behavior is more advanced because o f the more powerful brain and greater
cerebral development. Earl Count’s article
reminds of a chapter on evolution in a biology textbook. His
focus is narrowly centered on the biological processes as well as on
the pattern of evolution. His
overly biological description and technical terms diverts the attention
of the reader from the main point of the article. Earl
Count gives a lot of examples to explain the evolutionary processes
that he discusses, yet this only leads the reader away from the paper. More
than half of the paper is spent on describing organisms that led up
to humans and when the author finally gets to humans, he doesn’t spend
a lot of time discussing the issues. The
end of the article seems very confusing and leaves the reader wondering
what was the conclusion that the author reached. CLARITY: 2 LENA PANOK Barnard College (Paige West)
Dart, Raymond
A. Bone Tools and Porcupine Gnawing American
Anthropologist August, 1958 Vol. 60 (4):715-724 Raymond Dart begins
his article by quoting Jolly’s theory about the discovery of fossilized
bone chisels that he has considered were made by prehistoric man and
then quickly brings us an argument against this statement by presenting
the reader with Singer’s opinion which is that the bone chisels thought
to be crafted by prehistoric man are actually the work of small carnivores
who chewed the bone fragments which were then left subjected to years
of weathering making them appear very much like those tools made by
ancient man. Dart then moves
on to reiterate this point by stating that, specifically, the gnawing
of bone that is done by porcupines produces extremely "sharp edges
on smooth surfaces" which he argues allows for the possibility
of mistaking "porcupine artifacts for tools." What, in fact,
is most interesting is that he believes the biggest problem with the
interpretation of the artifacts/tools is that when they are found in
an area of both ancient human and porcupine occupation it is virtually
impossible to determine if they were man made or the result of porcupine
(or small carnivores) gnawing. He also includes the inevitable possibility
that man made tools that were discarded were later gnawed upon by porcupines
making them the man made tool and also the porcupine artifact. In the end, he notes
that there are, of course, cases in which the artifacts found were
man made and this conclusion is based upon the fact that certain objects
required specific bone-splitting techniques that not have possibly
been accomplished by animals or any sort. Overall, the article presents
us with a problem in analyzing tool artifacts of ancient man. It seems
that the analysis in some cases might never see a definitive answer
as to whether or not the objects discovered are man made, animal gnawed,
or quite possibly – both. CLARITY RANKING:
4 CARIANNE SWANSON University
of Pennsylvania (Dr. Melvyn Hammarberg)
Dart. A, Raymond. Bone
Tools and Porcupine Gnawing. American Anthropologist. 1956 Vol.
60: 715- 724. Raymond Dart, author
of the article "Bone Tools and Porcupine Gnawing," ponders
the role of porcupines in the process of bone collecting. Dart rejects
the previous research conducted on bone collection, presented by the
anthropologist Jolly who claimed that raw animal bones were used to
create tools (e.g., stating that in former South African cultures,
metacarpal bones of a horse were used to create chisels, etc). The
research conducted by Jolly was carried further by the work of anthropologist
Singer and his discoveries that the bones and fossils in question had
tooth marks , which signified that animal gnawing lead to the production
of tools that resembled chisels, cleavers, etc. Therefore, both Jolly
and Singer believed that "there can be no doubt" that the
tools, which were thought to be made by man, were actually bone fragments
chewed by carnivores and then subjected to weathering (pg. 717). The
illustration of a porcupine used to gnaw bones used. Further, Dart
questions the work produced by Singer and argues that that "Singer’s
illustrations have not demonstrated that porcupines and carnivores
did all the sharpening" (pg. 717). Dart attempts to
disprove the research of anthropologists Jolly and Singer, presenting
three arguments. Throughout the article, Dart presents his sentiments,
as well as providing evidence to support his research. Firstly, Dart
accuses Singer and Jolly of neglecting to consider that using bones
as chisels was a human practice and not simply restricted to South
African, otherwise known as "primitive, " cultures. Secondly,
he believed that both neglected to include that Middle Stone Age man
used the same tools as those in South Africa. Thirdly, Dart discusses
that the conclusions made on porcupine gnawing of bones, in some way
exclude the notion that human beings were used to create tools. In
addition, Dart uses statistical data to support his arguments. For
example, when he was studying a Kalkbank site, out of 3619 osteodontokeratic
bone fragments, only 903 were gnawed by porcupines. Therefore, Dart
shows that since only 24.95 percent of the bones in a study were gnawed
by porcupines, the data does not prove that porcupines were the sole
architects of tools. Dart closes by discussing
the notion that one cannot presume that the creation of prehistoric
tools excluded the skill of mankind. CLARITY RANKING:
3 DIMITRA LAZAROU York
University: ( Naomi Adelson)
Dart, Raymond
A. The Minimal Bone-Breccia Content of Makapansgat
and the Australopithecine Predatory Habit. American Anthropologist
October, 1958. Vol 60 (5):923-931. Other bones found
with Australopithecine bones have often been attributed to bone-collecting
on the part of scavenging animals such as hyenas and porcupines. However,
bone-collecting habits have not been scientifically proved for any
animal other than humans. Furthermore, evidence of tool use, localized
fractures, and manipulation (e.g., a calcaneus thrust under a zygomatic
arch) do not support this hyena hypothesis. I propose that the hyena
hypothesis is untenable, and, instead, that Australopithecines are
responsible for this breccia deposit in Makapansgat. I estimate that
there are approximately 224,000 osteodontokeratic fragments in all
in this deposit. We will never know the total that once lay here due
to the lime mining business that extracted much of the material. In
1924 White Lime Company (later known as Limeworks) began to mine there.
The company’s manager was a confirmed Christian fundamentalist, and
he purposefully destroyed bones as he worked to thwart our research. I spoke at length
with Wilfred Eitzman, who first worked at the site. In 1922, two years
before the mining began, he saw the fossil deposits for the first time,
and he estimated about 300 tons of material to be there. If there were
in fact the case, then we should multiply our original estimate of
osteodontokeratic fragments by six. This site, a cave,
is known to have been inhabited by Australopithecines at three different
times. This leaves three distinct layers of breccia deposit in the
walls of the cave. This lends more support to the fact that Australopithecines
were responsible for the fossil deposit here. Finally, observational
data acquired from baboons and other carnivores that inhabit South
America about hunting proclivities can, perhaps, be extrapolated to
include the Australopithecines of ages ago. Hence, they would have
hunted much and accumulated a wealth of bones in their living quarters. CLARITY RANKING:
4 MARGARET ANN
GRILLO University of Pennsylvania (Melvyn Hammarberg)
D’Azevedo Warren
L. Structural Approach to Esthetics: Towards a
Definition of Art in Anthropology American Anthropologist August,
1958 Vol. 60 (4):702-713 This article presents
us with a dilemma which the author feels needs to be confronted, that
of the seeming lack of a comprehensive approach to art in the study
of anthropology. He emphasizes this point by noting that other disciplines
such as psychology and history have suitable lenses through which to
view and analyze the role of art in the social fabric of society. The problem, as
D’Azevedo perceives it, is in "…formulating a definition of art
relevant to the sociocultural frame of reference, and derived from
materials within range of observation by anthropologists" (704).
That to study the role of art in anthropological or archaeological
study, we must develop a working paradigm complete with the necessary
common terminology that all would share in the analytical procedure
and a common research perspective. To do this, he suggests that we
reevaluate the meaning and definition that we, in anthropology, currently
have of art. By redesigning the
role and interpretation of art in anthropology, we would be able to
see art in a completely different light. D’Azevedo suggest that art,
from the anthropological standpoint anyway, may be something more abstract
than painted surfaces or mobile artifacts but would possibly include
forms of speech and everyday or special day activities. He illustrates
his point by presenting examples from which this type of "art" may
be observed and taken into account. He concludes the article by outlining
the ways in which the transformation of our perceptions of art in anthropology
might be materialized and finishes by stating that this challenge is
one that asks us to consider "preconceptions about art" and
that "art must be considered in its manifold expressions in any
society" and by doing such we will be better able to give it the
anthropological attention it deserves. CLARITY RANKING:
4 CARIANNE SWANSON University
of Pennsylvania (Dr. Melvyn Hammarberg)
Dorjain R. Vernon. Fertility,
Polygyny and Their Interrelations in Temne Society. American
Anthropologist 1958 Vol. 60: 838-860 This article considers
the relations between polygyny and reproduction in light of the Temne
cultural background. The author briefly describes some of the research
that has been done on human fertility before examining how it relates
to Temne society. The article then
begins to examine the attitudes of the Temne toward fertility as well
as polygyny. It is stressed that adults of both sexes explicitly express
the desire for children, and an individual is said to be "lucky" if
he has had many children. Because having children is seen as such an
important aspect of one’s life, a woman who fails to produce any children
is ridiculed and may sometimes even pretend to be pregnant in order
to escape such ridicule. A man who fails to have any children will
usually make an arrangement, in agreement with his wife, to impregnate
another woman so that husband and wife may pass that child off as their
own. This article also
examines polygyny. To have plural wives is an end toward which all
Temne work, except for a small minority who are Christian converts
and educated men. Polygyny is widely accepted in Temne society and
is not seen as a breach in the marriage contract. If a man marries
a woman who cannot produce many children for him, having another wife
will enable him to produce more offspring. This said, the author
concludes that polygyny does not mean higher fertility nor does it
mean that more children will be produced. Factors such as divorce,
sterility, age differences and abstinence patterns all play a role.
The data considered in this article indicates that polygyny does in
fact lower the overall fertility of the Temne population of Mayoso
Chiefdom. CLARITY RANKING:
5 LINDSAY GRANT York
University (Naomi Adelson)
Dorjahn, Vernon
R. Fertility, Polygyny, and Their Interrelations
in Temne Society. American Anthropologist October, 1958. Vol.
60 (5):838-860. Due to much disagreement
in past literature and studies, this ethnodemographic study was conducted
to consider the relationship between polygyny and reproduction in Temne
cultural background setting. Among the Temne, polygynous marriages
result in a lower fertility rate. A biomedical explanation of this
states that increased frequency of ejaculation (due to more frequent
intercourse) will decrease the number of active sperm per emission.
However, we lack evidence to prove that polygynous males have sex more
frequently than their monogamous counterparts. Temne culture lends
much importance to childbearing. Abortion and contraception are highly
sanctioned actions, and infanticide is a repulsive concept. Finally,
having a child will give prestige to both parents. It, then, makes
sense for an individual to have as many children as possible. One ostensible
way for men to do this is to take more than one wife. It seems that
polygyny increases the fertility for the husband, but decreases it
for the wives. First of all, pologynously
married men are more likely to have marital difficulties that lead
to divorce. Assuming a decrease in the rate of sex during times of
strain in a marriage will logically lead to statistically lower fertility
among polygynous households. Also, as a husband rotates through sharing
a bed with several wives, the others are much more likely to have affairs,
bringing venereal disease into the equation. This results in a higher
frequency of sterility and childlessness among plural marriages. Third, older men
are the only ones among the Temne who have acquired the requisite wealth
to take on more than one wife, so they monopolize the younger, most
fertile women. Younger men, then, marry older women who may not bear
them children towards the end of their fertile years. Finally, polygynous
marriages are most likely to abide by traditional postpartum abstinence
patterns, which last through the nursing period (1.5-2 years). Monogamous
marriages break this dry spell after an average of 6 months to one
year. This allows monogamous pairs to bear more children per woman.
In conclusion, polygyny decreases fertility in the overall population
of the Temne of the Mayoso Chiefdom. CLARITY RANKING:
2 MARGARET ANN
GRILLO University of Pennsylvania (Melvyn Hammarberg)
Dozier, Edward
P. Spanish-Catholic Influences on Rio Grande Pueblo
Religion. American Anthropologist June, 1958 Vol. 60 (3):441-448 Dozier compares
the Yaqui and Rio Grande Pueblo cultures’ response to Spanish-Catholic
influences in this article. He claims that the two cultures provide
a good setting for comparison, because the time of initial contact
by the Spanish coincides, and because the two communities were roughly
the same size in geography and population. Despite these similarities,
however, the two cultures respond quite differently. Since Edward Spicer
examined the Yaqui culture in this edition’s previous article, Dozier
focuses on the Rio Grande Pueblo Native Americans. Though the Pueblo
and Catholic religions were quite separate, the Pueblo felt that both
systems had the same functions, that is rites were performed "for
the attainment of all good things in life for the individual as well
as for humanity" (442). Many Pueblo ceremonies
are kept hidden from outsiders, however. The Spanish-Catholic religious
officials were highly offended by some of the native practices, and
banned them. For this reason, the Native Americans learned to conceal
the most sacred rites that could potentially be prohibited. They concealed
these practices so successfully that many outsiders knew nothing about
their native religious system. Even after the Pueblo Revolt in 1680,
when the policies banning such indigenous ceremonies were relaxed,
the practices were still kept closely guarded. With the coming
of the white Americans in the 1800’s, rules banning native ceremonies
and religious practices were again implemented and strictly enforced.
The Americans even set up special boarding schools, similar to the
Spanish "missionary" program, for Native American children,
to "break" them away from their native culture. As a result of these
prohibitions against their indigenous ceremonial practices over hundreds
of years, the Pueblo are still cautious about revealing many of these
rituals. According to Dozier, "they had learned from bitter experience
that their aboriginal practices must be kept secret and that only those
ceremonies which did not offend…could be conducted openly" (446).
Thus the concealment of these practices, along with the centralized
character of Rio Grande Pueblo society, allowed for the preservation
of their native ceremonial practices. CLARITY RANKING:
5 LINDA SIMON University
of Pennsylvania (Dr. Melvyn Hammarberg)
Dozier, Edward
P. Spanish-Catholic Influences on Rio Grande Pueblo
Religion. American Anthropologist 1958 Vol. 60 p.441-447 In this article,
Edward Dozier explains how the Rio Grande Pueblo Indians have developed
two coexisting cultures within the same community of people as a result
of the Spanish and later American influences. In this context, the
Indians have developed a system of rituals and practices, which derive
from Spanish Catholic religious practices and beliefs. Furthermore,
Dozier points out that there is a private, sometimes completely hidden
native system where rituals and ceremonies are held in close quarters
and completely away from any non-Rio Grande Pueblo Indians and visitors,
in particular white people. He concludes that the extremely restrictive
measures taken by colonial Spanish encomendadores (settlers)
and Catholic missionaries forced the Indians to develop clandestine
methods of preserving their culture and beliefs, resulting in a dual
cultural system where a ‘public Spanish-Catholic’ culture is openly
celebrated and a ‘private Native’ culture is practiced in the utmost
secrecy. Dozier states that
in both cultural systems, rites and practices serve a common purpose
of "attaining all good things in life for the individual as well
as for humanity" (442). He outlines four categories of ceremonial
practices, varying from sacred to profane, to explain this cultural
division. (1) Rites performed in connection with the masked kachina
cult and the secret societies. They deal with initiations and they
are the most secret and can only be viewed by community members and
novitiates. (2) The second type of ceremonies involves the whole pueblo
and takes place under supervision from a native priest. It again incorporates
the whole native community but this time white people are allowed to
watch the ceremony but not the preparation. (3) The third type is small-group
dances open to the public yet under supervision of secret societies.
They consist primarily of animal and war dances. These three types
of ceremony comprise the core of Rio Grande Pueblo ritualistic practices.
(4) The fourth type of ceremony is secular (profane) and is done solely
for entertainment. Troupes of dancers perform from house to house,
improvising and entertaining locals and visitors. This type also integrates
many Catholic components, such as saints; etc. as it creating the impression
that a conversion has taken place for the natives when, in fact, the
ceremony has no religious significance to the natives. The article explains
how the natives developed a dual cultural system as the colonialist
Spanish sustained a fierce policy of exterminating pagan practices
and substituting Spanish-Catholic patterns (445). The encomienda system
was intended to civilize Indians by converting them. This forced the
natives to having to conceal their practices and to develop new practices
compatible with Catholic beliefs. The result, however, had little to
do with conversion since the Spanish encomenderos were fundamentally
interested in furthering their own personal interests (wealth). Consequently,
attention diverted away from the Pueblos, facilitating the survival
of their culture and religious practices. CLARITY RANKING:
4 ERNESTO WULFF York
University (Naomi Adelson)
Duignan, Peter. Early
Jesuit Missionaries: A Suggestion for Further Study American
Anthropologist August, 1958 Vol. 60 (4):725-732 Peter Duignan is
discussing the degrees to which Catholic missionaries went to convert
pagan souls to Christianity. He states that with the rise of Protestantism,
the Church became more unyielding in its views of non Christians which
he claims formed a sort of a sharp division within the Church as to
just "how far" the missionaries should go in the compromising
of pagan beliefs and customs in order to obtain new followers. He argues
that it was the Jesuit missionaries that strove to convert pagan souls
by way of a more natural progression finding it necessary to maintain
some sort of cultural understanding of the people with which they came
into contact. The result seems
to have been an obsessive need by some missionaries to gain as many
new Christians as possible which Duignan says meant these missionaries
did not make the least effort in learning about the cultures which
they were so vigilant in converting and even ignored the very useful
practice of learning the language of those they were attempting to
change. Duignan claims that this went against the wishes of Gregory
I during the 16th century. As a result, rather than adapt
pagan religions to Christianity they [the missionaries] destroyed the
old [pagan] religions altogether. This led to further violations of
the instructions of Gregory to use existing pagan temples to practice
newly imposed Christian ceremonies as a way of bringing the new followers
into the fold so to speak. The damage here led to the sad destruction
of more than 500 Aztec temples, an unspeakable cultural loss for the
people of Mexico. Duignan speaks of
the Jesuits as being a more open-minded lot than some of the other
missionaries; that they "…became more tolerant and humble before
the diversity of man’s behavior" (728). They sought to gain new
followers by seeking commonalities between the Indian cultures and
Christianity, and that overall "…the Jesuits had a more flexible
system of moral philosophy and a broader concept of natural law than
did other Catholic missionaries" (729). As a result, Duignan concludes
his very interesting article by stating that much can be learned from
the Jesuit writings. That it is possible to find value "…in filling
gaps in our knowledge of early cultural contacts, showing not only
how they directed cultural change, but how they avoided ethical neutralism
without falling victim to ethical absolutism" (732). CLARITY RANKING:
4 CARIANNE SWANSON University
of Pennsylvania (Dr. Melvyn Hammarberg)
Duignan, Peter. Early
Jesuit Missionaries: A Suggestion for Further Study. American
Anthropologist 1958 Vol. 60 : 725-732. In this article,
Peter Duignan is replying to an article by M. O. W. Jeffreys’. Jeffreys
implied that the Gregory 1 letter throughout the Church from 601 to
1683 operated continuously, but Duignan suggests that it is misleading.
He states the article overlooks the fact that there was a struggle
during the 16th and 17th centuries for the acceptance
of the Gregory 1 letter and also overlooks the Jesuits’ involvement
in revitalizing the Gregory principles. The Catholic Church,
through the Gregory instructions, developed an adaptable way of converting
non-Christians, but these ideals were not always accepted or in use.
The missionaries of the 16th century did not work with indigenous
cultures and just destroyed the pagan religion instead of adapting
it to Christianity. The Jesuits rediscovered and expanded the ‘policy
of accommodation’ of the Gregory 1 letter but with considerable opposition
from the Franciscans and the Dominicans. The Jesuits developed a practice
of accepting religious practices and than reshaped the existing practices
and beliefs to create a familiarity for conversion while others were
following a more ‘Conquistadorian’ approach. An example is China where
the Franciscans and Dominicans failed because of the uncompromising
approach taken, whereas the Jesuits’ flexible and adaptive approach
succeeded. The Jesuits succeeded
with the ‘policy of accommodation’ because of a relativism that was
created and used. They developed the ideal that ethics was not divine
but within man’s nature and different according to society. The Jesuits’ concept
of ‘natural law’ as awareness of normal human functions varying from
culture to culture was also helpful in their efforts of conversion. Duignan shows that
the Jesuits, as an important factor, were overlooked in Jeffreys’ article
and shows how they helped with cultural change. CLARITY RANKING:
4 JOHN PARENTE York
University (Naomi Adelson)
Epling, Philip
J. and Romney, Kimball A. A Simplified Model of
Kariera Kinship. American Anthropologist 1958 Vol.60:59-74. The article, A
Simplified Model of Kariera Kinship, by Epling and Romney, illustrates
kinship among the Kariera tribe in northwestern Australia. The authors
have commented on the complexity of Kariera’s social organization
in terms of their material culture and difficult environment. More
specifically, they examine marriage and the implications it has on
tribe members and the relationship it creates. Kariera tribesmen
mainly subsisted on hunting and gathering to support their community
and population of 750, prior to European contact. Name and defined
territory distinguished each tribe from the other. Radcliffe-Brown
reported that the tribes were divided between twenty to twenty-five
local groups and each person was placed into reciprocal relationships
within the territory they inhabited. Hence the land belonged to them
and they belonged to the land. Therefore, this implied that it was
impossible for men to leave their territory to inhabit another, although
it was possible for females to leave their territory. The authors
list two local groups as those that Ego may marry and those that
Ego may not marry, to illustrate their exogamy rule. This rule was
enforced by the physical distribution of Kariera tribesmen
into plots of territory, whereby each group was adjacent to another
into which they may marry. Another form of group distinction was
the way in which the terms horde and clan were used interchangeably. Horde referred
to residential groups and the clan was the birth group to which only
men belong. Members of the clan lived on the same territory throughout
life, while their sisters left and wives entered through marriage.
Clan groups created the possession of separate territory, totems
and a feeling of nearness. The authors list
the section system as another distinguishing factor among the Kariera tribe
since they were divided into four sections; Banaka, Burung, Palyeri and Kariera,
which represented social divisions among the tribe’s people. Two distinctions
are listed as being useful in understanding the relationship between
the section system and kinship system: kinship terms were used in address,
while section terms were used in reference and kinship terms were used
relative to the relationship between two people, while section terms
were assigned to each person at birth and were used throughout life. CLARITY RANKING:
3 NEKEISHA MOHAMMED York
University (Naomi Adelson)
Fischer, J. L. The
Classification of Residence in Censuses. American Anthropologist
June, 1958 Vol. 60 (3):508-517 Fischer states that
the purpose of this article is to generate a standard typology of residence
for use in census taking. They problem with current typology, according
to the author, is that many societies have individual variations to
the standard residence patterns. Conflicting residence classifications
among citizens of Romonum, Truk as done by Fischer and Ward Goodenough
is given as an example of how easily ambiguity can arise. Fischer proposes
the adoption of four standard rules to govern residence classification.
They include reporting the residence of all community members, not
just those who are married, and using the human composition of the
household at the time of an individual’s entrance into the household,
not at the time of the census. Fischer goes on
to explain each of these four principles, as well as the problems with
classification under any system. One problem that is mentioned is that
of adoption. Fischer says that adoption classification is made more
difficult by the fact that there are many different forms of it, depending
on when the child is adopted, and whether the birth parents are known. Another difficulty
in census classification is, "determining what constitutes ‘residence,’ as
opposed to ‘visiting,’" as Fischer puts it. "How long must
a visit last before it should be regarded as a change of residence?"(514).
The best solution here, in the author’s opinion, is to use the native
inhabitants’ definition of residence, as this will likely indicate
the location of greatest use and importance. Fischer acknowledges
that forms of classification such as these are imprecise at best. Such
classification can only describe an individual’s residence at a given
point in time, and places of residence frequently shift many times
in one’s lifetime. Furthermore, different individuals or couples often
follow different customs or rules regarding residence pattern. For
these reasons, says the author, two sets of terminology are needed:
one set to describe residence at a given point in time (likely the
present), and another set of terms to show the composite societal profile. CLARITY RANKING:
3 LINDA SIMON University
of Pennsylvania (Dr. Melvyn Hammarberg)
Gabel, W. Creighton. The
Mesolithic Continuum in Western Europe American Anthropologist
August, 1958 Vol. 60 (4):658-667 I must admit straight
away that although I read this article nearly three times I am still
unsure what the writer’s point is. He seems, as best I can gather,
to be discussing the way in which environmental adaptations structure
the type of and use of tools, and that "form is a reflection of
material." On the whole, he
uses the Mesolithic as his primary example stating that Mesolithic
tools show up in other time periods such as the Neolithic and that
the term Mesolithic "serves to denote basically Paleolithic cultures
of early postglacial Europe, representing the period between the final
Upper Paleolithic and the introduction of agriculture" (658).
He states quite firmly that because the Mesolithic period is "ill-defined" we
must be careful to remember that the term Mesolithic describes the
time period and that Microlithic describes the tools. As a whole, I perceived
this article to be a dictation of some type of factual evidence presented
in the most complicated form possible making it impossible to grasp
detailed meaning. It describes tool production and the environment
and how they impacted each other and influenced the type of tools found
at specific areas. I could not really glean an argument here but I
see the problem as possibly being that there is a difficulty in trying
to state what period a tool may have originated in, which it dates
to, since tools seem to be the products of the geographic environment
and not the time period in which they were used. He notes that typing
the tools is difficult in that what arises is more along the lines
of "distinctions rather than similarities" and that this
begs further research. Again, a difficult
article to read especially if you are not blessed with a passion and
knowledge about ancient Europe. Despite my best efforts to understand
this reading, I could not put the information together in a comprehensive
manner and as such this review is not what it should be. CLARITY RANKING:
1 CARIANNE SWANSON University
of Pennsylvania (Dr. Melvyn Hammarberg)
Gabel, W. Chreighton. The
Mesolithic Continuum in Western Europe. American Anthropologist
1958 Vol. 60: 658-667. This article examines
the impact of Mesolithic culture on other contemporary and latter European
cultures. The period researched is the Paleolithic era (8000-2500 B.C.)
of early postglacial Europe, ending the Upper Paleolithic and introducing
agriculture. The author looks at evidence found throughout various
archaeological sites throughout Europe and North America as evidence
of Mesolithic influence upon other cultures. This is done by comparing
tools, weapons, clothing articles, art, etc; throughout various sites
and linking to a common Mesolithic ancestry. Gabel proposes that
the Mesolithic people were centred around or toward a coastal economy,
which lead to the development of agriculture. In this context, Gabel
focuses on the Baltic Mesolithic since their features remain practically
intact, thus providing further resources for research. This evidence
is then compared with evidence from other areas in Europe, from Scotland
to Russia, linking various Neolithic cultures to a common Mesolithic
ancestry. Although Gabel explains the Mesolithic had been eventually
conquered by the Neolithic, his research supports the view that the
developments of the Mesolithic period would greatly impact living standards
of other cultures. Key technological developments such as working tools,
art tools, and agricultural techniques would be present throughout
many Neolithic cultures. This article will
interest individuals researching cultural interaction in Europe prior
to the Roman civilization. Its lack of organization does not limit
the volume of information provided regarding basic tools, weapons,
stone carvings, etc; of the period. CLARITY RANKING:
1 ERNESTO WULFF York
University (Naomi Adelson)
Gardin, Jean-Claude. Four
Codes for the Description of Artifacts: An Essay in Archeological
Technique and Theory. American Anthropologist 1958 Vol.60: 335-357. Gardin explores
the efficacy of a system of coded punch cards to contain data collected
from archeological artifacts. The goal of coded punch cards is to have
more easily accessible all descriptive data for artifacts. Gardin begins
by examining metal tools, breaking them down into sections such as:
general tool, functional part, hafting part, connections, miscellaneous,
faces and sides. Gardin posits that most "…features are usually
described with only a few words…" (Gardin 336); therefore, one
can use these words and combinations of them to describe almost all
aspects of metal tools. Gardin gives each descriptive word a symbol
for easy identification. These symbols can be combined and arranged
in groups to give an accurate physical description of the tools "…one
card is made for each distinctive feature, and in punching various
squares on that card to indicate through their reference numbers all
tools which exhibit that particular feature" (Gardin 338). By
using said system one can describe 10,000 items on only 500 cards.
In order to add new features not previously noted one only has to incorporate
additional punch cards. Gardin explores
the use of this system with the description of containers. The sections
must be changed from those of tools to include: inclination of the
sides, shape of the sides, ratio of height to width, ratio of top to
bottom, junction between top and bottom and the opening. Using descriptive
words and these categories combined, 8,100 shapes can be described.
The amount of descriptive words required is less than 20. Ornament is described
using similar words, but once again changing the categories of description
to: polygonal, symmetrical, radical, linear, interlocking and intersecting.
Using the basic categories and descriptions there are "…600 ‘primary’ ornaments…most
of them can in turn undergo one or more additional operations which
determine 18,000 ‘secondary’ ornament categories…540,000 ‘ternary’ ornament
categories…" (Gardin 343). Gardin notes that this system is not
meant to evaluate aesthetics, it only encompasses geometrical physical
description. The final group
of artifacts Gardin explores is iconography. Order of descriptive words
as well as interpretation of the image present problems. Interpretation
of "known generalities of behaviour" (Gardin 346) create
issues, as different people of different cultures have varying norms
and associations to images. If one were to assign meaning to images
it would likely be Euro-centric. If one were to use this system with
iconography it would create a "mere approximation" (Gardin
352). In conclusion, Gardin
states "The language which was fit for the description of a static
representation then seems extraordinarily poor; a time reference brings
about scores of new perceptions…" (Gardin 354). If one is simply
describing an object with no interpretive value this coding system
is good; if one has to interpret meaning, the system lacks the ability
to represent the value of the image. CLARITY RANKING:
2 AMANDA JONES York
University (Naomi Adelson)
Gardin, Jean-Claude. Four
Codes for the Description of Artifacts. American Anthropologist
April, 1958 Vol.60 (2):335-357 When analyzing artifacts,
Gardin has recognized the difficulty of simply assembling all the data
that are in vast publications. In these publications are descriptive
details scattered in the text and illustrations that the students must
spend much time poring through this to get what they need. The descriptions
of the same objects can be found in various articles and the descriptions
are not standardized. He recognizes the value of constructing a standardized
category that is culture free and completing this method with mechanical
aids such as a punch card indices. There is already
this method of punch cards and standardization artifacts that was complied
by Jean Deshayes for metal tools. Gardin sketches the code that is
used for tools. First there is an elaborate discussion of all the features
of the tools. Then to use this description there are punch cards to
help sort them out. There are two approaches to punch cards. One way
is to have a card describe a single tool and to have it punched in
various positions to indicate the different features of the tool. The
second method is to make a card for a distinct feature and punch holes
to indicate all the tolls that have that feature. Gardin then uses
this method of describing features of containers, ornaments and iconography.
Lastly he examines the "basic issues of anthropological typology
and categories." Specifically he examines contemporary linguistic
theory in relation to the codes that is produced for artifacts. Gardin is attempting
to popularize a method to assist in frequently laborious research.
He discusses a method of standardization of description of objects
and a method to use this information effectively. He also applies the
method to various objects to demonstrate the applicability of the approach
as well. This method can effectively save much lost time in the assembling
of data for research and allow for more time for analysis. CLARITY RANKING:
5 PEGGY WANG University
of Pennsylvania (Melvyn Hammarberg)
Garn M. Stanley
and Lewis B. Arthur. Tooth-Size, Body-Size and "Giant" Fossil
Man. American Anthropologist 1958 Vol. 60: 874-880 This article was
inspired by the fact that over the past several years there had been
repeated discoveries in Southeast Asia of very large fossil teeth.
These teeth were said to have come from "giant apes". The
author felt it worthwhile to explore the relationship between tooth-size
and body-size in recent man and hominidae. Throughout the article,
the author looks at the degree of relationship between tooth size and
body size in different species, the possibility of a relationship between
tooth dimensions and different races and finally the relationship between
tooth size and body size was investigated on an individual basis in
a contemporary white population. According to the
author, the compilations, comparisons, and correlations made in the
present study yield no indication that tooth size is predictive of
body size in recent man, in Homo, or in probably-related forms
currently in taxonomic limbo. He states that there is no evidence to
support the notion that the big-toothed forms from South China were
giants. The teeth that were
found probably belonged to a species that needed that type of teeth
in order to grind nutrients and calories from tough vegetables because
they were without the gastro-intestinal adaptations of herbivores.
The author concludes by stating that the most economical explanation
is that the big-toothed forms were simply big-toothed forms. CLARITY RANKING:
5 LINDSAY GRANT York
University (Naomi Adelson)
Garn, Stanely
M. and Arthur B. Lewis. Tooth-Size, Body-Size
and "Giant" Fossil Man. American Anthropologist October
1958. Vol.60 (5):374-880. In Southeast Asia
very large fossil teeth have been found and attributed to Gigantopithecus
and Meganthropus, both of which are either giant hominoids or giant
protohominids. The point of this study is to determine if there exists
a direct correlation between tooth and body size. To date evidence
does not support the existence "Gigantopithecus." In this study, the
largest molars belong to those of short stature (in South Africa).
By contrast, the largest stature individuals (Caucasians from Ohio)
have the smallest dentition. Therefore, these data establish a negative
correlation between tooth and body size. Moreover, within Homo sapiens,
interracial variation with regard to dentition lends no support either.
Like some canines, it seems that tooth and body size are independent
of each other. Finally, individual variation (as determined from a
Caucasian population) yielded the same lack of support. Therefore, the Southeast
Asian owners of those large fossilized teeth were most likely small,
not large, in body size. All three of the above tests indicated either
no correlation or a slightly negative one. Looking, next, to
adaptation for an answer, early hominids possessed larger teeth to
extract more nutrients from uncooked, tough food. An example of this
lies in the difference in tooth size between herbivores and carnivores.
Another possible explanation is that there might have been a biochemical
condition that we do not yet know about. There is, however, nothing
to even hint at this possibility. The most plausible
explanation, then, is that a big tooth is simply a big tooth. We should,
instead, look for the a correlation between these teeth in Southeast
Asia and those belonging to very short (by modern standards) South
African dwellers. We must also find out how the owners of these big
teeth are related to us. CLARITY RANKING:
4 MARGARET ANN
GRILLO University of Pennsylvania (Melvyn Hammarberg)
Gearing, Fred. The
Structural Poses of 18th Century Cherokee Villages American
Anthropologist 1958 Vol.60: 1148-1157 In this piece, the
author’s main objective and overall concern is to describe and expand
on how the social structure of a human community is not a single set
of roles and organized groups, but is rather a series of many roles
and groups that seem to appear and disappear all according to the tasks
at hand. He attempts to expand on this notion by making effective references
to a Cherokee village. The article’s basic argument is evident through
his use of the examples with the Cherokee village. One example proves
that human communities typically rearrange themselves to accomplish
their various tasks. Gearing effectively constructs his argument by
providing examples on those within the Cherokee village. To show, he
strongly feels that there are four structural poses. Within each, different
groups operated singly or in combination. The first of the four structural
poses saw the Cherokee village was an aggregate of independent households
(1958:1149). This would take place normally during hunting. He goes on to explain
the second structural poses as the village as a punishment of a killer.
The third, which involved general councils, saw the village as a unit
organized by clans and the body of elders. And lastly, the fourth structural
poses involved offensive war; whereby the village is a unit organized
by the clans, the body of elders, and the war organization. Gearing
does an excellent job at informing the reader that community patterns
vary depending on what has happened and what is required. By thoroughly
explaining all four of the structural poses, Gearing is able to successfully
convince the reader that social structure of a human community is truly
not a single set of roles and organized groups, but instead is a series
of many roles and groups that appear and disappear according to the
demanding people. CLARITY RANKING:
4 ANGELA ADU York
University (Naomi Adelson)
Gearing, Fred. The
Structural Poses of 18th Century Cherokee Villages. American
Anthropologist December, 1958 Vol. 60 (6): 1148-1157. In his article,
Fred Gearing argues for a revised conceptualization of social structures
in order to better understand both the societies and the individuals
within them. He feels as if society is composed of various layers of
structural poses that must all be considered when trying to analyze
a human community. Gearing focuses on the structural poses within an
18th century Cherokee village that change and evolve throughout
the year. Two of the most
important Cherokee systems of organization that Gearing explores are
its kinship relations and sex and age statuses. The Cherokee also join
in separate groups, or clans, for other tasks to be performed in the
community. The individual’s function and role in each group is identified
and adhered to in a systematic way. There are four structural poses
in the society for different times and circumstances: hunting, punishment
of a killer, general councils, and offensive war. Gearing explains
the organization and activities of each pose and how the individuals
come together from separate clans and families for their various tasks.
In short, the Cherokee social structure revolves around the revivals
of the four structural poses throughout the year. Gearing believes
that the use of the structural pose in analyzing a society’s organization
has enhanced theoretical advantages, as it encourages the understanding
of an individual’s role and personality and provides a better backdrop
for the study of ethos. Furthermore, he feels that the application
of structural poses leads to an enhanced comprehending of the interconnections
between value, situation, and structure within a society. In conclusion,
Gearing argues that in order to see a human community as a systematic
whole, analyses of social structure, personality and structure, and
ethos must be combined. The use of structural poses accomplishes this
task. This article is
valuable to those interested in the study of personality or social
organization, as it provides a convincing argument for the reform of
current conceptualizations of human society. It illustrates the layers
that are present and shifting within each community, and encourages
using structural poses to better understand them. CLARITY: 4 ALLISON GUTKNECHT University
of Pennsylvania (Melvyn Hammarberg)
Gladwin, Thomas. Canoe
Travel in the Truk Area: Technology and Its Psychological Correlates. American
Anthropologist October, 1958. Vol 60 (5):893-899. Long canoe voyages
have always been a necessity in Micronesia, especially in the Caroline
Islands. Trade has traditionally acted as the impetus for this travel.
I propose that one cannot fully understand the development of canoe
design, navigation, personality structure, and social organization
without considering the combined effect of all four. To start with, canoes
are designed with two important characteristics in mind: the ability
to stay on course without drifting and the stability to withstand a
storm at sea. These canoes are built long and narrow with deep hulls
that function much like the wings of a supersonic jet, to minimize
the effects of the waves. A sail at the back of the boat counters wind
pressure to keep it moving as straight as possible. Next on the list,
navigation requires an intimate knowledge of and familiarity with the
seasonal patterns of the stars. It is surprisingly accurate, provided
conditions are good. However, storms occur frequently here, and, if
a canoe is blown off course or stops sailing for some reason, it is
impossible to resume navigation at a later time. The canoe and its
crew are destined either to drift randomly to an island or to be lost
at sea. Personality and
cognitive degeneration has neither been observed nor recorded in Micronesian
cultures during or after severe cases of isolation. This brings us
to personality structure for an explanation to this ability to withstand
the hazard of being lost at sea. To speculate about the appropriate
Trukese "psychological equipment," the Trukese appear to
have a lack of regard about the individuated self and its concomitant
future. Furthermore, death is seen as calm for the dying individual,
and conceptualizations of time lack the itinerant day/hour/minute breakdown
that it has in the West. Finally, social
organization – specifically, the existence of classificatory brothers – allows
for a traveling Trukese to find a welcoming place to stay on every
island. This flexible framework for hospitality generates strong ties
between families. The fact that Micronesians no still make lengthy
canoe trips attests to the importance and effectiveness of their technology,
psychology, and social factors. CLARITY RANKING:
5 MARGARET ANN
GRILLO University of Pennsylvania (Melvyn Hammarberg)
Gray, Charles
Edward. An Analysis of Graeco-Roman Development – The
Epicyclical Evolution of Graeco-Roman Civilization. American
Anthropologist February, 1958 Vol.60 (1): 13-31. Charles Gray attempts
to synthesize and interpret the Graeco-Roman civilization (950 BC to
330 AD) through a working model. More specifically, he argues that
there is a distinct pattern it this civilization’s evolution: a rise
and decline in an "epicyclical" pattern, complex yet simple
in its regularities. Clearly and logically,
Gray uses models and illustrations to create a step-by-step analysis
of his theory. He begins with a single arc (single cycle) or curve
representing the overall Graeco-Roman history, which is then systematically
divided into two epochs [city-states and super-states], then into four
eras [Archaic, Athenian, Hellenistic, and Roman], and finally into
phases of peaks and troughs (also referred to as the formative-developed-florescent-degenerate
phases). He justifies his
models with the fact that they incorporate the economic, social, and
political rises and falls. He speaks of these three factors as constantly
interacting and affecting each other making sure to give specific historical
examples. Gray then brings into the picture the primary concern of
man: culture. He reveals that at points of economic, social, or political
highs, one could see great cultural development and visa versa. This
validates and supports his theory that integrates all aspects of mankind
and formulates simple patterns of Graeco-Roman evolution. As Gray examines
the theory of cycles, he presents his "epicyclical hypothesis" where
the simple overall cycle advances into a series of cycles within cycles,
following a logical pattern. Using an outline format, Gray creates
a time-unit sequence diagram where cycles and sub-cycles are labeled
and broken up into categories, representing Graeco-Roman evolution,
and Gray’s task is to relate this model to historical reality. The next step in
his theory involves a bar graph that measures the corresponding rise
and falls of all four aspects: economic, social, political, and even
cultural. He points out that the epicyclical theory reduces all Graeco-Roman
history to a few fundamental, uniform concepts. It allows for a systematic
relationship that traces history. Gray’s analysis
is also compared with that of anthropologist Kroeber’s curve of creativity.
Even though Kroeber’s research was based upon a general evaluation
of creativity in each period – a slightly different approach to that
of Gray’s - their findings are astonishingly similar, which supports
and validates Gray’s argument. The article is very
logical and systematic, which allows the reader to follow Gray’s arguments
and his "epicyclical hypothesis" with interest. Gray wants
to create a framework of the trends in the epicyclical evolution of
the Graeco-Roman civilization. He wants to make sure that his theory
will be used in a descriptive manner that will allow man to refer to
the economic, social, political, and cultural realms of this civilization
and to construct a logical approach to history. CLARITY - 4 TIMA BUDICA University
of Pennsylvania (Melvyn Hammarberg).
Griffith, Richard
M., Otoya Miyagi, and Akira Tago. The Universality
of Typical Dreams: Japanese vs. Americans. American Anthropologist
1958 Vol.60:1173-1179. The author’s main
focus in this article is the universality of typical dream sequences.
He questions whether typical dreams are common to one culture or if
they are common to most, if not all, cultures. Griffith looks specifically
at Japanese and American subjects to discover in what ways humans are
similar and different. The question underlying all of his research
is whether or not dream surveys can be used in anthropological and
sociological research. If so, we may have a greater understanding of
cultures across the globe. The author gives
us background information on what a typical dream is. He explains that
it is a dream that is reoccurring and remembered due to a particular
symbolic aspect of it. No dream is ever identical to another, but typical
dreams are similar enough that an impression of sameness is left on
the subject. Even within one culture, these dreams signify a certain
degree of sameness. However, the study of dreams has been largely ignored
because of the commerciality of the subject in the 20th century.
Those who do study dreams study one type of dream and not the idea
of the typical dream or if their is a common bond between cultures. Griffith then goes
on to explain the procedure of the dream questionnaire that was handed
out to 250 American and 223 Japanese college students. We must remember,
explains the author, that the questionnaire was composed by Americans
with their own cultural similarities in mind. However, none of the
dreams on the questionnaire proved to be completely foreign to the
Japanese students. There were some differences between the two cultures,
based on their responses, but for the most part, there were more similarities
than differences. The results demonstrated that Americans and Japanese
are actually more alike than many people may have expected. The author proposes
that the idea of dream questionnaires could be used in anthropology
as an instrument to find universal similarities in human nature and
how much an individual is affected by his culture. CLARITY RANKING:
4 KARA STEWART York
University (Naomi Adelson)
Griffith, Richard
M., Otoya Miyagi, and Akira Tago. The Universality
of Typical Dreams: Japanese vs. Americans. American Anthropologist
December, 1958 Vol. 60(6): 1173-1180. Richard M. Griffith,
Otoya Miyagi, and Akira Tago examine the pervasiveness of "typical
dreams" across people and cultures. The authors characterize typical
dreams as those that are repeated, memorable, experienced by many people,
and cause difficulty when analyzing them. They contrast with "unique
dreams," which occur perhaps once in a lifetime and are not observed
across cultures. Though the authors admit that no two dreams are exactly
alike, they find more similarities across typical dreams than they
do differences. Therefore, they explore how individual and cultural
differences play out in the universality of typical dreams, specifically
by studying the commonness of the dreams in Americans and Japanese. The authors used
a dream questionnaire on college students from the United States and
Japan, with questions about frequent dreams, general sleep and dreaming
patterns, and neurotic symptoms. They found by comparing the means
of the results that dreams pervasive in American culture are just as
pervasive in Japan. Statistically, though there was much individual
variability, there was also much agreement between the male and female
within the same culture. Therefore, they found much similarity between
the overall dream patterns of the Americans and Japanese. The authors
go on to attempt to analyze the differences between the popularities
of individual dreams by comparing the cultures. By studying the
typical dreams of the Americans and Japanese, this examination explores
the fundamentals of human nature along with the cultural effect upon
an individual. While the authors found many differences in the dream
comparisons, the similarities provided evidence that Americans and
Japanese, despite widely different cultures, are very much alike. This
study encourages the further use of dream questionnaires to examine
the universality of psychological constructs both within and across
cultures. This article will
interest those involved in psychological or anthropological research,
as it examines both forces across cultures. It is also an important
study concerning the typical dream and its implications for various
individuals. Finally, Griffith, Miyagi, and Tago encourage the further
study of dreams and sleeping to determine the general effect of culture
upon an individual. CLARITY: 5 ALLISON GUTKNECHT University
of Pennsylvania (Melvyn Hammarberg)
Gulliver, P.
H. The Turkana Age Organization. American Anthropologist
1958 Vol. 60: 900-921 Gulliver’s article
gives us a description about the Turkana who are a nomadic pastoral
people. They inhabit semi-desert country in north western Africa and
have a population of 80, 000 people. He describes a male’s initiation
ritual in this group to be at the age of 18. During the course of this
initiation the young initiate goes to his patron’s homestead and remains
there for five days; he is expected to act as if he were living in
his own home rather than as a visitor. Thereafter, the young man refers
to his patron as father; his patron finally gives him his first mudded
headdress. Then the initiate returns home and continues normal adult
life. Age groups are of military importance. Regional groups of age-mates
and, as in all male activities could initiate raids. The raiding party
sorted out into alternations and age groups, and move off in that order
with the senior most groups leading in each half. The more junior age
groups took captured stock and humans, while the more senior formed
a rearguard in the fight back to Turkanaland. Gulliver then explains
about the Turkana relationship with the Jie who are neighbours to the
west above the Rift Valley Escarpment. Cultural affinities are notable
and, what is more important is that there are significant similarities
between the age group systems of each society. This points out that
the Jie were at one point part of the Turkana community and had a breaking
off at some point to express the slight differences in their two similar
cultures. CLARITY RANKING:
2 SIMON ISRAEL York
University (Naomi Adelson)
Gulliver, P.
H. The Turkana Age Organization. American
Anthropologist October, 1958. Vol. 60 (5):900-922. The Turkana are
nomadic pastoralists in the North and West of Kenya. I will describe
the structure and operation of their age organization, giving only
an initial analysis. Male youths are initiated at an average age of
18 years through a communal ceremony at which they spear a castrated
male animal. After the ceremony, they have become a full man in society,
meaning that they can fight, marry, etc. In addition to age-groups,
Turkana are divided into alternations; at birth every male is assigned
to the alternation of his paternal grandfather – either stones or leopards.
Alternations mostly provide guidelines for decoration, although they
are not strictly followed. Every initiation year two new age-groups
are created, one for each alternation. Each new age group must come
up with an original name, and seniority within each one is determined
by one’s father’s relative seniority. The Turkana inhabit
semi desert plains in East Africa, where annual rainfall ranges from
a maximum of 15 inches/year to less than six. No residential groups
are permanent, so one associates with one’s temporary neighbors. The
age-groups determine seniority in these ad hoc groups and act as loose
guidelines for social conduct with relative strangers from the same
culture. Age groups have
several functions: ritualized begging for meat for a feast, marriage,
and military organization. However, military activity has been ended
compulsorily, which has weakened the age-group system among the Turkana;
bonds among age-mates (members of the same age-group) have weakened
compared with the past. Nevertheless, they
still serve many useful social purposes. They provide a way to determine
how to act around and treat neighbors, and one can always find age-mates
nearby with whom to feast and conduct other activities. In general
they give form to an unintegrated system of "pastoral-social anarchy." Many
culturally and geographically close groups have similar dichotomous
principles built into their social systems. Yet we still lack an irrefutable
explanation for them. CLARITY RANKING:
4 MARGARET ANN
GRILLO University of Pennsylvania (Melvyn Hammarberg)
Gumperz, John
J. Dialect Differences and Social Stratification
in a North Indian Village American Anthropologist August, 1958
Vol. 60 (4):668-682 In his article,
John Gumperz, is discussing the research done on village dialects,
which was conducted in a small North Indian village named Khalapur.
The linguistic sample was extracted from what the writer calls "the
most important caste groups of the village" (669) and was contrasted
against previously collected anthropological data via observation over
a period of 2 1/2 years. The study
was controlled through careful selection of informants who were "willing
to use the village and not the regional dialect" (670) and finally
that all interviewed were male. One of the research
goals was to determine if the villagers were aware of caste differences
as could be detected through speech and to what extent this determined
one’s caste status. Findings indicated those who used the more "uneducated
speech" were the "old fashioned" and the Untouchables.
He also notes that education alters pronunciation and the fact that
caste segregation allows for the preservation of linguistic differentiations. Gumperz provides
very detailed information in regards to the mechanics of pronunciation
and accent and this has resulted in the conclusion that within this
particular village, he can distinguish six different linguistic groups. Although I know
very little about linguistics I found this article interesting. John
Gumperz has deconstructed the different speech styles possible within
one small but "highly stratified" village and has draw inferences
and conclusions about status and social interaction from a linguistic
lens. Finally, he is careful to also point out that this type of research
and analysis requires further study and "classification." CLARITY RANKING:
4 CARIANNE SWANSON University
of Pennsylvania (Dr. Melvyn Hammarberg)
Henry, Jules. The
Personal Community and Its Invariant Properties. American Anthropologist
1958 60: 827-831. In this article,
Henry examines the personal communities within a society as well as
its properties. He states that all individuals have a personal community
in which they rely on for approval and support. Within all personal
communities there are three properties. Each community has a certain
number, which is used to determine the amount of frequent contributions
that is placed on an individual’s welfare. The measure of constancy
is also viewed; the example used here was a mother’s figure to her
children as apposed to a father’s figure. The mother in our culture
holds a higher constancy due to the fact that she has more direct interactions
with the children then the father does. Involvement was the third property
mentioned where it stated that members of the personal community were
obligated to fulfill each others’ desires. As Henry stated, a personal
community is composed of a group of people that individuals could rely
on for support and approval. He states that the reliance on this personal
community ensures a sense of security in our culture. The larger the
community is, the more protected we feel. Towards the end of Henry’s
examination of personal communities he states that in believing that
the personal community determines an individual’s level of security,
it allows changes in that community that will therefore affect his/her
feelings of security. The example he used was that of Westernization
and urbanization; seeing as the number of people within the individuals
personal community changes so does their constancy, therefore a massive
increase as will as a decrease would occur to the population. CHARITY RANKING:
2 TAMAR PAPISMEDOV York
University, Toronto (Naomi Adelson)
Henry, Jules. The
Personal Community and Its Invariant Properties. American Anthropologist
October, 1958. Vol. 60 (5):827-831. The function of
social structure in society is to provide a "personal community," defined
as a group of persons who provide support and approval for a given
individual. If we can define the properties of this community, then
we can better understand society and how humans function in it. Its
main variables include reliance, involvement, number, and constancy. Furthermore, there
are four key concepts that Henry explicitly delineated. First of all,
personal community can be measured statistically using the coefficient
of reliance (reliance=R). This mathematical sum derives from empirical
evidence of the number of times that person A depends on person B for
support (support=S) divided by the number of times in which B did not
lend support to A (non-support=NS). The higher the coefficient of reliance
derived from this equation R=S/NS, the stronger the feeling of support
in an individual. The second key principle
lies in the number of individuals included in any particular support
group. This is also positively correlated with feelings of support
and cooperation. Third, constancy of presence is important in trusting
and developing a dependable group. Involvement, the final concept in
social structure varies across cultures. Henry described two main kinds
of involvement: external and ceremonial. Two aspects of analysis,
reciprocal and hierarchical, also factor into support relationships.
Henry listed six possible analytical categories: biological (reciprocal
and hierarchical), administrative (reciprocal and hierarchical), and
external (reciprocal and hierarchical). These represent an inescapable
and highly structured level of involvement in society. There also exist
informal webs of support, such as infrequent commercial transactions. Since the personal
community laid out here comprises the core of security in human societies,
this model can function to understand not only how they work, but studying
how they malfunction will reveal societal pressures and malaise, especially
during times of transition and social disruption (e.g., Westernization). CLARITY 3 MARGARET ANN
GRILLO University of Pennsylvania (Melvyn Hammarberg)
Herskovits, Melville
J. Some Further Comments on Cultural Relativism American
Anthropologist. 1958 Vol. 60:266-273 Melville Herskovits,
in Some Further Comments on Cultural Relativism, describes many problems
with the theory of cultural relativism. Clearly, this article is an
addition to a previous article about cultural relativism. Herskovits
states that many cases where cultural relativism is thought to be at
work it often is, the opposite, ethnocentrism. Cultural relativism
means that the values expressed in any other culture are to be understood
and themselves valued only according to the way the people who carry
that culture see things. However, it is hard to look at the Nazis with
a cultural relativist eye and understand why they did what they did.
Herskovits points out that there is no living in terms of unilateral
tolerance. CALRITY RANKING:
2 COLIN COOPER York
University (Naomi Adelson) .gif){kind=small} Herskovits, Melville
J. Some Further Comments on Cultural Relativism. American
Anthropologist April, 1958 Vol.60 (2):266-273. In this article,
Herskovits is examining the response to cultural relativism after it
has been introduced into anthropology for sometime. He reflects on
how anthropologists have responded to the idea of cultural relativism.
Some of the responses he touches upon include ethnopsychology and cultural
dynamics, problems of values and ethics, the enculturative factor in
cultural learning, failure to distinguish between intracultural and
cross cultural relativism, the distinction between universals and absolutes
and practical relativism. For each response, he includes anthropological
thoughts by anthropologists such as Schmidt, Redfield, Edel, Rivers
and Hartung as well as case studies. For the response
of the enculturative factor in learning, Herskovits presents an example
from Ghana describing the different cultural perspectives an electrical
contractor finds when asking native workers to "run a line
between two points" and instead they run a line that is curved.
Another example he presents is a test by Rivers of response of Murray
Islanders-Todas and Englishmen on the perception of color. He shows
how perspectives can vary vastly from one culture to the next as it
does for the electrical contractor when delegating work for the native
workers who do not see concepts such as a line in the same format that
the contractor views them. For his other examinations of response,
he looks at what other anthropologists have said about it, and shows
the problems and implications to these responses. For example, when
Herskovits examines practical relativism, he looks to what Redfield
has said about the matter and includes his own thoughts. Herskovits’ illustrates
the various responses that have come out of cultural relativism. He
touches upon six key responses and examines what has been written so
far regarding those responses. He analyzes the propriety of these responses
and demonstrates the fallacies of them. Not only does he use what others
have said but also case studies to better demonstrate these particular
reactions to cultural relativism. Herskovits points out how to further
examine cultural relativism in relation to what has already been said
about the theory. CLARITY RANKING:
4 PEGGY WANG University
of Pennsylvania (Melvyn Hammarberg)
Hoebel, E. Adamson. Anthropology,
Universities, and American Society American Anthropologist
August, 1958 Vol. 60 (4):633-639 In this article,
which was originally the presidential address given at the American
Anthropological Society’s annual meeting held in Chicago in 1957, Hoebel
is addressing a growing concern he has been harboring. This concern
is in regards to the judgment he feels is being demonstrated toward
anthropology in the United States. Hoebel writes that he perceives
this judgment is based upon the state of the American university system
as a whole and what follows is a defense of this system. Hoebel begins by
stating firmly that to draw comparisons between schools in other countries
to those of the United States is the equivalent of a comparative anatomist
being requested to compare different breeds of dog to state which is
the best one, it simply cannot be done. Furthermore, he quotes James
B. Conant who writes, "…schools and colleges have developed gradually
in different parts of the world in response to a variety of different
conditions" (633). That is to say that one cannot compare or degrade
the American system because it is the result of the culture in which
it has developed. As stated above,
the article is a response to the judgment of the American system in
which Hoebel has meticulously argued that the American university has
been a major contributor in the process of "…welding into one
people the native-born and fifty million immigrants who entered the
land. It has produced a reservoir of capable leadership and informed
citizenry…" and that "It has successfully fostered social
and technological inventiveness, and has contributed to the development
of a society in which role achievement predominates over status ascription" (634). Hoebel is also careful
to illuminate the areas upon which the American educational system
must seek improvement. These areas include but are not limited to the
responsibility of the System to provide a more challenging environment
instead of one which he feels focuses too much attention upon the average
student. He wraps up his article by stating that as those who study
man, we have a duty to not allow our system to be harnessed "too
tightly" (638). CLARITY RANKING:
4 CARIANNE SWANSON University
of Pennsylvania (Dr. Melvyn Hammarberg)
Hoebel, E. Adamson. Anthropology,
Universities, and American Society. American Anthropologist 1958
vol: 60: 633-638. Hoebel critically
looks at two main points in his article. The first is qualitatively
evaluating American anthropology as a product of American education.
He explains that we cannot discuss superiority and inferiority of American
anthropology to any other country’s anthropology. We must instead examine
the similarities and differences. Every country’s anthropology is a
reflection of its overall culture. American anthropology, based on
its education system, culture, society, and the aims of society, is
a very individualistic one. The aspirations of American society are
egalitarianism, encompassing full political democracy, economic and
social mobility, security of person, and material well-being. Hoebel is not expressing
a flawless education system, but rather that it could still be improved,
although the main ideas that it stands on are strong. Hoebel expresses
statistical data showing in a decade (from when the article was written)
one in forty people in the U.S. will be attending university. This
provides America with a large distribution of "anthropological
knowledge," but it must also consider the percentage of those
people attending university that are actually studying anthropology.
Hoebel poses the question whether in undergraduate programs we give
more attention to those students who are more intellectually able.
If so, is it right? The second part
of Hoebel’s article is based on the problems and purposes of American
universities. Hoebel asks about the dilemma of achieving a PhD
in anthropology, and whether two types should be introduced, one that
includes field research and one that does not. For this he predicts
that many anthropology professors will soon be needed, and many people
do not have nine years of graduate time in which to achieve this. Therefore,
the PhD student not doing field research will have a shorter graduate
duration and still be competent enough to teach. Hoebel, shifting
to another initiative in the article, writes of the importance of producing
scientists and engineers, but through humanitarian means that moves
from this predisposed notion that scientists and engineers only research
to produce new methods of defense and destruction. CLARITY RANKING:
4 RON SOREANU York
University (Naomi Adelson)
Hoijer, Harry. George
C. Barker. American Anthropologist October, 1958. Vol. 60 (5):932-933. George C. Barker,
a Research Associate in Anthropology at UCLA died suddenly in his home
in Pacific Palisades, CA on March 30, 1958. He is succeeded by his
parents. George Barker was
born in Omaha, NB, on November 15, 1912. He received his AB at UCLA
in 1935, after which he went to Columbia University to receive his
MS in 1936. From there he became a Research Associate at the Institute
of Human Relations at Yale University in 1942. He then went to the
University of Chicago to pursue degrees in Anthropology, receiving
his MA in 1943 and his PhD in 1947. That same year he became a Fellow
with the American Anthropological Association. In the years 1947-1948,
Barker went to the University of Arizona, where he did work on the
language and its social function of Mexican-American youths. In 1950
he became a Research Associate at UCLA, a position he held until his
death. While in Los Angeles, Barker also worked at the Los Angeles
County Probation Department and the Neighborhood Youth Association
of West LA. He never taught a class, but he did assist students with
research interests similar to his. He also occasionally gave special
lectures. George Barker will
be remembered for his kindness, hospitality, good humor, and quiet
determination to overcome chronic poor health and physical handicaps. CLARITY RANKING:
5 MARGARET ANN
GRILLO University of Pennsylvania (Melvyn Hammarberg)
Hughes, Charles
Campbell. An Eskimo Deviant from the "Eskimo" Type
of Social Organization. American Anthropologist February, 1958
Vol. 60 (6): 1140 – 1147. The main focus of
Hughes’ article is to present a contradiction in Murdock’s terminology
of the "Eskimo" kinship organization. He examines an Eskimo
group, the St. Lawrence Eskimo, which exhibits a kinship organization
other than the familiar Eskimo kinship organization. Hughes begins
discussing a major feature of the Eskimo kinship system, the lack of
differentiation between the parallel and cross cousin. He points out
that the St. Lawrence Eskimos differentiate between three different
types of cousins: the cross cousin, the maternal parallel cousin, and
the paternal parallel cousin. Hughes goes on to
argue that the St. Lawrence group does not exhibit the bilateral descent
that is characteristic of the traditional Eskimo system; rather, the
descent is patrilineal. He discusses the nature of familial relationship
within the group. For example, he states that Ego is expected to show
the same respect to his father’s brother as he shows to his father.
The argument continues with the fact that there is more development
of terminology for the patriline than for the matriline. Furthermore,
a man belongs to his father’s clan for his entire life while a woman
marries into her husband’s clan. The discussion continues
with the origin of the St. Lawrence kinship system. He says that the
group is clan – based, and that the clan social organization is the
result of small and homogenous villages combining into larger and heterogeneous
clans. He states that archeological evidence shows that a clan from
Siberia immigrated to St. Lawrence during the 18th century,
largely for economic reasons. This article is
relevant to those who wish to study kinship organization among the
cultures of the world. CLARITY LEVEL: 3 RACHEL GORMAN University
of Pennsylvania (Melvyn Hammarberg).
Hughes, Charles
Campbell. An
Eskimo Deviant from the “Eskimo” Type of Social Organization. American
Anthropologist. 1958. Vol. 60: 1140-1147. In this article,
Hughes examines an aberration in the stereotypical “Eskimo” kinship
systems as anthropologists observe them. Murdock
(1949) put forth that the social organization distinctive of the “Eskimo” contains:
no differentiation among cousins, a bilateral principle of descent,
monogamy, bilateral incest taboos, and bilateral kin groups. Hughes concedes that these qualities fit Eastern and Central
Eskimo groups, but not those located in western Alaska, nor the “St.
Lawrence Eskimos” located on the Bering Sea. Hughes
examines the kinship construction of this group of Eskimos and shows
their variances from the “typical” view of Eskimo social construction. The St. Lawrence
Eskimos do differentiate among cousins: there are three different terms,
depending on how the cousin is related to the individual, and there
are various degrees of intimacy for the separate cousin groups. There
is a respectful, though distant relationship of children toward parents,
although mothers are said to be quite affectionate. The
son considers the father’s brother a second father, and his wife is
likewise a second mother, although the son’s relationship with direct
female relatives is not so intimate. The
mother’s brother treats the son similarly, but is not as close as the
father’s brother and his wife has no formal relationship with the son. In
general, kin relationships are much stronger paternally than maternally,
most likely because when a son marries he brings his wife back to live
with his parents. She
becomes a member of his clan, although her relationship with her birth
clan is never fully severed, even if she marries outside her own clan,
which is an option. These kinship relations
differ from the stereotypical version of the “Eskimo” in several ways. There
are differentiating terms for cousins. Descent
is patrilineal, and couples reside with the husband’s parents. There
are also no terms for “aunt” and “uncle” for the son. Both
contain a bilateral incest taboo, but this is one of few similarities
between the two systems of kinship. Hughes further hypothesizes
how these distinctive social relations came into place. Small groups consisting of just one family probably came together
to form a larger unit for economic reasons. Identifying
with a certain clan therefore became more important as the possibility
of differentiating appeared, and thus, such terms and relationships
came into existence. CLARITY RATING:
4 ARIEN O’CONNELL Barnard College (Paige West)
Hunt, Edward
E. Jr. Human Growth and Body Form in Recent Generations. American
Anthropologist 1958 Vol.60: 118-131. In this article
Hunt attempts to measure changes in physical growth and body composition
using anthropometric procedures on two generations of Harvard students:
fathers and sons. His first analysis
compares trends of growth and filial body size amongst three test groups:
Yapese men, British men and white and black American men. Hunt concludes
that the 19th century tests illustrate that the Yapese and
British men remained relatively unchanged in stature and body composition.
However, amongst the American population tested the results varied. Hunt continues his
analysis by producing information previously gathered by Dr. Dudley
Sargent. Sargent collated data on body composition from 1887 to 1917.
These anthropometric procedures were performed on Harvard fathers and
sons. Hunt refers to these measurements to observe where the most growth
has occurred from father to son. Some of these measurements were taken
on neck girth, waist girth, forearm girth, wrist girth, neck breadth
and shoulder breadth. From these analyses
Hunt tries to pinpoint the exact locations where the most growth has
occurred. Hunt concludes that the filial subjects have displayed an
enlargement in tissues which contribute to the overall final body size
(particularly in the forearm and thigh). He goes on to give possible
reasons for the increased stature in sons. He believes that the paternal
generation suffered from frequent arrests of skeletal growth in especially
the femur, radius and ulna. He refers to a comprehensive comparative
chart to illustrate the change in body composition. CLARITY RANKING:
2 ALEKSANDRA STANIMIROVIC York
University (Naomi Adelson)
Hunt, Edward. Human
Growth and Body Form in Recent Generations. American Anthropologist
February, 1958 Vol. 60 (1): 118-131. In this article,
Edward Hunt compared the growth and various body measurements of recent
generations in the United States. Hunt examined Bowles’ previously
compiled data consisting of the body measurements of Harvard fathers
and sons. After analyzing these differences in body dimensions, Hunt
suggested some possible causes of such a phenomenon. In considering trends
of human body sizes across generations, Hunt compared his American
(Harvard) data to previous studies of people’s body sizes in the Yap
Islands and in Britain. Body size measurements in the Yap Islands have
remained essentially unchanged for six generations despite successive
occupations by foreign powers. Throughout this period, the Yapese remained "genetically
unmixed with foreigners," and there were no major changes in either
their diet or culture. Meanwhile, Hunt
also cited a study showing that while British people experienced accelerated
growth in World War II compared to the late 19th century, there was
no increase in final statures. This, Hunt claims, proves that accelerated
growth does not necessarily lead to increased final stature. Because the Harvard
data was familial, Hunt used this to control for differences in the
ethnic composition of the sample. His findings indicated not only accelerated
growth, but also some apparent increase in stature. Hunt noticed that
the greatest elongation appeared in the thigh and forearm. By using
radiological photographs, Hunt noticed a greater frequency of growth
disturbances ("more frequent arrests of skeletal growth")
in the average father’s femurs, radius and ulna. Also, he noted that
the trends of body build and body composition indicate "less fat
and more muscularity and linearity in sons," similar to results
produced by body-building exercises in men. This article will
be useful to individuals who want to learn more about growth trends
across generations and across cultures. Hunt compares the growth patterns
evident in his Harvard data with the trends found in other countries
(the Yap Islands, Britain) and tries to account for them (less frequent
disturbances in the childhood growth of Harvard sons and the increased
practice of body-building for younger generations) by giving possible
causes. CLARITY: 4 FILBERT CUA University
of Pennsylvania (Melvyn Hammarberg)
Ianni,
Francis A. J. Time and Place as Variables in Acculturation Research. American
Anthropologist 1958 Vol.
60: 39-45. In Ianni’s “Time
and Place as Variables in Acculturation Research,” Ianni defines and
explores the concept of “acculturation,” (p. 39) which he believes
to be an area of growing interest in the practice of American Anthropology. According
to Ianni, the study of “acculturation” is the anthropological examination
and analysis of contact between different cultures that contributes
to a better understanding of the “nature and mechanisms of cultural
change,” (p. 39) or the way (and what compels) a culture changes over
time. He is aware that a specific methodology must be imposed when
conducting cultural research so to derive results that embrace the “new” trend
of more scientific and analytical ethnography, rather than the purely
descriptive forms of the past. Ianni then proceeds to propose his idyllic
model for acculturation research. Because culture
cannot be contained in a laboratory, anthropologists face inherent
challenges in their aim to produce accurate cultural research. Ianni
argues that the most precise way to study culture is using a comparative
method, since it provides the anthropologist with at least some control
over variables. He highlights “time” and “place” as
two prime variables that strongly effect culture and can be
manipulated by the investigator to some level of exactness. Because
a study’s location is chosen by the anthropologist, “place” is the
more controllable variable of the two. “Time” is
much less “receptive to controlled observation,” (p. 40) and therefore
has often been somewhat ignored is past acculturation studies. An
anthropological study that properly considers the variable of time
is interested not just in the current state of the culture it aims
to investigate, but also in the “precontact” community that once existed
in relative isolation. Ianni hopes to reinforce
that studies of acculturation have increased awareness of the “value
of culture history,” (pg. 41) especially since the validity-standard
for such research has increased. A
new methodology has emerged that defines three phases of cultural evolution:
(1) “the precontact culture;” (2) “the contact situation;” and (3)
the current “cultural blend” (pg. 41) resulting from contact. Ianni’s
main thesis is that because the classical model fails to take into
consideration these three phases, it fails to speculate the changes
that might have transpired in a culture had contact never occurred
- and ultimately incompletely assesses the “factors and forces” of
change existing its original, untouched cultural form. Therefore,
according to Ianni, when conducting acculturation studies it is best
to implement the comparative model to result in the most accurate research
possible. Studies of immigrant
peoples provides anthropologists with a unique opportunity to essentially
freeze the variable of time by observing the post-contact and pre-contact
cultures simultaneously in a comparison of the
contemporary population that remained behind with those that relocated
to a new society. Ianni
highlights several case studies that illustrate this type of research,
involving immigrant peoples that relocated to the United States from
European countries. Such
studies help anthropologists identify changes that are a result of
culture contact rather than actual social and/or cultural evolution. Ianni acknowledges
that his proposed methodological model for acculturation studies is
not flawless, but encourages the perpetuation of this inquiry anyways
for the great insight that findings can about the way that cultures
evolve over time. CLARITY: 4 EMILY PAULSHOCK Barnard College (Paige West).
Kehoe, Thomas
F. Tipi Rings: The "Direct Ethnological" Approach
Applied to an Archaeological Problem. American Anthropologist
October, 1958. Vol. 60 (5): 861-873. Tipi rings, which
dot the northern plains of the United States (Montana, the Dakotas,
and Wisconsin) and southern Canada (Alberta) once occupied by the Crow,
Blackfoot, Cree, Piegan, Sioux, and other Native American groups, have
caused much debate with regard to their function. They range from seven
to thirty feet in diameter, appear in groups of varying size, have
little accompanying physical artifacts, and are composed of a circle
of partially interred stone boulders. By assuming that these rings
are not of great antiquity and applying the "direct ethnological" approach,
Kehoe hypothesizes that the North Plains Indians used them to anchor
the skin coverings of their tipis. Using observations
recorded during the 19th and early 20th centuries,
Kehoe points to this well-documented function of tipi rings into the
recent past. He conducted his research on the Blackfoot Indian Reservation
in Montana (ca. 2000 sq. mi.) in 1952-1953. The four components of
this study include (1) the presence of thousands of rings in this area,
(2) the correlations between ring location and favorable camp spots,
(3) the ring layout indicates a high frequency of camps, and (4) the
diameter of the ring is linked to the depth of the rock. He mapped a total
of 210 tipi ring sites, which decreased in frequency towards the South.
They were located predominantly in areas exposed to the forceful winds
of the northern plains; the rocks would be necessary to anchor the
tipi covering when no suitable protected campsite was available (as
during annual river flooding). These rings comprised locally available
and naturally fragmented stones, suggesting that they were collected
and abandoned as needed. Due to a highly nomadic lifestyle of Plains
Indians, this makes sense. Significantly, that ethnographic interviews
revealed that living elderly explicitly remember using rocks to secure
tipis and could point to specific examples corroborates Kehoe’s hypothesis.
Finally, at the North American Indian Days Celebration in Browning,
Montana, August 8-13, 1956, elderly Native Americans made tipis the
old-fashioned way – using rocks. After the festival had ended, only
tipi rings were left. CLAIRTY RANKING:
5 MARGARET ANN
GRILLO University of Pennsylvania (Melvyn Hammarberg)
Kent, Kate Peck. Frederic
Huntington Douglas 1897-1956 American Anthropologist August 1958
Vol. 60 (4):737 Kate Peck Kent has
delivered to us a very concise obituary about Frederic Huntington Douglas.
She begins with biographical information stating that Douglas was born
on October 29, 1897 in Evergreen, Colorado. She then discusses his
education and gives the name of his wife as well as the year of their
marriage, 1926. To us, perhaps the
most significant part of the obituary comes next as she describes Douglas’ contributions
to the understanding of human kind. She notes that upon receiving an
honorary Doctor of Science degree he was cited as "…having brought
to thousands of laymen an awareness of ‘the true aesthetic merit of
the cultures of peoples too often measured by our own standards and
relegated to positions popularly considered as ‘inferior’ and ‘primitive…" Kent also writes
about his passion for art collecting and how this brought him enormous
success in the art world. She completes the obituary by illuminating
upon the type of man Douglas was. She states that, "He had unbounded
imagination, curiosity, humor, and enthusiasm, which made every project
he undertook a new and exciting experience." We are also told
that Douglas was unselfish in his donation of personal time and possessions
(he donated his collections to the Denver Art Museum and Public Library)
and always supported his students. He will be sorely missed by his
department and all who knew him for what she calls his "…original
mind and vivid personality." CLARITY RANKING:
5 CARIANNE SWANSON University
of Pennsylvania (Dr. Melvyn Hammarberg)
Kroeber, A. L. Gray’s
Epicyclical Evolution. American Anthropologist. 1958. Vol. 60:
31-38. In this article
Kroeber discusses Gray’s notion of mathematics in The Epicyclical
Evolution of Graeco-Roman Civilization. Kroeber indicates that
the paper is problematic and difficult to understand, "that his
manuscript might find easier and wider comprehension if he could make
it more redundant" (p. 31). The article begins with identifying
terminology used by Gray, disputing true meanings of terms, and then
providing explanations for the author’s claims. Kroeber dismisses Gray’s
formulation of the concept "epicyclical", as he does not
find it be mathematical. He argues that the basic notions of epicyclical
and cyclic have been confused and that Gray’s epicycles may actually
be "epicycloids". Kroeber argues Gray’s
use of a conceptual model that describes Graeco-Roman civilization,
although he is interested in Gray’s organization of history and his
four recurrent stages (formative, developed, florescent, and degenerate).
Kroeber disagrees with the use of a "false biologic analogy",
which he argues is in fact a true metaphor being employed. He also
questions why cultures or civilizations cannot be referred to as growing,
dying, and dissolving, as Gray suggests. In discussing Gray’s
diagrams, the schematics are depicted as being of little use, based
on common sense and knowledge, and being measurably representative.
He argues that a concave profile would have been more useful. Kroeber
suggests that if epicycles do exist, as indicated by Gray, a drop/recession
should be apparent in the topmost epicycles and recessions should not
be found in other specific places. Although Kroeber recognizes the
principles behind Gray’s work did have a certain usefulness, he indicates
that interpretations of some of the findings are misconstrued. While
attempting to model Gray’s methodology, Kroeber also found that he
could not compare one of Gray’s diagrams and that "the scales
of time and achievement [were] also arbitrarily different" (p.
36). Greek "resumptions" proved to be problematic, along
with the length of Gray’s periods and the inclusion of creative culture.
Kroeber argues that Gray carried the assumption of the normal distribution
too far in developing his diagram of the course of civilization. Finally, the consequences
of Gray limiting himself to one civilization are discussed. Kroeber
points out that although other cultures are outside the scope of Gray’s
paper, there may be ways to apply it to other civilizations. In his
last statement it is suggested that some features may be transferable
without undue modification [and] will thereby [be]…further validated
as interpretations of the Graeco-Roman civilization" (p. 38). CLARITY RANKING:
4 HELENA KOSKITALO York
University (Naomi Adelson)
Kroeber, A.L. Gray’s
Epicyclical Evolution. American Anthropologist February, 1958
Vol. 60 (1): 31-38. In this article,
Kroeber reexamines Gray’s theory of epicyclical evolution. He criticizes
certain aspects of Gray’s theory and proceeds to clarify and develop
it. So in essence, the article both comments and complements Gray’s
research. The purpose was first, to be more redundant and explicit
and second, to point out its basic problems. Kroeber dismisses
the fact that Gray’s epicycles have anything to do with mathematics
and that the "cycles" Gray talks about should really be "cycloids" which
are repetitive waves, therefore the evolution of Graeco-Roman civilization
should be referred to as epicycloids. Even though Kroeber brings up
many criticisms that Gray’s theory faced, including his technique in
combining the Greek and Roman civilizations, his idea of a rising and
falling curve, and the concept of the "growth" of cultures,
he supports Gray by complementing his theory – Greek and Roman civilization
in many ways are linked, the rising and falling curves portray a systematic
and useful analogy, and the growth of cultures is a metaphor used to
illustrate the growing and dying of a civilization. Using different
techniques and methods, Kroeber himself develops a bar graph similar
to Gray’s, which displays the cyclical pattern (rise and fall) of creative
culture. The fundamental difference in their techniques is that Gray’s
cycles express the economic, social, and political conditions and only
brings in creative culture to validate his argument. On the other hand,
Kroeber examines cultural productivity on its own. Yet despite this
difference, there still lies a fundamental similarity between their
results, which Kroeber acknowledges. Kroeber then examines
the artificial and over-elaborate attempt Gray makes to create a perfect
symmetrical model. Kroeber feels that if Gray’s theory is continued
in this manner, it will break down. Kroeber also takes Gray’s methods
a step further: Gray wisely limits his theory to one civilization,
but Kroeber asks if the epicyclical model is applicable to other civilizations
as well. His answer is that the fundamental rise and fall of civilizations
can be applied, but complications do occur and we should not attempt
to. Anyone familiar
with Gray’s "epicyclical hypothesis" will find Kroeber’s
analysis interesting. Kroeber both comments and complements Gray’s
theory and makes clear that the model is useful and significant, yet
he warns people that directly applying this theory elsewhere will not
always work. Only through modifications and further analysis, new applications
will arise from the fundamental theories of Gray’s "epicyclical
hypothesis" based upon Graeco-Roman evolution. CLARITY - 4 TIMA BUDICA University
of Pennsylvania (Melvyn Hammarberg).
Livingstone,
Frank B. Anthropological Implications of Sickle
Cell Gene Distribution in West Africa. American Anthropologist
June, 1958 Vol. 60 (3):533-557 This article examines
how the distribution of the sickle cell gene in West Africa is the
result of both selection and gene flow. The sickle cell gene is found
in high numbers across a broad swath of tropical Africa, as well as
southeastern Europe, into the Middle East and Asia. It is rarely found,
however, in areas of Northern Europe or Australia. Livingstone claims
that its high frequency in certain areas of the world raises unique
problems in studying human population genetics. There are five factors
that contribute to the change in gene frequency, according to modern
genetic scientists. Only two of them, selection and gene flow, have
any consequential effect on sickle cell gene distribution in Africa
however. Gene flow, explains the author, includes migration, or the
movement of large segments of a population, as well as mixture, the
interaction between stationary populations. Using historical
and archaeological data, Livingstone shows that the increase in the
frequency of the sickle cell trait occurred concurrently with the arrival
of yam cultivators from eastern Africa. This increase also coincides
with the spread of rice agriculture through diffusion. Thus, says Livingstone, "the
type of gene flow—in one case migration and in the other mixture—which
was responsible for the spread of the gene in West Africa seems to
be related to the manner of the spread of agriculture" (553). Understanding the
distribution of the sickle cell gene in relation to Africa’s cultural
history is significant in that is has broad implications for studying
the role of disease in human evolution. Livingstone in fact
argues that "the agricultural revolution has always been considered
an important event in man’s cultural evolution, but it also seems to
have been an important event in man’s biological evolution…this gene
is the first known genetic response to a very important event in man’s
evolution when disease became a major factor in determining the direction
of that evolution" (556-7). CLARITY RANKING:
1 LINDA SIMON University
of Pennsylvania (Dr. Melvyn Hammarberg)
Livingstone,
Frank. Anthroplological Implications of Sickle
Cell Gene Distribution in West Africa. American Anthropologist
1958 Vol. 60:533-562. Livingston investigates
the intense concentration of the sickle cell gene in West Africa as
a human evolutionary response to malaria. His extremely detailed article
responds to evidence for and against his hypothesis. The sickle cell
gene becomes a defense against malaria, more specifically, a "genetic
response" intervening in human evolution. The author’s primary
connection of the widely scattered concentrated sickle cell areas is
the unusually high rate of malaria infected inhabitants with little
or no symptoms. These ‘hyperendemic’ or ‘holoendemic’ areas are co-related
to an intensity of sickle cell traits. Livingstone forms two justifying
conclusions to the two major exceptions to his conclusion in the high
malaria/low sickle cell regions of Coastal Portuguese Guinea ands Eastern
Libya: sickle cell originated in Western Africa and is slowly spreading
to these two isolated areas; secondly, relatively short term environmental
factors have not fully set up conducive conditions. His evidence for
this anomaly consists of examining language distribution to trace the
sudden migration of these two groups back to the west from the (non-agricultural)
Pygamie hunting group of central and eastern region. The remaining bulk
of his article analyses the impact of agricultural technology in Western
Africa. The author makes a rather tenuous connection between the introduction
of Egyptian agriculture into Africa with one of the earliest skeletal
finds indicating the "origin of the West African Negro".
The clearing of tropical forests-a direct result of iron tools, and
high-yielding root crops-into agricultural land is pinpointed as the
catalyst for malaria. Concentrated agricultural populations enabled
the previously tropical animal parasites to quickly adapt to their
new human hosts. In addition, the squalid village, with its cesspools
and organic refuse, was a thriving environment for the parasite (malaria)
carrying mosquitoes. Livingstone cites
the emergent role of the disease within environment and habitation
altered Western Africa as the most significant form of human population
control. Agricultural evolution in Western Africa becomes a framework
for (human) biological evolution. This article provides an excellent
summation of the past fifteen years of data focused into a conclusive
theory. For any one interested in biological aspects of anthropology
this is as good starting point with many potentially useful cross-references. CLARITY RANKING:
3 SUSIE MORGADO York
University (Naomi Adelson)
McIlwraith, T.
F. G. Gordon Brown 1896-1955, Obituary. American
Anthropologist June, 1958 Vol. 60 (3):571-573 G. Gordon Brown
was born in New Brunswick, Canada in 1896. He entered the University
of Toronto in 1914 but enlisted a year later, serving in France, where
he was wounded. After returning to Toronto he received his B.A. in
Political Science in 1922. Later Brown completed his M.A. and Ph.D.
in Psychology. In the process he took several courses in anthropology,
and came to believe in the importance in studying non-Western people
in order to understand human behavior. After receiving
his doctorate, Brown went to London as a Fellow of the Rockefeller
Foundation. At the School of Economics there, he was taught by Seligman
and Malinowski, who helped foster his interest in cultural adjustment.
In 1928 he accepted the position of Superintendent of Education in
Tanganyika Territory. His stay in Africa, where he worked both as a
government official and as a scholar studying the ethnology of the
Hehe, lasted six years. During that time he came to regard the Hehe
as "his people," and formed intimate friendships with many
tribe members. Though Brown did
not produce much written work during his lifetime, his work Anthropology
in Action was one of the first works to appear in the field of
applied anthropology. As both an anthropologist and an educationalist,
he studied not only the natives, but also the government that was administering
to them. After a four year
stint as the principal of an American-established school for the natives
in Samoa, Brown returned to North America in 1938. Unable to find a
job in his native Canada, he became a professor at the Connecticut
State College at Storrs, where he built a reputation as a thorough
and inspiring teacher. A year later he moved to Temple University in
Philadelphia. During World War
II, Brown found employment with the War Relocation Service in Arizona,
studying human interaction and adjustment. After the war he returned
to Philadelphia to work for the Bureau of Municipal Research. In 1946
Brown was finally able to return to Canada, this time as a professor
at the University of Toronto. There he was asked to join a research
team studying the health and cultural adjustment of the northern Cree.
Brown stayed at the University of Toronto, teaching and studying the
Cree, until his death on December 18, 1955. McIlwraith concludes
that G. Gordon Brown will be remembered as "a pioneer in the field
of racial impact, where he took he varied roles of student, participant,
administrator, and scholarly expositor. He has left his mark as a teacher-administrator
on school-boys in Tanganyika and Samoa; as a broad and inspiring instructor
on university students in the United States and Canada." CLARITY RANKING:
5 LINDA SIMON University
of Pennsylvania (Melvyn Hammarberg)
McIlwraith, T.
F. G. Gordon Brown 1896-1955. American Anthropologist
June, 1958 Vol. 60(3): 571-573. The article is an
obituary of Gordon G. Brown. Brown was born in New Brunswick, Canada,
in 1896. He entered the University of Toronto in 1914. Gordon Brown
enrolled for the French military service in 1915 and was wounded in
1918. After his release from the hospital Brown returned to Toronto
and completed his B.A. and Ph. D. in Psychology.
Brown took courses in anthropology while working for his doctorate
and realized the importance of studies among non-European peoples with
respect to the study of human behaviour. He changed his focus from
psychology to anthropology. Brown went to London
as a Fellow of the Rockefeller Foundation. At the school of Economics
Malinowski and Seligman influenced him. Brown studied the Hehe tribe
Africa . He lived there for six years, part of the time as a government
official, and in part on scholarships. At first he experienced problems
with adjustments. His friendship with the members of this tribe was
close and intimate. Brown wanted to go back to Canada to write up his
material, but a new opportunity arouses. Brown was invited
to be the principle of Feleti School for the Samoa. He accepted the
invitation and was in Samoa from 1934 to 1938. During the four-year
stay Brown builds his field research on Samoan culture and learned
to understand the attitudes of the Samoa chiefs. In 1938 Gordan Brown
returned to North America. There were no openings in Canada for Brown
because he had been too long in the field and had no publications.
There were opening in the United States, so he left to study at Temple
University in 1939. When World War II broke out Brown went to Philadelphia.
He was the staff of Bureau of Municipal Research working with "Negro" and
white races. In 1946, during the academic post war expansion Brown
returned to the University if Toronto. He was later asked to study
the health and problems of cultural adjustment of the northern Cree
under the Canadian National committee for Community Health Studies. Gordon Brown began
experiencing ill health. He had two strokes and died on December 18,
1955. Mcilwraith concludes by stating that even though Brown’s ethnological
work was never achieved he will be remembered as a pioneer in the field
of racial impact. CLARITY RANKING:
5 DAGMARA ROMANSKA York
University (Naomi Adelson)
Messing, Simon
D. Group Therapy and Social Status in the Zar Cult
of Ethiopia American Anthropologist Vol.60 :1120-1126, 1958 Simon D. Messing,
in Group Therapy and Social Status in the Zar Cult of Ethiopia,
aims to outline the activities and benefits of belonging to the "zar" cult
of Northern Ethiopia, whose headquarters are on a highland plateau
in the center of a town called Gondar. The job of a "zar" doctor,
who is primarily female, is to diagnose and heal patients showing symptoms
of possession of "zar" spirits, which include proneness to
accidents, sterility, convulsive seizures and extreme apathy. The procedure
of ridding or curing the patient of such spirits or negative zar includes
the zar doctor possessing his own spirit (zar) and through his intersession
attempts to entice unknown spirits into public ownership. After the
success of such a procedure, the patient is enrolled into the "zar" society
among his fellow sufferers for life in an attempt to prevent a relapse
from occurring. Common characteristics of zar patients are usually
married females who feel neglected in a patrilocal society and are
also discriminated against by the Coptic Abyssinian Church, who does
not permit them to enter the premises. Also, members of the lower classes
(Muslim minorities) and ex-slaves are admitted to full membership of
the zar cult. However, it is evident that every human being is considered
potentially vulnerable to being possessed by zar spirits due to the
determinant factors of heredity and spiritual weakness. This article demonstrates
that although the zar cult functions as a means of protection from
negative "zar"(spirits), it also provides a way for marginal
characters within the community to obtain a position of belonging.
A chronic patient may experience some benefits as a member of the zar
society. As a result of being apart of the cult, an individual may
experience a rise in their social status among their family as well
as community. Yet, it is usually the zar doctor whose social status
is improved. Other benefits include occupational and economic prosperity.
Active opposition to the cult primarily occurs from husbands who fear
the sexual and economic freedom of their wives. Although there is no
direct indication of elevated sexual activity within the zar cult,
it does however provide an opportunity for liaisons. Supplementary
forms of opposition may also stem from the priests of the Coptic Abyssinian
Church, who condemn the cult, but do little to hinder its continual
existence. The cult thus remains a vital and well-recognized institution
among this particular community/society. CLARITY RANKING:
4 LEILA BAHRAMI York
University (Naomi Adelson)
Messing, Simon
D. Group Therapy and Social Status in the
Zar Cult of Ethiopia. American Anthropologist February, 1958
Vol. 60 (6):1120-1125. Simon Messing’s
article deals with the nature of spirit possession among the Ethiopian
Zar Cult. He proposes that spirits called "zars" possess
people belonging to the cult, and that this type of possession is the
purported reason for all psychological problems ranging from basic
unhappiness to full-fledged mental illness. He shows that people are
never cured of their possession; instead, the doctor assists the patient
in accepting the zar as a new intrinsic factor to his state of mind.
The zar goes on to help the possessed in his normal communal role.
He also discusses possession as a desire for social mobility, as it
has help women gain power over their husbands in the past and is now
increasingly being used by lower class members of society. Messing begins his
discussion by outlining the benefits one possessed by a zar may gain,
including social contact with upper class members, economic benefits,
and full cult membership for ex-slaves. He notes that the most active
opposition to the zar cult comes from those men who fear the economic
freedom of women. He examines the epidemiology of the possession, showing
that zar possession may be hereditary, but a zar may also possess an
individual with a particular weakness or conversely, a particularly
attractive quality. The interesting
underlying idea of the article is that it outlines this unusual form
of spirit possession in which the spirit is not evil and is generally
not exorcized. Messing points to benevolent zars of the cult’s mythology,
who taught men how to use fire and cook. Furthermore, the possessed
individual will return a normal life, likely with increased social
standing. This article will
appeal to those who wish to study religious sects of possession as
well as methods of explaining psychological problems. It also describes
the method in which the zar doctors help their possessed patients return
to normative societal roles. CLARITY RATING – 4 RACHEL GORMAN University
of Pennsylvania (Melvyn Hammarberg).
Mischel, Walter
and Mischel, Frances. Psychological Aspects of
Spirit Possession. America Anthropologist April, 1958 Vol.60
(2): 249-260. Both Walter and
Frances Mischel are concerned with the issue that spirit possessions
have not been studied thoroughly by social scientists, and such information
that does exist is vague and limited. They attempt to look at spirit
possession amongst the Shango worshippers in Trinidad and present it
as an overall positive part of their daily lives. This is set to discredit
the Western notion that spirit possession is for the marginal and un-normal
people. They first provide
a detailed and informative description of spirit possession using the
Shango worshippers, including depicting certain physical movements
and behaviours expressed by the possessed. Mischel also describes which
certain activities can cause possession to occur and how a certain
individual recovers afterwards. After examining what happens to an
individual before, during and after a possession, the Mischels conclude
that possession is ultimately linked to the individual’s everyday behaviour. Next the Mischels
provide an experimental analysis of possession behaviour using aspects
of the Learning theory, and then they explore the positive and negative
aspects of spirit possession. Thus they put forward the notion that
by participating in spirit possession people are partaking in activities
that otherwise would be considered socially unacceptable or irregular. Through participant
observation and clinical interviews with a group of Shango worshippers,
the Mischels examine certain behavioural patterns such as role reversal,
penance and gratification that are implicitly viewed during spirit
possession. Thus they come to the conclusion that the spirit possession
is, in fact, rewarding because it provides a good framework for the
interpretation and acceptance of such symptoms that arise out of possession
and because it allows serious problems to be dealt with and resolved
by powers. However, the Mischels
do not go into great detail in explaining some of the negative aspects
of possession but only mentioned that some people in the Shango tribe
are continually weary and have gone to great lengths to avoid any possible
possession by the spirits. From their observations
of the Shango worshippers, they infer that possession is viewed as
a highly valued occurrence with the majority of the worshippers because
it is, in fact, an important aspect of their daily life and provides
direction and meaning to these people. CLARITY RANKING:
4 TRACY OLIVEIRA York
University (Naomi Adelson).
Mischel, Walter & Frances
Mischel. Psychological Aspects of Spirit
Possession. American Anthropologist April, 1958 Vol.60 (2):249-260. Spirit possession
occurs everywhere in the world especially in Africa. The article describes
and analyzes spirit possession behavior. They look at the Shango people
in Trinidad and the effects of spirit possession. They analyze spirit
possession from a psychological viewpoint. There are both positive
and negative reinforcements that are consequences of the behavior patterns
when the Shango worshippers are possessed. The article first
describes what occurs during a possession. There is a physical transformation.
The behavior can range from aggressiveness to gentleness. It can occur
one to twenty times in a single ceremony and repeatedly to the same
person. The possessed are mostly women. There is an induction of possession
through the drums, crowd excitement, singing, darkness, candles, circular
rhythmic dancing and other ceremonial aspects. There are different
levels of possession from "total and prolonged loss of consciousness" to "momentary
loss of control." The recovery from possession can be gradual
or sudden. Spirit possession could occur because this allows them to
act typically in a socially unacceptable manner. They are able to control
the activities and people around them. There is also a role reversal
of female and male that is usually not allowed in the culture. By being
possessed they can be free from responsibilities and from controlling
and directing their lives. But the negative consequences are the fear
of the loss of self-control as well as the conflict of culture between
the "African" culture and the middle class culture. Spirit possession
can be varied in all the behaviors that occur during the process. There
are both negative and positive consequences to being possessed. By
being possessed, people are allowed to act differently in the strict
societal roles. But by acting in this alternative manner, there is
the conflict of the two cultures in Trinidad. Despite this, those who
are possessed see it as a "supreme religious experience." CLARITY RANKING:
5 PEGGY WANG University
of Pennsylvania (Melvyn Hammarberg)
Needham, Rodney. A
Structural Analysis of Purum Society. American Anthropologist
February, 1958 Vol. 60 (1): 75-101. Rodney Needham’s
article examines the societal structure of Purum villages in the Indo-Burmese
border. Needham draws primarily on previous work by Tarak Chandra Das,
analyzing the ethnographic data collected by Das and ultimately putting
forth several propositions on the overall structure of Purum society.
At the time of Das’ research in 1936, Purums numbered 303 individuals.
During the post World War II census of 1951, though, only 43 Purums
were left. Needham begins by
discussing the connubial practice of Purum villages, characterized
by the unilateral transference of women from group to group. Members
of the society must marry exogamously, preferably to one’s mother's
brother's daughter. Under this system, a triadic structure exists:
men from a first group take wives from a second "wife-giving" group
and give away wives to a third "wife-taking" group, with
all three groups being different from each other. Das suggests that
clans form the basis of such groups, but Needham notices several contradictions
in the Das report (for example, two clans having a bilateral exchange
of wives). Needham proposes
that this connubial system is based on lineage, and not clans as previously
suggested. Needham then continues to examine the rest of Purum society,
noting that while their marriage system is organized around a triadic
structure, most of their practices revolve around a principle of dualism.
Most concepts in their society can be grouped into one of two categories:
a superior, masculine category associated with one’s right side; and
an inferior, feminine category associated with the left. For every
action by a superior, there must be a corresponding response from the
inferior. Wife-givers are considered "superior" because they
give away women, considered "the most valuable movable economic
resource." In return, the "inferior" wife-takers must
send the prospective husband to live in the house of the bride’s father
and serve for three years. Finally, when the wife’s father dies, it
is still the wife-taking group that takes care of every aspect of the
funeral. Thus, Needham concludes that while "bride transfer" may
seem unilateral from group to group, relationships between different
groups are cemented by the principle of dualism in actions involving
wife-giving and wife-taking groups. Such is the characteristic of Purum
society, where each group is "superior" to another but at
the same time, also "inferior" to some other group. Needham
cites several other aspects of Purum life where this dualism is evident. This article will
be of great interest to those who wish to examine different marriage
systems and analyze the role that such systems play in the functioning
of whole societies. Needham’s article is a good example of how one
could utilize previously gathered ethnographic data as a valuable tool
in analyzing societal structures that present circumstances may render
very difficult to study, especially in cultures that no longer exist. CLARITY: 4 FILBERT CUA University
of Pennsylvania (Melvyn Hammarberg)
Nettl, Bruno. Historical
Aspects of Ethnomusicology. American Anthropologist June, 1958
Vol. 60 (3):518-531 This article attempts
to understand the historical aspects of ethnomusicology. These historical
aspects can be grouped into two categories, origin and change. Nettl
claims that the study of musical origin has been largely exhausted.
The study of change, however, is often overlooked and, in Nettl’s opinion,
offers greater potential rewards. Studies of origin
usually look at either place of origin or manner of origin. The problem
of musical change, though, requires a slightly different approach.
Here, one must look at the reasons for change, and the degree, nature
and rate of change. This change can be examined in an individual composition,
or in larger bodies of work. The first step requires
defining musical change. Change can then be studied by reconstructing
past events, or by observing current changes. Both approaches have
their limitations. Reconstructing past events is often hampered by
inadequate historical data, while current observations are necessarily
limited in their scope. There are three
ways to investigate this historical change. These approaches are categorized
as evolutionary, geographic, or statistical. The evolutionary approach
recognizes a variety of distinct stages of style change. One problem
with this approach is deciding which music to include as representative. A better approach,
in Nettl’s view, is the geographic approach, which classifies the world
into "musical areas" that display some type of musical unity.
This approach also plots the distribution of musical phenomena, which
combined with the musical areas classification allows conclusions to
be drawn regarding origin and change. Statistical approaches
are more recent, but according to Nettl, they offer a great deal of
promise. Again, however, the problem with this approach is the lack
of appropriate measuring instruments to judge degrees of similarity
and relationships between music. Regardless of the approach, though,
Nettl argues that this field offers insights beyond music. "The
importance of historical orientations in ethnomusicology can readily
be seen," he says. "Such orientations can contribute to the
knowledge of culture change in general, as well as to a better understanding
of the processes of music history" (531). CLARITY RANKING:
2 LINDA SIMON University
of Pennsylvania (Dr. Melvyn Hammarberg)
Norbeck, Edward
and Befu, Harumi. Informal Fictive Kinship
in Japan. American Anthropologist February, 1958 Vol. 60 (1):
102-117. Edward Norbeck and
Harumi Befu present a discussion on informal Japanese uses of fictive
kinship terms as a system that emphasizes respect and underscores the
importance of the household as a social unit. Norbeck and Befu examine
the different instances where fictive kinship terms are used, using
Japanese nationals enrolled in the University of California at Berkeley
as subjects. Among relatives
in an extended family, terms of address often differ from terms of
reference to bring more distant relatives into a circle of greater
intimacy. The Japanese reserve kinship terms only for older people;
younger people are addressed by name. Often, a person’s position within
a household is used as a guide in determining his title, usually based
on relationships to the young children (instead of relative to ego).
It is not uncommon for adult men to call their aged parents "grandpa" and "grandma." Fictive kinship
terms are also used among unrelated people. Children are often expected
to call their parents’ close friends as "uncle" or "aunt." Female
best friends may sometimes call each other "sister." In rural
areas where neighboring households form cooperative associations, neighbors
are often addressed with some form of kinship term. In all these instances,
usage of fictive kinship terms dwindles with age; children are more
likely to use these terms than adults are. For strangers, fictive
kinship terms are normally used only to open a conversation or to gain
their attention. These terms are usually used only for people from
an inferior social class; the higher one’s social class, the less the
likelihood of being addressed as a kinsman. In occupational
and social classes, "elder brother" is a polite way to address
young men in menial positions, while "elder sister" is used
to address female heads of businesses or domineering adult females.
Members of the underworld also call each other by kinship terms to
denote camaraderie. Norbeck and Befu
claim that fictive kinship serves two purposes. First, it reflects,
and perhaps reinforces, a social scheme emphasizing vertical relationships.
Only terms indicating greater age or higher status than the speaker
are used. When social classes differ, terms of address can only be
used downward. Second, it reflects the importance of the household
as a unit, as it is a common practice to refer to relatives by their
positions in a household instead of using the "correct" terms
based on actual genealogy. However, Norbeck and Befu also note that
this practice is declining as the Japanese move towards nuclear family
households, departing from the old practice of extended families living
together. They infer that is the result of the country’s adoption of
Western values. This article will
be helpful to people interested in learning more about kinship and
social organization. While the authors concede that the relative youth
of their subjects has hindered a more thorough examination of more
traditional practices, the article nonetheless does a good job of describing
fictive kinship in Japan and its implications in society as a whole. CLARITY: 4.5 FILBERT CUA University
of Pennsylvania (Melvyn Hammarberg)
Nurge, Ethel. Etiology
of Illness in Guinhangdan. American Anthropologist 1958 Vol.
60: 1158-1172. This article centres
upon the insufficient attention that has been paid to "non-Western" peoples
and the etiology of sickness and disease amongst them. It attempts
to provide illumination on some noted investigators who had studied
sickness and disease amongst non-Western peoples, catalogue and critique
their results. By examining this base research, the author attempts
to, "illuminate the social and cultural factors in beliefs about
(a) the nature of disease, (b) agents which cause disease, (c) media
for disease transmission, and (d) qualifications and role of therapists
and curers." This argument revolves
around the issue of differences in how disease and illness are treated
in other cultures. Research from various sources is compiled and analyzed
to determine and catalogue these differences. Specifically, the author
examines the levels of the Village, Therapists, Systems of Classification
of Malaise's and Illnesses, Agents of Disease, and Prevention and Cure.
From each of these the author uses field research to illustrate his
points on the nature of this "otherworldly" study of disease.
Finally, the author utilizes specific cases of individual sufferers
of disease and practitioners of healing to illustrate the differences
inherent in medicine between different worldviews. There is also some
identification and analysis of the modifications to native theories
that Western medicine has caused, including instances of use by natives. Nurge therefore
presents an account of illness and its background in a foreign country/culture.
She utilizes the knowledge of her informants and a thorough analysis
of the information available to determine some key truths to the situation,
including the extent to which many of these non-Western systems have
incorporated Western beliefs. Since not all of these individuals or
cultures are inferior in their use of medicine and in combating diseases,
she concludes that there is no real resistance to Western medicine.
Instead, native medicine is able to amalgamate that which will make
it stronger while at the same time providing some good insight into
proper medical care and the nature of disease. CLARITY RANKING:
4 JAMES STREET York
University (Naomi Adelson)
Nurge, Ethel. Etiology
of Illness in Guinhangdan. American Anthropologist December,
1958 Vol. 60 (6): 1158-1172. Ethel Nurge describes
in her article the causes, transmission, and treatment of disease among
the Guinhangdan of the Philippine Islands, along with their basic approach
to illness. She also illuminates further information concerning the
indigenous people’s approach to modern Western medicine in dealing
with sickness. She has discovered that the villagers vacillate between
their use of magic or advanced medicine depending on the severity of
the symptoms and the speed of the cure. Nurge’s study takes
place at a small agricultural-fishing village in the Philippines where
the Guinhangdan live. She found that illness is rarely taken seriously
when it is first noticed, and symptoms are rarely understood enough
for villagers to make an accurate diagnosis of the disease. Nurge goes
on to delineate the five categories of curers ("therapists")
that the Guinhangdan turn to when they’re sick. She also describes
some of the most frequent illnesses among the villagers and their beliefs
concerning what caused them. She discovers that family values are emphasized
as hurting or abandoning one’s spouse or children is believed to lead
to illness. The villagers believe
in both natural and supernatural illness, with witches, sorcerers,
spirit-gods producing the majority of the latter. People are thus encouraged
to avoid the places where supernatural beings are said to reside, and
to uphold cultural mores to remain free from illness. Finally, Nurge
provides explanations of the various treatments performed and gives
individual examples involving sickness. She concludes by encouraging
further study of non-Western medicine and indigenous people’s reaction
to modern medical concepts. This article is
a studied observation of the Guinhangdan people focusing on their experiences
with illness and disease. While no specific argument is established
and explored, Nurge provides valuable insight into the indigenous people’s
attitudes towards and treatments of both common and rare Western diseases.
Her study would interest those involved with studying a wide variety
of small foreign tribes, along with those interested in the magical
approach to medicine. The article is an important tool in enforcing
the understanding of the Guinhangdan villagers and their way of life
while encouraging further research in the area. CLARITY: 4 ALLISON GUTKNECHT University
of Pennsylvania (Melvyn Hammarberg)
Pospisil, Leopold. Social
Change and Primitive Law: Consequences of a Papuan Legal Case American
Anthropologist 1958,Vol.60:832-837 In Social Change
and Primitive Law: Consequences of a Papuan Society, Leopold
Popisil strives to convey how a member of a primitive Papuan society
(research conducted in New Guinea, 1954) drastically reforms the
social structure and political confederacy of his village. The principle
characteristics of the social structure in this society include patrilineal
descent, patrilocal residence and the patriarchal polygynous family.
Incestuous marriages, or rather, intersib marriages, are strictly
forbidden among this society, which prevented Awiitigaaj, the protagonist
of the case, from marrying the most attractive/beautiful women available
to him. Despite this prohibition, he decided to break the incest
taboo and went ahead and secretly married a female from his sib,
a crime that is punishable by death. Contrary to the anger of both
party’s relatives, a unanimous decision was reached regarding the
bride price, in turn, implicitly recognizing the incestuous marriage
as rightful and legal and also being upheld by the headmen (the most
influential and powerful males in the village). Not only does the
Awiitijaag case set precedence that aided in the disintegration of
traditional incest taboos in his own community, but also for other
young men in neighboring villages. However, not all
members of the neighboring areas agreed with intersib marriages, thus
causing hostilities and eventually wars between them. Despite such
conflicts, in 1954 the new law was accepted by more than half Botukebo
adults, indicating the new trend towards village endogamy. Popisil
continues by demonstrating that the consequences of Awiitijaag’s actions
were not all of a negative nature. In fact, this village endogamy strengthens
the female status because intersib marriages allow the bride to enter
into a familiar situation as well as obtaining a greater influence
over their husbands due to the familiarity. Therefore, emphasis on
social structure based on patrilineality shifts to a more bilateral
social organization. Furthermore, this article demonstrates the importance
the role of a single person may play in the structural reformation
of a primitive society. CLARITY RANKING:
4 LEILA BAHRAMI York
University (Naomi Adelson)
Oliver, Douglas. An
Ethnographer’s Method for Formulating Descriptions of "Social
Structure". American Anthropologists (No month), 1958 Vol.
60: 801-826 This article clearly
states that the aim is to devise procedures for describing the structure
of human society. The article continues with a good definition of human
society as an introduction of societies and groups. The term interaction
is defined in two different ways and its relationship to the article’s
subject is understood. The term society and the five points of view
to understanding society are noted, along with the article’s concern
with addressing society from a structural point of view. Addressing
the contrast between the words group and society, definitions begin
to flourish. Definitions and
examples are given to the term interaction. The six different ways
of analyzing interactions and the three types of interactions show
the importance within the structure of human society. Detailing of
the three types and the six terms, the word becomes associated with
other terms and examples such as transactions, goods and satisfaction,
circulation and exchange, and value. With the new terms introduced,
an example follows in order to clearly show the meaning of the term. With the describing
of social structures, the article identifies formulating the ‘structure’ of
group as: time in social structure, other characteristics of groups,
and aspectual summation of social structure. Much importance is placed
on aspectual summation of social structure. The articles formulation
permits the use of three alternative methods for describing the structure
of any society- historical, suppositional, and normative. Much detail
and examples clarify this method. In order to clarify
further the ‘communication structures’, the article uses Levi-Strauss’ definition
of communication structures. Ending with the problems of research,
the article repeats its objective as its method resulting in the theory
formation. Concluding with the problems of ‘social structure’ and encompassing
the concept into an anthropological perspective shows the critical
writing skills that went into the research and writing of this article.
The idea remains clear and concise throughout. Via the use of ideas,
concepts, and most important of all the examples, the articles objective
to devising an ethnographers method for formulating description of ‘social
structure’ is understood. CLARITY RANKING:
5 CHRISTINA FIORE York
University (Naomi Adelson)
Radin, Paul. Robert
H. Lowie – Obituary American Anthropologist 1958 Vol. 60: 358-375. Robert Lowie died
on September 21, 1957, and is described as being an "unparalleled
field ethnologist and ethnological theorist" (358). Born in Vienna
in 1883, Lowie immigrated to the United States in 1893. He was raised
in a German household and the various idiosyncrasies of German-Austrian
culture was something that greatly interested him. A myriad of German
philosophers, and Austrian writers influenced his life, and his later
scientific work. Academically, Lowie
graduated from the College of the City of New York, but his interest
in anthropology only manifested after meeting with Franz Boas. Lowie
was quite impressed with Boas because he had "German scholarly
virtues, [and] scrupulous regard for details" (359). In the beginning,
Lowie was not interested in any specific field of anthropology. His
primary interests were in general problems of culture and psychology.
This culminated in a book he wrote called, Culture and Ethnology.
He wrote numerous articles and several other books, including Primitive
Society, History of Ethnological Theory, and a textbook
-- Introduction to Cultural Anthropology. His fieldwork was
detailed and incredibly well done. According to Radin, Lowie’s investigations
on the Crow, and of Plains societies should be a model in seminars
on social structure (361). Professionally,
Lowie spent twelve years in various positions at the American Museum
of Natural History in New York. He was president at several academic
societies, including the American Anthropological Association (1935-1936),
and he was editor of the American Anthropologist from 1924 to 1933.
He received an honorary degree from the University of Chicago in 1941. Robert H. Lowie
died at the age of 74. CLARITY RANKING:
5 MARY CHUNG York
University (Naomi Adelson)
Radin, Paul. Robert
H. Lowie. American Anthropologist April 1958 Vol.60 (2):358-375 Robert Lowie, a
field ethnologist and ethnological theorist died on September 21, 1957.
He was born in Vienna in 1883 to an Austrian mother and Hungarian father.
In 1893 he moved to New York but was raised in a completely German
atmosphere. He was very much interested in the German culture and cultural
ideals. After graduating from the College of the City of New York,
he met Franz Boas whom Lowie came to admire because Boas had the German
scholarly virtues. An admirable aspect
to Lowie is that although he may not have been thoroughly interested
in a subject, he still did his work with "unusual thoroughness
and competence." For his doctoral dissertation he was assigned
the topic of American Indian mythology, a subject he was not too interested
in but still wrote an excellent thesis entitled The Test Theme in
North America. He was also one of the best ethnographers of his
time. He would always attempt to study every aspect of a culture in
as thorough detail as possible. Lowie taught for
thirty years at University of California and twelve years in various
positions at the American Museum of National History in New York. He
was awarded honors from various universities. He also sat on committees
such as American Folklore Society and American Anthropological Association.
He had an enormous list of works and reviews that he had published. CLARITY RANKING:
5 PEGGY WANG University
of Pennsylvania (Melvyn Hammarberg)
Rands, Robert
L. and Riley, Carol L. Diffusion and Discontinuous
Distribution. American Anthropologist 1958 Vol.60: 274-297. Rands and Riley
are concerned with the problem of "discontinuous distributions." Their
focus is primarily on the "patterning of relatively restricted
segments of culture" or pattern elaboration (276). Their position
expands on patterning and conversely, refutes the idea that similar
traits (trait complexes) are direct results of diffusion (spread of
cultural elements from one group to another). They feel that at the
heart of pattern elaboration is the "coupling of habit channeling
with man’s capacity for boredom" which allows for innovations
within cultures (293). Rands and Riley
compare the structure of blowguns found in Asia and in South and Central
America to challenge the concept of diffusion. The changes in the structure
of the gun vary from place to place depending on the needs of the blowgun "complex." Rands and Riley
further their argument by comparing the treatment of captives (captive "complex")
in three cultures which existed at different points in history: Tupinamba
of Brazil, the Iroquois of the United States and Canada and the Aztec
of Mexico. CLARITY RANKING:
1 ALEKSANDRA STANIMIROVIC York
University (Naomi Adelson)
Rands, Robert
L. & Carroll L. Riley. Diffusion and
Discontinuous Distribution. American Anthropologist April, 1958
Vol.60 (2):274-297 Rands and Carroll
examine the problems of discontinuous distribution of cultural traits
and complexes. In particular, explanations for this fall under diffusion
and independent invention. These two explanations are closely related
to the process of pattern elaboration. Throughout most of this article
is a discussion of pattern elaboration and complex demand. Pattern
elaboration is an alternate explanation for the development of trait
complexes. Complex demands looks to "highly specific resemblances
of entire trait complexes." It looks at the development and not
the origin of complexes, like pattern elaboration. To look at the relationship
of pattern elaboration and complex demand, it can be viewed as a continuum.
On one end is the complex demand pole where there are limitations to
possibilities for developing traits. On the other end is the non-demand
that has less limitation on developing traits. Rands and Carroll
examines these ideas further with the use of examples. For complex
demand, they look at the "specialized trait complex" of the
blowgun that is in both the New and Old World. For the non-demand pole
side, there are much more difficulties of finding examples but they
present an example with the method of how captives are treated in the
New World. They specifically look at three tribes-the Tupinamba of
eastern Brazil, the Iroquois of the northeaster United States and Canada
and the Aztec of Central Mexico. Rands and Carroll
illustrates the problems of discontinuous distribution of cultural
traits. They look at pattern elaboration and complex demand to help
explain the problem. Examples from the New World are taken to help
illustrate these ideas. Their approach can be "a useful one in
isolating those factors which may occasionally lead to the fully independent
development of comparable trait complexes." CLARITY RANKING:
4 PEGGY WANG University
of Pennsylvania (Melvyn Hammarberg)
Rosenfeld, Henry. Processes
of Structural Change Within the Arab Village Extended Family. American
Anthropologist February, 1958 Vol. 60 (6): 1127-1139. Rosenfeld’s article
examines the character and process of change in the familial organization
in the Arab village. He discusses a residency organization which includes
a father and mother; all unmarried children; and married sons and their
wives and children in one household. This system implies that there
is one household patriarch who is the sole landowner in the family.
Only upon his death does his property get divided between his sons.
He notes that this is the older, traditional manner of familial organization
in Arab village life and examines the movement towards a more nuclear
family residency system as married sons begin to leave their father’s
homes prior to his death. He includes three major reasons for this
cultural change, which he asserts to be currently in progress. The
first is the opportunity to work outside the villages, the second is
poverty of the father, and the third is structural problems in the
system. At the close of his article he discusses the women’s role in
the son’s moving from his father’s household. Rosenfeld briefly
discusses the first two reasons he posits for this change. In his discussion
of the poverty explanation, he points out that because property is
split between sons upon a father’s death, the male patriarch of each
succeeding generation will have less property than his father held.
The bulk of Rosenfeld’s argument, however, is dedicated to what he
terms "structural contradictions" within the system. He shows
that during a son’s lifetime, he is laboring for his father’s land,
which technically belongs to his father alone. This implies that a
son directly works for his father. This is not a problem for only sons,
who will inherit their fathers’ land in entirety. Rosenfeld’s data
shows that no only sons had left their father’s households. In contrast,
sons with brothers do not inherit all of their father’s land and are
therefore toiling not only for land that will eventually become their
own, but also for land that will go to their brothers. The problem
becomes more complicated when the age differences of the brothers are
factored in; childless men will work for the young sons of their brothers
and the grown sons of brothers will work for the young children of
brothers. In sum, no one, with the exception of only children, directly
gets that for which they work. The examination
is continued with a discussion of the women’s role in the division
of Arab families. Rosenfeld states that women are generally blamed
for the splitting of families inside the culture itself. The women
of this type of family set-up tend to fight. The women who married
into the son’s family contribute to the labor for a family to which
they feel little connection. Furthermore, they will never be the head
of a household until their husband has separated from his mother and
father. A woman has a low economic, social, and familial status while
her husband lives with his father’s family, so she may encourage him
to leave. The argument is
concluded by reasserting the idea that the social change and movement
towards a more nuclear family is more a result of property and labor
issues than they are of psychological disagreements and family fights.
This article’s argument is relevant to those interested in kinship
structure and residency, and also to those interested in cultural change. CLARITY LEVEL – 3 RACHEL GORMAN University
of Pennsylvania (Melvyn Hammarberg)
Rosenfeld, Henry. Processes
of Structural Change Within the Arab Village Extended Family. American
Anthropologist December,
1958 Vol.60(6):1127-1139. Rosenfeld explores
the causes behind the fragmentation of traditional Arab family units
through a number of sources and categorizations. From
the start he describes the traditional Arab household as one led by
a patriarch with a number of sons, some possibly with their own family,
working for the good of the extended family unit -- including sisters-in-law,
nephews, and so on. His
clearly stated thesis proposes that the fundamental motivator behind
rifts in such families is economic desire. Any
psychological or personal explanations merely derive from the greater
question of money and property. While admitting
to the existence of some Christian Arabs, Rosenfeld directs much of
his analysis specifically at Moslems by quoting the Koran on a few
occasions. The article establishes a feeling of moral responsibility
toward family members on the part of sons. Nevertheless,
survey statistics indicate that sons have abandoned many households. Rosenfeld
describes three general reasons for leaving home: the desire to work
outside of the village (a desire in part fostered by economic changes
wrought by the recent Jewish settlement in the area); poverty
and landlessness of the father; and structural problems within the
accepted unit of extended family. Employing
two anecdotes, the author reports the inequalities created by the family-based
system of land ownership. The
father, as patriarch, owns all the family's property; his sons split
it evenly when he dies. Until
then, though, they are obliged to each contribute equal amounts of
labor to the family. This
creates conflict when one or a few of many marry and have children,
demanding more reward for equal labor. In
turn, the sons married earlier do not want their own grown sons to
labor in order to support infant nephews and nieces. The
problem remains even when the father dies, for the brothers often must
live and work together anyway out of economic necessity. According
to the author's interpretation of two proverbs, women traditionally
receive the blame for these problems instead of economics; yet this
seems due merely to the fact that, coming from other families, the
women have less moral obligation at stake. Thus they are more agressive
economically than the men. Through his analysis
of statistics and oral tradition concerning the Arabs of the lower
Galilee of Israel, Rosenfeld infers that economics lead to most of
the strife in these families. The
economic structure of the extended family limits its own continuity
and leads almost inevitably to division within the group. CLARITY RANKING:
4 MAX NORTON Columbia College (Paige West)
Scott, William
Henry. Some Calendars of Northern Luzon. American
Anthropologist June, 1958 Vol. 60 (3):563-570 This article examines
the types and uses of calendars among the people of Northern Luzon.
These Mountain Province people reportedly used a lunar calendar, which
keeps track of time by defining months in terms of new or full moons.
A year is then some multiple of these moons. The problem with the use
of lunar calendars is that they must be corrected to be kept in agreement
with the solar year, which governs climate and agricultural growth. Scott believes that
the people of the Northern Luzon did not use a strictly lunar calendar,
but rather a seasonal calendar. In this system, years were measured
by the completion of a set number of events: the rainy season, plant
growth, migration of birds, etc. This seasonal year is related to the
solar year, but does not correspond to it exactly. A seasonal decade
though, generally equals a solar decade. The Mountain Province
people see a year as made up of twelve distinct seasons, each usually
marked by a full moon. The farmer, however, is less concerned with
counting the days or months than he is with keeping track of the events
that mark each season. This method of measuring time allows a flexibility
that is useful to the farmers, since growth patterns depend on climatic
changes more than they do on the number of days since a past event,
such as the last equinox. Thus the farmer plants, plows or harvests
based on natural, rather than artificial, signs. Some villages, though,
did develop more sophisticated means of marking time, based on their
own unique geographical needs. One village, Sagada, located at a higher
elevation, required extra time for its rice to mature. This meant that
crops needed to be planted before the migration of birds that many
other villages used to indicate the start of the growing season. Sagada’s
solution was to watch the sun’s distance from the equator during the
last half of the rainy season. When it rose in line with two specific
rocks jutting out from nearby hills, they knew that it was time to
begin sowing. By adapting timekeeping methods to their individual needs,
the people of Sagada, like those elsewhere in the Northern Luzon, were
able to successfully work their land and support their population. CLARITY RANKING:
4 LINDA SIMON University
of Pennsylvania (Melvyn Hammarberg)
Scott, William
Henry. Some Calendars of Northern Luzon. American
Anthropologist 1958 Vol.60:563-570 One would be senseless
to assume that all peoples around the world use the same means of recordkeeping
in terms of calendars. The basic purpose of a calendar is to have a
correlation between the lunar and solar "years" because the
sun and the moon are the main causes for the seasonal cycle. One must
establish a system that uses unchanging regular intervals, which lead
to months that make up a year. The calendars of the Northern Luzon
in the Mountain Province use other different kinds of calendars. The author of this
article sets out to prove that despite the fact that people of the
Mountain Province use other calendars to measure a cycle of years,
their methods still make sense and are justifiable. Calendars that
are indigenous to Northern Luzon are seasonal. "The seasonal year
may be defined as the completion of a cycle of any number of seasons
determined by nonastronomical observations of the environment – the
coming of rain, the flowering of plants, the migration of birds and
so forth." In the Mountain Province, the year is divided into
twelve seasons with usually one full moon each. The moons are given
names sometimes for human activities such as transplanting, sometimes
for natural events such as the growth of trees and almost half of them
are called by the name of a migratory bird that is present at that
time of year. An example of this is the Bakakew, which is the
time of year when the bird of that name calls "bakakew" in
the night. There is also an event that can be compared to New Year’s
that signals the sowing of seeds and the beginning of a new agricultural
year. A farmer sees the year as a series of events with a month not
being a certain number of days, but instead the marking of a new moon.
A mountaineer, which is called an Igorot, can name the current or following
month but is unable to name all of the months in the year. The calendars of
the Northern Luzon appear to be simple but, in fact, they are not.
There is a constant overlapping of events that would signal a new month
such as the cry of the killing-bird or the bursting into flames of
gebgeb-blossoms. Sometimes the people of the Mountain Province become
preoccupied with other factors such as epidemics and wars and they
miss the natural event that was the key point in their calendar. They
often then turn to celestial observations as the basis for their calendars.
An example of this type of calendar is that of the Ifugao. It is calculated
by the position of the stars and by the angle of the sun’s rays observed
in a certain small ravine. In this ravine, plants are known to flower,
fruit and change their leaves consistently on about the same day each
year. There are other examples of the tracking of seasons mentioned
in the article such as that of the Sagadans. The same solar calendar
was not developed for all people because it was not needed. Every group
had their own calendars that worked and did not need to be adjusted.
Obviously, the Mountain Province uses a variety of calendars that are
all able to reach the same goal, one set on dividing the year into
different periods based on the seasons. CLARITY RANKING:
2 LISA ARGENTINI York
University (Naomi Adelson).
Skinner, Elliot. Christianity
and Islam among Mossi. American Anthropologist 1958 Vol. 60 1102-1118 In this article, "Christianity
and Islam among Mossi, Elliot Skinner brings to light the process of
the spread of Islam in South Africa. He explains how Islam has through
the course of time become the dominant religion over Christianity.
He breaks down the process of eventual prevalence of Islam over Christianity
into six clear and concise points. The first is that Christianity was
brought to the people of Mossi by conquerors and therefore is a constant
reminder of the people’s defeat. Islam, on the other hand, had come
into the country through peaceful means. While the Mossi were being
conquered by the Christian Europeans there were forced labour laws,
which Islam later questioned and argued that those and other injustices
would cease only when all the Mossi embraced Islam. In contrast to
Catholicism, Islamic practices and tenets harmonized with many aspects
of the Mossi social system, especially with regard to the status of
women. When spending long periods away as labourers, the young Mossi
men would come back mostly having converted to Islam rather than Christianity.
This was not explained well by Elliot and he gives us no real reason
for why it was happening, because its missionaries were "whites" and
this in no way was comparable to the religion of a group that offered
such a variety of similarities to the Mossi as Islam did. Elliot concludes
by adding that the increase in public schools is lessening the importance
of Catholicism. At the expense of the Mission of Catholicism, the emancipated
pagan Moslem masses are forcing the Catholic-taught Mossi politicians
to act in the interests of their faction. CLARITY RANKING:
4 SIMON ISRAEL York
University (Naomi Adelson)
Skinner, Eliott
P. Christianity and Islam among the Mossi. American
Anthropologist December, 1958 Vol. 60(6): 1102-1118 What Elliott Skinner
intended to convey with this paper was to show the progress of Islam
and Christianity in the group of people in the Sudan, known as the
Mossi. He went on to examine how successful and unsuccessful the two
religions were in their attempts to convert these very spiritual and
traditionally Pagan people and the various ways people used to gain
converts. Skinner begins his
article with the notion that the Mossi are the "main" people
in Sudan that have shown tremendous resistance to the conversion of
Islam. Many religions have tried to gain converts in this area via
missionaries and the using force all with negligible results. However,
despite a long history of resistance that dates back to the initial
contact of the Moslems and Mossi in the year 1328, Skinner is showing
that more and more the Mossi are beginning to abandon their traditional
religion and convert. The Mossi are a
primarily agriculturally based group of people, with belief in ancestor
veneration and the use of "earth priests" for healing and
well being. Their traditional form of religion made it almost impossible
for social advancement. "Serf’s and "Slaves" that were
Mossi, indeed stayed slaves as Mossi. However, these same people could
achieve a higher social status and prestige once they converted to
Islam. As far as the other Mossi, who converted, they were usually
the "weak", children, or people who left the region and when
they returned noticed their relatives had converted and decided to
join them. The author shows
in great detail the ways of conversion and how it was done. Skinner
show’s both the success and failure of the converts. This paper showed
that Moslem harmonized the Mossi and that the Mossi in a sense took
on Islam in their own way and made some modifications to it, while
Christianity greatly disrupted the same group of people. With this
paper Elliott Skinner show’s excellent fieldwork and participant observation
which is reflected in a well crafted writing. CLARITY RANKING:
5 AARON GOLDBERG University
of Pennsylvania (Melvyn Hammarberg)
Spencer, Robert
F. Culture Process and Intellectual Current: Durkheim
and Ataturk. American Anthropologist August, 1958 Vol. 60 (4):640-657 The main discussion
found here in Robert Spencer’s article is about the process by which
Turkey began to break away from its Middle Eastern identity and started
upon its journey to become a more Westernized country in an attempt
to be more like the countries of Europe and the United States. Spencer
notes that this radical change in national identity began to take real
form sometime after World War II and possibly earlier. He states that "Turkey
began to think of itself as a wholly autonomous nation-culture" (640).
This process is thought to have been facilitated by Kemal Ataturk who
had a clear agenda that incorporated the modernization of the Turkish
state. He notes that this included nation wide changes that ran the
gamut from religious perspective to clothing style. To illuminate and
clarify his argument Spencer draws upon another country to illustrate
this type of Westernization in order to achieve a more independent
national image. The country he has chosen to draw these comparisons
is Japan. That to achieve a goal of national identity, it was necessary
to adopt certain cultural traits that were distinctly Western while
at the same time maintaining the intrinsic Japanese culture itself.
He claims that another aspect that Turkey and Japan have in common
is what he refers to as marginality related to geographic position
and also that both countries seemed to be missing a sort of cultural
balance. Spencer applies
the theories of such thinkers as Durkheim to explain the behavior of
Turkish nationalism and the change to a more Western method of cultural
operation and thinking, he claims that Turkey’s tie with the Arab world
was at last severed in the year 1918 (643) and that by now not only
was the cultural base at first glimpse becoming more Western but that
there was a shift in the military class and an adoption of Western
scientific practices. Turkey was effectively becoming more like the
countries of Europe than that of the Arab world. CLARITY RANKING:
3 CARIANNE SWANSON University
of Pennsylvania (Dr. Melvyn Hammarberg)
Spicer, Edward
H. Social Structure and the Cultural Process in
Yaqui Religious Acculturation. American Anthropologist June,
1958 Vol. 60 (3):433-441 The theme of this
article, as Edward Spicer articulates it, is that "the social
structure of contact situations is an important determinant of the
cultural change which goes on when two societies with differing cultures
come into contact" (433). This is not to say that social structure
is the only, or even the main, determinant. Rather, says Spicer, it
indicates that examples of acculturation cannot be thoroughly explained
without looking at the social structure of the contact in question. Using the Yaqui
Indians of northwestern Mexico, Spicer attempts to describe how the
social structure of the contact community, the Jesuit missionaries,
influenced changes in Yaqui rituals and beliefs. During the seventeenth
century, a great deal of Roman Catholic beliefs and practices were
introduced to the Yaqui, and most were readily accepted. Many of the
new concepts replaced older, native Yaqui religious forms. However,
these "borrowed" forms were not merely substituted into Yaqui
practice unaltered. Instead, the Yaqui created a "fusion of new
forms with old and new meanings" (434). This fusion of forms
came as the missionaries communicated their religious ideals, behaviors,
and artifacts to the Yaqui. The Jesuits held immense prestige in the
community, both for their ability to introduce new ritual methods,
and for their possession of new food products and resources, such as
cattle and hoes. Adding to their influence was the missionaries' role
in reorganizing the local communities into new settlements. Their proficiency
in the native Yaqui language also greatly aided the Jesuits' ability
to introduce new religious practices. For these reasons,
the missionaries were able to successfully introduce Catholic principals
and rites in Yaqui religious ceremonies. Most Yaqui, however, did not
have frequent contact with the Jesuits, outside of Mass and other formal
ceremonies. Thus, as the Catholic religious innovations "diffused
through the established communication lines," explains Spicer, "there
was abundant opportunity for attaching old meanings to new forms and
for misinterpreting what was taught by the missionary" (440).
In this way, the social structure of the Jesuits and the Yaqui, and
the public role of the missionaries in Yaqui society, had a major impact
on the adoption and modification of Catholic beliefs and rituals. CLARITY RANKING:
4 LINDA SIMON University
of Pennsylvania (Dr. Melvyn Hammarberg)
Spicer, Edward
H. Social Structure and The Acculturation Process
in Yaqui Religious Acculturation. American Anthropologist 1958
Vol.60:433-441 The main theme of
this article is that the social structure of contact situations is
a vital component of the cultural change that occurs when two culturally
different societies come into contact. This idea does not allow one
to generalize that some aspects of culture change more than others
within contact situations. The reason that it does not allow for these
generalizations is because it requires any statement about cultural
change to make a reference to the structure of the contact. One cannot
describe acculturation without discussing the social structure of contact. The author uses
cultural changes among the Yaqui Indians of northwestern Mexico as
his evidence. He uses cultural innovations such as ritual artifacts,
ritual behaviour, and ritual beliefs to show how cultural changes are
influenced by the social structure of contact communities. The Yaqui
had many cultural innovations introduced to them by Jesuit missionaries
between 1617 and 1767. The missionaries taught many Roman Catholic
rituals and beliefs to the Yaqui, and the Yaqui accepted many of them.
Christian holidays, baptism, and the symbol of the cross are some of
the rituals and beliefs that were accepted. The Yaqui, however, fused
many of the new Christian meanings with their old Yaqui beliefs. For
example, the Yaqui accepted the Christian cross and used it in many
ways including the houseyard cross, churchyard cross, and the Way of
the Cross. The houseyard cross was an extension of the Jesuit introduction
of the cross to a traditional Yaqui belief. Both the houseyard and
churchyard crosses are called tebatpo kus, meaning "patio
cross," which is a link to the concept of "sacred or sung-over
ground," a Mexican aboriginal religious notion. The missionaries
who had established themselves in a community to the south of the Yaqui,
came to them at their request. The agricultural and religious practices
that the missionaries had established there were highly respected by
the Yaqui. They quickly accepted baptism and the eight churches that
were built became the center of towns of 3000 people. The Jesuit influence
was based on the accommodation of Yaqui leadership and was successful
without any Spanish military support. The fact that the Jesuits were
accepted so quickly without military force implies that not only did
the Yaqui respect the Jesuits, but also that Yaqui community life was
restructured considerably. In this quick restructuring, the Jesuits
were placed in positions of great influence. Despite this reorganization,
the community continued to be directed by old leaders. To fully understand
the nature of the fusion between Yaqui and Catholicism one must be
able to study both the Yaqui religious system before the Jesuits entered
compared to the Catholic system. Unfortunately, satisfactory data of
the Yaqui system before the Jesuits arrived is not available. CLARITY RANKING:
4 RYAN MASON York
University (Naomi Adelson)
Spindler, Louis & George
Spindler. Male and Female Adaptations in
Culture Change. American Anthropologist April, 1958 Vol.60 (2):217-233. Spindler and Spindler
undertook a study to see the effects of change to society for the Menomini
Indians of Wisconsin. They observed how the change affected males versus
females. They were seeing how easily the Menomini Indians were socialized
into the rest of middle class America. In their paper, they presented
the psychological adaptations between males and females and also showed
methodology in order to accurately describe males and females. Overall they observed
that the females were more conservative. The males on the other hand
were more anxious and less controlled. In order to accomplish the study
the used Rorshach’s data (68 from male and 61 from female), used 23
sociocultural indices to find explicit values associated with the Menomini,
completed interviews, wrote short autobiographies, participant observations
and collected ethnohistory data. They defined a continuum with 5 levels
(native oriented, Peyote cult, transitional, lower status acculturated
and elite acculturated. Native oriented was the least like typical
Americans and elite acculturated was the most acculturated to the general
society and hence acted in the way many typical Americans do. They
also used a modal personality technique to assess the differences between
male and female. In conclusion, Spindler
and Spindler found that women adjust easier than men. The women tended
to stay in the feminine expressive role but if they did begin to take
on a amore instrumental role, they only worked at it tentatively or
partially. For men, they struggle with the difference between their
old world and the new one. Their roles dominate their life and thus
have a greater impact on their psychological being than for the women.
They have to struggle with the socialization process from a world they
were entrenched in to another. CLARITY RANKING:
5 PEGGY WANG University
of Pennsylvania (Melvyn Hammarberg)
Spiro, Melford
E. and Roy G. D'Andrade. A Cross-Cultural Study
of Some Supernatural Beliefs. American Anthropologist June, 1958
Vol. 60 (3):456-466 This article uses
the cross-cultural method to test a series of hypotheses regarding
religious beliefs and practices. The authors claim that religious ideology
can be explained and interpreted like any other aspect of culture.
Thus the same framework used to understand these other cultural aspects
is appropriate for religion as well. Spiro and D'Andrade
begin by explaining the assumptions that lead to these hypotheses.
The most significant assumption is that belief systems are creations
of human or culturally-constituted fantasy (456). These belief systems,
however, are not created individually or by each generation, but rather
are passed down as part of a society's cultural heritage. The study conducted
by the authors examined the ways that such beliefs are taught to children
by their families and cultures. They collected data on child training
and religious practices from eleven different societies. All data was
grouped into categories and assigned numerical values, coefficients
of reliability, or other statistical measurements. Spiro and D'Andrade
state that, "it soon became apparent that benevolence and malevolence
are elusive concepts, exceedingly resistant to quantitative or cross-cultural
manipulation" (457). For that reason, they decided to separate
them into various subgroups for the purposes of analysis. Both concepts
were analyzed as to how they related to both nurture and punishment. The authors caution
that their results, which reject the null hypothesis, are by no means
absolute. They are quite certain, Spiro and D'Andrade explain, that
different studies with differing samples will reach other conclusions.
However, such potential inconsistencies do not mean that the hypotheses
in this study are incorrect. Rather, these inconsistencies point to
the fact that, "derivation of hypotheses in the field of culture
and personality is particularly tricky" (465). CLARITY RANKING:
1 LINDA SIMON University
of Pennsylvania (Dr. Melvyn Hammarberg)
Suttles, Wayne. Private
Knowledge, Morality, and Social Classes among the Coast Salish. American
Anthropologist June, 1958 Vol. 60 (3):497-507 This article looks
at the existence of social stratification on the Northwest Coast, and
whether there were distinct social classes, in addition to slaves,
in those societies. Suttles says that his purpose is to show that there
were separate social classes among the Coast Salish, and that these
classes were related to Salish beliefs regarding morality. The best evidence
for distinct social classes, in Suttles’ view, is the various descriptions
of village housing layout and relationships between villages. Residences
were divided according to upper and lower-class citizens so that the
lower-class citizens were usually at the far end of the village, where
they were more vulnerable to attack by outside enemies. Though there were
social class divisions, the majority of people were members of the
upper class. Suttles likens this social structure to an inverted pear,
rather than the more traditional pyramid. High-status citizens were
those who had not only wealth, but also what was called "sncp," roughly
translated as "advice." This consisted of family traditions
and folklore glorifying the family name, while at the same time belittling
other lineages as inferior (501). Low-status citizens,
on the other hand, were those who had "lost" their history,
the advice handed down through generations of their family. One Salish
informant told the author that lower-class people were "those
who, through their own or their forebears’ misfortune or foolishness,
had lost their links with the past and their knowledge of good conduct" (501). Good conduct was
considered a key aspect of high-status citizenship. Suttles argues
that the requirement for moral behavior among the upper class was a
form of social control. The visible presence of lower-status citizens,
though few, served to remind the upper class of the virtues of an honest
and moral life. This myth, that morality is limited to the upper class,
was also used to regulate the growth of the lower class. If it grew
too large, the morality myth would no longer hold true, and the society
would ultimately fragment into two or more separate communities. CLARITY RANKING:
5 LINDA SIMON University
of Pennsylvania (Dr. Melvyn Hammarberg)
Swartz, Marc
J. Sexuality and Aggression on Romonum, Truk.
American Anthropologist June, 1958 Vol. 60 (3):467-485 This article examines
two specific sexual relationships on Romonum Island, the spousal relationship
and the sweetheart relationship. Swartz argues that the spousal relationship
is viewed as a less satisfying sexual experience than the sweetheart
experience. On Romonum, marriage is an important part of the social
and economic system. Though marriage is informal, and divorce easily
obtained, both practices are gstrictly verned by a complex set of rules
of family obligations. Husbands must contribute
labor and goods to the wife’s family according to what they request
of him. Failure to do so is one common cause of divorce on the island.
The man must not only meet the demands of his in-laws, he must also
be careful not to appear to be placing their interests above those
of his family. This delicate balance that needs to be maintained is
one of the greatest sources of stress for males on the island. Due to this stress,
men often beat their wives as a way to release aggression. Though such
treatment is, to an extent, accepted by their wives’ brothers and male
relatives, they must be careful not to go to far. Likewise, women sometimes
beat their husbands, but they must be careful lest their sons side
with their father, and join together to retaliate against the mother. Swartz claims that
because of the many implicit rules and regulations governing marital
relations, sexual intercourse between husband and wife is frequently
unsatisfying and routine. For this reason, men and women are likely
to seek out a less restrictive sweetheart relationship. According to
Swartz, sweetheart relationships exist because "the restraint
with which one must behave toward those defined as important relatives
need not be exercised between the partners in an affair in matters
sexual or otherwise" (476). However, sweetheart
pairings are also subject to acts of aggression, though for different
reasons. Whereas aggression is frequently taken out on spouses as a
means of releasing tension, aggression against a sweetheart is a way
of expressing commitment to, and sexual desire for, the sweetheart.
Swartz concludes then, that "despite the different ways in which
both men and women express their aggression, the sweetheart complex
offers both sexes channels for the expression of aggression which are
not available in any other regular relationship" (485). CLARITY RANKING:
3 LINDA SIMON University
of Pennsylvania (Dr. Melvyn Hammarberg)
Swartz, J. Marc. Sexuality
and Aggression on Romonum, Truk. American Anthropologist (No
month), 1958 Vol. 60: 467-486 The author examines
the two types of relationships on Romonum Island involving sexual expression.
The islanders view the sexual relationship as a less satisfactory source
of sexual gratification than the other, the sweetheart relationship.
The sweetheart relationship relates to the opportunity it offers for
the expression of aggression through sexual practices. Definitions
of both types of relationships are clearly defined and explained throughout
the paper. The spouse relationship is shown to be like other kin relationships
because it is a source of aggressive feelings, but it offers few channels
for the expression of these feelings. It is noted that everyone on
Romonum participates in both types of relationships. Comparing both
the marital and the sweetheart complex, the importance is shown within
their contrast to economic and social relations and their role set
within society. The author states that their informants agree that
neither men nor women are expected to refrain from premarital sex and
that sex relations generally start during the adolescence age. Not
only does this article include the age in which sexual relations begin
but it also includes with whom the acts take place – boys versus girls. The sweetheart relation
is noted as being illegitimate since in most cases it involves adultery,
one of the main causes of divorce. The second most common reason for
divorce is the issue of hierarchy within the marriage within the family.
Men must help to support their wives families. The woman, on the other
hand, is expected to do little work for her husband’s family. Romonum
men undergo a lot within a marriage. He must work for and side with
his wife’s family. The wife is not subject to such stress; her work
is limited to the house and children. However, she must also decide
whose authority to accept when there is a conflict between her husband
and her male relatives. This stress, which seems so minor, leads to
wife beating, which is common, provided there is a good ‘reason’. Despite
the many bad ‘reasons’, women are still victims of their husband’s
displacement of aggression. While the spouse relationship offers more
freedom for the expression of aggression, it is possible only within
definite limits. Swartz refers to
Gladwin and Goodenough and their interests and at times agrees with
them. With the use of their ideas, Swartz notes the sexual relation
techniques of both the sweetheart and the marital complex and openly
agrees with Gladwin’s notion that sexuality between sweethearts is
much less reserved than between spouses. The process of sweetheart
relationship is explained further, beginning with its methods of erotic
practices to the initial communication and its meaning. Swartz continues
to agree with Gladwin that the sweetheart relationship serves as a
vehicle for the freedom of expression of feelings. Despite the different
ways in which men and women express themselves, the sweetheart relationship
seems to offer both sexes channels for their expression unlike the
marital relationship, and in following the laws, expression of feeling
seems to be like no other. CLARITY RANKING:
4 CHRISTINA FIORE York
University (Naomi Adelson)
Wallace, Anthony
F. C. Dreams and the Wishes of the Soul. American
Anthropologist 1958 60:234-249. In the early seventeenth
century, a group of Jesuit missionaries discovered the native tribes
of the Seneca and Iroquois. After a short period of study, they discovered
that these peoples had extensive beliefs that they were unwilling to
forget easily. Most of these beliefs revolved around the mind in the
state of sleep: dreams. In this essay, Wallace uses the Jesuit writings
and other texts to explain the significance of dreams to the Seneca. Wallace begins by
citing the journals of Father Fremin to describe how important dreams
were to these people. He explains how the Seneca would follow their
dreams literally, with the belief that without doing so they would
upset the gods and bring wrath upon themselves. "Another who has
dreamed that he was taken prisoner and burned alive, has found himself
bound and burned like a captive on the next day, being persuaded that
by thus satisfying his dream this fidelity will avert from him the
pain and infamy of captivity and death" (Wallace, 235). Wallace
continues to tell of the hardship experienced by the Jesuits in attempting
to dissuade the natives from this belief, ultimately unsuccessfully.
He explains that even today (1958) many of the Seneca peoples still
use their dreams to choose the "choice and occasion of curing
ceremonies" and other rituals in their everyday life. Wallace finishes
his article by giving documented examples of Iroquoian dreams and separates
them into two different types: symptomatic dreams and visitation dreams.
Symptomatic dreams are described as dreams that express a wish of the
dreamer’s soul. These dreams are usually responded to in a form of
ceremony. Visitation dreams, on the other hand, "showed powerful
supernatural beings who usually spoke personally to the dreamer, giving
him a message of importance for himself and often also for the whole
community" (Wallace, 245). Visitation dreams were also seen as
a rite of passage - an Iroquois teen would make a journey into the
forest and fast for several days, until he experienced a dream in which
a supernatural being appeared and offered the boy a talisman. He could
then return to his tribe a man. CLARITY RANKING:
4 MICHAEL FILLITER York
University, Toronto (Naomi Adelson)
Wallace, Anthony
F.C. Dreams and the Wishes of the Soul: A
type of Psychoanalytic Theory Among the Seventeenth Century Iroquois. American
Anthropologist April, 1958 Vol.60 (2):234-248. The article is an
ethnography of the Iroquois Indians regarding their theory of dreams.
The paper details both the theory and practice, which was reported
by the Jesuit missionaries about the seventeenth century Iroquois.
Their dream theory is actually quite similar to the Freudian theory
of dreams. Since the Iroquois theory was reached independently from
Freud (no evidence the Iroquois could have learned from Freud) it again
emphasizes how dreams could be important "as sources of innovation
in human cultural history." When the Jesuits
first met the Iroquois, they tried to persuade the Iroquois from believing
in their dreams. The Iroquois could not be persuaded; they were deeply
entrenched in their beliefs. They look to their dream for guidance.
What the dreams tell them, they believe to be the truth and they act
out on it. Their theory of dreams is psychoanalytic. For example, they
believe that any disease or bodily infirmity is caused by natural injuries,
witchcraft or the mind of a patient. The Iroquois also saw that the
mind had an unconscious and conscious part. The individual Iroquois
could not always correctly interpret the dream either. Their dreams
can be aggressive leading them to act out on those aggressions. The
dreams can also take priority over public ideals such as the fidelity
of marriage if someone dreams of a relationship with someone else.
Dreams can be supernatural as well which may be to protect them. Even
the Jesuits admitted that their dream therapy was effective. To the Iroquois,
dreams are much more than randomness. Dreams are taken seriously and
acted upon. Their theory of dreams follows their theme of freedom that
is in their culture. They are to satisfy their individual desire. "Iroquois
men dreamt; and without shame, they received the fruits of their dreams
and their souls were satisfied." CLARITY RANKING:
5 PEGGY WANG University
of Pennsylvania (Melvyn Hammarberg)
Wike, Joyce. Problems
in Fur Trade Analysis: The Northwest Coast. American Anthropologist
1958. Vol. 60: 1086-1101. Joyce Wike looks
at the economic history of the Northwest fur trade, to see if the fur
trade with Europeans was "extremely favourable and stimulating
for the native communities" (p.1086). Wike states that the native
communities economic situation was enriched because of three reasons: "technological
improvements of the native productive capacity," "an increase
in the exchange values of native commodities," and " gradual
incorporation of the native producers into more advanced…economical
systems." (p.1087). With trade there
were technological "improvements" on their tools, the native
population became dependent on the Europeans to supply and fix these
new tools. Looking at the balance sheet of the trade, one can see the
change in the economy, but to truly understand the advantages or disadvantages,
one has to look at the individuals involved in the trade; there needs
to be more research done in that area. CLARITY RANKING:
4 CHRISTINA SAUNDERS York
University (Naomi Adelson)
Wike, Joyce. Problems
in Fur trade Analysis: The Northwest Coast. American Anthropologist
December, 1958 Vol. 60(6): 1086-1097 Joyce Wike’s article
takes a cautious approach at the analysis of the fur trade in the Northwest
Coast. She clearly states and stresses that her work along with the
work of other’s in this field is tentative and hopefully a new understanding
and history can be found that would enlighten this topic. However it
seems that it is and will be extremely problematic. Her findings are
very inconclusive and much of her information is based on informant’s
information and assumptions, along with an ethnographic reconstruction
of history. Although, Ms.Wilke’s basis for her analysis of the fur
trade in this region and time is largely based on the knowledge and
understanding of the economy of this time, which the intricate and
precise knowledge is obviously still a bit of a mystery Wilke clearly proposes
an excellent argument and substantiates her many points that overall
the fur trade was favorable for all parties involved. She assumes that
the participants in the trade became wealthier and enjoyed a much more
prosperous economy. The author indicates that this so called "enrichment" or
prosperous economy resulted from three main items: technological improvement,
i.e.: new tools and weapons, an increase in exchange value of native
commodities, i.e.: increased returns through bartering, and the gradual
incorporation of the producers into a highly organized, specialized
economic system and how was this new wealth obtained and how did it
produce consequences. These examinations
of the fur trade during this time as Wilke states would prove easier
if an extensive study of a single group at a single location could
be done. That there are no traditional records, only an "Oral
History", and that one must understand the true nature of trade
including potlatches and the implications encountered with fur trade
and social mobility. In Wilke’s article
she clearly demonstrates that there are several problems with analyzing
this topic and that she was honest throughout in saying a lot of it
was merely speculative and incomplete. Her hopes of showing these weaknesses
were to try and stimulate further research into this arena. Her article
clearly illustrates these points and provides a good framework on where
to begin and carry on her research into this subject. The article was
well constructed and "easy" to read. CLARITY: 4 AARON GOLDBERG University
of Pennsylvania (Melvyn Hammarberg)
Yinger, J. Milton. The
Influence of Anthropology on Sociological Theories of Religion. American
Anthropologist June, 1958 Vol. 60 (3):487-495 This article examines
the similarities between anthropology and sociology in the study of
religion. Yinger states that "in principle, I believe, the two
disciplines are almost identical to the degree that they involve efforts
to develop analytic and systematic theories of religion. There may
well be differences in method and in the type of data given primary
attention, but it is difficult to conceive of a theoretical 'anthropology
of religion' separate from 'sociology of religion'" (487). For this reason,
Yinger discusses here the influences of anthropology on a sociological
theory of religion. He discusses the rise of the combined disciplines,
drawing on the works of such renowned theorists as Weber, Durkheim
and Tylor. Yinger also claims that (in a very unscientific study),
he found that over half of introductory sociology textbooks drew heavily
on anthropological work. The one significant
absence from the field of religious sociology, however, is that of
cultural anthropology. This absence is not due to the fact that anthropologists
have not studied religion. Rather, it is due to inconsistencies between
the culture-history approach of cultural anthropology and the way that
sociologists approach religion. Thus Yinger concludes
that though anthropology's influence on the sociology of religion has
been indirect, it has not been unimportant. He argues that, "anthropology
has kept alive, much more thoroughly than sociology, an interest in
religion as an important part of the life of man" (495). In addition,
anthropologists have continued to emphasize the need to see the whole
culture, not just fragmented or unrelated parts. Without the contribution
of anthropology, says Yinger, the study of sociology of religion would
be far from complete. CLARITY RANKING:
3 LINDA SIMON University
of Pennsylvania (Dr. Melvyn Hammarberg)
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