American Anthropologist 1931

Beyer, Hermann. The Maya Day-Signs Been and Kan. American Anthropologist. 1931 Vol. 33:199-208.

Hermann Beyer, in his article The Maya Day-Sign Been and Kan, examines the various forms these two signs have taken. By examining the glyphs and reducing them to their most elementary components, he explains not only how the variations came about, but also what the signs signify.

Beyer separates the Been sign into two elementary parts; firstly, the upper half, which generally consists of two simple markings, usually rectangles or loops. He relates these marks to fire because the flame and the number three sometimes replace them. The second component, the lower half, consists of again two similar simple markings. Beyer believes that they probably represent the Maya number ten, which is related to symbolism. Beyer offers proof of this by pointing out that there are a few examples of the Been sign in which the full sign for ten is found in the lower half. To further support the fire relationship, Beyer notes that the number ten is also a symbol related to fire. He therefore concludes that Been must refer to fire or fire related ideas.

Beyer recognizes three components of the sign Kan, the upper half, the lower half, and the dividing middle line. The upper half usually contains a symbol representing two teeth; the lower half consists of two blank bars, which symbolize the number ten. The middle dividing line has an exaggerated dip in the middle. Beyer believes this developed to help differentiate the Kan sign from the Been sign. Beyer believes that Kan probably represents “victuals” and personified natural forces. He offers evidence of this by citing various incidences where the Kan sign is shown as an offering in a dish, set before deities.

CLARITY RANKING: 3
NATALIE GRINDSTAFF University of Georgia (Peter Brosius).

Beyer, Hermann. The Maya Day-Signs Been and Kan. American Anthropologist 33 (2): 199-208. 1931

The stylistic developments of the Maya day-signs Been and Kan are reconstructed according to the author’s interpretation of compositional elements, the presumed techniques of Mayan scribes and engravers, and the evidence provided by surviving examples of each sign, as well as of related signs, from codices and engravings representing different historical stages in the use of these hieroglyphs. In each case Beyer posits original versions of the signs based on scribal conventions, then traces the variations in the actually extant examples in relation to these supposed originary forms.

From comparing inscriptions from archaeological sites with examples from more recent codices and from the historical compilation by Landa, Beyer supposes “Old Empire” (presumably what would now be known as Classic) and later stages of the signs. In the cases of Been and Kan, the close similarity and ease of confusion has been the leading factor in change, as the author characterizes it. In Been’s case, an earlier “liberty” in stylistic execution was replaced by a subsequently more strictly delineated form, the motive being to enable greater ease in distinction from the sign Kan. Kan, on the other hand, developed from a more stylistically conventional sign into one characterized by an unusual curved dividing line between its two compositional elements, which arose as a result of scribal technique, but eventually became the distinguishing characteristic of Kan, such that when simplified forms were employed they included the curved dividing line even when eliding the originally significant elements. The article concludes with a parallel example of the development of the sign Ix, whereby it has become increasingly distinguishable from the sign Ahau.

CLARITY RATE: 3
DONALD ANDERSON California State University, Hayward (Peter J. Claus.)

Brown, E.D.W.. Polynesian Leis. American Anthropologist. 1931 Vol. 33: 615-619.

In a paper presented at the opening session of the Hawaiian Academy of Science on “Lei Day” in 1930, Brown, working at the Bernice P. Bishop Museum in Honolulu, begins his discussion of Polynesian leis by briefly explaining the history of ornamentation. From ten years of data collection with the Polynesians, he then discusses the use of leis and further elaborates on the different types of leis.

During the Aurignacian epoch, people utilized shells, bone, ivory, and later beads as ornamentation. While this evidence of necklaces and pendants are discovered in human graves, it is not as apparent as to the extent to which perishable ornamentation, such as flowers and foliage, were used as ornamentation. However, Brown infers that flower leis are as old as other evidence of ornamentation, thus dating to seventeen thousand years ago. Ornamentation, such as flower leis, served to protect against evil spirits. The Polynesians used leis in ceremonies to honor the gods, and later extended the offering of leis as honor to friends.

Brown divides leis into two broad groups: 1) non-perishable (i.e. leis of stones, shells, or feathers); and 2) perishable (i.e. leis of flowers, fruits, or leaves). Brown does not discuss the art or purpose of the different kinds of leis, but elaborates on different leis and their origins. He asserts that the conception of Hawaiian leis is Polynesian instead of Hawaiian, with the exception of the ilima lei, which is based on color and is strictly Hawaiian. From statistical analysis, Brown concludes that leis are mainly based on fragrance, although some leis are based on color and the Hawaiian olapa lei on movement.

CLARITY RANKING: 5
ELIZABETH HANSEN University of Georgia (J. Peter Brosius)

Bryan, Frank. Notes on the Archaeology of Central Texas. American Anthropologist 33 (2): 16-31. January-March 1931.

During a geological survey of a large area of Texas a casual search of the ground for stone tools has also been kept up. The area spans 400 sq. miles of central Texas and covers many counties. Hundreds of tools have been found. The first few hundred were divided up by type of stone, shape, and color. The arrowheads were markedly different depending on what environment they came from. It was concluded from evidence of deposition that certain arrowheads were older and consequently this was another reason for obvious differences. The geologic activity of the area allows for many ancient artifacts to be pushed up to the surface. Faulting, sand layers, and gravel layers show evidence of prehistoric environments as well as remains of mammoths along side human tools. Eventually, the artifacts were divided and classified in a manner that focused on chronology. This was done by applying the methods of paleontology (simple forms of arrowheads were assumed to be common to all ages), then by topographic position, and patina or use-wear as it is sometimes called. Quartzite and flint were the materials commonly used to make these implements. The fact that the artifacts have washed up and thus out of their original context makes them difficult to date. However, the shear massive quantity found has allowed for valuable insight into the cultural history of the area.

CLARITY RATE: 3
JENNIFER D. AFFOLTER California State University, Hayward (Dr. Peter J. Claus.)

Bryan, Frank. Notes on the Archaeology of Central Texas. 1931 Vol.33:16-31.

Frank Bryan reports his notes from archaeological fieldwork in Central Texas. Himself an oil geologist, Bryan primarily focuses on the geological aspects in the field. He covered about four hundred miles and geologically mapped most the area. Almost the entire area was scouted and searched for outcrops.
Although most of Bryans work concentrates on geological mapping , he also notes much of the archaeological results rendered. A large number of arrowheads were discovered on the ground as workers scouted the counties of McLennan Hill, Limestone, and Navarro. Most were made of quartzite although some flint was discovered as well. He also describes some of the pits excavated and the remains found in them. Mostly found were buried bodies, bones, and pieces of pottery. Bryan notes nearly all of them are washed away and disintegrated into tiny fragments.
Although comprised mostly on field notes, Bryan also offers some inferences and conclusions. One such inference includes that of arrowheads found on terraces and away from streams, as opposed to those found in valleys and near streams, were considered of an older age. Bryan admits that they did appear to be of different ages but no digging had been done yet and thus hard to conclude if they were indeed older. After the excavation, it was still difficult to determine a correct order of arrowheads with respect to time. Try as they did, he quickly interjects that they are most likely incorrect in their attempt. Bryan does make one of his own conclusions when it came to whether or not some flints found were shaped due to geological events or by humans. With careful examination he determines they had been shaped by humans in the past. He notes a number of reasons why he believes this to be true.
The article does not seem to attempt to persuade one to think one or the other rather a report on the fieldwork Frank Bryan was involved in. Mostly focusing on geological aspects, it may be hard for one with little geological background to understand everything he notes. He does, on the other hand, have some drawings of maps. He also includes pictures of arrowheads which are nicely grouped together in groups he thinks are similar.

CLARITY RANKING: 4
RYAN DUGGAR University of Georgia (Peter Brosius)

Carey, Henry. An Analysis of the Northwestern Chihuahua Culture AAv33pp325-371

The writer gives a detailed description about a Northwestern frontier state of Mexico, known as Chihuahua. It is a dry and barren area with hills and “a plateau of 4000 feet in altitude.” The writer gives a full description of the pottery, which was common to this area, through personal excavations. Many of the pottery pieces are housed at the State Museum of New Mexico. One particular rare style of pottery is the Effigy vessels in which there are four types ranging from “true effigies” which show the complete vessel in human form to “jars with body-parts protruding from the sides.” In addition to pottery, Henry Carey speaks of the excavations of mounds, which were commonly found near rivers or water sources. These mounds revealed walls of plaster, rooms, fireplaces, and burials in particular areas. He includes maps of the ruins and pictures of the areas that were excavated. Within these remains, there several objects were preserved which gave reference to various parts of Mexico.

CLARITY: 4
MELODY ASKEY California State University, Hayward (Professor Peter Claus).

Carey, Henry A. An Analysis of the Northwestern Chihuahua Culture. American Anthropologist 1931 Vol.33: 325-374.

Carey explores the Chihuahua culture by comparing it to geographically adjacent cultures in order to find its origin and place within Mexican culture. Chihuahua is a northern frontier state of Mexico and Carey’s paper focuses particularly on the northwestern part of the state. This area has several major archaeological sites in which provide the evidence for much of the conlusions made in this periodical. These are the Casas Grandes, the Mimbres (Southern New Mexico), and the Central Rio Grande. Carey gives three purposes in his study of the Chihuahua area. First is to discover the relationship between the cliff-dwelling culture and the mound (ancient underground homes) culture. Second is to determine the place of these culture in their relationship to the more well known cultures of contiguous regions. Third is to help aid in understanding the Southwestern archaeology which is a connecting culture between Mexico and the Southwest. Carey analyzes Chihuahua culture by examining the influences from the major culture areas (the Casas Grandes and the North/Southwestern vs. South/Mexico) through several cultural factors: pottery type (shape, decoration, and technique), the mounds, and the cliff dwellings.

The pottery types closely relate the Casas Grandes to the Southwest and sometimes to Mexico, revealing a cultural closeness. The Ollas of the Casas Grandes reveal some Southwestern influence. However, Casas Grandes pottery also includes a high number of effigy jars (jars resembling human or animal shape), which suggests Southern influence. In terms of decoration, the design elements indicate a closer affiliation with the Southwestern rather than Mexico. Most of the elements obviously have Southwestern origin. One exception, however, is the plumed serpent. This is an example of Southern influence taken and altered to fit local style. In contrast, pottery technique of the Casas Grandes reveals Southwestern and Mexican influences. From the South, the Casas Grandes took modeling, incision, and incised designs filled with black and red paint. From the North was black-on-red, and corrugated techniques.

In contrast, the Mounds of the Casas Grandes suggested architectural disparity rather than affiliation. The mounds materials differ between the Casas Grandes, the North, and the South. Many of the mounds were found to have a second floor for the purpose of corn grinding. Because of the conditions of the mounds, it is highly probable that the inhabitants abandoned the mounds because of invasion by hostile tribes. In theory, these same inhabitants then created the cliff houses of the Babicora district. The similarity in cultural traits (pots, food, architecture) supports this theory. This cliff dwellings were created by using the concavity of rock walls to implement the construction of the shelter, using the rock roof. These were also eventually abandoned, however, because of lack of agricultural (specifically corn) potential.

In conclusion, the cultural evidence the Carey conveys suggests that in its relation to neighboring cultures, the Casas Grandes shows a closer cultural connection to the Southwest. Yet, although the influence of pure Mexican culture is small, it is undeniable. In addition, the culture of the Casas Grandes showed much exclusively local cultural development as well.

CLARITY RANKING: 4
JENNIFER MAGUIRE Barnard College (Paige West)

Clements, Forrest. Plains Indian Tribal Correlations with Sun Dance Data. American Anthropologist 33 (2): 216-227. 1931

The purpose of this study was to gauge the ability of a statistical method, developed by the author, to measure cultural relatedness in terms of shared traits out of an ethnologically determined trait complex. Using the Plains Indians as a culture area, the extent to which any two tribes share traits out of a list of culture traits associated with the Sun Dance is the basis of a measure of their relatedness. Based on the statistical data, presumptions are made about the prehistoric connections between tribes , and the location and paths of diffusion of the Sun Dance complex; these conclusions are found to correspond with previously reached ethnographic theories, thus vindicating the method.

The method involves determining the relatedness of every possible pair out of 19 tribes, that is, 171 pairings. For each pairing the tabulation includes the number of traits (out of the total of 92 in the complex) found in both, the number of traits found in neither, and the numbers found in each of the two tribes but not in the other. From these numbers coefficients are derived, one of correlation, the other of association. The conclusions rest primarily on the evidence of the coefficients of association, while those of correlation are called upon when necessary for clarification. From the list of positive, negative, and ambivalent associations, the author posits the origin of the Sun Dance complex at a time before the tribes occupied their historical territories, followed by two paths of diffusion characterized on one hand by the Assiniboin, and on the other by the Arapaho and Cheyenne; with further elaboration in the meantime, and alteration by recipient cultures, accounting for further variation. These conclusions agree with those advanced earlier according to qualititative methods; this proves that the quantitative approach here used is valid.

CLARITY RATE: 4
DONALD N. ANDERSON California State University, Hayward (Peter J. Claus).

Clements, Forrest. Plains Indian Tribal Correlations with Sun Dance Data. American Anthropologist June, 1931 Vol. 33:216-227.

In this article, Clements examines the validity of correlating statistical data with cultural events. Many critics say that anthropologists cannot quantitatively assess ethnological data and I tend to agree. Clements’ attempts in this article to examine and explain the statistical data collected by L. Spier’s. He uses a number of variables and correlation coefficients that can hardly be understood to the non-math major. He uses these methods to numerically show similarities between the Sun Dances of different Plains Indian tribes. Clements then attempts to explain the reasons behind certain patterns in the analytical data. His speculations, however, fall short of being coherent, strong analyses. His inferences used in explaining positive and negative correlations between certain tribes seem a bit ad hoc at times and lack real support.

One of Clements’ main goals is to establish some sort of numerical link to the development and diffusion of the Sun Dance based on geographical and historic data. However, his analyzation of Spier’s numbers falls short of any consistent association between the two. Clements concludes the article by laying out what he believes to be the three major developmental waves of the Sun Dance distribution. This explanation is not incredibly convincing due to the fact that its based solely on the correlation and similarities of statistical data of someone else’s ethnological data. Overall, Clements’ analysis is a bit cumbersome and not persuasive. This article does, however, show the complications of treating anthropology strictly as a quantitative science.

CLARITY:3
JONATHAN RAYBURN University of Georgia (Peter Brosius).

Cole, Fay-Cooper. George A. Dorsey. American Anthropologist 1931 Vol. 33:413-414.

Cole’s eulogy to George Dorsey portrays a man of enthusiasm and diverse intellectual interests. From 1898 until 1915 he helped the University of Chicago Department of Anthropology become one of the largest in the world while serving as Curator of the Field Museum of Natural History and professor of anthropology. Simultaneously he engaged in extensive field research, particularly among the Plains Indians, published extensively, and served as professor of comparative anatomy at the Dental School of Northwestern University, all while maintaining an active engagement in Democratic politics.

Following his service in World War One as an advisor to President Wilson, he redirected his energies towards the goal of making scientific theories accessible to the general public. Of these works, Why We Behave Like Human Beings became the most widely read.

CLARITY RANKING: 5
MITCH CHAPURA University of Georgia (Pete Brosius)

Cole, Fay-Cooper. George A Dorsey American Anthropologist v33pp413-414.

This article is a biography of the life and contributions of George A. Dorsey. He was born in Ohio in 1868. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard University Graduate School in 1994. His talents were displayed in numerous ways as a writer, a scientist, and an anthropologist, a professor, and a Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy. Between writing and teaching, he was active in several social groups in Chicago. With a passion for science, his desire was to bring science and its discoveries into the common realm, making it popular to the average man. As a writer and Anthropologist, he was best known for his work with the Plains Indians, his diary of a world trip, one of the best sellers titled, “Why We Behave Like Human Beings,” and other articles on human behavior. Until his death, he showed zeal, enthusiasm, and commitment to his work.

CLARITY: 4
MELODY ASKEY California State University, Hayward ( Professor Peter Claus).

Hambly, Wilfrid. Types of “Tronattas” or Stone Implements used by the Aborigines of Tasmania. American Anthropologist January – March, 1931 Vol. 33(1): 88-91.

Wilfrid Hambly observes that anthropological research written previous to 1931 does not provide adequate description of the non-material aspects of Stone Age Tasmanian culture. Hambly laments that inadequate ethnographic inquiry was made of Stone Age Tasmanians. Anthropologists conjectured that the Tasmanians originated in Melanesia or the Andaman Islands. These aborigines traveled down the eastern side of Australia by canoe until arriving in Tasmania. It was generally accepted that the aborigines had lived in Tasmania 7000 years before European immigrants arrived.

Hambly examines artifacts from the material culture of Tasmania in order to gain additional insight into Stone Age Tasmanian culture. It is clear that Stone Age Tasmanians used artifacts constructed of wood, stone, and animal skins. Hambly explains that there is considerable debate as to the authenticity of a bone scoop in the Hobart Museum that is attributed to Stone Age Tasmanians. Hambly concludes that the aborigines produced a minimum number of artifacts because of their isolation and the resulting lack of outside cultural influence.

He proceeds to examine types of stone implements used by the aborigines of Tasmania. The article includes photographs of several artifacts examined at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, Illinois. Hambly describes these stone implements and theorizes their potential uses. His speculation is based on the writings of other anthropologists cited throughout the article. Hambly’s speculations are interesting however the article concludes without providing any deep insight into the social life of the Stone Age Tasmanian aborigines.

The article is well written. The fact that it does not provide significant new insight serves to further document Hambly’s lament that inadequate ethnographic inquiry was made of Stone Age Tasmanians. The article ends by emphasizing the utility of the artifacts stored at the Museum of Natural History. Hambly suggests that examining these roughly chipped implements could help one visualize the incidents described in anthropological research.

CLARITY RANKING: 4
JONATHAN S. PENLAND University of Georgia (Peter Brosius)

Hambly, Wilfrid D. Types of “Tronattas” or Stone Implements Used by the Aborigines of Tasmania. American Anthropologist 33: 88-91. 1931

Aborigines are believed to have settled Tasmania about 7,000 years ago. The evidence of materials they used consists of wood, stone, and skins. Their cultural lag is attributed to their isolation. Tools that they used are often described as Mousterian. Among the tools found are hand-axes, scrapers, flaked knives, pounders, and so forth. The information gleaned from the evidence shows that the stone tools were used for preparing food, pounding open the shells of green whelk, fashioning weapons, and cutting notches in trees to facilitate climbing. The typical stone used was quartzite or sandstone. Artifacts have also been found which bear animal forms such as a wombat, snake, bird as well as a human. These are made from chipped stones and are comparable to the paleolithic forms found in England and France. Some hammers or pounding stones are considered to be sacred. Not much is known about these people’s religious beliefs, magic, social organization, and law. They weren’t studied well before they disappeared. Occasionally one runs across accounts of early European settlers to the island of Tasmania recording what they saw of the aborigines but these are often flawed. For example, a record of 1840 told of a native hafting and binding with a sinew, a method which in actuality was unknown to the Tasmanian aborigines until after European settlement and consequently contact with aborigines of New South Wales.

CLARITY RATE: 4
JENNIFER D. AFFOLTER California State University, Hayward (Dr. Peter J. Claus)

Hambly , Wilfrid D. The Preservation of Local Types of Weapons and Other Objects in Western Australia. American Anthropologist 33 (1): 1-15. January-March 1931

In recent years the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago has acquired weapons and other objects from Western Australia. The objects are well localized thereby preserving regional peculiarities in terms of size, shape, and design. The related sites are throughout the province of Western Australia. The objects of interest are yinmarries, whirlers, message sticks, spear-throwers, clubs, boomerangs, shields, and spears. Message sticks are used by bands of aborigines when visiting outside their territory as a sort of “passport”. They are also used in initiation and other ceremonies. Snakes are likely totemic symbols found on message sticks as in aboriginal folklore. Aborigines spend painstaking effort to decorate churinga, yinmarries, and whirlers or bullroarers as they are sometimes called. Churinga and yinmarries are “ceremonial slabs” which are hidden by the tribal elders and brought out on special occasions. The whirler, like the yinmarrie and churinga are made of wood but additionally it has a hole at the end and cord attached to it. The cord is made of finely shredded bard and human hair. Spears and spear-throwers vary greatly in size, shape, and design. A spear-thrower is a device that hooks on to the spear and aides in throwing. Spears and spear-throwers are typically made of wood, sinews, and gum but spearheads from the Kimberly region are made of flaked glass or quartzite. Spear-throwers and shields depending on the region may have incised designs such as snakes on them. Boomerangs differ mainly in their “curvature”, that is, the height of the arch from the base line. Lastly, the museum has clubs that conforms to a general pattern being cylindrical, fluted with deep incisions, and consistent measurements.

CLARITY RATE: 4
JENNIFER D. AFFOLTER California State University, Hayward (Dr. Peter J. Claus).

Hambly, Wilfrid D. The Preservation of Local Types of Weapons and other Objects in Western Australia. American Anthropologist January-March, 1931 Vol. 33(1):1-15.

Hambly’s article is a descriptive work of many different artifacts that have been collected from local populations in Western Australia. Although the paper is mostly concerned with details of the artifacts, the argument is made as to the general preservation of regional peculiarities in respect to shape, size, and design of various objects. Hambly does not enter into detail about how psychological, climatic, or geographical factors might contribute to these differences, but mentions them in the opening of the article.

The area of Western Australia mentioned in the article includes: Kimberly (East and West); Murchison (Lower and Central); Ashburton; Kalgoorlie (Mount Margaret); Yilgarn; Pilbarra; and Broome. The objects discussed and illustrated from these locales are: yinmarries; whirlers; message sticks; spear-throwers; clubs; boomerangs; shields; and spears.

The author compares each group of objects found throughout the different locations in West Autralia. Some of these objects are described in terms of their function in the life of local populations. For example, message sticks are related to passports in that they are carried when traveling outside of one’s territory.

From these descriptions, Hambly derives five points that should follow in terms of further investigation: (1) relating the different properties of flight of various boomerangs, (2) the meaning of “yinmarrie”, one of the objects described in the study, (3) deeper investigation into objects found in Broome, which are much finer than those in other parts of West Australia, and (5) the reasons for elaborate spearheads unique to Ashburton.

CLARITY: 4
JAMES SPELLMAN University of Georgia (Peter Brosius)

Haury, Emil. Minute Beads From Prehistoric Pueblos. American Anthropologist. 1931 Vol. 33: 80-87

Emil W. Haury examines the minute beads located among prehistoric pueblos. Haury elaborates on the minuteness and perfection of these ancient beads while establishing these minute prehistoric pueblo beads as superior to the beadwork of other ancient tribes in North American and the modern pueblos. Haury also attempts to designate the center of their manufacture as Casa Grande.

First, the general location of the beads is established as ranging from the San Juan drainage in north Arizona down near the international boundary in the south. However, the Casa Grande location housed the greatest number of these minute beads and the smallest specimens as well. The smallest known beads are about 1.30 mm in diameter and 0.25 mm thick. Due to the high density at the cremation site of Casa Grande and these tiny specimens, Haury designates the site as the probable center.

Most of the minute beads are 2 mm or less in diameter. In order to illustrate the difficulty involved in processing these bodily ornaments, Haury focuses on the processes establishing the centrally located holes. Before dissecting this process, the materials used must be noted. Only 5% are turquoise, shell and clay share 35%, and 60% involve other natural stone. The clay method involves molding each bead around a vegetable fiber or encasing the vegetable fiber and then sectioning the resulting tube. The stone and shell methods are more difficult. Haury discusses the shapes of the existing perforations and concludes that a tool as plentiful and small as needed was probably a spine of any number of southwestern cacti.

Haury also mentions many examples of extravagant necklaces, for example, one necklace has 16 strands and is 32 feet long when extended; this 15,000 bead necklace would have taken an estimated 480 eight-hour days to complete.

The examples of bead processing and the descriptions of the extravagant necklaces are used to illustrate Haury’s bewilderment of the ancient pueblos perfection at such a time-consuming and tiny novelty especially considering the primitive tools used in manufacture. The discussion simultaneously serves to establish their uniqueness among ancient and modern tribes.

CLARITY RANKING: 4
AMANDA DACUS: University of Georgia (Peter Brosius)

Haury, Emil W. Minute Beads from Prehistoric Pueblos. American Anthropologist 33 (8): 80-87. January-March 1931.

Some excavations have taken place, which have uncovered beads from prehistoric Pueblo Indians. These were used to decorate their body. They were made mainly from natural rock but also shell and clay. Their manufacture apparently was a monumental task given that the beads are mere millimeters thick and was fashioned with very primitive tools. One necklace of interest is estimated to be 32 feet long, has about 15,000 beads, and took approximately 480 eight-hour days to make. Necklaces of equally minute beads appear to be quite typical for the area. Although no instruments that could be connected to the manufacture of beads were found some theories suggest a small piece of flint or a cactus spine could have conceivably been used to make the .75 mm hole in the beads. Molding each bead around a vegetable fiber or molding a bunch of clay around a vegetable fiber like a tube, firing it, and breaking it into sections made clay beads. Puncturing the shell easily made shell beads or grinding off the ends of the spiral shaped ones. In this area apparently cremation was typical and those people being cremated wore beads. It seems that the work done by these ancient ancestors is unparalleled by the modern Pueblo Indians.

CLARITY RATE: 4
JENNIFER D. AFFOLTER California State University, Hayward (Dr. Peter J. Claus)

Heyink, Jac. and F. W. Hodge. Herman Frederik Carel Ten Kate American Anthropologist v33pp 415-417

This article is a biography of the life of Herman Frederik Carel Ten Kate. He began his travels at an early age with his father to the island of Corsica. This seems to be the beginning of many travels as his fascinations were as numerous as his studies. His writings include, “Reizen en Onderzoerkingen in Noord-Amerika;” the result of his expedition in Lower California and his analysis of American Indians; and “A foreigner’s View of the Indian Question,” based on his twelve month expedition in Mexico. Although his focus appeared to be the American Indians, he also traveled to such places as Japan where he met and married his wife; to Scandinavia, Lapand, and Dutch Guiana where he studied the Indians and the Bush, Australia, Polynesia, and many other areas. He was a brilliant man who spoke eight languages and published several reviews and journals. His field collections were found in Museums namely, “museum of Leiden, Rotterdam, Utrecht, Paris, and Berlin.”

CLARITY: 4
MELODY ASKEY Calif. State Univ. of Hayward (Professor Peter Claus).

Heyink, Jac and Hodge, F. W. Herman Frederick Carel ten Kate. American Anthropologist, 1931 Vol(33): 415-417.

Jac Heyink and F.W Hodge provide a bibliography of Herman Frederick Carel Ten Kate that emphasizes particular events in his life that influenced his contributions to anthropology. Ten Kate specialized in anatomical studies and his anthropological emphasis was in archaeology and biology.

Hodge and Heyink don’t posit a particular argument nor do they provide an interpretation of ten Kate’s work, but they do make several implications of what contributions ten Kate made were useful and what constitutes him as a scholar of anthropology. Heynick and Hodge seem to suggest that ten Kate qualifies as a figure of anthropological authority from the types of contact, both scientific and social, that he has made. For example, they highlight the numerous places throughout the world that ten Kate has worked and lived at. They mention the individuals in his life that have had impacts on his work and they portray ten Kate as a professional who is concerned with social issues, particularly mechanization and the disappearance of indigenous tribes in the Americas. Ten Kate’s training in the study of the anatomy, medicine, and biology seem to be at the core of his anthropological authority. From this one can induce that Hodge and Heyink were in a time period where anthropology attempted to validate itself as a natural science. Despite the fact that the research that ten Kate produced might have quantified human behavior and social phenomena, to my surprise he titles one of his publications “A Foreigner’s View of the Indian Question.” What this title seems to bring into question is ethnocentrism and that any bodies of knowledge produced about indigenous people is exactly what the titles says it is, “A Foreigner’s View,” not the world’s view. Overall, the article is informative about ten Kate, but speaks little about his specific theories and indulges little in the type of research he conducted.

CLARITY: 3
JOEL MARRERO Columbia University (Paige West)

Hodge, F. W. and Merriam, C. Hart. 1931. Henry Wetherbee Henshaw. American Anthropologist 1931 33 (1): 98-105.

The late Henry Wetherbee Henshaw is remembered for his numerous contributions to American anthropology, and his career is followed from his early training in ornithology, through his associations with the Smithsonian Institution and the Wheeler Survey, and the important positions he ultimately filled in the Bureau of Ethnography and the Biological Survey. Henshaw’s first exposure to archaeology came on a visit to the Channel Islands to collect natural history specimens. Anthropology agreed with Henshaw’s predilection for outdoor work, and a biological background was in fact standard for those entering the field of anthropology at that time.

At the Bureau of Ethnology, Henshaw worked on the classification of native North American languages, following the biological model of groupings by stock. His work in this field, as well as in preparation of a map of tribal territories at the time of contact, and other researches into the original conditions of the native tribes, was later drawn on heavily in the creation of the Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico. Henshaw also conducted linguistic field research, most notably among native groups in California, where his data gleaned from the few surviving speakers substantiated the existence of the Costanoan family of languages.

Upon a decline in health, Henshaw resigned his position and took a ten-year sabbatical in Hawaii, where he practiced photography. In later years he resumed administrative work in the Biological Survey, serving as Chief from 1910 to 1916, when declining health forced his resignation. An appended letter from C. Hart Merriam echoes the gratitude extended to Henshaw for his leading role in establishing anthropology as a scientific discipline in the United States.

CLARITY RATE: 5
DONALD N. ANDERSON California State University, Hayward (Peter J. Claus)

Hodge, F.W. and C. Hart Merriam. Henry Wetherbee Henshaw. American Anthropologist, 1931. Vol. 33: 98-105.

In this article F.W. Hodge and C. Hart Merriam tempt to write a biography of Henry Wetherbee Henshaw’s professional life in scientific research. Hodge and Merriam are very successful in describing Henshaw’s development as an anthropologist and documenting his professional success.

One overarching theme of the article was the notion that Henshaw, like most pioneer American anthropologists, began their careers in other fields that eventually led them to studying anthropology. Hodge and Merriam successfully argue this point by presenting the variety of positions that Henshaw held as an ornithologist before he began his studies “pertaining to the science of man.” The structure of this article is basically a chronological outline of Henshaw’s different posts and pursuits. Hodge and Merriam do not make any personality comments until the last paragraph, where they deem Henshaw as having “the soul of honor.”

Henshaw developed his interest in natural history at an early age and pursued his interest at the Cambridge High School and then after his health failed him, studied ornithology independently. He obtained much of his early knowledge from the acquaintances he made, such as with Isaac Sprague who worked for the Audubon. The next step in his studies occurred in 1872 when he was given the post as natural-history collector on the Wheeler Survey in Utah and eventually California. Henshaw first came in contact with the field of archeology while on this project when he was collecting “natural history” on the island of Santa Cruz.

It was then in 1880 that he first began his career in anthropology when he accepted the offer to work for the Bureau of Ethnology. Hodge and Merriam are quick to point out that at this stage in anthropology, success was predicated on the scientist’s background in biology, which Henshaw obviously possessed. Henshaw’s first project with the Bureau involved the classification of Indian linguist families of American that were located north of Mexico. Henshaw proposed and followed “the biological method of linguistic stock precedence and nomenclature” demonstrating his background in biological science. Ultimately his work became the outline of the Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico published by the Bureau in 1907-1910. Henshaw went on to collect linguistic data concerning different tribes in Washington and California, such as the Cayuse, Umatilla, and Nez Perce. Henshaw began taking on administrative duties at the Bureau but eventually became too overburdened resulting in his commission to return to field work in the Southwest and Southern California. Henshaw remained in California until he moved to Hawaii where he pursued photography. His last professional position was as Chief of the Biological Survey, a post that he held until his health seriously declined.

The article is followed by a letter by Merriam to a request made of her to write an obituary for Henshaw. She at first seems unable and unwilling, but she continues on in her letters describing many of Henshaw’s successes and projects.

CLARITY: 5
JEEHO LEE Barnard College (Paige West)

Hodgen, Margaret T. The Doctrine of Survivals: The History of an Idea. American Anthropologist 33 (3): 307-324. 1931.

The historical origin of the doctrine of survivals in Tylor’s thought is reconstructed, as well as other motivations and sources of inspiration which Tylor drew on in formulating his version of the idea. According to the author, it was not the influence of Darwin, but of the Eighteenth Century philosophers who proposed the progressive theory of history, which inspired Tylor’s stages of civilization; and it was a competing Nineteenth Century theory, which held that “primitive” cultures were a product of degeneration from a common, higher, ancient culture, which provoked Tylor into developing his doctrine of survivals, to buttress the progressive theory of history.

In early Nineteenth Century England, the degenerationist view, as popularized by Richard Whately, was in danger of eclipsing the progressive view. The degenerationist view denies not only the progressivist idea that civilizations have developed from lowest to highest; it also denies that “primitive” people can progress – in other words, that there is a psychic unity of humanity.

Tylor’s desire to find both a logical and an empirical basis on which to refute this view found its answer in two contemporary, unrelated fields of inquiry, both of which Tylor was interested in. These were prehistoric archaeology, the study of ancient bits of culture, and popular antiquities, the study of strange and seemingly anachronistic ideas as held by modern peoples. With the doctrine of survivals, Tylor was able to tie the ancient past to the quaint present, by claiming that folk customs were “survivals” of ancient practices. To the extent that he was able to demonstrate this, Tylor proved that modern cultures, since they contained elements of older cultures, were descended from them; and since primitive cultures were shown to correspond to earlier stages of modern cultures, they must represent stages of cultural evolution, rather than instances of degeneration.

CLARITY RATE: 3
DONALD ANDERSON California State University, Hayward (Peter J. Claus)

Hodgen, Margarett. The Doctrine of Survivals: The History of an Idea. American Anthropologist July-September, 1931 Vol. 33 (3):307-324

Hodgen traces the development of the doctrine of survivals put forth by Edward Tylor in the late 19th century. She rejects claims that Tylor merely imposed Darwinian concepts upon social phenomena. Instead she credits his own interests in archaeology and folklore for his attempt to draw the two together. She presents Tylor’s work within the historical framework which shaped it. Hodgen points out Tylor’s major influnces and traces the development of ideas throughout his career.

The most emphasized element of his work is its reactionary nature. Direct quotes are used from Tylor himself to argue why he felt his work was important to restore European faith in progress. Hodgen asserts that his theories were formulated as a direct response against Richard Whately and the Degeneration School. Tylor is presented as a diehard progressive, attempting to fully humanize “primative” man with his cultural series. Tylor’s anti-clerical views are blatant, with a firm disgust for popular reports of missionaries among the “savages”. He attempted to define stages of cultural advancement. Hodgen provides a great deal of background information explaining the positions of key figures on both sides of the Progressive – Degeneration debate. She shows how anthropological theories of human development were so highly politicized at the time.

CLARITY RATING: 4
MELISSA HAMPTON Univerisity of Georgia (Peter Brosius)

Hogbin, H. Education at Ongtong Java, Solomon Islands American Anthropologist v33pp601-614.

This article focuses on education at Ongtong Java. It appears to be a gradual system of changes, adaptation, and learning which takes place in stages from childhood to adulthood. The stages for an Ongtong Javanese boy are as follows:

1st Stage: Age 0-3yrs Attached to mother, nurses from mother’s breasts

2nd Stage: Age 3-7yrs Spoiled by parents/befriends other boys/more Independent/learns taboos

3rd Stage: Age 7-13yrs Taught useful skills, fishing, pick coconuts/boys companions are main teachers/learns taboos detached from parents, spends time w/relative

4th Stage: 13-maturity Rituals into tribe began/Taboos must be mastered/completion tattooing operation/Intrigued by girls

5th Stage: Manhood-35 Rears family/learns ritual of special ceremonies/learns genealogies and kinship

6th Stage: 35-Death Complete member of community/Educates the young

For an Ongtong Javanese female the early stage of development is the same for both sexes.

2nd Stage Age 3-7yrs Young girl remains with mother/learns essential taboos/ how to run errands and be useful

3rd Stage 8-puberty Learns how to get along with others (playmates) /learns names of trees/mother teaches girl to dance/Tattoo operation

4th Stage puberty-18 Learns how to cultivate taro/learns how to cook/ how to fish for shelf fish/learns other necessary taboos/ married at age 18 or becomes a prostitute

Education for the Ongtong Javanese is a segmented process of development, which teaches them how to function within their society.

CLARITY: 4
MELODY ASKEY California State University of Hayward (Professor Peter Claus).

Hough, Walter. Jesse Walter Fewkes. American Anthropologist 1931. 33 (10): 92-97.

Jesse Walter Fewkes was born in Newton, Massachusetts, November 14, 1850. He went to Harvard at age 21. He worked in the field of natural history and received a Ph.D. He also studied zoology and became an assistant in the museum of comparative zoology at Harvard. On a trip to California he became interested in ethnology. He left his work in zoology to study ethnological problems concerning the Pueblo Indians. He was the first to use a phonograph to record Indian songs. He wrote several papers on the Zuni and the Hopi tribes. He was an authority on the Snake dance. He was even able to decipher newly discovered decorative designs on Pueblo pottery due to his vast knowledge of cult art and training as a naturalist. Dr. Fewkes excavated many ruins and was appointed chief of the Bureau of American Ethnology. He wrote many more papers on Pueblo archeology at this time and then worked in the West Indies and Florida for a while. He was knighted in 1892 by Isabella la Catolica for his service at the Columbian Historical Exhibition in Madrid. Then he received a gold medal from King Oscar of Sweden for his discoveries in anthropology. He was a member of many different scientific organizations and his works are of immense value and will continue to be.

CLARITY RATE: 5
JENNIFER D. AFFOLTER California State University, Hayward (Dr. Peter J. Claus)

Hough, Walter. Jesse Walter Fewkes. American Anthroplogist January- March 1931 vol. 33(1). 33:92-94.

Born in Newton, Massachusetts on November 14, 1850, Jesse Walter Fewkes significantly contributed to the worlds of science and anthropology. He attended Harvard College and graduated in 1875 with honors in natural history. Subsequently, he received the degrees of A.M. and Ph. D. in natural history. For three years, he studied zoology at Leipzig and was later widely recognized as a marine zoologist. He was appointed assistant in the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard where he supervised the lower invertebrates.

During a trip to California in 1888, Dr. Fewkes became fascinated with ethnology. He studied the Pueblo Indians and was the first to utilize phonograph to record their ritual songs. In particular, he studied the Hopi and recorded their traditional ceremonies, which include a Snake dance. His experience as a naturalist enabled him to skillfully interpret Pueblo art pottery and Pueblo archaeology. In 1895, Dr. Fewkes launched a research project analyzing the Pueblo ruins, which continues to be studied today. For his discoveries in anthropology, he was awarded the gold medal “Literis et Artibus” from King Oscar of Sweden. Dr. Fewkes was selected as chief of the Bureau of American Ethnology in 1918.

In addition, Dr. Fewkes explored the Gulf Coast of Mexico and published the “Antiquities of the Gulf Coast of Mexico”. His fieldwork further encompassed trips to Cuba, the Grand Cayman, Trinidad, Egypt, and the West Indies. He published issues regarding a he discovered. In the Mimbres valley of New Mexico, He discovered a novel pottery and published various issues in 1914 regarding this finding. At Mesa Verde, he exposed two prehistoric monuments, the Sun Temple and the Fire Temple. He similarly uncovered a large mound in Tampa bay, Florida. The excavation of Elden Pueblo was his last fieldwork and he retired on January 15, 1928 due to a disability. His personal observations constitute the majority of his work.

Dr. Fewkes married Florence Gorges Eastman. When she died in 1888 he remarried to Harriet Olivia Cutler. Dr. Fewkes died on May 31, 1930 as a highly accomplished individual.

CLARITY RANKING:5
ILANA LAUER, Barnard College (Paige West).

Johnson, Guy B. The Negro Spiritual: A Problem in Anthropology. American Anthropologist 33 (2): 157-171.

Johnson asks whether American Negro music retains a large proportion of African musical characteristics, is largely influenced by American European musical traditions, or forms a synthesis of the two traditions. Johnson studies the similarities between American Negro spirituals and 19th Century white revival songs. He concludes that the Negro spiritual in America is almost wholly a product of borrowing from European traditions.

The bulk of Johnson’s argument is based on the comparison of 442 Afro-American folksongs as analyzed by H. E. Krehbiel, with 240 revivalist songs garnered from two songbooks of the early 19th Century, which Johnson presumes to be wholly European-American in derivation. Between the two groups he compares the wording, structure, use of major and minor modes, use of the pentatonic scale, of the flat seventh, of the minor third, of modulations, and the relative frequency of specific intervals, as well as melodic patterning, the use of harmony, and rhythm. In all cases he is able to draw a connection between the Negro spirituals and the white songbooks, which connection he invariably sees as evidence of a direct influence of the white tradition on the black.

Due to lack of reliable data, no investigation of the actual relation of American Black music to that of African is attempted, but Johnson asserts, based on traveler’s accounts, that there is no unified African music, which leads him all the more to suspect that the American Negro spiritual cannot be an outgrowth of these dischordant African traditions, but must be descended from early white revivalist music of the American European tradition.

CLARITY RATE: 4
DONALD N. ANDERSON California State University, Hayward (Peter J. Claus).

Kroeber, A. L. Historical Reconstruction of Culture Growths and Organic Evolution.American Anthropologist 33 (2): 149-156.

Kroeber compares the methods of reconstruction employed by evolutionary biologists and by anthropologists who study culture growths. Anthropology, as a younger and less developed discipline, can learn from the more rigorous critical standards adopted by biologists. At the same time, it is necessary to achieve balance between scientific approaches that focus on “event” as opposed to on “process,” since each approach rectifies the oversights of the other, and is necessary for a complete science.

Kroeber lists ten aspects in which the biological and the ethnological approaches are similar. These include the comparison of cultures to organisms; the fact that both cultural and genetic traits can vary widely in rate of change and of spread; the significance of geographic distribution as evidence of connection in both biology and anthropology; the Age and Area principle relating extent of distribution of a trait or species to its relative antiquity; the issue of common versus parallel origins of traits; and the importance of distinguishing between homology and analogy when making comparisons. Most importantly, in comparison of species or of culture trait complexes, a reference to structural totality is necessary.

In detailing the anthropological and biological responses to these similar issues of methodology and technique, Kroeber argues that many anthropological theories are inadequate when judged by the standards employed in biological science. This is not surprising, given anthropology’s status as a younger discipline, with a less systematically organized corpus of data at its disposal. The implication is that it is time for anthropology to mature into the standards and more rigorous methodology used in biology. It is important also to keep a balance between static and dynamic interpretations of culture, as between biological event and process, as neither approach constitutes good science without the added insight of the other.

CLARITY RATE: 2
DONALD N. ANDERSON California State University, Hayward (Peter J. Claus).

Kroeber, A. L. Historical Reconstruction of Cultural Growths and Organic Evolution.American Anthropologist April-June, 1931 Vol. 33(2): 149-156.

A. L. Kroeber compares anthropological theories that reconstruct cultural development with biological evolutionary theories of organic development. The article outlines similarities of aim and method between the two disciplines.

It is significant that Kroeber does not explicitly identify the problem at the beginning of the article. The comparison is between cultural evolutionary theory which is described as “the reconstruction of cultural development” and biological evolutionary theory. Kroeber was a student of Boas. This embrace of the evolutionary perspective and its application to anthropological theory was a split from historical particularism.

The article outlines ten similarities between biological theory and anthropological theory. It begins by stating that cultures have frequently been compared to organisms. This is further emphasized by the fact that both culture and fauna can be developmentally retarded. The third similarity is that both biology and anthropology study geographic distribution as indispensable evidence to common origin. Age is also an important factor in reconstructing development in both disciplines. Fifthly, both disciplines have a long history of theorizing concerning diffusion of traits. Kroeber points out that biological theories concerning diffusion have not created the controversy that similar theories produced in anthropology. Sixthly, biology and anthropology understand the importance of differentiating between homologous and analogous similarities in order to determine historical relationship. Again Kroeber believes that biology has made fuller application of this understanding than anthropology. The seventh and eighth similarities relate to the information that is vital to accuracy in theory. Both disciplines recognize that the totality of structure decides relationships in any developmental theorizing. This emphasis on totality expands to include all constituents. The ninth similarity is that the absence of a developmental stage is considered significant in both disciplines. Kroeber cites Boas as supporting this concept. The tenth similarity is that degeneration or simplification is also recognized in both disciplines.

The Kroeber article is well written. The ten similarities are presented as if Kroeber is arguing a case before an anthropological jury. Before his final argument, he admits, “…several former and current anthropological theories appear inadequate when judged by comparable standards in biological sciences” (154). He closes the article with an appeal for tolerance to both a synchronic as well as diachronic approach.

CLARITY RANKING: 5
JONATHAN S. PENLAND University of Georgia (Peter Brosius)

Loeb, E. The Religious Organizations of North Central California and Tierra Del FuegoAmerican Anthropologist v33pp517-533.

The writer shows the remarkable similarities in the religious practices of North Central California, the “Kuksu cult,” and the practices found at Tierra del Fuego. The author’s area of study was Tierra del Fuego, but after comparing notes with Father Schmidt who wrote “The origin of the idea of God,” which focused on religious practices of the western “Kuksu” cult, he was compelled to expand his studies to include all the tribes of North Central California. The author gives a summation of the religious cultures of both areas, shows the similarities in tribal and individual initiations, and the filtering of “particular younger traits connected with secret societies which arose in regions of higher cultures of the Americas and spread north and south.” An example of a parallel that exist in each region is the use of the scratching tube. Its common use is associated with girls’ puberty rights. This practice stretches from North America, with the exception of California, to areas in South America, like Tierra del Fuego. In Northern California the “Deer Rattle” was very similar to the tool used in “Gran Chaco,” which was also associated with puberty rites of girls?

CLARITY: 4
MELODY ASKEY California State University, Hayward (Professor Peter Claus).

Loeb, E.M. The Religious Organizations of North Central California and Tierra Del Fuego. American Anthropologist October-December, 1931 Vol. 33(4): 517-553.

Like Father Schmidt, E.M. Loeb’s interest was looking at the similarity between the religious cults and beliefs of the native tribes of Tierra del Fuego and the tribes of north-central California who practiced the “Kuksu” cult (Loeb 517). Loeb claimed that some of the similarities existing between the groups were due to four traits of tribal initiation: using the bullroarer, impersonating spirits, performing the death and resurrection ceremony (Loeb 517), and making a tribal mark on the individuals taking part in the initiation ceremonies. After Loeb observed all the tribes of north-central California who practiced the western form of the Kuksu cult, he expanded and improved his ideas “on the cultural connections between California and Tierra del Fuego” (Loeb 517).

One of Loeb’s theories was that an ancient form of initiation was brought by the Indians when they first arrived in the New World. The initiation was tribal for the boys, in other words, done in groups. The boys’ initiation consisted of the four traits mentioned earlier, including the use of the bullroarer, the impersonation of spirits, etc. For girls, initiations were done individually and based on “the taboo of menstruation” (Loeb 517). When a girl was initiated she was isolated from everyone else and used a scratching stick and a drinking tube.

Another theory that Loeb set forth was that a system of masked dances was discovered in or around regions of “higher cultures” (Loeb 519) of the Americas, and the system extended its influence to north-central California. Loeb theorized that this influence was accountable for the “true” Kuksu cult and not the old Ghost Dance religion; tribes of Tierra del Fuego used these masks in their tribal initiations.

Loeb first discussed the religious cultures of tribes having the western Kuksu religion and then the religious cultures of the tribes of Tierra del Fuego. After that, Loeb pointed out similarities in tribal initiations and individual initiations form the northwest coast of North America to Tierra del Fuego. Lastly, he showed how some younger traits connected with secret societies developed in high-cultured regions of the Americas and then spread to the north and south. Loeb thought that the question still left to be answered was the one about the origin of “higher cults” (Loeb 547) of the New World.

CLARITY RANKING: 3
CRYSTAL MARSONIA Barnard College (Paige West)

MacLeod, William Christie. The Distribution and Process of Suttee in North America. American Anthropologist 33 (2): 209-215. 1931.

The distribution of “suttee” practices in Native North America is described, and conjectures are offered as to the modes of origination and diffusion of suttee as a culture trait. The author argues that suttee is associated with the sororate-levirate mortuary complex, in which a widow becomes the property of her late husband’s brothers and family. The author supposes that suttee arose out of the sororate-levirate mortuary complex once only, in Central America, from whence it was diffused through North America, catching hold in areas where the levirate-sororate was in place and where conflicting mortuary practices did not prevent the adoption of suttee.

MacLeod discusses ethnohistoric accounts of suttee practice in two regions, Western North America (among the Shoshone, Comanche, Coos, and Ute) and Southeastern North America (among the Chickasaw and the Natchez). These accounts come from widely varying sources, ranging from narratives of the De Soto expedition to ethnographic accounts of the Nineteenth Century. Despite the variation in suttee practices (burial alive vs. strangulation, widow sacrifice vs. sacrifice of both widows and widowers), MacLeod asserts that all North American suttee practices may be assumed to have arisen from a common source, presumably in Central America; he illustrates this hypothesis with a map detailing the distribution of suttee and related or conflicting mortuary practices (including sororate-levirate mortuary complex) throughout North America, as well as that of “hook-swinging,” which is included to demonstrate culture contact between the Great Lakes and the Northwest Coast, as implicated in MacLeod’s theory of the diffusion of suttee.

CLARITY RATE: 2
DONALD N. ANDERSON California State University, Hayward (Peter J. Claus).

MacLeod, William Christie. The Distribution and Process of Suttee in North America.American Anthropologist, 1931. Vol. 33(2): 209-215.

MacLeod is primarily concerned with the Native American rituals performed upon the death of a tribe member (usually a male). In his article, he discusses immolation, suttee, and forced prolonged mourning.

MacLeod specifically focuses on the Native American practice of suttee; the practice of a wife killing herself on her husband’s grave in order to fulfill her true role as a wife. MacLeod delves into the ritual and explores the different tribes’ various customs and methods of suttee. MacLeod refutes the notion that suttee was a limited practice and contends that it was more wide spread among the Native Americans than was first believed. He claims that as a result of settlers outlawing the practice of suttee, it was not as widely seen as it once was and could not have been as widely documented. MacLeod contends that suttee was practiced all over the west coast and Southeastern North America.

He brings accounts, dating back to the 1850’s, from first hand witnesses, government officials, and other anthropologists, to demonstrate that many tribes practiced suttee. The accounts describe the different rituals of many Native American tribes such as the Shoshone, Ute, Chickasaw, and Natchez. These accounts lend accuracy and credence to MacLeod’s claim that suttee was practiced more widely that first believed.

Using the accounts, MacLeod describes the varying suttee practices of different Native American tribes in different locations. In some tribes the wife cremates herself on her husband’s grave site; in others she buries herself alive in her husband’s grave. He explains that this ritual is considered an honor among the wives. He illustrates his point by describing the common occurrence of widows who are exempt from suttee, such as nursing mothers, choosing to kill themselves anyways. On the other hand, he also classifies suttee as a sororate-levirate mortuary complex that is forced upon the widow by her in-laws.

CLARITY: 4
JESSICA LEVI Barnard College (Paige West).

McKern, W. C. Wisconsin Pottery American Anthropologist v33pp383-389

In this article, W. C. Mckern shows the importance of pottery to the native people of Wisconsin. He states that all cultures in that area have participated in the manufacturing of pottery to the extent that all the aborigines must have been pottery makers. Through digging at campsites and graves, students were instructed to do the following:

– Classify the pottery.

– Attempt to establish relationships between locally prehistoric and historic cultures.

Some of their findings included identical pottery types to the “Algonkian ware.” Its distribution was found to be similar to the areas inhabited by the Algonkian tribes. Other findings reveal one of the most interesting types of pottery, the “close-to-type variant of Cahokia ware.” This type of pottery is thought to be related to the Aztalan village site. The author concludes this classification to be fundamental. He hopes that this article will serve as a framework for greater field studies concerning Wisconsin Pottery increasing the subtypes with culture status.

CLARITY: 3
MELODY ASKEY California State University, Hayward (Professor Peter Claus).

McKern, W.C. Wisconsin Pottery. American Anthropologist July-September Vol. 33 (3):383-389.

W.C. McKern’s article describes various types of pottery found from Native American archaeological sites through Wisconsin. Although he describes published accounts of pottery for Menomini, Potawatomi, and Winnebago as meager, the descriptions provided stem from what had been found up to that point. Most of the analysis constructed from the archeological findings were made from large quantities of pottery shards, with complete vessels rarely found.

Many varieties of pottery from Native American campsites throughout Wisconsin have been found, leading McKern to argue that classification and distribution must be examined through other factors including historical accounts and the relationship of the pottery design to other cultural symbols.

The most common variety of pottery found in Wisconsin was named “Lake Michigan ware” by McKern, due the location of the cultural center of distribution for these wares. A second variety of pottery is termed “Upper Mississippian” due to its geographical distribution center, which was near the shores of the Mississippi and lower Wisconsin rivers. The pottery is described as superior in many respects to other varieties that had been documented.

Two other types of pottery variations from Wisconsin are illustrated. Aztalan, the most peculiar of the groups, and Hopewell, found near large, conical burial mounds are described in detail. Other groups have been found that do not fit easily into any of the other categories described above. Most likely, these may have arisen through trade or from small groups of Native Americans.

Although the article outlines a description of several varieties of Wisconsin pottery, the author realizes that investigation into this archeology lacks sufficient detail to clearly articulate a coherent scheme that relates pottery in the area with the peoples who once lived there. Realizing this, McKern calls for additional efforts in collecting artifacts in helping attain this goal.

CLARITY RANKING: 4
JAMES SPELLMAN :University of Georgia (Peter Brosius)

Merrill, E. D. The Phytogeography of Cultivated Plants in Relation to Assumed Pre-Columbian Eurasian-American Contacts. American Anthropologist v33 pp. 375-382. 1931.

What are the origins of ancient American civilizations? What are the best methods and/or proof to support the various theories? This question has been debated for years. From the “Lost tribes of Israel” to the idea that “Early American civilizations once populated a continent in the pacific known as “Mu,” there have been many attempts to explain this great enigma. However, E. D. Merrill offers an interesting theory as an explanation for the origin. Using agriculture as the basis of evidence, he compares the early-domesticated plants and animals of the old world to the new world, looking for a connection in the pre-Columbian period, (before 1492). If one would compare the list of plants, looking for similarities, one could postulate that indeed, there was a strong connection between Europe and America. If this strong connection exists, one could conclude that those that populated the old world are of the same origin that populated the new world. Merrill feels that using agriculture to validate his position should be enough evidence, in that, as we have advanced, we have not created nor discovered new domesticated plants and animals, only crossbred or improved the existing ones. His list of plants from the Old World includes wheat, rye, barley, millet, turnips, cabbage, radish, beets, garlic, asparagus, celery and others. The list of plants from the New World are maize, potatoes, lima beans, tomatoes, peppers, squash, avocados, papayas, and others. It is clear that none of the domesticated plants listed cross over from Eurasia to America or the reverse. Thus, Merrill concludes the following:

“It is an evident fact that this process of domestication of plants and animals took place independently in various parts of Eurasia and in America; that agriculture was developed in the two hemispheres independently of each other’s contributions in plants, in animals, and in methods; and that concurrently and likewise independently civilizations developed in Eurasia and in America, the one being uninfluenced by the other in the least.”

CLARITY: 4
MELODY ASKEY California State University, Hayward (Professor Peter Claus).

Morgan, William Navaho Treatment of Sickness: Diagnosticians American Anthropologist v33pp390-402.

This interesting article discusses the power of healing with the diagnosticians among the Navaho Indian. There are three types of diagnosticians: “with motion-in-the-hand,” “stargazers,” and “listeners.” His or her tasks may include “diagnosing sicknesses, dreams, protection from lightening, warding off dangers, recovering possessions,” and many others. Although the Shamans and the diagnosticians are healers, there is a definite distinction between the two. The differences are listed below:

Shaman

Diagnostician

Use of legends about chants transmitted orally through generations among the Shaman use of sand paintings

No tribal legends or use of sand paintings

Ritual with chant and/or sand painting may not be altered

May make his own songs and minor rituals and may vary them at will

No technique for discovering cause of an illness, may not know cure

Will reveal cause and prescribe cure

Apprenticeship may last 15 years

Apprenticeship may last a few months

Must not cut hair

Cutting of hair is not a factor

There are other differences between the two healers, however these appear to be the major ones. It is not uncommon for a diagnostician to diagnosis a condition and recommend the ceremony and the appropriate shaman for the cure. It appears that the shaman and the diagnostician are not opposing each other’s positions, but in fact may work together. The writer gives examples of the diagnosticians work. The writer wanted to make known that his interview material did not come from an Indian.

CLARITY: 4
MELODY ASKEY California State University, Hayward (Professor Peter Claus)

Morgan, William. Navaho Treatment of Sickness: Diagnosticians. American Anthropologist July-September, 1931 Vol.33(3):390-402.

William Morgan’s article discusses the variety of methods that Navaho Indians utilize to cure their sick. More specifically, he discuses the differences between shamans and diagnosticians concerning their job descriptions, powers, and apprenticeships. Morgan describes the specific types of diagnosticians, men “with motion-in-the-hand,” stargazers, and listeners, and how each different type diagnoses a sickness. Morgan also emphasizes the fact that the Navajo possess home remedies to cure certain illnesses; diagnosticians are summoned only when these home remedies fail.

Throughout the article, Morgan emphasizes the point that diagnosticians and shamans do not have the same religious significance. Shamans possess tribal legends that are interwoven into their chants and encompass Navaho religion. However, diagnosticians may make up chants to determine which cure is necessary and are not required to adhere to the strict traditions of shamans. Morgan draws the distinction between shamans and diagnosticians to display the complexity of the Navaho’s treatment of sickness. For instance, in order to be cured, both a diagnostician and a shaman are required. The diagnostician reveals what is causing the illness as well as what chant is necessary to cure it; the shaman then performs the chant that is prescribed.

Morgan collects his information from a number of different diagnosticians as well as patients that have been treated. He describes the particulars of the ceremonies that the diagnosticians perform as well as the cost of the chants that will cure the illnesses. The distinctions between the different types of diagnosticians are also discussed and specific examples of the methods of cure from each type are given. Morgan also establishes other functions of diagnosticians besides diagnosing sickness, such as aid in resolving psychological problems as well as aid in recovering lost possessions. Morgan constructs his article to ensure that the variations that exist in the Navaho treatment of sickness are explained by means of first hand accounts and direct conversations with diagnosticians. Morgan’s article gives excellent insight into the practices of a diagnostician as well as the mentality of the Navaho with regards to their treatment of sickness.

CLARITY RANKING: 4
JULIE ORDELT University of Georgia (Peter Brosius)

Nomland , Gladys A. A Bear River Shaman’s Curative Dance. American Anthropologist 33 (4): 38-41. January-March 1931.

In Humbolt County, California there is an old woman who was trained early in life for a shaman. She hadn’t practiced since she was young but took it up again when she heard spirit voices warning her to practice the medicine or die. A boy of sixteen was suffering from tuberculosis so she had him come to a vacant house one evening. There she rearranged the furniture, changed her clothes, swept, and dampened the floor. She began hissing and yelling “shah!” as she smoked a pipe. She handed the pipe to an assistant who began to recite a prayer. After the prayer she sang and the spectators joined in. As it got louder and faster she got up and danced. She threw herself on the floor with a piercing scream. She singing stopped and she appeared to have several symptoms of pain. She seemed to be extracting the pain and examining it, then sending it away. The second part of the ceremony was similar but began with the prayer and the shaman sang a different song. She danced on all fours like a dog and went outside in this manner. This is significant because a dog is used in making a sort of curse in their culture. The boy was apparently poisoned by a curse of this sort. A few more pains were extracted by repeating the ceremony several times and with more variations. Afterwards the shaman went for a swim and when she finished everyone went to the patient’s parents house for a feast.

CLARITY RATE: 4
JENNIFER D. AFFOLTER California State University, Hayward (Dr. Peter J. Claus)

Nomland, Gladys A. A Bear River Shaman’s Curative Dance. American Anthropologist. 1931 Vol. 33: 38-41.

Gladys A. Nomland, in A Bear River Shaman’s Curative Dance, succinctly describes the curative dance performed by an Athabascan woman, in Northern California, in 1930. The article is purely descriptive; there is no accompanying analysis of any sort.

Nomland explains that the shaman had been trained by her mother on the Bear River at an early age, yet the girl was halted from using this training as she was thought to have too much power for such a young age. Consequently, the shaman begins to practice her trade only after the spirits provoked her.

Nomland, then, begins to describe the curative dance being performed on a boy stricken with tuberculosis. The curative dance consisted of the extraction of five “pains” over a two-day period. The ceremony was opened with smoking, dancing, and singing conducted by the shaman and her assistant and was also finished in such a manner. All parts of the ceremony were performed facing the east. The extraction of the first “pain” was carried out with the burning of angelica root, and the shaman fell back to the floor in exhaustion after the “pain” had been removed. The second extraction, while much the same as the first, had the assistant dance with two eagle feathers in her right hand. The other extractions were merely a variation on these first two, with the recitation of particular prayers interspersed throughout the entire ceremony.

Nomland completes her account by explaining that the shaman went for a swim when the ceremony was finished. Her point seems simply to describe the events of the curative dance, without analyzing or explicating its function and purpose.

CLARITY RANKING: 4
SETH SHIRAH University of Georgia (Dr. Peter Brosius)

Russell, Mary and Harold S Colton. Petroglyphs, The Record of a Great Adventure. American Anthropologist 33 (3): 32-37. January-March 1931.

In the Painted Desert of Arizona there are several large boulders of red sandstone. These are covered with petroglyphs that date from the late prehistoric to modern times. The petroglyphs are very unlike ones associated with pueblo ruins or cliff dwellings and have been connected with the Hopi people who live about 50 miles away. An informant has deciphered most of the symbols and believes some may represent extinct clans. The story associated with the drawings tells about spirits that live in the many canyons of the area and how they come back to their earthly homes on the mesas for a visit. Apparently they have a lively interest in human affairs. Another story is of journeys inside the canyon of the Little Colorado. Brave men would go into the dark chasm lowering themselves down by a rope. There they would gather salt, a special kind, thought to have magical properties. The salt used to belong to the brothers Brave Boy and Echo who were the grandsons of Spider Woman who is the protector of the Hopi people. One day they made her mad and climbed into the canyon to escape her. Here one of the boys left behind a lump of salt he had been carrying and it is still there today. The deposit of salt is said to be continually renewed no matter how much is carried away. Those who eat it will enjoy good health. So many men took this journey that when one boulder would become filled with symbols of their tale they began writing on other available ones. Now they are like the Rosetta Stone helping to interpret earlier clan symbols.

CLARITY RATE: 5
JENNIFER D. AFFOLTER California State University, Hayward (Dr. Peter J. Claus)

Russell, Mary F. and Colton, Harold S. Petroglyphs, The Record of a Great Adventure.American Anthropologist March, 1931 Vol. 33(1):32-37.

Mary Russell and Harold Colton explores the origins and significance of the petroglyphs found in such great number on a series of sandstone boulders in the Painted Desert of northern Arizona, near the Grand Canyon. Using symbolic interpretation and folklore gleaned from a Hopi informant, they place the symbols into both historical and mythological context.

The informant was able to interpret the petroglyphs as clan symbols and translate most of them into totemic clans, some surviving and some extinct. They are presented clearly in tabular form allowing direct comparison of the various styles for each clan. Much of the variation in the symbols was accounted for by different individual drawing styles, while multiple examples of identical style were seen to represent repeated visits by the same individual.

The significance of the carvings was placed into a mythical context. The rocks lie on the approach to a salt deposit mined since prehistoric times. The deposit lies in a deep canyon requiring a hazardous approach by a rope slung around a rock pinnacle. The rope was originally made from Yucca and the task was seen as a great test of bravery. Hopi mythology places the origin of the salt deposit with the Two Little War Gods, grandsons of the wise old Spider Woman. The brothers infuriated the Spider Woman with a prank and were chased out of the town into the Grand Canyon. There they rested and laid aside their lump of salt. On venturing out from the cave they paused to see if their grandmother was still waiting for them. Unfortunately they waited too long and turned into two rock pillars, one of which was used to anchor the yucca rope.

Due to this association with the Spider Woman’s family, the salt deposit attained a reputation of magical properties and encouraged the daring acts required to collect it. The authors suggest that each salt gatherer would pass the boulders on their way to the canyon, and would leave the mark of their clan to record their bravery and adventure.

The authors equate the boulders with the Rosetta Stone, suggesting that it may be used as a model to interpret many other early petroglyphic carvings as similar records of adventure.

CLARITY: 5
TOPHER DAGG University of Georgia (Pete Brosius)

Smith, Maurice G. The Indian Office Pays a Debt. American Anthropologist 33 (2): 228-9. 1931.

In 1891 the Kiowa Indian Apiatan helped to halt the spread of the Ghost Dance religion. For this he was awarded a medal by the government and promised in addition a house to the worth of 500 dollars. The award of the house was turned down by the Department of the Interior, but when the matter was brought up again in 1930, Apiatan finally received his five hundred dollars, although this money had only half its 1890’s value.

Apiatan was viewed by the government as a “progressive” chief of the Kiowa, who encouraged his people to adopt white ways. The bulk of this article is a translation of a letter from Apiatan to the Commisioner of Indian Affairs, detailing his actions during what he terms the Messiah Craze, according to which an Indian Messiah had come, the white people would be destroyed, the buffalo would return, and the Indians would regain control of the land. Apiatan met with Jack Wilson, originator of the Ghost Dance, and, convinced that he was a fraud, urged Sitting Bull and other chiefs not to support the teachings of the Ghost Dance. Apiatan recieved a silver medal from the government, but had to wait forty years for the monetary portion of his reward.

CLARITY RATE: 1
DONALD N. ANDERSON California State University, Hayward (Peter J. Claus).

Smith, Maurice. The Indian Office Pays A Debt. American Anthropologist. April-June, 1931 Vol. 33(1):228-229.

Maurice Smith’s article illustrates the loyalty of a Kiowan Indian to the U.S. government and the government’s delay on rewarding this man. The Kiowan, Apiatan was promised a reward for his efforts to persuade other Indians not to take part in a controversial religious movement. The reward he was to receive was a medal and a new house to cost not more than five hundred dollars. The second half of Smith’s article is a letter from Apiatan explaining the events for which he was to receive the reward.

Apiatan was a chief of the Kiowans. Smith states that he is a “progressive” Indian although at one time he was a member of the peyote cult. In Apiatan’s letter, he says that he was loyal to the government and encouraged his people to take up the American lifestyle of farming and education. In 1890, a doctrine known as the Messiah Craze was spreading among the Indians. According to the teaching, Jesus was to return and give the land back to the Indians. With the approval of the Indian Agency, Apiatan set out to meet with those spreading these ideas. He traveled from South Dakota to Wyoming to Nevada looking for the man claiming to be the Messiah. He met a Piute who was the one who claimed to be the Messiah. He saw this man to be a fake and told his people the doctrine was false. He also carried this message to other Indians including Sitting Bull.

Forty years later, Apiatan finally received five hundred dollars to improve his present home.

CLARITY: 4
RODNEY LINDSEY University Of Georgia (Peter Brosius)

Speck, Frank Montagnais-Naskapi Bands and Early Eskimo Distribution in the Labrador Peninsula. American Anthropologist v33 pp. 557-599. 1931.

The author, Frank Speck is an ethnologist who studied the Montagnais-Naskapi Bands and the early Eskimo in the Labrador Peninsula, eventually constructing a preliminary survey of the territory occupied by these groups. Based on early maps, the Eskimo inhabited the area near the Hudson Bay and northeastern coast. The Montagnais occupied eastward up the St. Lawrence coast and the Algonquin occupied the westward territory. There is reason to believe that these two bands show traces of affinity. They both share similar hunter patterns as well as similar practices of shamanism and divination. The writer also states that records reveal there were early Eskimos that joined Indian bands. He concludes with his preliminary survey of twenty-six bands that inhabited the Labrador Peninsula. He also gives details about census information, their subsistence, housing, political leadership, language, and affinity.

CLARITY: 3
MELODY ASKEY California State University, Hayward (Professor Peter Claus)

Speck, Frank. Montagnais-Naskapi Bands and Early Eskimo Distribution in the Labrador Peninsula. American Anthropologist, 1931: 557-599.

Speck sketches a brief history of the Labrador Peninsula with regard to theorized migrations of ‘Indian’ and Eskimo people with the aim of providing the historical background for an ethnographical overview of the various bands of the Montagnais-Naskapi.

Speck starts off with the assertion that although it is impossible to say for certain without more detailed anthropological and archaeological evidence, there are some indications that the Eskimo that inhabit the northern region of the peninsula were once spread further inland, and thus mixed more extensively than at the time of the writing of his article. To this end, Speck turns to written records of the first encounters with the Montagnais, largely by Jesuits, finding evidence that the Montagnais tribes were concentrated further south, and that the Eskimos occupied a greater region than they did later. Probable causes for this encroachment include pressure from Iroquois raiders to the south. Speck finds numerous historical accounts by Europeans of the fear in which the Montagnais-Naskapi bands held the Iroquois and of clashes between them.

The Montagnais-Naskapi pushed the Eskimos out of some southern regions, although the location of their primary tribes has remained unchanged. Thus the Eskimo of the Labrador peninsula must be seen as a larger influence than would be judged by Speck’s current observations, and indeed a genealogy of the Montagnais-Naskapi would likely find considerable intermixing. In addition to this historical influence is that of the Beothuk tribes, now extinct, who occupied the region before the arrival of the Montagnais-Naskapi tribes.

Having set forth this brief history of the peninsula, Speck turns his attention to a current ethnography of the Montagnais-Naskapi. In the year 1910, they were the only people living on the peninsula except for the Eskimo to the north and white trading posts. Speck writes a few paragraphs for each of the twenty-six tribes and bands of the region, denoting the number of families, and linguistic points of interest, as well as probable or evident mixing with Eskimo or whites. Wherever possible, he provides citations to earlier works indicating how long a particular band has lived in a given region. Speck identifies each band with the geographic region they occupy as well as the name of the band in the native dialect and its English translation. Names are usually for geographic features or landmarks. He admits that the territories inhabited by each bad may be inaccurate, and ends with an estimate of each one’s population based on contact with local trading posts.

CLARITY RATING: 2
PHILLIP MATRICARDI Columbia University (Paige West)

Steward, Julian H. Notes on Hopi Ceremonies in their Initiatory Form in 1927-1928. American Anthropologist. 1931 Vol. 33:56-79.

Steward’s notes describe three winter ceremonies of the Hopi of the First Mesa: Wowochim, Soyala, and Powamu. Because the observation of these rituals was virtually unknown from 1891 to 1927, Steward’s notes are very unique.

The Wowochim ceremony serves the purpose of youth initiation. It begins in November. Steward briefly touches the making of a fire and the Chief Kiva and its procession to the remaining kivas. Because the details of the greasewood and soapweed gatherings were previously unavailable, the rest of his description is dedicated to the gathering of soapweed by the Singer, Wowochim and the Horn Society novices and the gathering of greasewood by Agave novices. The races of each gathering is outlined along with the subsequent ritual washings of hair by the soapweed gatherers and the dances performed around the fire by the greasewood gatherers.

Steward proceeds to the description of Soyala or the winter solstice ceremony. However, his description is very brief.

The Powamu ceremony or Kachina ceremony is described in great detail. It begins with the first appearance of the new moon in late January or early February. The prayer-stick making ritual involving the rising of Ahul the Sun Kachina and the rites thus performed by him are intricately outlined. Steward also explains the importance of the planting of the beans. Then he continues by describing the final stages of the ceremony involving the whipping of children by the Du mas Kachina and the following worship including the bean dance among other various dances and the subsequent presents.

Steward’s notes are of interest to anyone wishing to better grasp the Hopi ceremonies in general. They also provide a comprehensive description of three particular Hopi ceremonies previously thought unobserved. In order to supply a better idea of the quantity of description given to each ceremony, the Puwamu ceremony receives the greatest detail followed by the Wowochim and finally the Soyala.

CLARITY RANKING: 3
AMANDA DACUS University of Georgia (Peter Brosius)

Steward, Julian. Notes on Hopi Ceremonies in their Initiatory Form. American Anthropologist 33 (7): 56-79. January-March 1931.

There are three regular ceremonies of the Hopi of the First Mesa that take place in the winter. These are the initiation ceremony, winter solstice ceremony, and the Kachina ceremony. The initiation ceremony involves a race in which the boys must overtake a designated man who is given about a mile headstart. They run for maybe fifteen or twenty miles. Their “fathers” and an uncle help them on the way back since they must continue running and gather soapweed or firewood depending on the group they belong to. These men who act as fathers are for ceremonies and can be any man in any clan except those of the true mother and father to whom the child is “given” by the mother. After running back they return to their kivas which are places of worship and perform more rituals. They are given presents afterwards. During the winter solstice ceremony there is dancing and blue corn ears are given out and placed with individuals’ stores for good luck. Kachinas are Hopi gods and the ceremony of the Kachinas takes seventeen days. It involves rites being performed at houses and kivas, late night dancing, terrorizing the children (seemingly for entertainment), impersonations of kachinas, and of course ceremonies to ensure a better harvest. These ceremonies have special duties for initiates to perform as they have reached the age when they are allowed to impersonate kachinas and are let in on adult knowledge.

CLARITY RATE: 4
JENNIFER D. AFFOLTER California State University, Hayward (Dr. Peter J. Claus)

Terra, H. De. Prehistoric Caves North of the Himalaya. American Anthropologist. 1931 Vol. 33:42-50.

H. DE Terra, in Prehistoric Caves North of the Himalaya, describes in detail, geologically and geographically, two caves in Asia, the K’un-Lun Cave and the Karakorum Cave. The article includes a sketched map showing the position of the caves in western Central Asia, two photographs of the entrances to the caves, a photograph of the Karakorum rock drawings, and sketches of the K’un-Lun rock drawings.

Terra first explicates the K’un-Lun Cave. Its geographical position is placed into context, and then he carefully describes the geological make-up, from the entrance to the cave to its fullest extent inward. He, then, describes the rock drawings found midway into the cave; however, most of the inscriptions were not decipherable at the time of his exploration. He notes that Chinese officials hampered a full analysis due to their general suspicions.

Terra explicates the Karakorum Cave in much of the same manner. He provides an exact geographical position and then gives precise geological descriptions of the cave. He notes that this particular cave appears undoubtedly ancient. Rock drawings are described, and he states the particularly fine drawings of hunters.

Finally, Terra seeks to explore briefly the relation of these two caves to other settlements in the region. He makes no certain links, yet he cites many possible candidates. He closes by explaining that these discoveries will indubitably help future researchers understand ancient cultures in Central Asia.

CLARITY RANKING: 5
SETH SHIRAH University of Georgia (Dr. Peter Brosius)

Terra, H. De. Prehistoric Caves of the Himalaya. American Anthropologist 33 (5): 42-50. January-March 1931

Deep in Western Central Asia caves have been found that show evidence of ancient dwellings. The geologic position of these caves makes them unlikely places for archeologists to suspect human habitation so they have only recently begun to be found and studied. They are situated in ravines but high in mountainous regions where the ground is very rocky. These caves have ancient rock inscriptions and drawings as well as evidence of human habitation in the form of oily, crusty residue on the walls where someone rubbed up against them. Some archeological digs have taken place but due to hostility and suspicion on the part of Chinese officials not much work could be done. The digs only went down a couple of feet and never reached the bottom so this may be the reason no implements were found. The drawings at least proved to have a wealth of information telling of ancient ibex hunters with bow and arrow technology. Similar rock inscriptions have been found in the Russian Pamir and are the work of a people believed to be of Iranic origin. These people still hunt the ibex with bow and arrows but unfortunately they have no further insight to offer on the origin of these rock carvings.

CLARITY RATE: 3
JENNIFER D. AFFOLTER California State University, Hayward (Dr. Peter J. Claus).

Tozzer, Alfred. Alfred Percival Maudslay. American Anthropologist v33pp403-411.

This article is a biography of the fascinating life of an Anthropologist, Alfred Maudslay. Known in school as “a barren tree,” Alfred Maudslay’s talents were, apparently not recognized by his schoolmates or colleagues. He was born in 1850 and died in 1931. His primary focus was Central America, more specifically the Mayan ruins and other sites found in the Yucatan Peninsula. His first trip to Central America was inspired by his desire to spend winter in a warm climate. This excursion was the beginning of several that were to occur with the outcome being his most famous work titled, “Biologia Centrali Americana.” Maudslay was a stickler for detail as shown by his extensive collection of maps. Through his expeditions, he became fascinated with hieroglyphics found at the cave sites. Other than his maps and his writings, another additional major contribution was his early moulds taken of the bas-reliefs and the stone carved lintels, which he donated to the British museum. They respectfully displayed his artifacts in what was properly named, “The Maudslay Room.” It is evident that Maudslay was not an armchair anthropologist, but a very active observer in his field studies of the Mayan ruins.

CLARITY: 4
MELODY ASKEY University of California, Hayward (Professor Peter Claus.)

Tozzer, Alfred M. Alfred Percival Maudslay. American Anthropologist 1931 Vol. 33:403-411.

The main purpose of Tozzer’s article is to convey to the reader the significance of the work of Alfred P. Maudslay and to emphasize the goodness of his nature. Tozzer accomplishes this by giving a biographical account of Maudslay’s life’s work and also by utilizing various events and encounters in his life to convey his good nature.

Alfred P. Maudslay began his journey to Central America, not with the intention to research, but with the desire to pass the winter in a warm climate. Little did he know that through his explorations, he would make numerous archaeological discoveries of great importance. Alfred Maudslay was born on March 18, 1850 and after completing his schooling, he became a great colonial administrator.
Although his fame could have stemmed from this alone, it came from his great archaeological investigations. He produced plans and photographs of Mayan ruins that were, at the time, unknown to the scientific world. Maudslay was specifically intrigued by the significance of the Mayan hieroglyphic inscriptions. He was very interested in Maya stone carvings and bas-reliefs, and also produced extensive maps and drawings. The fruits of his labors come together to form the monumental volumes of his Biologia Centrali – Americana. Tozzer mentions some of the situations Maudslay encountered in his professional career. He explains how each was handled with dignity and kindness. Maudslay died on January 22nd, 1931.

CLARITY RANKING: 5
NEETA K. MAKHIJA Columbia University (Paige West)

Warner, W. Lloyd. Morphology and Functions of the Australian Murngin Type of Kinship (Part II). American Anthropologist 33 (2): 172-198. 1931.

In this article, part two of an account of the the Murngin kinship system of Australia, Warner describes the preservative functions of Murngin kinship in lieu of two customs, heretofore inexplicable, in which hostility or antipathy are rechannelled non-disruptively, or balanced by the kinship structure. The subsection system and kinship morphology of the Murngin system are then compared with the related Kariera and Arunta types of kinship.

The primary characteristics of Murngin kinship which Warner delineates are the perpendicular relationships, of patrilineal descent and clan solidarity, and the lateral relationships, characterized by a reciprocity in which gifts and women are exchanged between male affines (an extended series of mother’s brother’s and sister’s sons) stretching through a terminologically recognized kinship structure of five generations and seven patrilineal lines of descent. The custom of Mir-ri-ri, or “ear-thing,” in which men beat their sisters (as well as all “sisters,” both biological and fictive) when they hear them being sworn at, is analyzed in its functional aspect of allowing an outlet for male anger, while avoiding outright conflict between intermarried clans. The distribution of strong and weak relationships between ego and his affinal male kin is found to be balanced in such a way that again, conflict is avoided and the system preserved. Finally, the moiety subsection system of Murngin kinship as well as the extent of its kinship classification system are contrasted with the Arunta and Kariera types, also from Australia.

CLARITY RATE: 1
DONALD N. ANDERSON California State University, Hayward (Peter J. Claus).

Warner, Lloyd. Morphology and Functions of the Australian Murngin Type of Kinship (Part II). American Anthropologist 1931 Vol. 33: 172-198.

In this article Lloyd Warner explores two main elements of kinship in Murngin society and compares them to elements in the kinship systems of the Kariera and Arunta. Perpendicular relationships along patrilineal lines and their lateral connections through intermarriages are evaluated.

Warner suggests that Murngin kinship rests on reciprocation with an underlying basis of mutual antagonism among lateral relationships. A section of the article is devoted to the Murngin custom of Mirriri in an effort to explore the idea of mutual antagonism as it relates to Murngin kinship behavior toward female relatives. Mirriri is the aversion to hearing or using profanity in front of a sister. If a man witnesses another man, usually the sister’s husband, swearing in front of his sister he will throw spears at all of his sisters. Warner attempts to explain this seemingly anomalous behavior as being a result of the structure of Murngin kinship. In other words, he uses structure to explain function. Given the notion that it is unbearable for a man to hear swearing in front of his sister, the man must either defend his sister or do nothing. In choosing to defend his sister he risks the whole lateral structure of his clans kinship. Doing nothing is also an option, but difficult if the emotional tension is strong. Thus, an entirely different alternative has been seized upon for a man to express his displeasure under these circumstances. The sister is treated as the husband, and spears are thrown at her and her sisters. This allows for the expression of the man’s displeasure while preventing between clan strife.

In Murngin tribes, relatives are regrouped into larger reciprocal divisions. There are eight subsections, four in each moiety for the Murngin system. Warner goes on to compare the Murngin subsection system of reciprocity to that of the Kariera and Arunta. The Murngin system has many elements in common with the two major types of subsection found in Australia. However, in certain respects, such as marriage rules, the Murngin system does not conform to either of the other two major systems. Diagrammatic charts are used to elucidate the comparisons being made between the Kariera, Arunta, and Murngin systems. The Murngin use their subsection system in a similar manner to their kinship system. Both men and women are often called by their subsection term.

Warner concludes that tribes with relationships based on the Murngin system vary considerably from the normal Australian types. Both the Kariera and Arunta exhibit symmetrical relationships in which brothers and sisters are exchanged between two marrying families. The Murngin system is based on asymmetrical cross-cousin marriage. This system will lead to an entirely different morphology than the other two systems.

CLARITY RANKING: 3
TIFFANY RINNE University of Georgia (Peter Brosius)

Watson, Editha L. Two Mimbres River Ruins. American Anthropologist. 1931 Vol. 63: 51-55.

Editha Watson, in Two Mimbres River Ruins, compares and contrasts two sets of ruins found along the Mimbres River. She considers the two ruins sites most invaluable in the information they provide on southwest New Mexico and the continually increasing scientific importance of information already extracted from the ruins, as they are incessantly being destroyed by pot-hunters and the occasional rising of the Mimbres River itself.

Watson discusses the antiquity of what lies underneath the two ruins, Gonzalez place and Golass place, the building over old walls, “archaic” layers of pottery, and a skeleton from which shell bracelets were taken. Watson also references petroglyphs or pictographs engraved into a bluff at the Golass place. She believes it is easy to imagine life around the Mimbres River, which now exists in stones and ruins.

Watson argues that those who built Golass place were more careful and deliberate with rock floors and carefully plastered walls while those building Gonzalez place built with adobe and large rocks, settling on a hard, earthy floor. The pottery found at both ruins are interesting to Watson, especially the cremation bowls, which “are the only ones recorded from this region and are of especial interest on that account.” She claims pottery found in the Golass ruin was less detailed and more difficult to perceive due to calcium deposits than those found at Gonzalez. She acknowledges the similarities of animal designs and the prominent use of only black and white in decorating the pottery.

Watson believes the two sites along the Mimbres River are filled with valuable information and regrets that more scientific exploration and excavation had not been done on these sites before multitudes of valuable items were removed or destroyed.

CLARITY RANKING: 4
SARAH MILLER University of Georgia (Peter Brosius)

Watson, Editha L. Two Mimbres River Ruins. American Anthropologist 33 (6): 51-55. January-March 1931.

The ruins along the Mimbres River in Southwestern New Mexico provide a wealth of information on Pueblo Indian life. The ruins sit close to the Mimbres river which apparently flooded the places out a few times. A skeleton was found of an individual who had been caught in one of the floods. Twenty-one shell bracelets were found on him. At one of the ruin sites petroglyphs have been found. Some show realistic scenes of pueblo activities such as grinding corn and men returning from hunting and fishing. The building designs of the two ruins are very different. One is made with plastered adobe and the other utilizes thin slabs of rock or layers of charcoal. Pot-hunters have torn the sites apart for exquisite pottery but some interesting examples had been left behind including one with geometrical designs in a redware that is entirely unique. The other pottery often has human and animal designs. The last point of interest is two cremation burials, the only ones recorded in this region. The bones had been placed in a series of bowls, which had apparently been placed on a fire. It is too bad given the incredible finds that the ruins could not be scientifically excavated.

CLARITY RATE: 4
JENNIFER D. AFFOLTER California State University, Hayward (Dr. Peter J. Claus).

Webster, Hutton. Maurice G. Smith. American Anthropologist 33 (2): 230. 1931.

Maurice G. Smith, Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Oklahoma, died prematurely of typhoid fever on October 22, 1930. His Master’s thesis on the Plains Indians had been published as a separate monograph, and he had contributed since gaining his doctorate several articles to the American Anthropologist and other journals. After taking his position in Oklahoma, Smith had done considerable field work among the state’s Indians, especially on the subject of the Peyote cult. His death at such a young age cut short a promising career.

CLARITY RATE: 1
DONALD N. ANDERSON California State University, Hayward (Peter J. Claus).

Webster, Hutton. Maurice G. Smith. American Anthropologist 1931 Vol. 33(1): 230

This article is an obituary of the Maurice G. Smith, an associate professor of anthropology at the University of Oklahoma written by Hutton Webster. Webster says that Professor Smith died of typhoid fever in October of 1930. He describes Smith’s fieldwork on the Native Americans of Oklahoma. Webster includes some of Smith’s work such as his master’s thesis, “The Council among the Plains Indians”, to argue that Smith was very important to anthropology as a whole and to the study of American Indians more specifically. Webster states where Smith did his undergraduate work and what degree he received at that institution—University of Nebraska. Following this, it is stated that Smith completed a fellowship at the Robert Brookings school in Washington, D.C. and received a degree of Doctor of Philosophy there. Smith then became an Assistant Professor at the University of Colorado. Webster states that after arranging anthropological teaching here, Smith went on to the University of Oklahoma where he began his fieldwork on the Native Americans and eventually died. At the end of the article which is mainly a summarized resume of Dr. Smith, Webster states the loss the anthropological community will feel from Smith’s “untimely death”. Webster uses Dr. Smith’s abbreviated resume to validate his importance to the anthropological community and demonstrate the gravity of his death to that community.

CLARITY: 4
SARA LUDUEÑA Barnard College (Paige West)