American Anthropologist 1978

Adams, Richard. Man, Energy, and Anthropology: I Can Feel the Heat, but Where’s the Light? American Anthropologist June, 1978 Vol.80(2):297-309.

Richard Adams addresses a couple of problems in his article “Man, Energy, and Anthropology.” One of the problems that he focused on was how Anthropology was not using a holistic view to solve problems. The other problem was that Anthropology needs to use mental and materialistic views to draw one conclusion.

Richard Adams argues that anthropology needs to return to a holistic view. What the author meant was that anthropologists need to look at the mental and material aspects of a problem and not just one or the other. He argues for this because he feels that one cannot find a truly effective solution to a problem, such as the shortage of energy, without looking at how the mentality of a culture effects a problem as well as how the culture physically reacts to these problems.

Richard Adams broke his argument down into different sections to more effectively explain his argument. The author not only discusses the study of energy by citing the works of other anthropologists, but also talked about how to discover better solutions by using a more holistic viewpoint. The way this article was presented made it easy to read.

CLARITY RANKING: 4
SHAWN LIPSKY: Bloomsburg University (Dr. Susan Dauria)

Barkow, Jerome H. Culture and Sociobiology. American Anthropologist March, 1978 Vol.80(1):5-20.

Jerome Barkow’s perspective, expertise, and research on the concept of sociobiology are an exhaustive one. He relies on a multitude of previously conducted research and theory to establish his views in this article. Perhaps so much so that the article is difficult to follow with ease. He likens the nature of sociobiological constructs to Freudian thought in that applicable frameworks are present rather than theory open to approval or disapproval. The article presents the general context of sociobiology and the author utilizes a number of supportive and critique arguments. Most notable and interesting is his discussion of culture and biology. Barkow defines culture and states “Human beings adapt to environment in terms of a socially transmitted system of behavior and meanings called ‘culture’”. The relationship between sociocultural evolution and biological evolution is a complicated one with a multitude of possible outcomes. Whereas in our cultural evolution Neolithic replaced the Paleolithic fueled by technological innovation. Biological evolution slowed down to a greater extent. These differences beg for empirical research that clearly explains the influences of both according to the author. Cultural behaviors and adaptation would be more definitive if studies were conducted from a socibiological perspective allowing anthropologists to understand “how individuals interacting over time generate and alter their cultures”(Barkow, 1978). Barkow believes that anthropologists can learn from the biosocial science created by biologists, and an all-inclusive perspective would lend great insight into cultural exploration. One last notable about this article is the Wilson 1977 notation at the end. Where the key to human nature is biology the social sciences are richer in content.

CLARITY RANKING 1
ELIZABETH HAZZARD Bloomsburg University (Dr. Susan Dauria)

Belger, Elsie B. Sex, Status, and Authority in Egalitarian Societies. American Anthropologist, September, 1978 Vol. 80(3):571-587.

Elsie B. Belger discusses status in egalitarian societies. She uses comparisons between Aborigine tribes, Mbuti Pygmies, and !Kung Bushmen in order to make a distinction between pure and semi egalitarian cultures. Belger begins her argument with a discussion of the accepted anthropological views on egalitarian societies as of 1978. She explains the hierarchical structures used in egalitarian groups and concludes that all status is ideally achieved instead of ascribed; age and gender are the only two ascribed classes. Age is a factor that changes with time, as does the status marked with each age group. This leaves gender as the only ascribed status that doesn’t change.

Belger starts with the Aborigine tribes of Northern Australia. According to the ideals of the Aborigines, men and women have equal rights and each has retaliatory measures to ensure equality. She observes that the reality is quite different, and gives many case examples of women being physically abused with no recourse. For example, an Aborigine wife can leave her husband if he mistreats her, however, if she leaves her husband can physically force her to return an continue to abuse her.

Next, Belger looks at the Mbuti and the !Kung cultures as a comparison to the Aborigines. The Mbuti and !Kung also have equality, but, unlike the Aborigines, they demonstrate true equality. There are very few case studies of gender-based violence in either of these societies. Belger uses these cultures to prove that not all egalitarian societies have true equality. Indeed, many seem to have gender based status. She concludes by stating that there is more diversity in egalitarian life than appears on the surface.

Belger’s article is a study of the ideal versus the reality of egalitarian societies. Her case studies are to the point. Anthropologists typically look at egalitarianism as either total sex equality or male dominant, however, Belger proves that no culture is that simply defined.

CLARITY: 5
NADINE LYMAN Bloomsburg University (Dr. Susan Dauria).

Boehm, Christopher. Rational Preselection From Hamadryas To Homo Sapiens: The Place Of Decisions In Adaptive Process. American Anthropologist June, 1978 Vol. 80(23):265-296.

Boehm starts this piece with the theory of evolution. He wonders if human interaction over the last many years has been a good thing. Due to human interaction, he proposes that we have affected the process of natural selection.

The next segment done by Boehm was a comparison of modern Homo sapiens with Hamadryas baboons. He refers to the study done by Hans Kummer. Kummer studied the social patterns of a group of Hamadrya baboons of Ethiopia. One advantage of this article is that Boehm gives a brief summary of the works of Kummer. He says (with more detail) baboons live in segmentary societies, they possess information concerning the environment, and at troop level they make decisions for acquiring adequate subsistence.

“…Many of these processes take place at a predominantly rational level, in the form of preselective decision behavior by individuals and groups. This behavior is much more amenable to direct study than are the often very complex telenomic processes and rational micro decision processes, which also contribute to adaptive outcomes in ways that may be indirect or very subtle.” (American Anthropologist, Vol. 80(2):290).

CLARITY RANKING: 5
KRISTA FAYRE INGRAM Bloomsburg University (Dr. Dauria)

Brew, J.O. 1978. Neil Merton Judd 1887-1976 80 (2): 352-354.

Judd Neil Merton Judd is remembered by author J.O. Brew for his readiness to give field opportunities to students like Brew, for his patience and advice. He is the type of man who accredits a native guide for leading him to an excavation site.

An expert in the Southeastern Utah archaeology, Judd made his career in the American Southwestern after a background in classics. At the University of Utah, Professor Bryan Cummings, a year before Judd’s arrival, planned the opening of the University Museum and a new program in Archaeology. As field assistant to Cummings for three summers, Judd developed methods utilized in excavations at Betatakih, White Canyon, Rainbow Bridge and his largest project, Pueblo Bonito.

Judd’s energies in fieldwork are dedicated to the Four Corners although he was recruited for investigations in other regions. He confirmed in Northwestern Wyoming at the “Spanish Diggings” the presence of Indian quartzite quarries. In the 1940s, Judd created reproductions of Maya sculptures in Gautemala and studied prehistoric irrigation canals for the Interagency River Salvage Program in Southern Arizona.

Awarded an M.A. from George Washington University in1913, there were few options for a Ph.D. in anthropology as only five universities offered one at that time, none of which appealed to Judd. He preferred to remain with colleagues at the University Museum and gain more field experience. Beginning in June of 1911, Judd, appointed to Aide in the Division of Ethnology at the Smithsonian National Museum, was a colleague to the founders of Southwest Archaeology. After thirty-nine years, he retired as Assistant in Anthropology.

Interdisciplinary fieldwork yields a high quality product, Judd believed. National Geographic Society’s Pueblo Bonito excavation in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico allowed disciplines to merge on the field for seven seasons from 1921 to 1927. Brew claims that A.V. Kidder’s founding of the Pecos Conference grew out of the academic resources modeled in Chaco Canyon. Judd was recipient of the Kidder Award for Southwest Archaeology in 1965. He died on December 19, 1976.

CLARITY RATE: 5
Michelle Cascio California State University, Hayward (Peter J. Claus)

Carroll, Michael P. Lévi-Strauss on the Oedipus Myth: A Reconsideration. American Anthropologist December, 1978 Vol.80 (4): 805-814.

Michael P. Carroll evaluates the structural analysis and interpretation of Claude Lévi-Strauss of the ancient Greek myth, Oedipus. According to the author, the myth can be studied in a structural way, particularly making a connection between the results of the analysis and events in ancient Greek history. However, he believes that the original categorization of certain events in the myth by deserves criticism. Lévi-Strauss initially divided the myth into four classifications: the undervaluation of kin relations, the overvaluation of close kin relations, the denial of man’s autochthonous origins, and the affirmation of man’s autochthonous origins. Carroll asserts that Lévi-Strauss inaccurately analyzed and therefore misinterpreted both the “overvaluation” of close kin relations and the denial of man’s autochthonous origins. He points out further that flaws appeared in Lévi-Strauss’s analysis of the affirmation of man’s autochthonous origins. As a result of his careful examination, Carroll re-evaluates the undervaluation of kin relations and re-categorizes it as the devaluation of patrilineal kin ties. According to his own structural analysis, Carroll concludes that the structure of the ancient myth revolves around the opposition between the devaluation and affirmation of patrilineal kin relations. The destruction and re-establishment of patrilineal kin lines in the myth symbolize the erosion of patrilineal kin lines and the simultaneous rise of the Greek polity in Greek history. Carroll stresses that the structural approach to interpreting the myth should not be scrutinized, only the structural interpretation of Claude Lévi-Strauss.

Carroll presents a rather intriguing mix of criticism and support for the structuralism of Claude Lévi-Strauss. One the one hand, he believes that a structural analysis is useful and necessary in order to put Oedipus into historical context. Yet, he disagrees with the structural interpretation of Lévi-Strauss, essentially arguing that the latter was wrong in a number of ways. Overall, this article is a relatively easy and interesting read for students. However, in the case of undergraduates, this article would be easier for those who have taken a course in anthropological theory and learned about Claude Lévi-Strauss and structuralism.

CLARITY: 4
LAUREN MADAK Bloomsburg University (Dr. Susan Dauria)

Chaney, Richard Paul. Structures, Realities, and Blind Spots. American Anthropologist September, 1978 Vol. 80 (3): 589-595.

In this article, Richard Chaney argues essentially that anthropologists should study the subjectivity of human nature rather than search for an underlying, objective social structure prevalent in culture. First, the author summarizes the conflicting theories of Peter Caws and F. Allen Hanson on the objective reality of social structure. Caws basically argued that theoretical models in anthropology affect how anthropologists observe and document cultures. F. Allen Hanson, on the other hand, introduced an alternative theory, stating that models on ‘objective existence determine the objective reality of social structures.’ Chaney views both of these notions as problematic and believes that theories should be separated from ethnography. Referring specifically to Peter Caws, Chaney points out the difference between the mind-dependent model and the mind-independent model, arguing that the “human sciences,” namely anthropology, sociology and the like, are far from objective. Rather, human sciences are really interpretations of interpretations. They are “mind-dependent entities reflecting on mind-dependent entities”, meaning that social scientists like anthropologists base a lot of their own research on the ideas and interpretations of other scholars, not solely on empirical data. Because of the multitude of different understandings of human phenomena, Chaney concludes that researchers of the human sciences should accept and study these differences, as well as try to find an underlying theme or premise.

While Chaney makes an excellent argument for the re-evaluation of ethnography, theoretical thought, and the discipline of anthropology in general, his article seems to be directed more towards a graduate and professional audience. Undergraduates, especially those without a background in anthropological thought and theory, would have trouble fully understanding this article.

CLARITY RANKING: 2
LAUREN MADAK Bloomsburg University (Dr. Susan Dauria)

Chapple, Eliot The Science of Humanics: Multidisciplinary Renaissance of General Anthropology. American Anthropologist March, 1978 Vol. 80: 42-52.

Eliot Chapple’s main discussion in this article focuses on the proper definition of anthropology. His concerns include strict biological orientations and their lack of including man as part of the animal kingdom. Chapple addresses anthroplogical thought and definition as early as 1930 and 1940. The subdivisions of all academic disciplines are troublesome to Chapple and others. His views are deeply rooted in values, ethics, and moralities as they pertain to the concept of humanics. He defines humanics by way of Webster III as the study of human nature or human affairs. Chapple references his own work of a recent book entitled Culture and Biological Man where he includes a synthesis of some 20 disciplines and subdisciplines. According to Chapple, humanics deals with the interaction of individuals, in corporations, nations, and other combinations to include genetic, biochemical, and physiological subtrates. Chapple describes the properties of “biological individuals” as it relates to identifying individual characteristics of human interaction in a singular and group (cultural) sense. The author’s comparison of the principles of humanics to the principles of hard sciences involves patterning of rates of occurrence, frequencies, duration, and rhythms of interaction behaviors. His discussion and views on values, ethics and morals demonstrate the quantitative value of these concepts whereby they can be measured and operationally defined utilizing accepted parameters. Chapple postulates that humanics is the inclusion and definitive science of interaction that combines the many subdisciplines in which disseminate the study of humans.

CLARITY 3
ELIZABETH HAZZARD Bloomsburg University (Dr. Susan Dauria)

Dyson-Hudson & Smith. Human Territoriality: An Ecological Reassessment. American Anthropologist March, 1978 Vol. 80: 21-41

The focus of Dyson-Hudson & Smith in this article is human territoriality as it relates to the defense of an area, resource abundance, and resource control. Dyson-Hudson and Smith utilize the sociobiological theory as a foundation for their discussion of human populations. They present and analyze anthropological data from the Basin-Plateau Indians, Northern Ojibwa Indians, and the Karimjong of East Africa. The authors cite the definition of territory used by E.O. Wilson (1975): “A territory is an area occupied more or less exclusively by an animal or group of animals by means of repulsion through overt defense or advertisement”. This definition is offered because it relates to the ecological theory and emphasizes the behavioral aspects of territoriality. Dyson-Hudson and Smith offer a schematic representation of resource distribution and economic defendability of different foraging strategies. It would appear that territoriality tends to occur when resources are high in density and predictability. The authors focus on the popular 1938 work of Steward who studied the indigenous population of the Great Basin. The authors discuss three of the four populations, they are: Western Shoshoni, Southern Paiute, and Northern Shoshoni. According to the authors the Owens Valley Paiute where the only group of the three to demonstrate territoriality due to increased resource predictability and permanent geographic stability. The authors base their discussion about the Northern Ojibwa on the works of Bishop 1970 & 1974. Dyson-Hudson & Smith conclude that between the 1700’s and the 1900’s this group became more territorial because of a decline in resource abundance (large game) and an incline in predictable resources (small game). In the author’s discussion of the Karimojong, they conclude that while intragroup and extragroup defense of resources exist their model cannot adequately account for territorial defense differences in one’s own group versus outsiders. The authors conclude that while their analysis of human territoriality can be fruitfully analyzed as a general model of spatial organization it lacks quantitative and operational measures for certain variables.

CLARITY 4
ELIZABETH HAZZARD Bloomsburg University (Dr. Susan Dauria)

Gould, Richard A. The Anthropology of Human Residue. American Anthropologist December, 1978 Vol. 85(4): 815-835

In Richard Gould’s article on The Anthropology of Human Residue, he focuses on the patterning of discarded material left by prehistoric people in regards to the tools they used. This area is called ethno-archaeology, which explains the correlation between human behavior and the discarded material remains. The act of discarding material is considered to be a universal trait by most ethno-archaeologist, so by focusing on this aspect, they are able to set certain “rules” for how people most likely dealt with discard material. However, Gould’s article depicts a materialistic perspective towards making and cultural uses of the refuse left behind by prehistoric people.

Gould’s study occurs in the Australian Desert, of the Aborigine people and focuses on their circumstances surrounding making and discarding of tools. The types of tools used by the Aborigine people can be broken down into two general categories: non-local quarry tools and local quarry tools. The vast majority of archaeological material remains come from non-local quarries, and these tools tend to be only used once for a specific purpose and then discarded. For example, both tool and shavings are often found near earthen ovens where game may have been butchered. Whereas, only a small fraction of tools found come from a local quarry, where the ethno-archaeological evidence shows that prehistoric aborigine, as well as modern people, only chip away the basic shape of their intended tool and not its totality. These tools made from the local quarries do not have an immediate purpose, hence; the reason these tools are almost never found discarded at a quarry site. However, local quarried tools are often reused until reuse is no longer possible.

The Aborigine people described by Gould also used specific stone when crafting their tools. The majority of stone tools found tended to be made of white chert, although some are made of red chert, opaline, Warburton porphyry, and a few others. However, each tool had its own materialistic value to the men that owned them, but as a sense of workmanship sense but as having the tools made from a particular stone. Stone tools that were constructed from “exotic” materials, mainly from distant quarries, held a higher value for those who made them. This materialistic value held true even if the tool was not as strong as a local “non-exotic” one. For example an opaline tool would have been considered more sacred during its use if it were “exotic” even though it is not a strong stone.

This article focuses on the uses of ethno-archaeology and how it can be relevant to the study of human behavior through the residue found.

CLARITY RANKING: 4
TOM PEPE Bloomsburg University (Dr. Susan Dauria)

Gulick et al. 1978. John Joseph Honigmann 1914-1977 80 (3): 630-639.

Authors Gulick, Helm, Peacock and Robbins begin Honigmann’s obituary with a short biography followed by a synopsis of his “era of field research” in the Canadian Northwest, mention other regions of interest, detail the psychological-theoretical approach central to Honigmannian analysis and end with an appreciation for his life’s work. Born in the Bronx June 7, 1914 he attended Brooklyn College and received an M.A. in 1943 and Ph.D. in 1947 from Yale’s Department of Anthropology. He has lectured at the State College of Washington, New York University, held associate professorship and Chair of the Anthropology Department at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Honigmann also founded the Southern Anthropological Society.

The 1946 monograph, Ethnography and Acculturation of the Fort Nelson Slave, and two volumes on the Kaska Indians (1949, 1954) envelops Honigmann’s “conceptual-theoretical themes” characteristic of his work. Firstly, he combined cultural and psychological data among the Kaska to determine a combination of six “dominant motivations” of Kaska philosophy. Secondly, he studied the process of acculturation sociocultural adaptation complicated by the influence of Westernization on the Native experience. An accomplished ethnographer among the Athapaskan Slave, Kaska, Sarsi, Cree, Inuit and their multiethnic populations, Honigmann directed the cumulative knowledge to applied anthropology. Particularly interested in the effects of cohabitation with European settlers, he made recommendations to the Canadian government for reconstructive measures to improve the “welfare” of Natives.

Honigmann strongly advocated the investigation of personality and culture. He has incorporated Rorschach tests among fieldwork, suggested researchers undergopsychoanalysis before entering the field and attributes individual behavior to both “situationalism” and cultural norm.

Honigmann is remembered for his model in efficiency, positivism and allegiance to humanism. His readiness to support and engage students transpired in classroom discussion and through invitations to his home. Completing the last class of a semester, Honigmann’s health overcame him; he died in 1977.

CLARITY RATE: 3
Michelle Cascio California State University, Hayward (Peter J. Claus)

Howell, Nancy, Victor A. Lehotay AMBUSH: A Computer Program for Stochastic Microsimulation of Small Human Populations American Anthropologist December 1978 Vol.80(4) 905-920

As the 1970ís came to a close, the field of anthropology was going through major renovations. Relatively new ideas about data collection and preservation were being put to the test; thus technology evolved to keep up with changing theories and methods.

One of the technological advances was a computer program called AMBUSH. This program was established for the exploration of an overlapping, if not identical, set of problems in the relationship of demographic processes…”. The AMBUSH simulation program was initially used as a supplement in studying the !Kung tribe.

In 1978, using simulation programs had the potential to create incredible benefits for anthropological work. One benefit is specifying processes to study outcomes in a systematic matter. The simulated program would also allow researchers to study aspects of culture that may otherwise be overlooked or underestimated. A simulation could also bring up possibilities that people wouldn’t normally think of on their own.

The AMBUSH program itself helped plot possible outcomes of the tribe based on demographic information. The basic gist of the program is to make hypothetical events happen to individuals and see the consequences. The population, if simulated for a very long period of time, would more accurately show long-term effects of the variables. The simulation is also programmed not to run the same sequence twice. The major events of the !Kung population that was run in the simulated program was marriage and births.

The information from AMBUSH is printed vertically to save space.

While highly technical, the article at its core demonstrates that the AMBUSH program, in 1978, appeared to be an excellent means of hypothesizing data in a systematic manner.

CLARITY: 3
MELISSA WORMSER Bloomsburg University (Dr. Dauria)

Jules-Rosette, Bennetta. The Veil of Objectivity: Prophecy, Divination, and Social Inquiry. American Anthropologist September, 1978 Vol.80(3):549-570.

Bennetta Jules-Rosette proposes a new methodology for social research in the field of the social sciences. She bases her research on Christianity in African societies using folk inquiry and compares it with research using a distanced approach. She rebukes the use of impartiality while examining a culture. This detached research method takes the scientist out of the context of the cultural practice. Objectivity places an emphasis on the exotic nature of the action as opposed to the similarities these practices have with other cultures. Jules-Rosette describes a method based on conception, evaluation, and communication for field research. She further explains that many cultural practices can only be comprehended when in their native framework. Jules-Rosette argues that several “mystical” practices are actually instituted as a way of solving social issues. She uses her own experience with a fortuneteller as an example. The fortuneteller would burn pieces of paper and then tell the client their future. In reality, the fortuneteller was giving the client advice on how to solve their social problems. Since the Jules-Rosette isn’t from Brazzaville, the fortuneteller was unable to give her a helpful reading. The article concludes that our own cultural experience affects our perception of other cultures. Jules-Rosette suggests a new method that allows researchers to experience cultural practices in their original context.

Jules-Rosette makes a powerful point, and that point has affected the study of anthropology today. Her main complaint is that researchers lack the insider perspective, which is crucial to anthropological research. Her point being that no researcher can remove their biases from the research. She also uses terminology that is has very general meaning and gives new definitions for making her points. Understanding came only after rereading several passages.

CLARITY: 3
NADINE LYMAN Bloomsburg University (Dr. Susan Dauria).

King, Thomas F., Lyneis, Margaret. Preservation: A Developing Focus of American Archaeology. American Anthropologist December, 1978 Vol.80 (4):873-893.

The two authors of this article are striving to discuss the future of North American archaeology in regards to the development and nature of archaeological preservation. King and Lyneis have divided this topic into several categories: the development of preservation law and policy, federal policies for the preservation of archaeological properties, the characteristics of archaeological preservation, defining the nature and value of archaeological resources, convergence of anthropological and preservation archaeology, methodological developments, archaeologists and institutions as contractors, archaeologists as professionals, development of preservation programs and the development of awareness in the profession. Each of these categories aims to successfully convey to the reader what is going on in the world of archaeological preservation.

It was during the latter part of the 19th century when the preservation movement began to take shape in the United States. It was later divided into two separate areas of preservation: historic preservation and salvage archaeology. Historic preservationists believe in a permanent and physical preservation of historical objects while salvage archaeologists feel that historic properties must be sacrificed to progress because we need to acquire and preserve information about all of these resources before they are no longer here. Salvage archaeology was usually conducted on lands that were in the paths of major projects such as highways, reservoirs and canals.

Preservation is also opening up new research opportunities to archaeologists. Expansive areas of North America are being subjected to archaeological surveys, which allow more sites to be carefully excavated. Events such as this allow for more awareness in the archaeological profession but there are still many archaeologists out there who continue to be poorly informed about historic preservation. This problem is being eliminated by organizations such as the Committee on the Public Understanding of Archaeology. This committee provides information on site destruction, legislation and archaeological events of interest to the public. Numerous articles have also been published in various archaeological magazines to try and spread information about this topic.

Overall, the authors of this article attempted to explain how preservation forces archaeologists to face the rationale behind their research. Preservation also involves applications of theories and methods that are usually not utilized in archaeology. King and Lyneis feel that archaeologists are poorly trained as anthropologists and therefore, they tend to focus on form and not function when it comes to writing policies on preservation and such. They end the article with a statement that expresses hope for the archaeological community in their scrutinizing of the development of preservation programs and how this community can realize its potentials and avoid its perils.

CLARITY: 3
BETSY STEPHENS Bloomsburg University (Dr. Susan Dauria)

Owusu, Maxwell. Ethnography of Africa: The Usefulness of the Useless. American Anthropologist June, 1978 Vol.80(2):310-334.

Maxwell Owusu, in the article “Ethnography of Africa”, argues that Anthropology needs to be a value-free social science. This discusses limits of objectivity and also discusses the social responsibilities of the white anthropologists in third world countries. Maxwell Owusu argues that these points are interrelated for an understanding of the cultures. If one does not completely understand the cultures language then it is a breeding ground for misunderstanding. Misinterpretations are more likely to happen when one is not able to understand a language, or is relying on a translator.

Maxwell Owusu organizes his article into sections. In each section he uses citations from actual field works or publications to illustrate how the lack of knowing a cultures language can affect the outcome of ones fieldwork. With the way this article is organized, and the use of citations, Maxwell Owusu was able to argue his point very effectively. This was also a read that flowed easily. There were not a lot of terms used that an undergrad would not grasp. He also had a notes section in the article that talks more about the citing that he used in his article.

CLARITY RANKING: 4
SHAWN LIPSKY: Bloomsburg University (Dr. Susan Dauria)

Peterson, Jean Treloggen. Hunter-Gatherer/Farmer Exchange. American Anthropologist June, 1978 Vol.80(2):335-351.

Jean Treloggen Peterson writes on the relationship between hunter-gatherer societies and farming communities. She analyzes the Palanan/Agta, who she did field research on, and Bantu/Mbuti cultures as the only examples of the relation of interdependence between hunter-gatherer and farming communities. She looks at the similarities in both the exchange systems of these cultures. She also compares her findings with Turnbull, who studied the Bantu/Mbluti relationship. Turnbull claims that farmer/forager relationships are trite and easily broken. Treloggen disagrees with Turnbull’s findings and she reexamines Turnbull’s research to disprove his conclusions. She explains that the Bantu and the Mbuti are dependent on each and often form strong bonds. The article focuses on how these unique peoples maximize the use of their environment by exchanging goods and services. It points out that farming and foraging communities stay viable by trading with each other. The foragers provide meat and services while the farmers produce a steady carbohydrate source and goods. Peterson addresses several misconceptions on this exchange that have come from lack of research and a general misunderstanding of the importance of these exchanges. She stresses that only two in depth studies have been done on this topic. Peterson stresses the significance of these interactions in the cultural study both farming or foraging communities.

The “Hunter-Gather/Farmer Exchange” looks at a complicated cultural aspect of human life and how, despite the extreme differences in culture, societies do interact and affect each other. Peterson’s research has several wonderful insights into Turnbull’s research. For example, Turnbull says that children from hunter-gatherer societies are given to farmers, and then the farmers sell them into slavery. Peterson follows this by proving these cases are rare. In reality, giving babies away helps the foraging societies from over populating, and increases the number of children working on a farm. The exchange is mutually beneficial to both parties.

CLARITY: 4
NADINE LYMAN Bloomsburg University (Dr. Susan Dauria)

Press, Irwin. Urban Folk Medicine: A Functional Overview. American Anthropologist March, 1978 Vol. 80(1):71-83.

“A folk medical system is (1) any health system at variance with Western, scientific medicine; (2) any health system at variance with a codified, formal, and literate medical tradition (Western, scientific, Ayurvedic, classical Chinese, etc.); (3) any system of health practice at variance with the official health practice of the community or nation.” (American Anthropologist Vol. 80(1):72)

The author describes why folk medicine is common in rural settings by first describing the living conditions of a rural setting, and then going on to say that since rural settings in developing countries have “unhealthy” living conditions (they are noted for the many amounts of parasites and many other diseases). Folk medicine plays a major role in this type of society, because many times it is the only form of medical care readily available.

Press notes that not only do rural settings have problems with diseases, but many urban settings do as well, and he gets this information is from other anthropological writings from other people’s observations. He is talking about low-income urban settings, and not middle to upper class urban societies. Since these urban settings are low income, many people may not be able to afford the total doctor’s fee. This and the fact that there is not much availability (nor is there time) for transportation, visits to a Western-style doctor are few and far between. This may be one of the main reasons why folk medicine still has a place in this world today. Another reason for folk medicine is the issue of women, because in many societies, men have the dominating role. Sometimes women are not allowed to travel, or even leave the house for extended periods of time, so they must use folk medicine if they fall ill.

Using folk medicine may not be such a terrible thing. There is a great decrease in price compared to prescription drugs and physician visits, and many times the healer may work out a payment plan. In some cases it my take months to pay, whether it be with cash or not, and this is fine, as long as a plan has been discussed. If there is a folk curer in the community, they most likely will be speaking the language of the patient, and help them feel at ease, if any language barriers are there. If someone must visit a physician, a curer may be able to translate medical terms, which always seem to sound worse than they are, therefore, also putting the patient at ease. Press later states that many people see folk curers, not just low-income families, but most people visit folk curers after they have already been to a physician.

CLARITY RANKING: 4
KRISTA FAYRE INGRAM Bloomsburg University (Dr. Dauria)

Rowe, John Howland. 1978. Anna Hadwick Gayton 1899-1977 80 (3): 653-656.

Anna Hadwick Gayton contributed a wide-range of academic writing giving to archaeology, ethnology and folklore. The high quality of professionalism Gayton embodies as fieldworker and anthropologist, claims John Howland Rowe in her obituary, is reflected in a dedication to stringent method in research and analysis. Born September 20 1899 in Santa Cruz, a private person, she returned home upon retirement in 1965. Gayton died twelve years later.

At the University of Berkeley with her undergraduate work complete in 1923, Gayton continued under A.L. Kroeber earning an M.A. in anthropology, minor in psychology. One of four women awarded the Ph.D. in Anthropology by 1928; she is the first at Berkeley. Her dissertation, a “pioneer” study of a hallucinogen, broke new ground. Contemporaneous research projects include one in rat psychology (1927) and another among the Yokuts and West Mono of the South San Joaquin Valley. The latter encouraged by Kroeber and his salvage ethnography project among Native Californians. Gayton was a National Council Fellow in 1929-30 publishing two monographs one on myths (1940) and a general ethnography (1948).

In 1931, Gayton married Leslie Spier, lecturer at Yale and New Mexico. The next seventeen years her energies were spent publishing in folklore studies under maiden name. During this period of life she worked with American Anthropologist (1932-34) and Yale University Publications in Anthropology (1934-39) as editorial assistant.

The late 1940s and early 50s marks Gayton’s strong presence in the anthropology community and the beginning of new academic employment. As a member of the American Folklore Society, she served as Chair of the Committee on Research in Folklore (1945-48), Vive President in 1947 and President in 1950. Awarded The Guggenheim Fellowship in 1947, she engaged in a study of“folk festivals among the Azorean Portuguese settlers of California.” In the same year, under Berkeley’s invitation Gayton lectured on textiles and costume replacing the late Lila M. O’Neale in the Department of Decorative Art. Unprepared for the position, Gayton with brevity achieve competence for appointment to Assistant Professor in 1949 and Professor in 1954.

Berkeley endowed the opportunity to for Gayton to revisit her original studies in Andean Material Culture. As a post-graduate student and Museum Research Assistant in Peruvian Archaeology, Gayton worked with Kroeber assessing the Uhle Collections from Nasca Culture. Kroeber accredits her with the ideas behind seriation methods utilized in their analysis. Returning to these ancient Collections with a concentration on textiles, she constructed an inventory and synthesized the reports on Peruvian weaving techniques. Making a full circle, Gayton’s career trailed off after this publication among the Kroeber Anthropological Society Papers (1962, 1967).

CLARITY RATE: 5
Michelle Cascio California State University, Hayward (Peter J. Claus)

Salzman, Philip Carl. Does Complementary Opposition Exist? American Anthropologist March, 1978 Vol. 80(21):53-70.

The author of this piece is basically comparing many studies of different cultures by different authors. He mentions the ways and lifestyles of five different groups. Salzman starts off by consulting the works of a man named Peters. Peters wrote about the culture of the Bedouin of Cyrenaica.

The Bedouin themselves claim to have a society that follows complementary opposition, but it is later figured that this is not so. As with the Yomut Turkmen of Iran (studied by Irons), the claim is similar. The Turkmen and the Bedouin seem to have a lot in common, for example, both have an issue with territories and they both are nomadic and herders. The Turkmen break their society into lineages, and they have little to no respect for their distant kin, but have great respect of their close kin. The opposite case is true for the Swat Pathan (studied by Barth). For some reason their close kin are their neighbors, but they choose to ally with their distant kin.

Unlike all the previously mentioned cultures, the Somali of Africa do not have territorial boundaries. They are herders the same as previously stated cultures, but they are not stable in their environment to have certain boundaries. Their political system is solely based on patrilineality.

Basically everything that Peters said about the Bedouin is opposed by Salzman, like the issue if complementary opposition. He describes how the issue of complementary opposition is not even an issue. There seems to be no such thing in this society, though Peters did mention that the culture claimed to practice complementary opposition and he felt that they really did not.

The last culture that Salzman writes about are the Shah Nawazi Baluch. He describes an incident between two different tribes dealing with a palm log. A member of one tribe stole this palm log, and members of the tribe from which it was stolen got together to retrieve it. The retrieval was a success without any argument, because of the fact that this tribe practices complete complementary opposition.

CLARITY RANKING: 4
KRISTA FAYRE INGRAM Bloomsburg University (Dr. Dauria)

Sanjek, Roger. The Position of Women in the Major Departments of Anthropology, 1967-76. American Anthropologist December, 1978. Vol.80 (4):894-904.

The author’s main objective in this article is to examine how the position of women in anthropology departments has changed over a nine-year span. He uses many graphs and charts to illustrate his points throughout the article. The criteria used conducting this research was, the number of women employed, female teaching-years, rank, changes in proportions of men and women over the nine-year period, and subsequent employment of individuals who left the departments during the period examined.

The average number for women employed came to 16.8% or one woman in every six faculty members. The “female teaching-years” study came to show that many females may have been hired to teach, but they were only employed for a relatively short period of time. The “duration of appointments” for females was an average of 3.6 years while men’s was 5.6 years. The author says this may be because women have a shorter academic “life expectancy” than men.

The next portion of the article attempted to study six different groups in different areas and universities and see how the employment of women differed among them. Each group varied from the other with Group 1 (Tulane, Colorado) employing women in greater proportions while Group 6 (Illinois, Chicago) fell considerably low in employing women. The author also examined rank in education with groups representing whether or not they hired more women with senior rank or women with lesser ranks. Overall, the author found that women in the major departments of anthropology experience fewer opportunities for employment and for achievement of senior rank than in all other departments taken together. Women employment has gradually gotten better and this is clearly evident when you compare modern studies with these studies conducted by Sanjek.

CLARITY: 5
BETSY STEPHENS Bloomsburg University (Dr. Susan Dauria)

Siskind, Janet. Kinship and Mode of Production. American Anthropologist December, 1978 Vol.80 (4):860-872.

The author of this article attempts to create a connection or link between basic elements of kinship and marriage and the division of labor that exists between the sexes. It is believed that kinship influences a sexual relationship between a man and a woman and yet a nurturing relationship between a woman and her children is not created by kinship. Something that is common among all cultural groups is how the division of labor is structured by kinship because it splits the labor process into two halves, male and female. This idea that kinship and marriage are relevant to a division of labor is not necessarily a new idea. It is believed that marriage ties coincide with the division of labor and its functions. This may be believed because the responsibility to produce and participate in the division of labor is preceded by kinship and marriage.

The author proceeds to say how the forces of production include the laborer, either male or female, and his/her means of production. These means of production are clearly divided into masculine or feminine roles, and this can be seen through the tools they use to perform their tasks of labor. Men use tools such as bows and arrows while women utilize tools like digging sticks or carrying baskets. If this division of labor is to continue like this, the author believes there must be a method of reproducing male and female labor. Coming back to how marriage relates to this, the author states that “marriage is not an exchange of women but an exchange of rights over women’s progeny…it is a contract specifying which woman produces for which man.” She also believes that it is an exchange of rights over future laborers, male and female.

Overall, this division of labor between the sexes can be understood as an expansion that is done by certain pursuits undertaken by one sex and not the other. Splits in the labor process occurred when men undertook wide-ranging tasks of uncertain results “secure in the knowledge that they can count on appropriating the certain production of women’s labor.” All of this division of labor probably arose when each sex was given the responsibility for the entire processing of a particular resource.

CLARITY: 3
BETSY STEPHENS Bloomsburg University (Dr. Susan Dauria)

Spencer, Robert F. 1978. Sister M. Inez Hilger, O.S.B. 1891-1977 80 (3): 650-652.

Robert F. Spencer presents an obituary of the late Sister Inez Hilger denouncing anthropology’s loss of a scholar of “international reputation.” Of Rhenish-German background from rural Minnesota, in1914 she completed her religious vows entering a life of the Benedictine Order. She died in the Benedictine house in 1977.

Her inexorable fieldwork techniques, acquired under John M. Cooper, model the descriptive Boasian method of a “careful” and “controlled” recovery of facts from the native peoples. Rejecting personality theories, Sister Inez allocated her academic work to the salvage ethnography utilizing both photography and audio recordings in data collection while also employing avenues of applied anthropology.

In addition to the extensive data gathered by Hilger, significant in her contribution to anthropology is its application. She wrote a fieldworker’s manual, published in 1960, to guide analysis of the role of child in society – a role regarded by Hilger as a “part of a whole cultural and social system.”

Sister Inez proved to be highly adaptive in traveling, receptive to new ideas, a devoted teacher and excellent administrator in the field. Hilger has lectured in more than fifty countries, conducted comparative studies among Plains-Woodland Native Americans and ethnographic research among the Chippewa in Minnesota, the Ainu of Japan and the Araucanians in Southern Chile.

Hilger had a passion for education evident in her adoration for teaching. Her credentials consist of a B.A. in history from the University of Michigan obtained in 1923, both a graduate degree and Ph.D. in sociology and a Ph.D. in anthropology and psychology awarded by the Catholic University in 1939.

CLARITY RATE: 5
Michelle Cascio California State University, Hayward (Peter J. Claus)

Thompson, Lawrence C. 1978. Melville Jacobs 1902-1971 80 (3): 640-649.

In an obituary to comparative and descriptive linguist Melville Jacobs, author Lawrence C. Thompson suggests that Jacobs revolutionized fieldwork in the American Pacific Northwest. Beyond mere translation of traditional texts, he expanded Boasian linguistics adopting a Freudian psychology to interpretive analysis. He claims mythology serves as “psychological safety valves” ridding one of fears and tensions thus promoting mental health.

Melville Jacobs is only child born to second generation Jewish Bavarians in New York City. From public schools to higher education at local City College, he pursued a double Bachelor’s degree in history and philosophy, that “was to exercise a deep influence throughout his career,” with a strong handling in the sciences. After graduation in the winter of 1922, Jacobs remained in the spring to take courses licensing him as an educator consequently his instructor sparked interest in anthropology. The following two years he studied at Columbia for an M.A. in American History entering the Department of Anthropology under Boas in 1924. Initial fieldwork contributed to a doctoral thesis of the Sahaptin language of Western Washington. The 1931 publication of his Sahaptin grammar schema awarded the promotion from an associate position in anthropology at the University of Washington to instructor in the fall. Under this title, Jacobs trained Carl Voegelin and Morris Swadesh in linguistic field methods. During these difficult years of Depression, advancement to full professor came some fifteen years later. Until 1939, Jacobs remained in the field gathering and processing hours of phonetic dictation and teaching only half of the year.

The change in political and social climate brought on by the war, also marks the period Jacobs’ humanism radiated. He focused on racial issues in radio talks, writing and lectures, leaves linguistic analysis to delve deeper into folklore studies and is a member of the Communist Party (1935-45). During the 1950s, Jacobs initiated a restructuring of the Anthropology program at University of Washington. Discontent with his writing there are many visits to prior work reanalyzing interpretations of oral literature. A return to extensive 1929 recordings of extinct tongue Clackamas Chinook preserved through his crafted phonograph, he compiled two volumes of literal translation with separate analyses, The Content and Style of an Oral Literature (1959) his most influential contribution to the field of anthropology. Melville Jacobs died of cancer July 31, 1971.

CLARITY RATE: 4
Michelle Cascio California State University, Hayward (Peter J. Claus)

Whitten, Norman E. Ecological Imagery and Cultural Adaptability: The Canelos Quichas of Eastern Ecuador. American Anthropologist December, 1978 Vol.80(4): 836-859.

This article by Dr. Norman Whitten focuses on the Canelos Quichas people of the Upper Amazonian region of Eastern Ecuador. Whitten’s work is based on the research done by Colombian Anthropologist Geraldo Reichel-Dolmatoff, who has researched these people, extensively. Throughout the article Whitten explains the use of ecological imagery as it pertains to these people and their shamanistic ways.

The Canelos Quicha use imagery to help their society reject the influences of both the Catholic Church and the national bureaucratic control over the ecosystem. They do this via three paradigms, or master images, called the Amasanga, NunhuX, and Sungui. These master images help the men and women transform into different creatures that will ward off incoming trouble. However, each master image is seen in a particular identifying color as well as numerous different images. For example, Amasanga is sometimes viewed as a great Black Panther or a boa-anaconda. Each Spirit represents a different aspect of their culture, for instance Amasanga represents the Forest Spirit, NunhuX is the Spirit of Garden Soil and Pottery Clay, and finally, Sungui is the Spirit of the Water. Each spirit also has a story of its creation along with their different forms/images when seen from a female or male perspective.

Whitten draws on the conclusion that these images help the Canelos Quicha people to deal with the changes that are occurring in their cultural and ecological environment. This article could be challenging for an undergraduate student because the information requires extensive knowledge of the Canelos Quicha people.

CLARITY RANKING: 3
TOM PEPE Bloomsburg University (Dr. Susan Dauria)