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