American Anthropologist 1979
Beckerman, Stephen. The Abundance of Protein in Amazonia: A Reply to Gross. American Anthropologist 1979 Vol.81(3:2):533-556.
The thesis being examined is a prior publication by Gross in which he proposed that South American aboriginal populations were limited to low levels by a lack of adequate protein resources. After outlining the conclusions Gross makes in his early article, Beckerman submits that Gross’ evidence is fragmentary and ambiguous enough to allow a contrary claim. First though, he makes it clear that he is not hostile Gross’ idea of protein limitation of human populations itself. Rather, Beckerman believes that in the Amazon case, protein resources exist but are under exploited.
Part of the reason for this is that the sources are either painstaking to acquire or not comparable to the rest of their starch based diet that tends to be one of high calorie staples such as yams, corn and manioc. Beckerman seeks to prove that protein sources are in fact, adequate in the Amazon rain forests. He constructs this argument by cataloguing the food sources. Non-vegetable: mammals, reptiles, invertebrates; and vegetable protein: palms, dicotyledonous trees (nuts). Quotations are not merely noted but used in their entirety often for over a page, adding to the length of the article. But, as mentioned before, the evidence is ordered meticulously and also appreciable is how the author never forgets what he has set out to do.
To sum up presented evidence (and to make it more comparable and convincing) Beckerman uses charts to contrast the sources, their caloric value, and protein content (as a percentage) along with other nutritional values. However, even though he presents a great number of sources of protein, many of these are so negligible in their contributions of protein to the diet that I wondered if these really served to support his argument or Gross’. It is my opinion that this could be a scenario where the food (especially in the case of low calorie proteins) returns less energy to the hunter-gatherer than was used in acquiring it. Some foods have nutritional value too small to justify the means required to gather them. Still, Beckerman has done a lot of work to add to the stronger examples of evidence.
Beckerman suggests (with a clearly structured argument and meticulous explanation of the tactics he will employ) that there is protein and other sources of amino acids in the Amazon jungle, however, they are not extensively utilized by the people. Throughout the article Beckerman is focused on his original task and this serves to enhance the reader’s understanding of the article and the purpose of the evidence being presented. Beckerman’s overall clarity is enhanced as well by this generally unfaltering presentation of findings that clearly contrast with Gross.
CLARITY: 5 The author presents the evidence in a concise order and always relates it to the thesis.
VICKI UNDERSCHULTZ University of Alberta (Dr. Heather Young Leslie).
Beckerman, Stephen. The Abundance of Protein in Amazonia: A Reply to Gross. American Anthropologist. September 1979. Vol. 81(3): 533-560.
Beckerman writes this paper in response to Gross’ claims that the size, permanence, and density of aboriginal settlements in the Amazon basin were limited by low levels of protein resources. He argues against this claim and refutes many ideas found in the Gross paper. Beckerman examines the size of pre-contact Amazonian human populations, along with the validity of reports on pre-contact populations, as well as the abundance of fish and terrestrial vertebrates. He then examines the issue of aquatic protein resources and includes invertebrate protein of which Gross largely ignored.
All of these arguments are supported by the use of graphs and statistics. Beckerman also uses an abundance of previously published works throughout his article. He includes the fact that humans use a variety of forms of protein and have a variety of forms of resources to obtain protein.
His conclusion states that the people of the Amazon used to exploit vegetable protein, because of its ease to collect and it’s abundance, heavily when their populations were greater in number. Because of the fact that their numbers are smaller today, after contact with Europeans and the outside world, they have switched to a more efficient protein source of animals. Due to Old World diseases and nearby development, the animal population of the Amazon is lower today than it was in the past, and therefore is keeping down the population numbers of the Amazonian peoples.
CLARITY RANKING: 3
JOSEPH E BAFIA Purdue University (Myrdene Anderson)
Brown, Cecil. H. Folk Zoological Life-Forms: Their Universitality and Growth. American Anthropologist. December, 1979 Vol. 81 (4): 791-817
According to Brown there are five stages in the growth of folk zoological
life-forms. Stages one through three come in no particular order; they are: Fish, Birds, and Snakes. The fish category simply includes animals with fins, gills and a streamlined, aquatic body. Birds are defined as feathered creatures with wings and bills; bats are sometimes included in this category. Snakes occasionally include worms, snakes, lizards, and reptile-like insects. The fourth category is Wug, which includes insects, spiders, crabs, snails, and sometimes lizards, tortoises, and frogs. The last category is Mammals. The main premise behind these stages is that the more complex a society’s folklore is, the more complex the language and society is in general. This means that a society that recognizes the fourth or fifth stage will be more politically and technologically complex. A large portion of the article is about why a society that is in its fourth stage (Wug) of development will almost always have words in its language representing the prior three stages, but would lack words for mammals. When looking at related languages, the younger languages may have the same stage of life-form growth or a higher one, but never fewer. According to Brown, life-form encoding regularities include criteria clustering, which occurs when certain defining features of natural objects bundle (together) so that the presence of any other feature is highly predictive of the presence of other features. The second regularity is conjunctivity, which is used to ensure cohesion between the non-dimensional and dimensional aspects. In other words one could say that there is a small maple and a large maple; although their size is different, they are the same species. The small maple is not a shrub. Dimension salience (or binary opposition) is used when encoding the Wug and Mammal stages into opposites, and relationships. Marking is the last encoding regularity; it is used to specify a meaning.
CLARITY RANKING: 3
MARIE S MCGRATH Purdue University (Myrdene Anderson)
Carlson, David S. and Van Gerven, Dennis P. Diffusion, Biological Determinism, and Biocultural Adaptation in the Nubian Corridor. American Anthropologist 1979. Vol 81 (3): 561-580.
Carlson and Van Gerven reviewed how archaeological evidence, specifically skeletal remains, was used to reconstruct changes in the cultural history of Nubia, an area located along the Nile River in Egypt and Sudan. They proposed an alternative theory for this cultural change based on a different interpretation of the skeletal remains. In doing so, they demonstrated how preconceived assumptions and theories could cloud anthropological investigations and interpretations of data.
Historical Nubians have been grouped according to cultural distinctiveness, e.g. A-, B-, C- and X-groups. Proponents of the diffusionist theory viewed these changes in Nubian culture as being the result of invasions of non-Nubian peoples. Evidence of these invasions was found in the skeletal remains, mainly cranial types, found in Nubian gravesites. They found what they believed to be mixing of racial types, with either more “Negroid” or more “Caucasoid” types. They proposed a causal relationship between “advances” in Nubian culture and increases in “Caucasoid” cranial types, which is a biological deterministic view of culture. Conversely, they claimed “’the smallest infusion of Negro blood immediately manifests itself in a dulling of initiative and a ‘drag’ on the further development of the arts of civilization.’” Carlson and Van Gerven indicated, though, that these earlier anthropologists (pre-1960s) analyzed the skeletons with preconceived definitions of racial types, which they made the remains fit into. The definitions themselves were subjective as these anthropologists relied on the experiences and selective observations of anthropologists to determine racial type. Data was therefore qualitative, not quantitative, and biased due to racist views.
Carlson and Van Gerven proposed an alternative theory to the racial biological determinism that clouded previous ideas regarding Nubian cultural change. They reviewed post 1960s studies that indicated there was cultural continuity between the Nubian groups. The groups shared many cultural characteristics, such as their material culture and burial practices. Differences due to changes in subsistence practices and other cultural characteristics could all be viewed on a continuum and not as sharp, drastic alterations. Abrupt changes found in archaeological evidence were thought to come from depopulation and recolonization of the area due to political and ecological factors, such as occupation and control by Egyptians and changes in the water level of the Nile. Differences in cranial features, the main archaeological evidence used, were regarded as gradual changes in morphology due mainly to changes in diet that reduced the mastication muscles and stress on the teeth and jaws, which changed the cranial features. Changes were not due to hybridizations with non-Nubian peoples. They proposed the variations were geographic and not racial.
In reviewing Nubian cultural history, Carlson and Van Gerven also gave a review of the history of anthropological thought. They demonstrated how theories change over time and new interpretations of data can lead to new theories. They also illustrated that that while archaeology can be very useful in discovering cultures of historic peoples, analyzing the evidence can be problematic.
CLARITY: 4
KATHERINE VLADICKA University of Alberta (Heather Young Leslie)
Carlson, David S. and Van Gerven, Dennis P. Diffusion, Biological Determinism, and Biocultural Adaptation in the Nubian Corridor. American Anthropologist September, 1979 Vol. 81 (3): 561-580.
The objective of this article was to explain how the present Nubian culture came to be. Whether the people of the Nubian Corridor have developed into their present culture by past groups of people invading and conquering, or whether these people merely had a cultural influence is the big question. Another theory is the issue of this culture starting at a point and developing into today’s culture. Researchers have divided the past cultures into many “cultural groups”. The A-group, which is the earliest discovered people found in the Nubian Corridor, the B-Group, which is still a questionable cultural group, might have conquered the A-Group. The C-Group which existed 200 years after the A-Group presented a strong reliance on agriculture compared to the past group’s hunting and gathering methods. The Pharaonic Period followed which “marked a break in indigenous Nubian culture” (Carlson, Van Gerven 565). The “Nubian Hiatus” marked a time period of 1000 years in which the region was depopulated. Meroitic Kingdom soon followed and the X-Group soon came to be. Finally the Christian Period marked the X-Group’s end.
Researchers believe that migration was the major cause of culture change in The Nubian Corridor. Studying the burials and past anatomy of these people may permit these researchers to discover the mystery of the Nubian Corridor.
CLARITY RANKING: 3
WENDY LEACH Purdue University (Myrdene Anderson)
Chalfe, Richard. Obituaries, Sol Worth. American Anthropologist 1979 Vol.81(10)91-93.
This article summarized the life, work, theories and contributions of Sol Worth to the anthropological world. In this article, Richard Chalfe recalls the events in the life of a ‘close personal friend’. Worth’s many interests included mental health, art criticism and education. Richard Chalfe believed that Worth’s main contribution to anthropology was in the area of visual communication.
According to Sol Worth, what is of significance to a culture may be overshadowed by the anthropologist’s ideologies and way of life instead of the culture she/he is studying. Scientists were photographing and filming other societies simply to ‘record’ other cultures. People took pictures of what was important and significant to them. These pictures may show more about the photographer’s culture than the people who are in the picture, which is the culture being examined. This would not be an accurate representation of the culture being studied.
Worth’s theory stated that it was more important to study the subject and the context in which the photographic images were taken by members of that society. Chalfe explained that to rectify this problem, Worth believed that what should be studied was the images recorded by members of that particular society and how that society interpreted them. Chalfe claimed that Worth wanted his students to realize that man is often presented through visual forms and it is important to know what view you want to present.
In this article, Chalfe clearly states Worth’s contributions to anthropology as well as other areas of study. The article is easy to read and understand. The author portrays Worth as an important figure in Visual Anthropology. Richard Chalfe stated that Worth did not believe assumptions but questioned those assumptions in order to find the truth.
CLARITY: 4
TEENA SEREDA University of Alberta (Heather Young Leslie).
Chalfen, Richard. Sol Worth (1922-1977). American Anthropologist March 1979 Vol. 81(1): 91-93.
Sol Worth was born on 19 August 1922 in New York and he passed away 27 August 1977. Worth received a B.F.A. from the State University of Iowa in 1943. Worth then served a stint in the military. From 1946 through 1962 he worked as a commercial artist, dealing with photos for advertising in magazines, producing motion picture commercials, and editing four 20-minute films on art subject.
Worth studied the concept of visual communication. He researched the relationship between visual symbolic forms, cognition, meaning, communicative codes, and culture. He attempted to change the view of visual anthropology from that of being a useful tool of anthropologist to that of a separate field of research. He saw the field as the study of human’s use of visual symbols and terms and how they reflect and shaped culture.
Sol Worth helped found the Anthropological Film Research Institute (1970) and the Society for the Anthropology of Visual Communication (1972) for which he served as president from 1972 through 1974. Worth also was the editor of “Studies in the Anthropology of Visual Communication”.
CLARITY RANKING: 5
JOSEPH E. BAFIA Purdue University (Myrdene Anderson)
Collins, June M. Ruth Sawtell Wallis (1895-1978). American Anthropologist March 1979 Vol. 81(1): 85-87.
Ruth Sawtell Wallis was born on 15 March 1895 in Springfield, Massachusetts and passed away 21 January 1978. Wallis attended Vassar College and Radcliffe College and graduated cum laude with a B.A. in English in 1919 and in 1923 she received her M.A. in anthropology, both degrees from Radcliffe. Interested in the work of Franz Boas, she obtained her PhD from Columbia in 1929. Her thesis, “Ossification and Growth of Children from One to Eight Years of Age” was reprinted by the American Medical Association and is still widely quoted.
Wallis is best known for her work on children’s development and growth. In 1931 she published “How Children Grow”. Her work throughout her career dealt with childhood development. She worked at a number of universities holding numerous positions as well as participating in research for the United States Government. Being a woman of a multi-field discipline, she also is known for her ethnographies of the Micmac and the Malecite. Wallis also researched characteristics of Azilian skeletal remains.
CLARITY RANKING: 5
JOSEPH E. BAFIA Purdue University (Myrdene Anderson)
Cole, John R.; Godfrey, Laurie R. Biological Analogy, Diffusionism, And Archaeology. American Anthropologist March 1979 Vol. 81 (1): 37-45.
The authors’ article is in response to Harold K. Schneider’s article where in it he proposes a “genetic theory of culture to explain world wide cultural regularities.” Cole and Godfrey point out the misuse of Schneider’s findings and interpretations of biological terms. Finding his comparison of culture as a species and innovations as mutations to be too far fetched in terms of culture evolution.
The constant misinterpretation of biological analogy is the crumbling point in Schneider’s article. Cole and Godfrey constantly point these inconsistencies out. Such as “his dichotomization of convergent analogous structures and parallels point mutations is a false one.” Also, his use of the phrase “parallel homolog” which is contradictory within itself, once again discredits Schneider’s theory of culture evolution.
Throughout the entire article Cole and Godfrey discredits most of Schneider and diffusion altogether. They do state that they do not discredit all claims for diffusion but want to show that there is enough serious question about enough such claims that they can safely say that the evidence does not support Schneider’s “genetic” model in the way he would have the readers believe.
Before reading this article it would be wise to look over Schneider’s article, to have a greater understanding of the points that Cole, and Godfrey make. Without knowing Schneider’s article, the reader may be lost for great portions of their article, trying to understand the encompassing points that are made.
CLARITY RANKING: 2
RORI ARCE Purdue University (Myrdene Anderson)
Laurie R. Godfrey and John R. Cole. “Biological Analogy, Diffusionism, and Archaeology”. American Anthropologist. 1979, 81:37-.
“Biological Analogy, Diffusionism, and Archaeology” is an article intended to critique the work of Harold K. Schneider, who postulated the concept of explaining worldwide cultural regularities by way of genetic theories. Apparently, Schneider believed that all attributes of a civilization diffused from the near east to Europe. He supported this through both biological and archaeological evidence. However, Godrey and Cole do not reiterate that evidence. Rather, it could be speculated that the authors of this article have assumed that Schneider’s work is well known, and that they need only state their own ideas about the falsity of his work.
Godfrey and Cole question Schneider’s reliance upon the older and discredited principals of anthropology (though what those are specifically is unmentioned), while ignoring the works of Boas, Kroeber, Dixon, and others. The two (Godfrey and Cole) seem very well referenced, and almost outrageously scientific, using a wide range of complex theories such as “convergent analogous structures, and parallel point mutations” (pg. 38) to discount Schneider’s biologically based argument. Unfortunately, Cole and Godfrey only lend to the confusion, as they do not sufficiently explain these theories, choosing instead to only cite them. As far as covering the archaeological and diffusionist principals of Schneider, Cole and Godfrey seem to merely guffaw and state “[archaeological] empirical evidence often refutes specific diffusionist claims.”(pg. 40).
This article, although somewhat fascinating from a scientific point of view, lacks any detailed explanations, and is therefore quite difficult to comprehend without the actual knowledge of point mutations and other biological anthropology. Had Cole and Godfrey listed clearly the points of Schneider’s work they were attempting to discredit, and also clearly define their own evidence, the article would have read more appropriately, and the clarity would undoubtedly be increased.
CLARITY: 3
BODHI RADL University of Alberta (Dr. Heather Young Leslie)
Dillingham, Beth W., and Edward C. Hansen. Stephen C. Cappannari (1917 – 1974). American Anthropologist, 1979 Vol.81(2):335-336.
This article is an obituary for Stephen C. Cappannari who was the Head of the Division of Human Behavior, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and died of a heart attack on 15 August 1974. He was a Professor of Psychiatry in charge of a precorrectional therapeutic program for first-time marijuana offenders. He was conducting a longitudinal study of black children in Nashville, in collaboration with the Fisk University Psychology Department. Other interest included human sexuality, language and culture, religion, Native Americans, and Italian culture and society.
Cappannari was born on 16 July 1917 in Plymouth, Massachusetts to immigrant Italian parents. He developed a fascination with Italian heritage and the sea, and was an accomplished mariner. Dillingham and Hansen describe his life as an affirmation of civilta, the Italian concept of urbanity and grace. Cappannari entered the University of Michigan in 1936 and decided to become and anthropologist after enrolling in an anthropology course offered by Leslie White. He and White became lifelong friends and their correspondence is archived in the Bentley Library at the University of Michigan.
He earned his B.A. in 1940 and completed his master’s program at Harvard in 1942. He interrupted his schooling to serve in WWII as a Gunnery and Communications Officer on board the destroyer U.S.S. Meade in the Pacific. He then entered the Ph.D. program of the University of California at Berkeley, writing his dissertation under A. L. Kroeber.
He took a position at Wayne University in Detroit, where he remained from 1950 to 1960. From 1951 to 1954 he was a Fulbright Scholar to Italy and did research among the peasants of the Molise-Abruzzi area. He also studied the fate of migrants from Molise-Abruzzi to Detroit, and instituted at Wayne State a course in the Ethnography of Italy.
Cappannari joined the medical school facility at Vanderbilt University in 1959, where his interests expanded to include human sexuality, drug abuse, and the physiology of speech. He taught courses in cultural anthropology and human sexuality to medical students. He participated as a visiting lecturer’s program of the AAA and was invited to speak at 36 colleges in a 10-year period.
He was a visiting professor at the University of California, Berkeley; the University of Michigan; the University of Massachusetts; and Johns Hopkins Center in Bologna, Italy. He was elected Fellow of the AAA, AAA-S, and the RAI-GB & I. Dillingham and Hansen characterize Cappannari as open, honest, outspoken, and witty.
CLARITY RANKING: 5
CAROLYN PRUETT University of Texas at San Antonio (James H. McDonald)
Dillingham, Beth and Hansen, Edward. Obituary – Stephen C. Cappannari (1917 – 1974)American Anthropologist June, 1979 Vol81(2): 335-336.
Stephen C. Cappannari was born on July 16, 1917 to immigrant Italian parents in Plymouth Massachusetts. Dr. Cappannari attended the University of Michigan in pursuit of a becoming a chemist. After taking a controversial anthropology course with Leslie White, Dr. Cappannari changed his academic interest and Dr. Cappannari and White soon become lifelong friends. After earning his B.A., Dr. Cappannari completed one year of graduate study at the University of Michigan, and then completed his masters at Harvard. His academic career was shortly interrupted by World War II, in which he served as a Gunnery and Communications Officer. After the War, Dr. Cappannari entered University of California, Berkeley’s Ph.D. program in Anthroplogy under A.L. Kroeber in which he developed an interest in ethnography of the Shoshone and Pomo.
After completing his Ph.D. at U.C. Berkeley, Dr. Cappannari became at Professor at Wayne University in Detroit, Michigan, where he remained for 10 years. He initiated field research among the peasants of the Molise-Abrussi area which led to a number of publications and instituted a course in the Ethnography of Italy. In 1959, he joined the faculty of the Medical School at Vanderbilt University where his research expanded to human sexuality, drug abuse and physiology of speech. At Vanderbilt University, his courses in cultural anthropology and human sexuality became a legend to medical students. Dr. Cappannari was also a visiting lecturer in the American Anthropological Association, as he spoke to some 36 colleges in a 10 year period. Some of Dr. Cappannari’s other achievements include serving as a visiting professor at U.C. Berkeley; University of Michigan; the University of Massachusetts and Johns Hopkins Center in Bologna. Prior to his death he was a Professor of Psychiatry in charge of a pre-correctional therapeutic program for first-time marijuana offenders in Nashville. He also conducted a study of black children in Nashville, in collaboration with the Fisk University Psychology Department.
CLARITY RATE: 5
LEAH CASEY California State University Hayward (Peter J. Claus).
Hsu, Francis L.K. The Cultural Problem of the Cultural Anthropologist. American Anthropologist 1979 Vol.81 (3) 1: 518-531
Hsu is analyzing the common problems that arise for anthropologists while doing their work. A large part of the article examines positive ethnocentrism and neutral ethnocentrism. Using Malinowski as an example, Hsu demonstrates why racial and cultural superiority thoughts can be very detrimental to field work because of the possibility of results being skewed. A question Hsu asks of anthropologists is have they improved their roles as field workers over the years since Malinowski?
Because humans relate to each other by role and by affect, it is inevitable that this will change as a society becomes industrialized. Hsu makes a good point by saying that although roles change over time the affect certainly has not. Human feelings have remained untouched: love, hate, rage, hope, etc. Again using Malinowski as an example he discusses the motivation behind patterns of affect and their differences between cultures.
Positive ethnocentrism is when a group or culture wishes to change another culture that they see as “wrong”. Neutral ethnocentrism is when a group or culture believes that a second group or culture is doing something “wrong” but know that it is still their choice. Hsu compares the differences between positive and neutral ethnocentrism very well. Both sides are well represented with examples from diverse cultures, emphasizing on myths. He spends time raising points about both the benefits and disasters of positive ethnocentrism. The benefits are intriguing, as they don’t strike as being ethnocentric ideas: public-health measures, universal education, equality between sexes, etc. The disasters are mostly centered around religion and empire collapses. These changes are a result of internal or external impetus to change.
Religion and proselytization in terms of Western cultures is debated as Hsu offers points on why anthropologists have failed to notice a connection between the two. He attempts to offer suggestions that may explain why, but does not provide a conclusive answer. In Hsu’s view, the worst manifestation of Western ways of life was its long history of Inquisition in Christianity.
The author writes about the need for comparison. I believe that this is crucial to anthropology, as without it, views are filtered and prejudged. Hsu argues that comparison is crucial to anthropology, but that field workers should seek understanding of their own culture prior to studying other cultures. This prior knowledge will provide the basis for the comparisons and lead to the “best” obtained data, by objectivity. Hsu believes that although offhand comparisons can be useful for teaching purposes, they are still unsatisfactory because data obtained by a single human can be taken out of social and cultural contexts. Comparisons also help represent qualitative aspects of human affairs.
National character studies are seen as important to Hsu even thought their popularity among anthropologists has fallen drastically. He sees importance in an attempt to see and deal with the fields of our study as wholes. The thoughts of how different cultures separately deal with their independence demands can be represented through national character studies, but it isn’t the only way they can be looked at. He also believes that the significance of kinship in social and cultural development when comparing cultures should be renewed, as they will aid in solving some of the problems that ethnographers deal with.
CLARITY: 5
ALLISON TWISS University of Alberta (Heather Young Leslie)
Hsu, Francis L. K. The Problem of the Cultural Anthropologist. American Anthropologist September, 1979. Vol. 81 (3): 517-531
In the article “The Problem of the Cultural Anthropologist”, Francis Hsu tries to answer the questions “What can we learn from Malinowski’s relation to his field context? How far have we gone in our field work and understanding of the diverse human ways of life since his days? And finally, in light of the above, are there steps we can take to improve our role as fieldworkers and as trainers of future anthropologists?” Hsu looks at Malinowski himself and at anthropology in general in order to answer these questions; he then suggests directions that anthropology should take to solve these questions. Hsu points out several characteristics that affected the way Malinowski related to the natives. Hsu shows that Malinowski was preoccupied with sex which “led him to paw native women”, he felt he was racially and culturally superior, he “was intolerant of any exchange on equal terms with the natives, and although he was attracted to many native women his feelings of superiority kept him from pursuing the attraction. The author discusses role, affect and culture in his exploration of Malinowski’s work and in his quest to answer his stated questions. Hsu points out that “in all societies, human beings relate to each other by role (usefulness) and by affect (feeling) and that Malinowski felt that the natives were not very useful in answering his questions and so he “never had any positive feelings for the native.” The author deals with the ideas of positive and neutral ethnocentrisms when exploring Malinowski’s approach in the field and his feelings toward the natives. Positive ethnocentrism is the type that engages in expansive tendencies where the person/people engaging in the ethnocentrism will try to educate those people to their way of life. In contrast to this is neutral ethnocentrism where “neutral ethnocentrists tend to have no desire to change the ways of those whom they see as inferior or wrong.” Hsu also explores the internal and external causes of change in cultures and the difference in the causes of Western and Eastern change in culture. The author points out the need for anthropologists to study their own culture as well as others and that comparison of cultures should be an explicit and systematic comparison of cultures to avoid interpretation of alien patterns through the ethnographer’s own filter. Hsu advocates national character studies as a way to understand macro-level culture instead of just micro-level culture. The author also puts forth the idea that the traditional methods of exploring kinship, parallel and cross-cousin marriages and the Crow, Omaha, and Hawaiian kinship systems, are outdated and “belong to the paleontology of cultural studies.” Hsu concludes with a personal note saying that even though the readers may think he was too hard on Malinowski, that Malinowski was one of the best teachers he had and that “advancement through human generational succession requires that those who come later learn from the actions and thoughts of those who have gone before. Essential to this continuing process is careful analysis of both their merits and their defects”.
CLARITY RANKING: 3
WILLOW LUCAS Purdue University (Myrdene Anderson)
Hsu, L.K. Francis. The Cultural Problem of the Cultural Anthropologist. American Anthropologist September, 1979 Vol.81(3): 517-533.
Francis Hsu begins his article with a quote from Malinowski from when he arrived at Port Moresby, New Guinea. Hsu states that this account is both moving and skillful, but also criticizes Malinowski’s obvious sentiments of racial and cultural superiority over the natives. Hsu clearly outlines his goals within the article by stating that he intends on unveiling what we can learn from Mailinowski’s reaction to his field context, observing how anthropologist have progressed in understanding diverse human ways of life, and observing steps anthropologist can take to improve their role as fieldworkers.
Hsu reveals that Malinowski’s preoccupation with sex and personal problems with hypochondria were expressed in his writings. He also reveals Malinowski’s problems with racial and cultural superiority, as he repeatedly refers to the natives in derogatory terms. This is ironic because Malinowski expected the natives to have positive feelings towards him despite his obvious negative feelings towards them. Hsu states that Malinowski was unable to relate to the natives in terms of their culture and activities and was continually disappointed and perplexed that they were not like Europeans. Preceding this, Hsu emphasizes the importance of anthropologist responsibility in understanding basic human sentiments. He states, “westerners may experience love, hate and despair the same as the others, but how they express love, hate and despair, and especially what makes them love, hate and despair possess distinct characteristics that are not universal (Hsu, 520).”
Hsu believes that anthropologist have progressed since Malinowski within having a greater understanding of humans in that the political climate of many of the natives that anthropologist have studied has changed. But despite government changes, the west still maintains technological power over non-western countries, which continues to evoke racial and cultural superiority of westerners. Hsu therefore believes that “positive ethnocentrism” and “neutral ethnocentrism” are still present. He believes that positive ethnocentrism and neutral ethnocentrism are the same in that they both share the idea that one culture is right and one is wrong, but the difference is that neutral ethnocentrists have no desire to change the “wrong” society, where as positive ethnocentrist do.
Given Malinowski’s findings, Hsu believes that we need to have a clear understanding of ourselves before we attempt to understand others. He emphasizes that comparison is inevitable, but to effectively compare there needs to be a systematic understanding of the anthropologist own culture.
CLARITY RATE: 4
LEAH CASEY California State University Hayward (Peter J. Claus).
Irvine, Judith T. Formality and Informality in Communicative Events. American Anthropologist 1979 Vol. (81) 4:773-
In this article, Judith T. Irvine examines the concept of “formality” and “informality” in social-cultural anthropology. Specifically, she focuses on the ethnography of communications and the usefulness of the concepts in description and comparison. The objective of the essay, as Irvine defines, is to provide greater designation in our usages of the terms “formal” and “informal”. In turn, Irvine reassures that a clearer definition of the terms will “better serve cross-cultural comparisons”.
The first of Irvine’s four-part essay begins with a look at the use of formality and informality in different examples of recent literature. Irvine begins by defining and providing examples of social occasions for the three main principle senses of formality. Irving persists the three main principles of formality are often blended with each other and argued that “formal descriptions are most suitable for the more structured discourse that occurs in ceremonialike formal situations”(775). The key to preventing such confusion, says Irvine, in to address the relevant elements and detangle them.
Leaving the literary definitions behind, in the second part of the essay Irvine focuses on the four aspects of formality that apply cross-culturally. Often occurring in the same social occasion, the four kinds of formality, as Irvine demonstrates, are in need for a clearer definition in order to avoid confusion. In her argument, Irvine uses the political meetings of the African tribes Wolof, Mursi, and Ilongot to demonstrate how the four aspects may apply universally. This comparison also carries on to the third part of the essay. The extended comparisons of the Wolof, Mursi, and Ilongot political meetings in the third point, broaden the definitions of the four senses of formality and examine the different degrees of formality in social occasion. Irvine uses the differences and similarities of the meetings to convey the message that formality and informality are not a single continuum and the argument that formalizing a social occasion reduces its participants’ political freedom, can only be true in certain conditions.
To wrap up the essay, Irvine discusses formality as a concept in social theory. In discussing formality as a concept of social theory, Irvine explores the usefulness of formality. She states that because the risk of mistaking one kind of formality for another is high, one must specify what one has in mind. As well, formality is not stable unless the context in which it is used is fully understood and agreed upon by everyone.
The awkward distribution of ideas is the only drawback to this essay. Full of intelligent observations and points on formality, Irvine makes her points clear.
CLARITY: 4.5
MEGAN WEST University of Alberta (Dr. Heather Young Leslie)
Irvine, Judith T. Formality and Informality in Communicative Events. American Anthropologist December, 1979 Vol. 81(4):773-790.
In this paper, Irvine analyzes the integrity of the concept of “formality” in sociocultural anthropology. Accordingly, she reviews the literature for the reader on the current uses of “formality” and finds that not only are there several distinct categorical descriptions of what is incorporated in the project thus termed but also that they do not always correlate with each other. She points out several areas of confusion in this vein, not the least of them being the fact that “formality” and “informality” are utilized to describe both social occasions and the behavior associated with these occasions. The three principle “senses of ‘formality’” are broken down into properties of a communicative code, properties of the social setting in which that code is used, and properties of the analyst’s description. She also ponders what the meanings of these concepts are in terms of observable characteristics of human social interaction.
Irvine utilizes a comparative, cross-cultural analysis of political meetings among the Wolof of Senegal, the Mursi of Ethiopia, and the Ilongots of the Phillipines to attempt to tease out the structural dimensions of the descriptions, to offer a more precise way in which to utilize them, and to begin to develop a more precise analytic vocabulary. In addition, she explores the possibility that “formality” in communicative events serves not only to enforce tradition or the coercive power of a political establishment but that it also provides a touchstone for creativity and change.
CLARITY RANKING: 4
ELIZABETH STERNKE Purdue University (Myrdene Anderson)
Jorgenson, Joseph G. Mischa Titiev – 1901-1978. American Anthropologist. 1979. Vol.81: 342-343
This article is an obituary for Mischa Titiev, Professor Emeritus, University of Michigan, who passed away in August of 1978 at the age of 76. The author outlines Professor Titiev’s many accomplishments and contributions to the field of Anthropology but claims that, “none of his work has been more profound or influential than his two seminal books on Hopi culture” (342).
Mischa Titiev, born in Russia in 1901, moved to Boston with his family at the age of six. By 1924 he had completed a Bachelors and a Masters degree in English literature and, while seeking a dissertation topic, discovered anthropology. Titiev was awarded a PhD in anthropology from Harvard in 1935 and in 1936, he joined the faculty at the University of Michigan. Professor Titiev was responsible for many significant publications in his time including two successful textbooks, The Science of Man (1954) and Introduction to Cultural Anthropology (1959). One paper in particular, which dealt with residence patterns and their influence on unilateral kinship groups, “was instrumental in advances made in the analysis of social organization in the 1940s and 1950s” (342).
Titiev’s book, Old Orabi (1944), which is based on his first field research visit to the Hopi between 1932 and 1934, deals with issues of kinship, ceremony, agricultural practices, and political organizations. According to Jorgenson, not only did this book clarify issues left dangling by previous anthropologists but also, “it has become the principal source for subsequent scholarship in Western pueblos” (342). Titiev had much respect and veneration for the Hopi and in turn, they held him in high regard and made him a member of the tribe.
The author accomplishes his objective with this brief, compassionate obituary. It is easy to read and enough information is provided for the reader to get an idea of the life and the accomplishments of the subject.
CLARITY RANKING: 5
ERIN STEWART University of Alberta (Heather Young-Leslie)
Jorgensen, Joseph. Mischa Titiev (1901-1978). American Anthropologist June, 1979. Vol. 81(2): 342-344.
Mischa Titiev, born in Russia, on 11 September 1901, passed away on 17 August 1978. Titiev obtained his B.A. in 1923, his M.A. in English literature in 1924, and his Ph.D. in anthropology in 1935, all from Harvard. In 1936, Titiev joined the faculty at the University of Michigan. He was a Fulbright Professor at the Australian National University in 1954.Titiev specialized in social organization and religion, which included research on the Hopi Indians. He was highly respected by the Hopi and was adopted into the tribes of the Third Mesa and the Sun Clan. Titiev also conducted research in East Asian anthropology, and participated in founding the Japanese Study Center at Michigan.
CLARITY RANKING: 4
CHAD R. BROEKER Purdue University (Myrdene Anderson)
Keesing, Roger M. Linguistic Knowledge and Cultural Knowledge: Some Doubts and Speculations. American Anthropologist 1979, Vol. (81)2: 14-34.
This extensive and complex article focuses on the field of cognitive anthropology and specifically the differences between linguistic knowledge and societal perception of culture. Keesing remarks that, in his opinion, cognitive anthropology was lacking in that while looking to linguistics for the study of grammar, formal theory was considered in excess, and simple models and methods were neglected. Keeling believes these methods and models are critical in the examination of any and are quite useful when trying to distinguish between linguistic and cultural knowledge within a society. Keesing’s argument rests on the idea that languages should not be examined as a self-contained system. As Keesing so eloquently describes, “the cognitive economies that make linguistic communication possible rest on what native speakers know about their world, which they need not then encode directly in utterances” (pg. 14).
Keesing uses the Kwaio people of Malaita, Solomon Islands as an example. The author begins by defining a few key terms, including culture, and linguistic knowledge versus knowledge of the world. This distinction becomes the main argument of Keesing’s article: where does ‘linguistic heritage’ end and ‘cultural heritage’ begin, and vice versa? Keesing believes that the flaw of previous examinations of different languages lies in the lexicon, or glossary, of that language. In reality, Keesing argues, the lexicon, though highly structured, leads us into the pitfall of seeing ‘knowledge of the world’ as idiosyncratic.
Keesing launches into his discussion of the Kwaio with an examination of lexical semantics and symbolic structures. Keesing uses many different examples of Kwaio words, stating the form, gloss, and nonphysical (and often metaphoric) sense. He begins with examples that are transparent and then moves on to examples with more cultural individuality. Following these examples, Keesing makes note of several principles of Kwaio cosmology. In knowing these crucial principles, the Kwaio language can be better understood.
Keesing methodologically outlines cultural ‘rules’ and linguistic analysis, pragmatic rules and cultural knowledge, communication in cultural perspective, as part of his argument. Again, the author uses many examples from the Kwaio people. Keesing’s argument basically comes down to a critique of the separation linguists have put between language and culture. Keesing’s conclusion states that he forecasts that “ethnographies of cultural knowledge and linguistic grammars will increasingly emerge as complementary sides of a single enterprise” (pg. 34).
Though the author obviously is very knowledgeable regarding this subject, it is sometimes difficult for the average reader to comprehend what he is trying to get across. Keesing’s writing, infused with academia, is very sophisticated and complex.
CLARITY: 3
ERIN QUINN University of Alberta (Heather Young Leslie).
Keesing, M. Roger. Linguistic Knowledge and Cultural Knowledge: Some Doubts and Speculations. American Anthropologist March, 1979 Vol81(1): 14-36.
In Roger Keesing’s article “Linguistic Knowledge and Cultural Knowledge: Some Doubts and Speculations,” he criticizes linguist approach to analyzing native speakers knowledge of their language as it relates to “knowledge of the world.” He believes that often times, linguist take for granted the different kind of world the native speaker exist, while examining their language. This exist particularly when linguist analyze the speaker’s knowledge as a “self-contained system.”
In order to best understand ones language, Keesing suggest that anthropologist explore the native speaker’s “culturally defined model of the universe.” He believes that lexical items and lexical semantics are heavily influenced by their ontology of their existence within the world. Keesing does this, by using data from Kwaio of Malaita (Solomon Islands) which is a language spoken by 6000 in an interior mountainous region. By using examples from the Kwaio, Keesing demonstrates how cultural assumptions and symbolic structures are crucial to the meanings of their words and how the range of cultural variation extends to philosophical theory.
Kessing first outlines the Kwaio’s model of the universe by explaining some principles of Kwaio cosmology. For example they believe that members of one’s kin group is responsible for events in the universe that affect their life, such as “the wind.” Also the Kwaio religion which is centered among spiritual realms, also plays a role within their language. When the Kwaio communicate, universal ideas such as these are assumed among speakers. Given this background information, Keesing relates this to their language and the verbs that they use by giving a “gloss” definition and then a “nonphysical definition.”
CLARITY RATE: 3
LEAH CASEY California State University Hayward (Peter J. Claus).
Kirk, Lorraine and Burton, Michael. Sex Differences in Maasai Cognition of Personality and Social Identity. American Anthropologist December, 1979 Vol.81 (4): 841-871.
This article by Burton and Kirk analyzes the differences between the way Maasai men and women conceptualize personality and social identity. The authors performed their analyses on male and female cognitive tests results; tests very similar to the standardized testing prevalent in Western work and school environments. They used answers from these tests to help them understand which types of personalities and social identities were exceptional, or marked, in the eyes of a Maasai male and compare those responses to what Maasai females considered to be unique about people. The authors found considerable sharing between males and females in what they considered to be exceptional personality traits. There was also uniformity in the male and female responses as to exceptional personality traits of the most common social identities, however there was little to no uniformity between the sexes in what they saw as marked personality traits among marked individuals with exceptional social identities. The authors assert that this finding supports that marking is strongly correlated to degree of cognitive sharing between the sexes. In total the authors saw two important differences in the way men and women perceived their peers. Their first important difference is that women were more derogatory in their social expectations of most other social identities. The authors felt that this was related to the weak position of Maasai women, but there could be other factors and reasons. Perhaps the Maasai women aren’t unique and women in general do not expect as much of their peers as men. The authors did not validate their claim so that it can be proved to be culturally specific to Maasai women.
The second important difference the authors pointed out was that men place more emphasis on the sex of the social identities while women place more emphasis on sociological age. This claim only emphasizes that the authors feel Maasai women have less social status than Maasai men. If anything, the data supports that both Maasai men and women are aware of this.
CLARITY RANKING: 3
GREG LEACH Purdue University (Myrdene Anderson)
Burton, Michael Kirk, Lorraine. Sex Differences in Maasai Cognition of Personality and Social Identity. American Anthropologist 1979 Vol.81(5):841-873
How both sexes perceive and express concepts concerning their respective groups and the interaction among them is the main focus of this article. Involving a reliance on cognitive science, the two authors bring you into their work and through their experimental procedure to explore their topic.
They put forth the conclusion that marked social identities spark greater diversity across the sexes than do social identities that are not marked. An unmarked identity, using the example provided by Burton and Kirk, would be something like depth. Asking how deep a body of water is implies no knowledge of its depth, it only questions for an unknown value. Inquiring how shallow a body of water is precludes it is not deep and would be an example of a marked identity. They propose and support the idea that male is the unmarked form of identifying a person, and female is the marked form derived from it.
They attempt to support this notion through ideas of cognitive theory employing a model that strives for the easiest and quickest storage and retrieval functions of the mind. The form and content of the article is based in a thoroughly structured approach trying to clearly define and lay out what is being done and what the components of the study are.
Diagrams, figures, lists, and charts are frequently used to present the data to the reader in a categorical and concise way.
Arrived at through procedure which would be best ascertained from the article itself and I have not gone into extensively, the main point to come away with from the article are that Massai women are most derogatory, particularly of young women, concerning social identity. It is as well to note that women view age, in the context of Massai social organizations, as the most important factor of social identity, and men view gender most significantly, when determining similarities between personality traits.
I also must state that I find it interesting that in an article so concerned with gender and the differences among it, that the authors did not chose a more neutral labeling in the first bunch of figures rather than having male descriptors clearly dominating the view over the female labels, to reflect their otherwise mainly scientific approach.
CLARITY: 2.5
THEODORE YADLOWSKI University of Alberta (Heather Young Leslie)
Lesser, Alexander. Gitel Poznanski Steed. American Anthropologist 1979 Vol.81:88-90.
An obituary for Gitel Poznanski Steed appears in American Anthropologist volume 81. It is written by Alexander Lesser of Hofstra University where Dr. Steed was a member of the faculty from 1962 to 1977, shortly before her death.
The main objective of this article as with any obituary is to outline the life of the deceased and celebrate her contributions to the world. As this article appears in American Anthropologist it follows that the main focus is on Dr. Steeds anthropological work, rather than on her personal life, however, a significant part of the article looks at Steeds works as a photographer, experience she got while doing a variety of field work.
If one is to look at an obituary as a persuasive essay then the thesis, or basic argument could be seen as the attempt by the author to portray both the importance and significance of the deceased. In this case Lesser tries to show the impact Dr. Gitel Steed had on, most significantly in this particular article, the world of anthropology, and to a lesser degree the world of artistic photography.
The author attempts to support this basic argument with simple, straightforward evidence, which is typical in obituaries. In this instance Lesser outlines Steeds work as an anthropologist both in terms of the fieldwork she conducted as well the universities she worked or lectured at. Steeds work included ethnographies of Chinese immigrants in New York as well as Hindu and Muslim villages in India. She worked for Hunter College, Fisk University and Yale. In addition she lectured at the University of Chicago and Columbia University. Lesser outlines the life of Gitel Steed in a simple chronological way which makes the article effective and clear.
CLARITY: 3
KRISTEN RUMOHR University of Alberta (Heather Young Leslie).
Lesser, Alexander. Gitel Poznanski Steed (1914-1977). American Anthropologist March 1979 Vol. 81(1): 88-91.
Gitel Poznanski Steed was born in 1914 and she passed away 6 September 1977. Steed received her B.A. from New York University. She then attended Columbia University for her graduate studies. She is best known for her extensive work and research on India. She participated in a field study in India, of which she was in charge, between the years of 1950 and 1952. She returned to India in 1970. Steed used her research in India to forward the study of Indian culture, which she did through seminars, paper presentations, and additional research throughout her career. She used the camera as one of her research tools and her photographs are still being displayed to this day.
In 1944 Steed joined the Jewish Black Book Committee. With her peers, she participated in the writing of “The Black Book: The Nazi Crime Against the Jewish People”, which was presented to the War Tribunal after World War II. The book was a documentation and indictment of Nazi anit-Jewish war crimes.
CLARITY RANKING: 4
JOSEPH E. BAFIA Purdue University (Myrdene Anderson)
Lucy, John A. and Shewder, Richard A. Whorf and His Critics. American Anthropologist September, 1979 Vol. 81(3):581-615.
In Whorf and His Critics, John A. Lucy and Richard A. Shewder examined research in the field of language acquisition and color correlation. They divided the field into two main areas of thought. The first school of thought was at its height from 1950 until the mid-1960s, and focused on how the color spectrum continuum and language shape thought. The second movement in this field took place from the late 1960s until now. During this time, Berlin and Kay were responsible for shifting the field’s focus to the psychophysical inequalities of the color spectrum.
In this article the authors evaluated two representative studies of color research. The first, was a 1964 study by Lantz and Steffin; the second, a 1979 study by Heider. In doing so, the authors wanted to explore the relationship between memory and color factors in human color memory, focality, two-person communicative accuracy, the group, and referential confusability. To do this, the authors conducted five experiments, which analyzed the two studies. The five experiments are: 1. Discriminability during perceptual search or recognition memory; 2. Construction of an array controlled for discriminability; 3. Recognition memory for focal and nonfocal studies; 4. Memory group communication, accuracy, and referential causability; 5. Memory and two-person communication accuracy.
The basis of their color methodology research was to ilicit two responses: 1. Cognitive (memory recognition); 2. Linguistic (expressions people use to denote the sensation of color.) Their experiments found Heider’s study to be nonreplicable. They then compared their results to Whorf’s hierarchical view of the relationship between language and sublinguistic universals. Lucy and Shewder concluded that language is a vehicle for human color memory, and research, to date (1979), was consistent with Whorf’s views.
CLARITY RANKING: 3
MISTI PINTER Purdue University (Myrdene Anderson)
Maring, Joel M. Education in Anthropology: The Series Phenomenon. American Anthropologist September 1979 Vol. 81(3): 617-631.
Less than twenty years ago anthropological works began to appear in abundance. These ranged from ethnographies, method books, subfield introductions, and other inexpensive works in paperbound form. Before the paperbound explosion of knowledge, there were seldom books available for mass student use and comprehension. Maring examines 20 anthropological editions in related series created specifically for primary or supplemental classroom use. Included in these 20 are 16 recent publications from the pioneer publisher, Holt, Rinehart and Wilson, and 4 other publications from another recent house, Robert B. Edgerton and L. L. Langness.
CLARITY RANKING: 3
JESSICA L. SHAFER Purdue University (Myrdene Anderson)
McGee, Harold Franklin. Culture and Ethnicity at the Canadian Centre for Folk Culture Studies. American Anthropologist 1979 Vol.81(8)331-334.
In his article, Culture and Ethnicity at the Canadian Centre for Folk Culture Studies, Harold Franklin McGee explained how the Canadian Federal government had control over the extent to which ethnic identification of cultural groups are maintained or destroyed.
McGee examined the articles published in the Mercury Series of the Canadian Centre for Folk Culture Studies and found that they were inaccurate and poorly researched. He stated that the fast pace in which the information was gathered and redistributed resulted in shortened versions of the articles filled with editorial errors. He felt that these shortcomings contributed to the lack of academically relevant articles in the Mercury Series. However, the most important reason that the Mercury Series failed to contribute to cross-ethnic understanding was that its’ Board of Trustees were interested in the political and financial ramifications of the articles instead of academic advancement. He noted that the social scientists held an obvious minority on the Board of Trustees.
McGee critiqued the work of six authors who had their articles published in the Mercury Series. All six articles were written about different ethnic groups in Canada: Blacks in Ontario, Italian-Canadians in Toronto, Chinese-Canadians in Alberta, Swedish in Manitoba, Greeks in Vancouver and French-Canadians in Quebec.
All of the articles had one thing in common, they all described cultural changes within the ethnic groups mentioned in their monographs. They discovered that information that had been passed on traditionally from generation to generation was no longer focused on the past, but on the present and the future. This shift may represent the loss of a past cultural identity and the birth of a government-influenced ethnic identity. The authors came to the conclusion that the Canadian government maintains the ethnic boundaries of its cultural groups by being the force that creates an environment where ethnic groups interact.
In his examination of the articles published in the Mercury Series, McGee was particularly disappointed with the article by Paul McIntrye, Black Pentecostal Music in Windsor, which he found to be “shallow, racist and poorly researched”. He considered it a setback in the study of ethnography, displaying attitudes anthropologists have tried to refute for decades.
Lise Boily-Blanchette’s article, Le Fouril un rite saissonnier, was chosen by McGee as the ideal academic article. Boily-Blanchette wrote about how le fournil, a detached summer kitchen, was a dying custom in Quebec. She stipulated that this custom would disappear as other customs do when they no longer serve the needs of the people. As people left their farms to live life in the city, the custom would cease to exist. However, the people of this ethnic group would not be confused by a sudden loss of culture because new symbols to reflect their new world view would be incorporated. In McGee’s eyes, Boily-Blanchette competently described the relationship between artifacts and social systems.
To conclude his article, McGee said that he believed stricter guidelines were needed to ensure that the articles contribute academically to the study of ethnicity and culture in Canada. In order for this to occur, he suggested that in future authors must clearly define the concepts being used and remember that one ethnic group has meaning only when compared to other ethnic groups. Existing boundaries of interacting groups must also be recognized. Finally, authors must keep in mind the power that the government has over the boundaries of ethnic groups and not be ignorant of this fact in their work.
This article is a clear representation of governmental control over culture and ethnicity in Canada.
CLARITY: 4
TRACY SEREDA University of Alberta (Heather Young Leslie)
McGee, Harold Franklin Jr. Culture and Ethnicity at the Canadian Centre for Folk Culture Studies. American Anthropologist June, 1979 Vol. 81(2):331-334.
The author reviews articles previously published by the Mercury Series of the Canadian Centre for Folk Culture Studies (CCFCS) at the Natural Museum of Man: “Le Fournil: un rite saisonnier” (Lise Boily-Blanchette), “Sacro o Profano? A Consideration of Four Italian-Canadian Religious Festivals” (Bruce B. Guiliano), “Structural Changes of Two Chinese Communities in Alberta, Canada” (Ben Seng Hoe), “The Swedish Community at Eriksdale, Manitoba” (George J. Houser), “Black Pentecostal Music in Windsor” (Paul McIntyre), and “The Greeks of Vancouver: A Study in the Preservation of Ethnicity” (G. James Patterson).
The Natural Museum of Man receives funding from the Secretary of State which is responsible for implementing the governmental multicultural policy; it is made up of a board with strong interests in political and financial rather than academic matters. The CCFCS focuses on the study and preservation of the culture of non-Amerindian people resident in Canada. The Mercury Series stresses rapid dissemination of information and asks readers to be lenient on errors in editing. Therefore, the articles may have bad information or poor scholarship and McGee’s first plea is for a more stringent control policy.
Boily-Blanchette focuses her study on detached summer kitchens, claiming that this creates communities spatially and socially reorganized with the seasons. McGee finds her work the best of the articles, and is refreshed by her sophistication and intriguing comments. Giuliano finds that culture is often defined from the outside, namely by governments. Government plays a large role in creating, maintaining, and destroying ethnic identification. Hoe found that information transmitted throughout the Chinese communities was often present- or future-oriented, not only nostalgic reminiscences. Also, groups became more strongly linked together when there was outside pressure or discrimination. Hauser showed a decrease in the differences between his Swedish and British subjects in the absence of government regulation of intergroup activities. Patterson demonstrates that finances can be a stimulus for formation of new groups, and McIntyre was so misinformed and racist that McGee found inclusion of his article an insult.
McGee recommends that future publications of this organization 1) clearly define central concepts being employed, 2) realize that the study of ethnic groups can only have meaning by reference to other ethnic groups and that the boundaries of all interacting groups should be taken into consideration, and 3) more closely scrutinize the role of government in determining the boundaries of these ethnic groups.
CLARITY RANKING: 3
KIM LINSENBARDT Purdue University (Myrdene Anderson)
McKenna, James J. The Evolution of Allomothering Behavior Among Colobine Monkeys: Function and Opportunism in Evolution. American Anthropologist December, 1979 Vol. 81 (4):818-840.
The purpose of this article is to focus on the allomothering that is common in Colobine monkeys. McKenna points out that although both Colobine and Cercopithecine are Old World Monkeys only the Colobines utilize allomothering in their daily lives. The author discusses the theory behind this. The article contains a graph contrasting the percentage of allomothering between Colobines and Cercopithecines.
He also discusses why some Colobine monkeys are more likely to use allomothering than other Colobines. One theory is that those monkeys that are more sedentary tend to utilize allomothering more than monkeys that move more often.
The author touches upon many different aspects of allomothering. He discusses the function and origin. He also focuses on the consequences of allomothering on the mothers, allomothers, infants, and community in general.
CLARITY RANKING: 2
SARA LAGRANGE Purdue University (Myrdene Anderson)
Misra, U.S. Kirpa Shankar Mathur (1929-1977). American Anthropologist June, 1979. Vol. 81(2): 337.
Kirpa Shankar Mathur’s contributions included research on religion, caste, and Indian peasantry, leading him to be highly regarded in the community of Indian social anthropologists. Kathmandu University requested for him to act as advisor in the establishment of the Anthropology Department due to his status and accomplishments in the field. Mathur also served as editor of the Eastern Anthropologist. Mathur was a great contributor to the field of Indian anthropology.
Mathur, born in India, on 9 April 1929, passed away at the King George Medical College, Lucknow, on 21 September 1977. Mathur’s M.A. degree was in economics, with specialization in anthropology; he received his doctorate in anthropology from the Australian National University in 1960. In 1951, he joined the Department of Anthropology, as a founder-teacher, at Lucknow University, and was appointed head of the department in 1962.
CLARITY RANKING: 5
CHAD R. BROEKER Purdue University (Myrdene Anderson)
Misra, U.S. Obituary – Kirpa Shankar Mathur (1929 – 1977). American Anthropologist June, 1979 Vol81(2): 337.
Kipra Shankar Mathur was born April 9, 1929, in India and died on September 21, 1977, shortly after becoming ill. Dr. Mathur attended Lucknow University in 1948 were he received his M.A. degree in economics with an emphasis in anthropology. He then received his doctorate in anthropology from the Australian National University in 1960. As a student at Lucknow University he joined the department as a teacher and became department head in 1961. He also became editor of the Eastern Anthropologist.
Dr. Mathur was a Social Anthropologist, yet still studied a number of issues within the field of anthropology. His most notable contribution was within the studies of religion, caste and Indian peasantry. His Ph.D. dissertation was published in 1956 as “Caste and Rituals in Malwa.” In addition to a number of papers he published in journals, Dr. Mathur also wrote some half-dozen books. He studied under Professor Majumdar and developed extensive research and fieldwork, which he shared with his students. One of Dr. Mathur’s career highlights was participating in the Ninth International Congress of Anthropological and Ethological Sciences, held in Chicago in 1973. Dr. Mathur was then asked to organize a session on Indian peasantry following the Tenth International Congress as a result of his scholarly ability.
CLARITY RATE: 5
LEAH CASEY California State University Hayward (Peter J. Claus).
Norbeck, Edward, Harumi Befu. Richard King Beardsley. American Anthropologist 1979 Vol.81(3:9):636-639
This article is a fond, straight-forward summary of the life of anthropologist Richard King Beardsley, a pioneer in Japanese community studies. Norbeck and Befu compose a concise complete obituary, highlighting Beardley’s professional accomplishments, as well as his personal attributes.
Beardsley was born on December 16, 1918 in Colorado. He graduated in 1939 from the University of California at Berkley. This was followed by four years in the navy. He then returned to Berkley to earn a Ph. D in 1947. His wartime experience included being a Japanese language officer, and through association with other language officers turned scholars, Beardsley landed a position as an anthropologist at the Center for Japanese Studies at the University of Michigan. He visited Japan for the first time in 1950, and studied a small farming village in the Okayama Prefecture. Beardsley gained fame for his works Village of Japan (1959) and Twelve Doors to Japan (1965), based on his fieldwork and interviews with the village people with whom he established relationships of trust and friendship. Both were landmarks in Japanese community studies and it is interesting to note that these works were as much read in Japan as they were in the United States.
Beardsley was one of the first scholars to carry his anthropological knowledge to a wider audience, via the medium of television. He assisted in writing and was the primary actor in many taped programs focused on Asia. Beardsley was also involved in several documentaries based on Japanese rural life. In the later years of his career, Beardsley was committed to the Project on Asian Studies in Education, aimed at promoting Asian studies in high schools and colleges. Norbeck and Befu mention that Beardsley was widely known and respected in Japan in academic, corporate and industrial circles. Beardsley served as book review editor for the American Anthropologist, trustee and continental editor of the Council for Old World Archaeology, president of the American branch of the Far Eastern Prehistory Association, Asian Prehistory Committee chairman, director of the Association for Asian Studies, council member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, field reader for the U.S. Office of Education, and member of the American Advisory Committee of the Japan Foundation. At the University of Michigan he served as a member of the Senate Assembly, acting chairman of the Department of Anthropology and the director of the Centre of Japanese studies.
Beardsley was known for being kind, gentle and patient. His balanced disposition, ability to remain calm in crisis and reasonable outlook inspired his colleagues and students alike. Norbeck and Befu conclude that Beardsley will always be remembered for his contributions to the field of anthropology, but will be remembered equally for his humanity.
CLARITY: 5
KERRY THAM University of Alberta (Heather Young Leslie)
Befu, Harumi and Norbeck, Edward Richard King Beardsley (1918-1978). American Anthropologist September, 1979 Vol. 81(3):636-639.
Throughout his career, Richard King Beardsley was a pioneer in the field of Japanese community studies. He graduated suma cum laude from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1939. Immeadiately after graduation, Beardsley spent four years in the United States navy, serving as a Japanese language officer. After WW II, Beardsley returned to Berkeley to earn his PhD. For his disertation, Temporal and Areal Realtionships in Central California Archeology, which was a synthesis of fieldwork of the archeology of the California Native American. Despite the wide reverance for this work, even up until the time of his death, Beardsley chose to shift his focus back to Japanese studies. He accepted a position at the University of Michigan in 1947.
In 1950, Beardsley became a pioneer in multidisaplinary study when he, and several of his co-works, participated in an ethnographic study of a small farming village in the Okayam Prefecture. Beardsley co-authored Village Japan based on this study, in 1959. This work was read and revered as frequently in Japan as in the United States. In 1974, he returned to restudy the village, and was working on a book at the time of his death.
During his time at the University of Michigan, Beardsley served as a member of the senate assmembly, acting chairman of the department of anthropology, and director of the Center for Japanese Studies. Beardsley also was a book review editor for American Anthropologist, trustee and continental editor for Council of Old World Archeology, president of the american branch of the Far Eastern Prehistory Association, director of the Association of Asian Studies, fellow and council member for the American Council for Advancement of Science, and a member of the American Advisor Committee of The Japan Foundation.
Beardsley did not limit himself to the study of Japan. He also studied Japanese Americans living in California, spent many years teaching a course on the people of Soviet Asia, and taught a popular course on the anthropology of art.
Beardsley was a pioneer in multi-media; he was one of the first scholars to write and act in a series of programs on Asia, done for the University of Michigan television center. He was well known for warmth, kindness, and gentle disposition; and he gave generously to his students.
CLARITY RANKING: 5
MISTI PINTER Purdue University (Myrdene Anderson)
Ortiz, Alfonso. Obituary: Darcy McNickle. American Anthropologist 1979 vol 81(3:8): 632-636.
Alfonso Ortiz’s obituary of D’arcy McNickle, focuses on all of his outstanding achievements. He was a literary genius as well as a social strategist. He helped many people understand what it is to be Native American.
According to Ortiz, McNickle was a scholarly individual who spent a lot of time buried in his many projects. He was considered to be very successful in many different fields of work, especially anthropology and history. McNickle spent a great deal of time working with and writing about Native Americans. He himself was a member of the Confederated Salish and Kutenai tribes of Flathead reservation in western Montana.
At an early age, his mother warned that McNickle being a Native American would not be advantageous to him, later on in his life. However that view did not take with him and he spent the rest of his life concentrating on Native Americans. McNickle spent a brief period going to school at Oxford University but did not enjoy it because of the people he encountered. So McNickle began his career as a writer. He had a knack for writing and continued to write until he passed away in 1977 at the age of 73. Throughout his career he was considered a very important role model for all young Native Americans. He worked on a great number of government agencies and committees such as: Indian Affairs, National Congress of American Indians and The Institute for the Development of Indian Law (just to name a few). He also founded American Indian Development Inc., which was designed to help Native American communities develop ways of coping with change. He was also the founding chairman of the Department of Anthropology at the University of Saskatchewan in Regina. In his last years he worked for the Smithsonian Institute and also spent much time revising his older written material. He even managed to write one final novel. Just before McNickle passed away, he returned to the Flathead reservation to attend an educational conference. Ortiz says this was very meaningful because in a sense his life came back to the place where it began. This was a beautiful end to a man who never forgot his roots. Scholars and Native Americans both young and old will forever remember him.
CLARITY: 4
ALAN SUKONNIK University of Alberta (Heather Young Leslie)
Ortiz, Alfanso D’Arcy McNickle (1904-1977). American Anthropologist September, 1977 Vol. 81 (3): 632-635.
D’Arcy McNickle was born into the Confederated Salish and Kutenai Tribes of the Flatland Reservation in Western Montana. Ortiz argues that McNickle spent his life offering an authentic and responsible Native American viewpoint.
McNickle completed his BA in history at the University of Montana. In 1931, he published his first of three novels, The Surrounded. Five years later, McNickle took a position with the Bureau of Indian Affairs. In his 17 years with this group, McNickle served as a field representative, assistant to the commissioner, and as the director of tribal relations. During this time he published They Came Here First, an anthropological and historical study of Native American relations. In 1944, McNickle helped found the National Congress of American Indians, the first truly national coalition of Native American Tribes.
Eventually, as did many others, McNickle became disenchanted with the Bureau of Indiana Affairs. In 1952 he moved west to found a privately owned organization, American Indiana Development, Inc. The goal of this group was to assist Native American communities in developing a model institution to deal with change. McNickle also helped to establish a series of summer leadership training workshops for young Native Americans, from which many outstanding Native American leaders emerged.
In 1962, McNickle received an honorary Doctorate of Science from the University of Colorado, Boulder. He also became the founding chairman of the department of Anthropology at the University of Saskatchewan, Regina campus.
In 1972 biography he wrote, Indian Man, A Life of Oliver Lange, was nominated for the Newberry Book Award. At this time, McNickle was the founding program director of Newberry’s Library Center for the History of the American Indian.
Throughout his career he was also on the boards of the Association of American Indian Affairs, the American Indian Institute, the Institute for the Development of Indian Law, and the Advis Council of the American Indian Youth Council.
Lawrence W. Towner said this about McNickle in the introduction of the revised issue of The Surrounded: “…a man with breadth of intellect to live in two worlds, with the compassion to “…love them both, and with the talent to write so effectively where they tragically intermesh that he could share his experience with others.”
This obituary was thorough, but glowing, due to the writer’s personal ties to McNickle.
CLARITY RANKING: 5
MISTI PINTER Purdue University (Myrdene Anderson)
Parker, Seymour and Parker, Hilda. The Myth of Male Superiority: Rise and Demise. American Anthropologist, 1979 Vol. 81 (2): 289-303.
Seymour and Hilda Parker try to understand the reasons that sex roles are imbalanced in human society. They think it necessary to determine if there are cross-cultural similarities in sexual divisions of labor and, if these similarities do exist, to determine their origins. They use four sources of data to study this: studies of non-Western societies, evidence from nonhuman primates, material from ontogeny and specialized biological studies (p. 290).
Parker and Parker examine the historical variation of the qualities that men and women possessed to determine a possible link to the male myth of superiority. They found that “men’s tasks required qualities such as high-level bursts of strength, danger, achievement motivation, risk of failure, and relatively high levels of techno-scientific training and skill. By comparison, female tasks tended to be more routine, repetitive, and relatively low risk, and did not require as a mastery of technological skills” (p. 302). Although there are differences between the characteristics of the sexes, the quantity and quality of the tasks preformed are equivalent. They found this difference alone does not explain the stratification of status between men and women.
The authors also looked at biopsychological factors that define the sexes. They found that differences went beyond reproductive functions and cultural characterization factors, and were in fact part our mammalian heritage and were adaptive in human evolution. They feel that the past existence of these biological adaptations influenced the division of labor. They think this is especially true as societies become technologically developed. They believe the combination of the characteristics and biopsychological factors that men posses are required more frequently in these societies then the combination of characteristics and biopsychological factors of women. This formed the basis for the separate levels of power and prestige. As the level of technology, and therefore specialization of tasks develops, so does male power. But Parker and Parker see this specialization of tasks making the supply of male labor “costly and inelastic” (p. 302).
They conclude with the opinion that biology is not destiny and the myth of male superiority does not need to persist. They state that there is “no direct causal chain that links biology to sociocultural phenomena” because as societies continue to develop techno-scientifically, the roles that men solely occupied become less specialized (p. 303).
The tasks that were historically thought to be typically male and female will be shared by shared by both sexes. They see that the continuation of the roles of men and women, and the division of labor, will overlap.
Parker and Parker’s article about male superiority calls for a very slow and thorough interpretation because the language used is specific to their area of study. Although their argument is contained within the article, it is at times, not very clear. But their article is a timely and interesting study of the idea that biology is not destiny.
CLARITY RANKING: 3
CRYSTAL TRACY University of Alberta (Heather Young Leslie)
Parker, Seymour and Hilda Parker. The Myth of Male Superiority: Rise and Demise.American Anthropologist June, 1979. Vol. 81 (2): 289-309.
In the article, “The Myth of Male Superiority: Rise and Demise”, Parker and Parker seek to understand why there is a “widespread sex-role asymmetry in human society” that contributes to the Myth of Male Superiority. They try to achieve this by exploring the social and biological environments that could have propagated this myth. In the segment on social conditions that may have supported the myth, Parker and Parker discuss the sexual division of labor and what may have cause the division. They focus on such effects as childbirth and hunting. In the second portion of the article they discuss the biopsychological sex differences, dividing them into four categories: 1) cross-cultural uniformities; 2) early ontogenic appearances; 3) phylogenetic continuities; and 4) biological characteristics. The cross-cultural uniformities category deals with the idea that sex-linked behavior may not exclusively attributed to socialization practice. The second category, early ontogenic appearances, investigates the male-female traits exhibited by infants and how they may or may not be linked to “value-laden socialization pressures.” The phylogenetic continuities category explored the possibility that sex-differences may relate to ” the protective-defensive roles of males and the reproductive-socialization function of females” in humans and non-human primates. The last category, gender differences: biological underpinnings, examines the physical attributes of males and females, looking at how those traits contribute to the strengths and weaknesses of each sex. Parker and Parker use the information presented in this article to try to debunk the Myth of Male Superiority. They accomplish this through exploring the differences between the sexes and by showing that those differences don’t support the myth, rather they seem to describe adaptations to ecological conditions.
CLARITY RANKING: 4
WILLOW LUCAS Purdue University (Myrdene Anderson)
Peters, C.R. Toward an Ecological Model of African Plio-Pleistocene Hominid Adaptations.American Anthropologist 1979 Vol.81(1):261-274.
Peters examines a number of African Pliocene and Early Pleistocene hominid fossils that bore a striking resemblance to modern day apes, and were assigned to the hominid family. Peters also managed to amass a “conservative list” of the adaptive characteristics of those creatures, which included the following attributes: a range in heights from 107 cm to 165 cm, a range in weights from 18 kg to 91 kg, a reliance on terrestrial bipedality which was specialized for transport and small brains (when compared to modern man, but larger than those of living apes).
Furthermore, Peters noted that all hominids shared a high risk for predation (especially when away from the woodlands) due to their bipedal locomotion, which is significantly slower than quadrupedal locomotion. Therefore, it is noteworthy that before projectile weapons to protect themselves, smaller hominids were under extreme risk of predation. Such ideas were reinforced by studies of the modern day erythrocebis patas, the only still existing open-grassland small monkey. The harem-leading male constantly oversees predator activity, and will lead nearby predators away from the harem.
While the smaller, pygmoid hominids were most likely forced to evasion tactics for their survival, it seemed clear that the A. robustus/boisei was able to defend itself, with a biting strength, that stemmed from their incredibly strong jaw muscles, similar to that of modern day gorillas.
The importance of Peters’ studies of African Pliocene and Early Pleistocene, and their conjunction with modern day primates, was fundamental to palaeoanthropology since it gave us insight into what anthropologists once thought of Miocene-Pliocene hominid, and more importantly to the hominids’ effect on Early Pleistocene homo, through their coevolution and competitive interactions. Unfortunately though, these insights hold little meaning today as the world of palaeoanthropology has changed significantly since Peters’ article. Nevertheless, this work still has great value for continuity, as it is a snapshot of palaeoanthropology at that time.
CLARITY: 4
ANDREW THOMPSON University of Alberta (Heather Young Leslie)
Peters, Charles R. Toward an Ecological Model of African Plio-Pleistocene Hominid Adaptations. American Anthropologist June, 1979 Vol. 81(2): 261-273.
This article outlines the adaptations that early hominids underwent, and many questions are posed at the very beginning of this article. Some of those ask what the patterns of long-term successional change were, what dietary regimes were available, and what ecological circumstances brought about the use of stone tools. The author states that his goal in this article is to offer some interpretations of the ecological significance of some of the adaptations of early hominids.
Different adaptations are identified and some related to behavior. Early hominids were known for their short canines, large premolars, and molars with thick enamel. Terrestrial bipedality was developed, but it is thought that they were bipedal for effective transport and weapons use and not speed. It is usually assumed that technological complexity goes with increased brain size, but this sort of complexity lags behind brain size. The earliest stone artifacts are rather simple in design and manufacture.
Peters then goes on to discuss the environments that these hominids lived in. It is now known that in the last few million years, the climate has shown cooler temperatures, especially at higher latitudes and altitudes. In areas where there were wet and dry seasons, there were probably the densest populations of early hominids. Another interesting point brought up by the author is the question of megadonts, a group of hominids with powerful crushing dentitions, maybe limiting the distribution of species with soft nutritious seeds. Perhaps the megadonts promoted the succession of tough-seeded species that require specialized processing.
The next section discusses body size, saying that the smaller, gracile hominids were more arboreally mobile than the larger robust forms. All hominids were at risk of predation away from the trees since hominid bipedality is slow compared with quadrupedal motion. Concerning dentition, the early hominids used their incisors to cut and tear, and their cheek teeth to cut, tear, and crush many food items. A comparison is made between robust australopithecines and gorillas, saying that the chewing muscles of the former were as powerful as a gorillas. The author concludes by providing a summary of the main points that he covered.
CLARITY RANKING: 4
PATTI KOVACH Purdue University (Myrdene Anderson)
Quiatt, Duane. Aunts and Mothers: Adaptive Implications of Allomaternal Behavior of Nonhuman primates. American Anthropologist 1979 Vol. 81(2:4): 310-319.
This article describes aunt behavior through several primate species and also presents the reader with examples of allomaternal behaviour. Duane Quiatt has listed three major functions, which have been ascribed to aunting: babysitting, provision for adoption and learning to mother. Quiatt argues with the purpose of aunting as anything beneficial to either the mother or infant. He observed that the “statements about the function of aunting tend to be based on very little evidence” (Quiatt, p. 312). What is argued in these functions is not entirely congruent. For example, Quiatt noted that although infants can benefit from adoption, allomothering “provides little information about the contexts and consequences of permanent infant transfers among free living primates” (Quiatt, p. 312). He believes that allomothering is a selfish behavior.
His first example depicts a kidnapping among primates specifically between the Colobine and Cercopithecine species. It describes how the mother can easily reclaim her infant from its foster caretaker. A major problem emerges when mothers have difficulty reclaiming their infants when intertroop transfers are concerned. Another report of infant stealing between two rhesus monkeys. One named AJ and the other named LU. LU was a member of the highest-ranking matriline in troop E, while AJ was of very low status. When AJ gave birth to her only offspring, AL kidnapped AJ’s only infant and kept hold of the baby until the baby died. Then she gave birth to her own child ten days later. Quiatt argues that this case is an exception “only in the sense that it is rare, not at all in the sense that it calls established evolution theory into question” (Quiatt, p. 313). This selfish behavior displayed by AL verifies one of the points Quiatt suggests that allomothering is selfish behavior with consequences.
Natural selection is also discussed on how it “operate[d] in a conservative fashion to eliminate the unusual” (Quiatt, p. 314). And females of various degrees of maternal skills competed over time for resources while raising their young. Allomaternal care taking is an important element in troop social life. And it can be “suggested that maternal and allomaternal behavior share a number of genetic determinants” (Quiatt, p. 314).
Quiatt’s use of examples especially between AJ and AL provide the reader with further insight about allomothering even though it is difficult to follow. The most striking opinion Quiatt made is that the incident between AJ and AL suggest that there was no difference between aunting and mothering.
CLARITY: 3
JULIE TRUONG University of Alberta (Heather Young Leslie).
Quiatt, Duane Aunts and Mothers: Adaptive Implications of Allomaternal Behavior of Nonhuman Primates. American Anthropologist June, 1979 Vol. 81(2): 310-317.
The beginning of this article lists the three primary functions associated with aunting. These are baby-sitting, provision for adoption, and learning to mother. Also listed are the individuals who benefit from each of these. The mother benefits from baby-sitting for it allows her to do more foraging. Adoption proves beneficial for the aunted infant because it would allow for an adoptive mother if the biological one should die. The mother also benefits from the third function, for it allows her to exercise her parenting skills. However, the article goes on to say how there is little evidence supporting the advantages of baby-sitting and the adoptive aspects of aunting.
Duane Quiatt, author of this piece, mentions how the Nilgiri langur mothers forage while their infant is left with another female. This may be considered baby-sitting to some, but the female left with the infant may end up leaving it. This article mentions different situations where an infant was adopted, usually by a close relative, and also times when an infant was kidnapped. In most in-troop infant-transfers, according to Quiatt, the biological mother is able to obtain her infant from its “caretakers.” Intertroop transfers are not known in Cercopithecine monkeys, only in species of Colobines.
There are many times when an infant is kidnapped, but then dies because the kidnapper does not take care of the youngster. Quiatt mentions an incident where a higher-ranking rhesus monkey kidnapped the infant of a lower-ranked rhesus, and of course the infant died. Quiatt suggests that the position of the females may have had much to do with why the infant was not reclaimed. This, according to the article, is obviously not beneficial to the mother or the infant. It is also suggested that perhaps allomaternal and maternal care pose some genetic determinants. For example, a mother who cuddled her infant more could facilitate more rapid learning. Also, mothers who allow other family members to engage in mothering increase the possibility of survival of future relatives.
Quiatt summarizes his suggestions at the end. First, that there is not a specific function of allomaternal behavior that can be separated from maternal behavior. Second, that the positives of allomaternal behavior to those who engage in it “outweigh those to any other individual.” Lastly, “selfishness and altruism are best regarded as technically precise metaphors that may obscure important issues as to what actual mechanisms of selection are at work when attempts are made to apply theory to the analysis of behavioral function in specific categories of social interaction.”
CLARITY RANKING: 4
PATTI KOVACH Purdue University (Myrdene Anderson)
Rubin, Vera. Obituary for Steven Polgar. American Anthropologist 1979 Vol.81(7): 79-81.
Dr. Steven Polgar died at Chapel Hill, North Carolina, on April 10, 1978. In this obituary Vera Rubin gives a very detailed description of the life of Dr. Polgar. By reading his work and listening to how his colleagues, like Professor George Roberts, talked about him, she is able to gather her information about the life of this influential anthropologist. She begins by detailing Dr. Polgar’s childhood. She touches on all of the important aspects in his young life, starting with his family. Dr. Rubin describes Polgar’s turbulent childhood, as his family was divided at times, and the influence his parent’s professions had on his career choice. The fact that his parents were both highly educated with cultural and medical backgrounds helped push Polgar into the anthropological field. The levels of his schooling are provided in depth (from high school through the many universities he attended). She tells how the people he met along the way, like his mentor Sol Tax, provided him with a good background to kick-start his anthropological studies.
Polgar was mostly interested in applied anthropology and the interrelations of agricultural problems, the economy, and health. This led to his fascination with population studies, which would become the bulk of his life’s work. He pioneered a lot of the developments in population anthropology and brought to light the importance of mating and fertility, natality, and family planning. Rubin describes the efforts Polgar put into his teaching. He lectured to many students and helped budding anthropologists grasp the fundamentals of this relatively new field. Polgar was on committees and thus was able to spread his ideas even further. At the time of his death, he was still actively involved in high-ranking levels of study.
This short and direct article gives an excellent description of a very prominent man in his field. It allows students to see exactly what calibre of anthropologist Steven Polgar was and the significant role he played in the development of population studies in anthropology.
CLARITY: 5
TAYLOR ROGERS University of Alberta (Dr. Heather Young Leslie)
Rubin, Vera. Steven Polgar (1931-1978). American Anthropologist March 1979 Vol. 81(1): 79-83.
Steven Polgar died on 10 April 1978. He was born on 24 October 1931 in Hungary. The Polgars migrated to the United States in 1948. Polgar attended Wesleyan University in 1949, and received an M.A. from the University of Chicago in 1954 and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. In 1954 in Chicago he joined the Haverford College project, on which he based his doctoral dissertation in 1956. He went on to the Harvard School of Public Health and graduated MPH cum laude in 1957.
Influenced by his mentor, Sol Tax, and Fred Gearing along with others, Polgar became interested in the application of social science to social problems. He was on the front lines in the development of population anthropology as a theoretical and applied field. Polgar was known for his impact on social demography, for being a non-Malthusian, and as the most important proponent of population research and programming, from which his medical and population anthropology will be benchmarks.
He held many positions at a number of universities as well as serving two years at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research and as Director of Research for the Planned Parenthood Federation of America in New York City (1963-1967). He remained from 1967 to his death at the University of North Carolina.
CLARITY RANKING: 5
JESSICA L. SHAFER Purdue University (Myrdene Anderson)
Salmon, Merrilee H, and Wesley C. Salmon. Alternative Models of Scientific Explanation. American Anthropologist 1979 Vol.(81)1:61-74.
The focus of this article is to explore three different “covering-law” models of scientific explanation. These models are widely used in anthropology but primarily employed by archaeologists. The three models examined in this article are Hempel’s deductive-nomological (D-N) and inductive-statistical (I-S) models, and Meehan’s model of statistical-relevance (S-R).
The basic argument the authors demonstrate is that each of the three “covering-law” models are flawed, and not one of the models is an ideal representation of a causal-relevance model in scientific explanation.
The authors begin the article with a brief statement regarding archaeologists’ needs for models of scientific explanation in carrying out their research. This opening statement shapes the rest of the article in that there is a desire to find the best, or most appropriate model to employ. Firstly, Hempel’s deductive-nomological (D-N) model is introduced. This model is explained in terms of its’ use of universal laws, and its’ ability to accommodate simple and complex laws (64). Several examples of applications of this model are presented to support it. Yet, even with the model’s suitability to many problems, Hempel comes to the realization that this model is restricted to universal laws (64), and “that not every scientific explanation could conform to a deductive model” (63). Thus, “the need for an inductive or statistical model was recognized” (63) and, a second model is introduced. This inductive- statistical (I-S) model, is explained in terms of its’ use of statistical laws and how, in the application of this model, there must be high probability. The authors present examples as evidence to support this model yet, point out the problems it presents as well. In order to overcome the difficulties with the (D-N) and (I-S) models being incomplete, and each only dealing with a specific law in scientific explanation, a third law was constructed. Meehan developed the model of statistical relevance (S-R) in an attempt to solve the issues of concern in the two previous models. Once again, the authors provide examples to support this model and then similar to the other models, dismantle it as well.
In the concluding paragraphs of the article, the authors make clear the point that each of the three models discussed have problems, and not one of the models is an ideal conception of scientific explanation. Yet, the authors seem to believe that the most useful model for the time being is that of Meehan’s statistical-relevance (S-R) model. The authors suggest to archaeologists that they should consider this model of statistical-relevance with issues concerning “covering-law” explanation in their research. The final comment in this article is that more work is required in this area to overcome the problems of each of the models, and that the authors are trying to find the answers (72).
The content of this article is difficult for a reader with no background or knowledge of science. Another problem was the terminology. Some of the terms such as “covering-law” and “causal-relevance” are not well defined but mentioned throughout the piece which make things tricky in understanding the argument. Also, the three models were mentioned in comparison with each other instead of on their own which makes each model’s problems hard to distinguish from the other. The basic argument of this article is clear yet certain aspects of the article still remain fuzzy.
CLARITY: 3
MEREDITH ROBINSON University of Alberta (Heather Young Leslie).
Salmon, Merrilee H. and Wesley C. Salmon. Alternative Models of Scientific Explanation.American Anthropologist March, 1979 Vol. 81(1):61-74.
In this article, Salmon and Salmon, both philosophers of science, deconstruct the use and usefulness of scientific “covering law” models as well as reconstruct alternatives with emphasis on the concerns of archaeologists and their work. Most archaeologists with an interest in the nature of scientific explanation, they claim, currently align themselves with Hempel’s deductive-nomological model (D-N) because of its logical form of explanations founded on universal laws. However, many archaeologists find that the D-N model and its reliance on “ready-made” laws is not useful as archaeology itself does not have many laws from which to draw conclusions. Salmon and Salmon agree and feel that, although understanding logical forms is important and useful, it is not sufficient to guarantee the construction of satisfactory archaeological explanations. Laws are crucial, they say, since they provide the link between the circumstances surrounding the event to be explained and the event itself. A useful addition to the D-N model is the I-S, or inductive-statistical, model that, when criteria meet certain conditions, can qualify for the status of law-like generalizations. A prime example utilized in the field of archaeology is the detection of disintegration levels of carbon-14. A common defect in problem-solving with the I-S model, however, is that irrelevant facts can be cited to explain phenomena. In an effort to overcome this fault the author’s propose the use of the S-R, statistical-relevance, model. This model relies on the premise that the explanatory facts at hand should make a difference to the occurrence or non-occurrence of the fact to be explained. The S-R model also stresses that an explanation is an assemblage of factors that are statistically relevant to the occurrence of the event to be explained accompanied by an associated probability distribution. In some instances a single relevant factor may provide an adequate explanation. The authors stress that although philosophers do not have any definitive answers on this issue construction of good explanations in archaeology need not “wait upon the solutions.” It is vital that scientists continue to study and provide hard cases from which philosophers can construct new models of explanation.
CLARITY RANKING: 3
ELIZABETH STERNKE Purdue University (Myrdene Anderson)
Salamone, A. Frank. Epistemological Implications of Fieldwork and Their Consequences. American Anthropologist , 1979 Vol.81(4):46-58
Frank A. Salamone’s article “Epistemological Implications of Fieldwork and Their Consequences” is a response to critics of fieldwork. Many scholars have criticized fieldwork as unscientific in its non-replicability, making fieldwork invalid according to scientific method. Yet, fieldwork is anthropology’s prime source of data and the anthropologist’s most important ‘rite of passage’ into becoming a professional anthropologist. Additionally, it is what sets anthropology apart from the other social sciences in its data collection methods making anthropology, according to the anthropologist, more scientific. Critics of fieldwork methodology come from within the discipline as well. Salamone Points to such problems as, epistemological and metaphysical viewpoints of the anthropologist influencing the gathering and interpretations of data. The problem for the anthropologist becomes how to address these legitimate concerns while still defending the validity of fieldwork. Salamone’s article suggests that these problems can best be addressed by a more critical examination of the methodology of fieldwork rather than by questioning the validity of working in the field itself.
The article does not deny the positions of some of the critics of fieldwork. Instead it argues that changes to methodology could correct the apparent problems. The author believes that a re-examination of methodology could find a way to incorporate epistemological positions such as rationalism and empiricism into the existing framework. Biases in anthropology exist and since the 1960’s authors have begun examining and labelling these biases. For example, the concept of ethnocentrism has been incorporated into the literature. Salamone describes that in the past much of anthropological writing was written to justify colonial expansion. The use of writing to justify a political agenda shows a clear bias. However, changes can be made to control biases; one of his suggestions is to alter the anthropologist/missionary relationship, which has been characterized by animosity. Examining this relationship could reveal in the author’s opinion some structural problems that exist in fieldwork’s methodology.
The author organizes his ideas by first offering a criticism put forth by others and then either dismissing it or addresses it. The examples the author uses are mostly British or American. He compares the way these perspectives have influenced their respective findings. By doing this he tries to prove that the best way for anthropology to remain a legitimate science is to investigate the philosophical bases of fieldwork and try to incorporate biases into its methodology. However, he does not describe exactly what is required to change methodology. This makes his argument appear weak, in that it only really commits to suggestions of further investigation it does not offer solutions to problems such as perspective fallacies. Therefore, he does not conclusively prove critics who are against the practice of doing fieldwork.
CLARITY: 3
KELLY READ University of Alberta (Dr. Heather Younge Leslie)
Salamone, Frank A. Epistemological Implications of Fieldwork and Their Consequences. American Anthropologist. March, 1979. Vol. 81 (1):46-60.
Salamone discusses in this article the lack of past concern for epistemology in fieldwork and also its growth into things such as phenomenology and extreme empiricism at the present. Fieldwork is the foundation of the profession of anthropology. He defends fieldwork but also criticizes its use by calling for an anthropology of anthropology. In other words, he wants a study of fieldworkers so that the information that they collect can be interpreted correctly.
The article begins by demonstrating how fieldwork became so empirical and biased. Fieldwork in anthropology was done quickly because there were many cultures disappearing due to modernization. The objective was to record these cultures before they disappeared. Salamone also points to anthropologist Bronislaw Malinowski. Malinowski developed techniques that a fieldworker should follow. The fieldworker should live in the area for one to two years relying on them for emotional and cognitive satisfaction, then take a short break during the fieldwork for recuperation. Also, research should be done in the language and area of the studied culture. The consequences of Malinowski’s techniques were that he changed anthropology from studying external things to include the study of the internal. Malinowski never succeeded in his techniques and due to this later anthropologists never learned the correct field techniques. This has caused the questioning of empiricism in anthropology and what Salamone calls the crisis.
The article goes on to explain that due to extreme empiricism fieldworkers are oversimplifying their observations. Fieldworkers are immersed in daily marginal life and this causes them to abandon the search for universals and is also causing fieldworkers to turn to phenomenology and other nonscientific explanations. This effect is due to the fact that it is hard to create validity and reliability in the anthropological field. So Salamone says that we need to develop an anthropology of anthropology. He states that we need to learn the biases of the fieldworker so that we may find the best way to extract scientific knowledge from them.
An example of missionaries and anthropologists is then presented to show the biases of fieldworkers. He has discussed that in order to understand the situation of the fieldwork then the anthropologist must write about all aspects of the culture’s situation or environment. This includes missionaries and colonial societies (referred to as preterrain). Anthropologists must include the aspects of how the culture is being influenced by a colonizing society. There is generally a known ambivalence between missionaries and anthropologists. Due to this ambivalence, the fieldworker leaves out much of the situation that influences the studied or the research done by the fieldworker. This is therefore compromising the fieldwork objective.
Salamone shows his concern for epistemology that does not eradicate the trademark of fieldwork. He does state that the biases brought through epistemology are compromising the scientific data that are compiled in fieldwork. So Salamone urges the research of fieldworkers themselves through an anthropology of anthropology.
CLARITY RANKING: 4
JASON GEORGE SARVER Purdue University (Myrdene Anderson)
Schlesier, Karl. H. Of Indians and Anthropologists. American Anthropologist 1979 Vol. 81 (2): 325-330
In “Of Indians and Anthropologists”, Karl Schlesier reviews publications by various authors concerning the Sioux and Cherokee Nations. His reviews begin with Charles Royce’s The Cherokee Nation of Indians (1975) and James Mooney’s Historical Sketch of the Cherokee (1975). He asserts that these two books are the backbone of current anthropological writing concerning the Cherokee and Sioux Nations. Both works deal with pre-20th century Cherokee. Schlesier then moves into the main focus of his reviews, Native American socio-cultural relations and political structure against the broader background of the social turmoil of the 1960s. During this time the discipline of anthropology, along with American society, was being restructured. In the 1960s the journal Current Anthropology was founded; the first American Indian Chicago Conference took place in 1961. The ‘red power’ movement also began in 1961. The author then criticizes Ethel Nurge’s symposium and book, The Modern Sioux: Social Systems and Reservation Culture, as being misleading and contributing little to the study of the modern Sioux. In the symposium, four papers stood out: two by Ernest Schusky, one by Robert White, by Alice Kehoe. Ernest Schusky’s “Cultural Change and Continuity in the Lower Brule Community”, described a people who have no control over any aspect of their lives. Their tribal council holds no real power. White supremists who isolate themselves outside the community run all education, welfare, health, law and order. Schusky’s second paper was the “Political and Religious Systems in Dakota Culture” extended of the previous paper. It asserts that the Dakotas are completely “powerless over every aspect of their lives”. To be on the tribal council, one must be “committed to the dominant system and oriented toward it, not [toward] the Indian community”. Local Presbyterian missions have been completely rejected by the Sioux. They do not wish to assimilate into the “dominant culture”. Alice Kehoe’s “The Dakotas in Saskatchewan” was presented. Kehoe researched the descendants of a portion of Dakota Sioux who opted to retreat to Canada between 1862 and 1876. She reveals that the condition of the Dakotas in Canada is no better than in the USA. Indian ceremonies have been banned, Protestant missionaries run their schools, and they were only granted the right to vote in 1961.The fourth and most disappointing paper came from Robert White, entitled “The Lower-Class ‘Culture of excitement’ Among the Contemporary Sioux”. White spent nine years living on the Pine Ridge Sioux reservation. Schlesier refers to the piece as, “disturbing… documenting that the length of time spent in the field is not significant if one’s perspective is narrow.” This was his kindest remark on this paper. White’s methods left much to be desired – specifically, any impartiality whatsoever.
CLARITY RANKING: 3
MARIE S MCGRATH Purdue University (Myrdene Anderson)
Spiro, Melford E. Whatever Happened to the Id? American Anthropologist March, 1979 Vol.81(1):5-13.
Melford E. Spiro confronts the subjects of sex and aggression in relation to cultural symbol systems, particularly myths. The author renounces the view that sex and aggression are not the true concern in symbol, and displays this with a few examples. Identified are Leach and Douglas and their contention that sexual symbols are in fact representations of the hierarchical social structure. Spiro accepts these claims, but maintains that sex and aggression should be regarded in their own right. Also discussed is the Ge myth of Jaguar taking in a human orphan boy whom is disliked by his wife and subsequently killed by her. Specifically, the article is focused on Levi-Strauss and the Bororo myth included in his book The Raw and the Cooked. The Ge myth is used to contrast roles with the Oedipus like Bororo myth. Spiro recounts the myth and evaluates Levi-Strauss’ opinion of its meaning. Recognizing Levi-Strauss’ interest of the logical structure of myth rather than content, the author critiques Levi-Srauss’ concept of codes applied to this particular myth. Spiro ultimately uses Freud and Freudian theory to solidify his own contentions.
Due to the great portion of the article devoted to discussing Levi-Strauss, this paper would be of special interest to those interested in his work. The author does not provide a great deal of information on The Raw and the Cooked. However he does discuss Levi-Strauss’ theories and methods in detail, and provides alternative theories.
Throughout the paper Spiro displays his concerns regarding the practice of reducing the symbols of sex and aggression into irrelevant variables in belief systems (6). His arguments are presented clearly and coherently. And he presents himself and his contentions confidently, at times perhaps too so. Regardless, the article exhibits credibility.
CLARITY: 3
ELIZABETH OLSON-GLOVER University of Alberta (Heather Young Leslie)
Spiro, Melford E. Whatever Happened to the Id? American Anthropologist March, 1979 Vol.81 (1): 5-13.
Spiro focuses his paper on the topics of sex and violence, devoting most of the article to the issue of violence, on the account that he has previously published a paper dealing more exclusively with sex in a similar light.
He writes the article in response to his feeling that basic human sensual drives, such as lust for sex and aggressive behavior, tend to be glossed over and disregarded by too many cultural anthropologists when they formulate their speculations and opinions about the origins and deep structure of human symbolic systems. He goes on to draw support for his argument by analyzing the ways in which his contemporaries and predecessors have interpreted certain violent myths.
The majority of this paper is devoted to a Levi-Strauss interpretation of the Bororo myth that makes up the main text for The Raw and the Cooked. The myth is a bloody one laden with incest and murder and Levi-Strauss’ interpretation apparently reduces this myth into a symbol for the process of male maturation, ignoring obvious themes of sex and violence. Spiro spends much of his paper picking apart and debunking the Levi-Strauss interpretation of the Bororo myth. He then refers to Freud and assimilates an argument that he assumes would be very similar to something Freud would have said, based on Freud’s publications regarding sex and violence as strong subconscious drives for behavior. Spiro even suggests that perhaps sex and violence are the primary driving forces for the symbolic systems that define human culture.
CLARITY RANKING: 3.
GREG LEACH Purdue University (Myrdene Anderson)
Swartz, Jon D. and Rhodes, Colbert. What Directions for Race/Ethnic Relations? A Kaleidoscope of Options. American Anthropologist June, 1979. Volume 81 (2):320-324.
This article summarizes several collections of essays and books that discuss ethnic/ race relations. Jon D. Swartz and Colbert Rhodes relate what perspective each of these writings take on the examination of race relations and they discuss how they think race relations might be examined in the future in other constructive ways.
In the past there were two ways that most social scientists examined race relations: either through the psychological and attitudinal approach or through the socio-structural approach. However, using a cultural approach examining both of these aspects, is a more comprehensive way to view these situations. It is also important to make cross-cultural comparisons instead of focusing on just one minority group or race relations within only one society. Economic structures can also work together to reinforce racial segregation. Preexisting economic structures and prejudice lock minorities into a lower socioeconomic status.
Another book examines the history of different ethnic groups of immigrants that have come to the United States. It talks about how, for many groups close to the Anglo appearance, assimilation was easier. It is important for social scientists to remember to look at the larger historical picture and not just at race ethnic relations in the present day. It has become more important recently for many ethnic groups to keep their identity as a distinct ethnic group from the minority. The way that different families within a minority enforce certain morals and beliefs affects how distinct their ethnicity remains from the majority population in generations to come. This is also influenced by how accepted or reinforced their beliefs are by the community. It is easier for some groups to overcome prejudice and discrimination than others. For the groups better able to overcome prejudice, the easier it is for them to assimilate into the larger group.
A resurgence of the need for ethnic identity could be indicative of the need to be accepted in America or to find a group and have more political power and backing. Anglo-Americans may experience an identity crisis in the years to come when they have to share their symbols of nationality and identity with subgroups and minorities.
The authors believe that all of these studies look at important aspects of race relations. They also state that most studies and writings focus on the view of the minority groups and their points of view and experiences. Perhaps a look at the majority groups sense of identity and origins of their prejudice and ways they may be encouraged to expand their sense of nationality might be a helpful way to examine race relations in the future.
CLARITY RANKING: 4
ASHLEY ENRICI Purdue University (Myrdene Anderson)
Andre von Wattenwyl, Heinrich Zollinger Color- term Salience and Neurophysiology of Color Vision. American Anthropology September, 1979 (81) 2: 2 Pg 279- 287
Language may have pre- determined how human brains worked. If there were no names for a color does it mean that people cannot see that color. The writers speculate whether color differentiation is independent of language. The writers are trying to prove their theory by determining whether color salience is culturally determined or not. They also go further and look into the neurophysiology of color vision and how it might correlations with the psycholinguistics of color vision.
According to the Opponent Scheme of Hering (1894:172), the primary color terms should be black, white, red, green, yellow, and blue — these have high salience and the rest of the colors (those that are blends) have low salience. According to Zipf’s law of abbreviations that averaging all languages, there are only two stages: a first stage that has five phonemes or less and a second stage that has five phonemes or more. The first stage includes black, white, red, green, yellow, and blue. There is evidence that supports that the salience of colors correlates with the stages. The reason that color- term salience is correlated to the stages is because of the neuroanatomical quality of color vision.
The Wattenwyl and Zollinger look into the frequency of these color-terms use in English, Castilian, Spanish, French, German, Russian, and Romanian languages. Languages all show preference for the six primary colors (high salience). The writer continues to focus his investigation by performing a color-naming test on German French, English Hebrew and Japanese speakers. The result suggests that the highest percentage of certainty of determination of color is yellow, green, and blue. The certainty of determination is highest at around 555nm, which is the wavelength where the cones of the retina have the highest overall sensitivity. Color naming test demonstrates the correlation between the color-terms and the sensitivity of colors in color vision. Therefore, the salience of color is not culturally determined.
There is another interesting finding on the correlation between naming of color samples and sensitivity of the eye. The New Guinea people have only two basic color terms: dark and light. They were asked to classify the samples of colors. The dark color that they described was correlated with the sensitivity of the cones at the respective wavelengths. Similar results have found in Quechi language. Quechi language has only three words for chromatic colors: red, yellow, and rax (green and blue). When they were asked to categorize the color, they formed more than three groups of colors. 70% formed a separate group of green and 50% formed a separate group for blue. It supported the color recognition test with Dani English subjects. Wattenwyl and Zollinger found no difference in recognition for perceptually adjacent pairs of hues when they are both lie in the same color category.
The human visual system is based on hierarchical opponent grouping and so is color naming. Therefore recognition of color differences seems to be a purely visual task, independent of lexical categorization.
These tests that Wattenwyl and Zollinger demonstrates that people could still perceive different colors, even if the difference was linguistically irrelevant. Categorization of color vision as represented by color- term linguistics is consistent with the explanation based on physiology and the opponent color scheme.
CLARITY RANKING: 2
GABRIEL TOU University of Alberta: (Dr. Heather young Leslie)
Von Wattenwyl, Andre and Zollinger, Heinrich. Color-Term Salience and Neurophysiology of Color Vision. American Anthropologist March, 1979 Vol81(2): 279-288.
Andre von Wattenwyl and Heinrich Zollinger explore data they have gathered in relationship to color-naming test. Before explaining and analyzing their data however, they describe the factors that are responsible for color vision in man. The authors explain how color vision was best understood by the tristimuli theory. This idea discovered by Thomas Young in the 19th century was that all colors can be discriminated by the human eye through the appropriate mixtures of three primary colors. Based on these findings, other scientist offered alternative explanations, all of which the authors describe. The theory however, that they examine is that of Ewald Hering. He suggested that color vision is based in three pairs of opponent processes, for the perception of dark and light, red and green, or blue and yellow.
Based on Hering’s theory, the authors want to know if his idea of color scheme can be recognized as a purely psychological response function, namely in color naming. The authors tested science students speaking German, English, French, Hebrew and Japanese, and asked them to choose color names that were necessary for a minimum color lexicon. These same samples were later used in a test among illiterate monolingual people in Central America: Misuito and Quechi Indians. The authors made tables to illustrate their results. One noteworthy difference, among their results was that only in Japanese are black and white dominant related to the chromatic colors.
The authors come to the conclusion that, “ categorization of color vision as represented by color-term linguistics is consistent with an explanation based in physiology in general and the opponent color scheme in particular (284).” Furthermore, the authors conclude that cultural and biological factors play a role in color naming.
CLARITY RATE: 4
LEAH CASEY California State University Hayward (Peter J. Claus).
Wood, Raymond W. John Leland Champe: 1895-1978. American Anthropologist 1979, Vol. 81(2): 338-341.
Dr. John Leland Champe was a dynamic man. Champe was active as a businessman, professor, expert witness, husband, and played various roles during times of war. He made lasting contributions to anthropology and was the founding director of the University of Nebraska’s Institute for Plains Anthropology.
Dr. Champe’s work in anthropology began with twenty years as founding director of anthropology at the University of Nebraska. Some of his more influential works include Sweetwater, Ash Hollow Cave, and White Cat Village. Following his retirement from the university, Champe’s focus turned to helping Native Americans with land claims against the government. He authored several reports for the Land Claims Commission which where later used successfully in court battles. Champe also played a pivotal role in lobbying the government for the Pick-Sloan Damn Project. His dedication helped preserve artifacts that would have been otherwise washed away by the proposed damn. Finally, Champe contributed to World events: WWI – as a soldier, and WWII- as a math tutor for engineers.
Woods’ obituary provides an in depth look at the life of his late professor. His affection towards this influential figure is apparent only in the final paragraph. Here Wood expresses his gratitude to Dr. Champe’s dedicated and demanding teaching. Consequently, through careful analysis and warm sentiment, Wood provides a precise, purposeful and inspiring look at Dr. John Leland Champe: 1895 – 1978.
CLARITY: 5
CATERINA SNYDER University of Alberta (Heather Young Leslie)
Wood, Raymond. John Leland Champe (1895-1978). American Anthropologist June, 1979. Vol. 81(2): 338-341.
John Champe, born in Elwood, Nebraska, on 27 April 1895, passed away in Lincoln, Nebraska, on 28 January 1978. Champe obtained his B.A. in mathematics from the University of Nebraska in 1921; he received his Ph.D. in anthropology from Columbia University in 1946.
Champe was appointed the director of the Laboratory of Anthropology at Columbia University in 1941. In 1951, the Department of Anthropology was established, and he was appointed as the Chairman. Champe served on the Executive Council of the Society for American Archaeology from 1947-1950. His knowledge in Plains archaeology allowed him to become an expert witness for the Indian Land Claims Commission. John Champe was a nationally recognized scholar in archaeology and ethnohistory.
CLARITY RANKING: 4
CHAD R. BROEKER Purdue University, (Myrdene Anderson)