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American
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Boas, Franz. Heredity in Head Form. American Anthropologist 1903 Vol. 5: 530-538. The purpose of this article is to discuss the “phenomena of heredity in the context of Mendel’s law” (530). Franz Boas believes that the current methods of research on the topic are at best, rough approximations. In order to address this issue, Boas focuses on whether the variability of human offspring depends upon how different each parent is from the other. Boas begins his argument by stating that his interest in the subject derived from a study of European American immigrants. In this prior study, he finds that children of immigrants born in American tend to develop the width of an American or European face. Therefore, this study corresponded to Mendel’s law. This study left questions with Boas, so he obtained data on East European Jews. Boas felt that this data was not as sufficient as it could be; however, he did feel some conclusions could be drawn. Boas believes that the data shows male heads were “ a little more elongated than female and children heads” (531), but that it was close enough to make a comparison. After voicing his concerns about the limited data, Boas compares the relation of the differences between parents and their children’s heritability. First, Boas states that he must determine the distribution of variability’s between the children and parents, just in case Mendel’s law works with this data. According to Mendel’s law, Boas believes that some children may show a more paternal face width than maternal, but some may display the opposite. Boas then uses algebraic expressions and equations to show whether or not children display one face pattern over the other. This leads to two assumptions represented by equations, which state that neither dominant paternal or maternal traits assume the same form and that neither trait is dominant. Through the second assumption, the data demonstrates that as variability increases within children, the differences between parents increase. Boas concludes that this law is an approximation only and that these approximations may not be applicable to mothers and fathers of different races. Finally, he states that this case demonstrates that American European half-bloods are of a different type than their parents. CLARITY RANKING: 3
Culin, Stewart. American Indian Games. American Anthropologist 1903 Vol.5: 58-64 It is chiefly to summarize the results of his continued investigation into Indian games as well as to propose a new classification of them that Culin presents this article. He divides the games played by American Indians into two general classes, the first being games of chance and the second, games of dexterity. He then breaks these categories down further. Games of chance are divided into two categories: first, games in which random implements are thrown to determine number(s); second, "games in which one or more of the players guess in which of two or more places an odd or particularly marked lot is concealed". Games of dexterity are divided into the following basic categories: archery, shooting, sliding javelins, ball games, and racing. Culin shows that Native Americans among all North American Indian Tribes participate in games from both of the above mentioned two general classes. (In addition, it must be clarified that these games are the amusements of adults and youths only, as children have their own sets of games.) Variations among tribes of the games arise from different materials available environmentally for implements and do not occur in the object or mode of play. Many, if not all, of these games are derived from various traditional ceremonies. In some cases, the ceremonies themselves have disappeared but the games continue. It is therefore important to study the rituals and symbols of the various tribes when studying their games. Such a study reveals gaming implements used at shrines, in dance costumes, and, in some cases, in day to day attire. Finally, Culin's study uncovers no evidence
of the importation of these games into From his study Culin concludes that there is both an "interrelation and common origin" of Native American Indian games, that these games originate largely from ceremony, and that no modifications appear to have occurred from white influence save for "the decay which characterizes all Indian customs under existing conditions". (Though Culin does not specify what he means by "existing conditions" it can be assumed to refer to the decline of Native American culture since European arrival.) CLARITY RANKING: 4
Dixon, Roland B. and Alfred L. Kroeber. The Native Languages of California. American Anthropologist Jan. - Mar., 1903 New Series, Vol. 5(1): 1-26. In Roland B. Dixon and Alfred L. Kroeber’s article, “The Native Languages of California,” they adress the twenty groups of native American languages that are spread across California, and the diversity that is spread across all of them. Kroeber points out that as an aboriginal linguistic area, California is unique, with such a large base of grammatically diverse languages. It was deemed necessary to secure information concerning the grammatical structure of these languages, of which about twenty or so were completely unknown. The point of his paper was to show that these languages can be grouped into distinct groups and types, not just as dialects in one linguistic family. They use four main fundamental features to distinguish between the types of languages in the state. These four features are incorporation, syntactical cases, appositions, and phonetics. There are also several more features of languages, such as the occurrence of a plural and reduplication, which help classify families, but are of much less importance than the four features stated above. Incorporation refers to the practice of combining the pronoun and a verb, or occasionally, a noun and a verb as well. Syntactical cases refer to the objective, subjective, and possessive cases of a pronoun, and if they are used. Appositions refer to the use of suffixes before words, and their common usage. Phonetics refers to the seemingly smoothness or harshness of the sounds of a spoken language, and if the syllables are easy to differentiate. One of the minor features called plural, refers to the usage of plural nouns. The reduplication of nouns in order to give the language some sort of plural is also addressed as a minor feature of languages. Dixon and Kroeber go on to classify all twenty two languages into three groups. There is one group, Yuman, which is so different that it must be omitted from the groups, so therefore, the three main families are twenty one languages organized along the structural grounds described above. The Southwestern, or Chumash group, is characterized by full pronominal incorporation, a well developed plural tense, lack of syntactical cases, use of prepositions instead of case-appositions, and a not so simple phonetic system. The Northwestern, or Yurok, somewhat systematical pronominal incorporation, total lack of a plural, lack of syntactical cases, and phonetics that are fairly rough and harsh. The central or Maidu type has a lack of pronominal incorporation, an undeveloped plural sense, and distinct, soft, simple phonetics. The end of the article consists of two appendices. Appendix A is a list of Objective Conjugations of common singular, dual, and plural forms of words, mainly I, me, thou, he, they, and so on in the Hupa, Achomawi, Moquelumnan, Chumash, Yuki, Yokuts, and Maidu languages. Appendix B, the last page of the article, is a comparative list of syntactical cases and appositions for nineteen of the languages. CLARITY: 1 GRAHAM GARRISON Loyola University Chicago (Kathleen Adams)
Dorsey, George, A. How the
Pawnee Captured The According to Dorsey, it was a known fact that several
Plains Indian tribes possessed objects that were known as the tribal "medicine." He
presents us with two similar versions of a story told by the Pawnee of
their capture, about sixty years ago, of the The two versions, told by old Skidi informants,
vary in the amount of detail and in the number of medicine arrows that
were captured. The Pawnee were attacked by the Dorsey points out that the two stories are significant as historical accounts and for giving insight into fundamental traits of character that may be typical of the two tribes. CLARITY RANKING: 4
Elmer Wood, Edith. Notes on Oriental Babies. American Anthropologist October, 1903 Vol. 5 (4): 659–666. The purpose of this article is to compare the growth
patterns of children of "Oriental" – specifically Chinese,
Japanese and Korean -- origin. Woods examined differences between the
three groups and, where
possible, she also compared the whole group to European children. A total
of ninety-three children were studied: sixty-one Chinese, twenty-two
Japanese and ten Koreans. She investigated patterns on weight, height
and body proportions. All the children were between the ages of one day
to seven years. Woods found that Japanese babies under two are smaller
on average than CLARITY RANKING: 5 ALISON MC LETCHIE University of South Carolina (Ann Kingsolver)
Fewkes, J. Walter. Prehistoric In this article, Fewkes classifies and describes
three distinct types of Puerto Rican pictographs: river pictographs,
cave pictographs, and those found on the boundary stones at the entrance
to enclosures identified as dance plazas. Pictographs are abundant in The river pictographs Fewkes studied are all located along the Rio Grande de Arecibo and its tributaries. He describes in detail (and with illustrations) the pictographs he finds here and notes similarities in design, one being a median groove connecting the mouth with the rest of the face. He states this feature is also found in South American pictographs, suggesting a link with that area. He also notes the extensive use of the circle as a form and suggests a mythological link with the sun and serpent worship in other regions of the world. His description of cave pictographs is made difficult by the deposits
and erosion that have occurred in these caves over time. The caves in
which he is working are all located in or near Fewkes’ descriptions of pictographs found on the boundary stones of dance plazas are more limited, with no illustrations. However, he does describe at length, the uses for these ‘dance plazas’, and possible explanations for the pictographs on their entry stones. His excavations beside these plazas reveal burial grounds, and he suggests the plazas were used for mortuary dances. He also suggests the plazas may have been used for ball games, but as the ball game had a religious significance also, these plazas were ceremonial, whatever the practical use. These pictographs found on their entry stones are primarily faces and bodies, although he does note a frog pictograph found on one, and heart and cleaver pictograph shapes on another. He concludes that the similarity of the Puerto Rican pictographs shows
a link between the people of South America and the CLARITY: 4
Fewkes, J. Walter. Precolumbian West Indian Amulets. American Anthropologist 1903 Vol.5 : 679-691 This is an article in which the author describes amulets that form parts
of significant collections from the In his descriptions of the amulets, Fewkes not
only lists their country of origin, but he also identifies the collection
owners and discusses what other writers had to say about the amulets.
The amulets given the most attention in this article are those observed
during Fewkes’ visit to Fewkes identifies two types of amulets that
represent the human form. The first type of amulet " is characterized
by the arms and hands being raised to the ears or above the head." Fewkes speculates
that amulets of this type represent "burden-bearing god[s] or goddess[es]." He also observes
that the sex of the amulets of this type was not always discernable,
nor did they all represent the human form. Instead, some had the bodies
of animals with more or less anthropomorphic heads. Fewkes continues
by describing, in detail, examples of this first type from various collections
both in Puerto Rico and The second type that Fewkes identifies "has the hand placed normally on the body, so that the shoulders are brought to their proper position, the arms being represented on the chest, abdomen, or knees, or in front of the body." Just as he does with the first type of amulet, Fewkes identifies a few ideal examples for description. In such descriptions, he describes the material of which the amulet is composed and the manner in which the bodily features are artistically realized (either in relief or carved). Fewkes also includes sketches and photographs of this second type of amulet. Finally, Fewkes identifies a third type of amulet that includes "small perforated images of animals, including birds, reptiles, and frogs." His detailed descriptions of this type of amulet closely resemble the manner in which he described the first two types. Near the end of his article, Fewkes devotes some space to the function that these amulets serve. According to Fewkes, the amulets have magical powers that included protection from "death or disease," and that aided with the growth of crops, the production of rainfall, and the facilitation of childbirth. CLARITY: 3 MARSHALL JAMES University of South Carolina (Ann Kingsolver)
Fishberg, Maurice. Physical Anthropology of the Jews, II. Pigmentation. American Anthropologist January 1903 Vol.5(1):89-106. Fishberg’s research attempts to discover the
amount of variation in several physical characteristics of Jews in Throughout this paper, Fishberg also recognizes some of the problems inherent in this type of quantitative analysis. For example, skin color and hair color are, in many cases, very subjective entities and their assignment into one category or another is highly dependant on the researcher. In addition, in the beginning of the 20th century, it was not concretely clear how much, if any, influence environment had on the physical characteristics of an individual and so, at the beginning of the paper, Fishberg states his assumption that physical characteristics are a function of genetics rather than environment, indeed, his whole hypothesis is based on it. CLARITY: 4
Grinnell, George Bird. Notes
On Some The article is in two parts, the first providing general comments upon
the varieties of content and circumstance of Songs form a normal part of CLARITY RANKING: 3
Haddon, Alfred C. A Few American String Figures and Tricks. American Anthropologist January, 1903 Vol. 5 (1): 213-223. In this article the author describes various string figures. For Haddon, string figures are created through the manipulation of a piece of string (usually about two meters) and one’s fingers. The string is manipulated around the fingers in order to create a representation of an object, living being, or operation. According to Haddon, before a person can create these figures they must first be familiar with what he refers to a position I and opening A. These are the foundation to all the string figures that Haddon describes. Through the use of pictures and drawings, Haddon describes a number of string figures, these are: tuktuqdjung; dressing a skin; pitching a tent; crow’s feet; threading a closed loop; an Omaha string trick; the na-ash or string figures of the Navaho; hogan; tow hogans; carrying wood; many stars; owl; and lightning. CLARITY RANKING: 1 ALISON MC LETCHIE University of South Carolina (Ann Kingsolver)
Hrdlička, Aleš. The
Region of the Ancient "Chichimecs," with
Notes on the Tepecanos and the Ruin of La Hrdlička acquaints readers with a region
of northern CLARITY RANKING: 5
Hrdlicka, Ales. The In this article Hrdlicka discusses and unidentified Native American skeleton which he studied for a period of 2 days in 1902. He starts by mentioning several authors who have documented studies and histories of the Lansing Skeleton. He also remarks on his visit to the site of the discovery of the skeleton and his subsequent find of a small human bone of no consequence. He discusses, early in the article, his particular study results of the skeleton gaining some acceptances among his contemporaries in his community. The majority of the article is devoted to describing characteristics of the skeleton and providing measurements. He discusses the normalcy of the skeletons physical condition; it is relatively unremarkable in appearance and in no large way differs from other Native American skeletons. After describing the skeleton as a whole he focuses on the skull. He moves from describing the shape of the skull (slightly asymmetrical) to a comparison of its shape (“low and sloping”) to that of the “well-developed…white man”. Still he mentions the mediocrity of the skull before commenting on the worn teeth and leaving the reader with a sense of the skull that is quite ordinary in most respects. In his examination of the skull Hrdlicka is highly scientific and increasingly medical in his terminology. Even as he assures the reader of the skull’s normalcy he alludes to the small capacity and limited growth of the brain cavity. He ends by describing the skeleton’s broken and twisted arms and shattered pelvis. He concludes by noting that this 5’4” Native American man was no different, bodily, from contemporary Native Americans in nearby territories. CLARITY RANKING: 5 CLARENCE H. SMITH, III
MacCurdy, George
Grant. Anthropology
at the This article contains the notes from the meeting of the American Association
for the Advancement of Science, with which the American Anthropological
Association and the American Folk-lore Society are associated. MacCurdy reports
of the following: From the Committee on Anthropometric Measurements,
a request for $50 to carry on work from the $50 given at the Other papers given at this meeting include "Military Insignia of
the Omaha" by Miss Alice C. Fletcher, "Sheet Copper from the
Mounds is not Necessarily of European Origin" by Clarence B. Moore, "The
Extinction of the Pecos Indians" and a "Comparative Study of
Mortuary Pottery from Pajarito Park and Tewa" by Prof. E.L. Hewett. "Economic
Anthropology" is the name of the paper given by Prof. Lindley M. Keasbey, Prof. W.H. Holmes presented "The Fossil Human Remains
Found Near Lansing, Kansas" and "Incrusted Crania from Caves
in The topics of other papers given at this meeting include
Criminology and Anthropometry, the banana in prehistoric America, Mexican
spindle-whorls,
the origins of surnames, the Pawnee, and a paper given by Franz Boas, "Conventionalism
in American Art". Other topics include the CLARITY: 5
MacCurdy, George Grant. Progress in Anthropology at MacCurdy’s account of progress at Progress at the Additionally, a rock shelter was discovered in New Hartford. When its floor was excavated, several hundred
mostly fragmented specimens were found. These included: soapstone dishes, drills, arrowpoints, pottery fragments, broken deer bones, and
charcoal. The landowner of the
shelter donated these items to MacCurdy does not elaborate on the second category, installations, in the article. At the time of publication, no one had assumed Marsh’s
former financial support. Nevertheless,
annual accessions at the museum increased following Marsh’s death. MacCurdy solicits
sponsorship, claiming that there is even greater potential for progress
with a patron. He concludes that
progress at CLARITY RANKING: 4 JESSICA HUGHES
Moore, C. B. Sheet-Copper from the Mounds is not Necessarily of European Origin, American Anthropologist, New Series, January-March, 1903 Vol.5 (1): 27-49. Clarence B. Moore’s article “Sheet-Copper from the Mounds is not Necessarily of European Origin” questions prior claims that American aboriginals obtained copper from Europeans. Moore’s stance is that the copper which he discovered in the sand mounds of the St. John’s river in Florida was purer than smelted European copper, therefore suggesting aboriginal production. In order to discuss this problem, he corresponds with colleague J.D. McGuire who disagrees with his argument based on his own independent findings. The letters back and forth between the two men offer numerous rebuttals on their stances and critques on the accuracy of each other’s claims. Moore reports that his claim of Native American copper production derives from J.D. McGuire’s “Pipes and Smoking Customs of the American Aboriginies.” McGuire dissects various pieces of information from Moore’s findings at sites in Georgia, to argue that artifacts of copper were from Europeans because they were found near the surface and reflect European influcence. Moore counters this argument by providing more archaeological evidence from a variety of mounds he has excavated. He states that many aboriginal artifacts were made from sheet copper with no obvious European influcence in design and without the use of tools. Moore also claims that genralizations are difficult to make because of the mass of evidence and varying copper objects discovered. McGuire, in a later letter, rephrases his argument to include only sheet-copper and claims that the natuves simply had a more primitive form. Overall, the article provided a variety of data both for and against
the original statement that the Aboriginals used their own copper resources.
A table of the chemical properties of copper, archaeological evidence,
and cultural findings were all presented in the letters. Despite the
fact that both empirical and qualitative evidence were presented, the
men never arrive at a conclusion. KIMBERLY JOHNSON Loyola University Chicago (Kathleen Adams)
Moore, Clarence B. The So-Called "Hoe-Shaped Implement". American Anthropologist 1903 vol. 5: 498-502. This article is basically a description of certain carved stone artifacts,
which were recovered from two different mounds in CLARITY RANKING: 4
Moorehead, Warren
K. Are
the Warren Moorehead originally reviewed Archaeological
History of Ohio, which was published in American Anthropologist (volume
IV, No.3) by Mr. Fowke. Clarence B. Moore,
who has worked in the southeastern The first evidence is constituted by the remains of curiously shapes
altars of burnt clay, found in five or six of the mounds. These altars
are not made out of any other material, are confined to southern All of this evidence strongly indicated that the evidence found in the CLARITY RANKING: 5
Prince, J. Dyneley; Speck, Frank G. The Modern Pequots and Their Language. American Anthropologist, Apr. – Jun., 1903 Vol. 5 No. 2 193-212. In this article, the authors are attempting to document and explain the Pequot language. The authors accomplish this in two ways. First, they focus on explaining the origins of the tribe and the explanation of the migration of the tribe. In the second part of the article an explanation of the language in its current state is offered. The last part of the article consists of an example of the language with a provided translation. The first part of the article, written by Frank G. Speck, is the explanation of the Pequot tribe’s history. Speck explains that “there are still in existence in Connecticut about one hundred Indians of Pequot-Mohegan blood” and that not many people are aware of this. This is due to the fact that the people that “refer to themselves as Mohegans” are, by language, Pequots. Their emigration was long and began near the upper Hudson River and took them throughout Connecticut to where they finally settled in Norwich, Connecticut and adjacent towns. Once settled, the tribe faced inner turmoil due to a power struggle between two of the leaders of the tribe, Uncas and Sassacus. Sassacus was the grand sachem and Uncas was a Pequot of “royal” blood who tried to obtain the leadership of the tribe. Sassacus defeated Uncas three times, and banished him and his followers from the tribe. This resulted in an “offshoot of the Pequot nation…a branch of the tribe for which the need of a new name was felt” (p. 194) and thus, the name Mohegan was adopted because they originally came from the Mohican territory. Although it is contested that there are any full-blood Pequot-Mohegans left, the Pequot language and some of the traditions of the culture still exist in limited form. Prince, in the second part of the article, works to explain what does exist in terms of the language. He uses a phonetic system to transliterate a sermon. Prince also attempts to restore Saltonstall’s version of the Lord’s Prayer in Pequot. The final part of the second section presents a death song translated by Prince as well as a glossary of the Pequot words in the article. The article is very descriptive and Prince explains his translations in a clear manner. Speck’s introduction, although sometimes difficult to follow, was quite conclusive in tracking the migration of the tribe. Furthermore, Prince did quite well in his translations of the Pequot texts and in his presentation of the language. CLARITY: 3 KATIE TRULLEY Loyola University Chicago (Kathleen Adams)
Prudden, T. Mitchell. The
Prehistoric Ruins of the Using the watershed as his unit of analysis, Mitchell takes an ecosystemic approach to archaeology of the Southwest. Given
that each watershed contains artifacts and structures varying in type
and age, he posits that comparisons of watershed analyses would permit
a more complete understanding of Native American groups and their relationships
to each other. Therefore, relying on local guides, Mitchell constructed
an inventory of sites of the CLARITY RANKING: 5
Russell, Frank. Pima Annals. American Anthropologist. January, 1903 5(1):76-80. In this article, Russell describes the method of keeping historical accounts on notched sticks used by the Pima. These sticks are marked in such a way that events can be read on the stick by the Pima, but by no one else. Russell suggests that the Pima have been keeping historical records in this way for some time; however, the earliest one still available (as of 1903) recounts events from November 13, 1833 at the event of a meteor shower. Russell also lists the types of events recounted on these sticks; everything from battles, epidemics, festivals, relations with whites, to personal events concerning the annalist. He recounts the histories of four different years, 1833-34, 1836-37,
1857-58, and 1881-82. During the 1833-34 year, prior to the meteor showers,
there is a surprise attack by the CLARITY: 5
Safford, William Edwin. The Chamorro Language of Guam-II. American Anthropologist 1903 Vol.5 (3): 508-529. In this article, Safford provides a breakdown of the Chamorro language
as spoken by the people of CLARITY RANKING: 4 CHANTELL LAPAN
Safford, William. The Chamorro Language of Guam is one of the Safford sets out to explain the development and structure of Chamorro language by first examining the structure of its words. He begins by explaining the pronunciation and notation of vowels. Vowels may be long, short or guttural, and these differences can be indicated through macrons, breves and circumflex accents. Even Vowels are confused by the natives who are often undecided about which vowels to use in a particular word. Vowels can also be modified, as in German. According to Safford the sound of consonants in Chamorro resembles both Spanish and German. After this discussion of pronunciation, Safford analyzes the article in the Chamorro language. He finds that originally there was no indefinite article in the language and that the definite article “i” is placed before a noun modified by a possessive. As with German, articles can also be found before proper nouns. Nouns form the third topic of discussion. Safford states that nouns may be classified as masculine, feminine, and common or neuter gender. Living things that cannot be classified by sex are categorized as common. The names of inanimate objects are classified as neuter. Gender is usually indicated by distinct words or by prefixes. Nouns also can be singular, dual or plural. The form of a noun does not vary to indicate its case. Pronouns are the last topic of discussion. Safford explains that the pronouns found in Chamorro originate from the same location of those of Malayan, Philippine, Melanesian and Polynesian languages CLARTIY RANKING: 4 NATHALIE WENZELL-ORTIZ
While on an ethnographic expedition to interview the Crow Indians in Local informants assign sides to a diagram of the medicine wheel noting
one half as Arapaho and one half The medicine wheel consists of limestone boulders and slabs and has a circumference of 245 feet. The arrangement of the stones is such that there are seven smaller circular structures adherent to the large wheel, except for the southernmost, which is set off. There are spokes inside the wheel, and in the center of these, a smaller circular structure, where Simms finds a buffalo skull and other bones. In this article, Simms offers no interpretation, only an account of the presence of this monument. CLARITY: 5
Spitzka, Edward Anthony. A Study of the Brain of the Late Major J.W. Powell. American Anthropologist. October 1903 Vol. 5(4):584-643. In this article, Spitzka begins by describing studies being done on the morphological characteristics of distinguished men of his era and the state of cerebral studies. He describes the attempts by himself and others to correlate mental and intellectual powers with the post-mortem analyses of the brains of several important individuals. According to him, studies at this time sought to discover the qualities of the brain on the microscopic level of the nervous system, however, the focus of this article centers primarily on the macro aspects of the human brain, weight and shape. Although he notes correlations between large brain size and mental deficiencies, he writes that these are primarily due to pathological hypertrophies, and that large normal brain size can be correlated to increased intelligence. He does so by comparing the brain sizes of intellectuals and scientists with those of a "bushwoman" and primates, and states that the ratio of brain size is to intellectuals and the bushwoman is the same as between that of the bushwoman and certain primates. His analysis shows that the brains of intellectuals is decidedly larger than that of the "common laborer", and that, within the group of intellectuals, mathematical scientists have the largest brains, followed by individuals he terms "men of action", politicians, military men, and statesmen, followed by those in the creative arts, composers and artists. His last group consists of those in the natural sciences, still, he says, well above the average in brain weights. Spitzka’s measurements consist primarily of brain weight and hemicerebral length, although he does describe other methods of brain quantification. He then goes on to describe the functions of the brain, which areas in the brain these functions occupy, and differential development of these areas in individuals, depending on which particular mental qualities each possess. In his remarks on Major Powell’s brain, he finds that even with some loss of weight due to post-mortem shrinking, the brain was larger than average, and even large for an intellectual. He, at length, describes the particular characteristics of the brain and each of its sections. Finally, Spitzka correlates these sections of the brain and their functions with testimonies received from friends of Major Powell, describing his mental powers and qualities in an attempt to compare his mental qualities while living to the morphological characteristics of his brain. CLARITY: 3
Stevenson, Matilda Coxe. Zuñi Games. American Anthropologist Jul. – Sept., 1903 Vol. 5(3): 468-497. Matilda Coxe Stevenson first wrote this article in 1903 after time spent among the Zuñi people during the previous year. Previously there had been two other ethnographic reports done on the Zuñi games that have surfaced in mainstream publications. Stevenson felt these reports, by F.W. Hodge in 1890 for American Anthropologist and John G. Owens in 1891 for Popular Science Monthly, were incomplete and misleading. After spending time among the Zuñi she felt some corrections, as well as some additional information, were needed to better describe these games. Among many primitive peoples, games are played for divination. For the Zuñi, games are an important part of their religion and sociology and in many cases they are played to please and entertain the rain gods. These games are overseen and organized by the Ah´shiwanni (rain priests), the elder and younger brother Bow-priests (earthly representatives of the Gods of War), impersonators of the Kóyemshi (anthropomorphic gods), and theurgists. No betting may occur if the games being played are meant as offerings to please the gods. Gods are only pleased if all rules are followed during the event and betting is a strict taboo in this case. Offerings and prayer will also occur proceeding and preceding the event. Offerings include many prayers and dancing along with the sprinkling of a prayer meal mixture on the course, instruments, and/or table of the game. This in no way to implies that betting is not prevalent. Betting is a common pasttime among the Zuñi and is a habit usually inherited as a very young child. In fact, children play many of the same adult games amongst themselves, but do not include such religious or deep-pocket betting as the adults. For adults, betting is often a public event and occurs in mass betting among many of the members together, but as the author learned firsthand betting can occasionally be found in small hidden parlors commonly reserved for men. These betting parlors would be similar to our modern day men’s clubs and societies in our own culture. There are seventeen games commonly played by the Zuñi. These seventeen are as follows: Tikwanê (Foot-Race), Shóliwe (Arrow Reeds), Íänkolo‘we (Hidden Ball), Hä'poännê pihl‘kwanáwe (Corn Husk Shoot), Saíathlät´awe (Horns Kill), Shówiältowe (Arrow Throw), Lápochiwe (Dart Toss), Hótkämonnê (Yucca Ball Strike), Pótkiännawe (Jackrabbits Hit), tSíkon-yä'munê tíkwanê (Stick Race), tKäsh'tuwíwi (Line Dance), Yáchoni tsáwatka (Ring-around-a-rosy), Póponê (Ball), Tá-sholiwe (Wood Reeds), Póponê tkápnanê (Ball Hit), Tän'kalawe (Quoits), Áwe thlacnawe (Stones Kill). Eight of these seventeen games played belong to the gods of War, four are games of the Kóyemshi, three originated in Mexico, one from the Navaho, and one is a Zuñi original. Only two of these games do not receive any betting (both are foot-race games played to please the gods and bring a healthy rain season). CLARITY: 4 NICHOLAS SMITH Loyola University Chicago (Kathleen Adams)
Swanton, John R. The Haida Calendar. American Anthropologist 1903 Vol.5:331-335. Swanton describes the calendar system of the Haida Indians
of the There seems to be confusion regarding the thirteenth month. One informant, a man only identified as "Walter," described the extra month as occurring between the sixth summer month and the first winter month. A missionary to the area, Rev. J.H. Keen, however, believed that the extra month was placed between the fourth and fifth months of winter. Swanton speculates that the month can be inserted anywhere. There is also difficulty because the month wit gias of the Masset Haida is a different time of the year than the same month in the Skidegate calendar. Swanton believes that contact with white men has caused differences between the calendars of those from Skidegate and those from Masset. He believes that upon contact with missionaries and other outside influences, some of the Haida became less aware of their natural surroundings, and in doing so, gradually changed the calendar. CLARTIY RANKING: 2
Verner, Samuel P. The Yellow Men of Central Africa. American Anthropologist July-Sept., 1903 Vol.5(3):539-544 The concern addressed by this article is
that of the existence of the Yellow Men of Central Africa. The Yellow
Men are described as bright
copper colored peoples of Central Africa. In the article the author
provides several hypotheses regarding how these peoples developed
and where they originated. The author argues that the lighter skinned
peoples
of Africa had to have developed either through spontaneous evolution,
local variation, a recent admixture of foreign blood or an ancient
admixture of foreign blood. Under the belief that they developed
through spontaneous evolution the Yellow Men would have evolved from
the darker
Africans to become a “higher development”. The second
hypothesis of local variation would go hand in hand with the idea
of spontaneous
evolution, however, it would have to account for the variation. To
explain the variation the author tries to find a correlation between
living at high altitudes and the color of their skin. In the last
two hypotheses the author debates the introduction of foreign blood,
which
he finds very plausible, with the problem of when. Was the foreign
blood introduced in the past or fairly recent? The author sets out
to prove that the ancient admixture of foreign blood in the Yellow
Men, which gave them their lighter skin color, resulted in their
very superior physiognomy and capabilities. The author states that the evidence proves that the Yellow Men are more attractive and relatively more advanced technologically than the darker skinned Africans. Their lighter skin color is also most likely a result of an ancient admixture of foreign blood because the older tribes are darker and as one moves towards recent times the number of lighter skinned peoples increases. This is due to the three migrations of Asians into Africa. Each migratory group was probably lighter than the previous and mixed into the blood of the now Yellow Men. CLARITY: 5 JESSICA CANAS Loyola University Chicago (Kathleen Adams)
Willoughby, Charles. Primitive Metal Working. American Anthropologist January, 1903 Vol. 5 (2): 55-57. The author conducted an experiment using what he saw
as primitive tools to form sheet-copper. In this article he describes
the experiment that
produced two sheets of copper. The object of this experiment was to test
the theory that "native tribes" were capable of using these
tools to manufacture these goods. In addition to making copper sheets, By employing a technique of alternating between hammering and annealing, CLARITY RANKING: 5 ALISON MC LETCHIE University of South Carolina (Ann Kingsolver)
Wissler, Clark. The Growth of Boys: Correlations for the Annual Increments. American Anthropologist January, 1903 Vol. 5 (1): 81-89. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the growth patterns of boys from age 12 to 17. The author wanted to determine whether the average growth rate displayed by traditional growth curves for whole populations could be generalized for individuals. Wissler examined the records of 300 boys attending a private school. The measurements he studied were taken by school officials for its gymnasium class. He observed the growth patterns of boys as a group and as individuals. While he had a number of measurements, he restricted his conclusions to stature, arm-reach and weight only. The boys’ ages were approximated to the nearest birthday. According to the author, boys who were the tallest in the group at 12, tended to grow (in terms of stature) the fastest until 14 as compared to the group. Conversely, boys who were the shortest in the group at 12, tended to grow (in terms of stature) the most after the age of 14. Therefore based on the data it appears that boys have growth spurts but when these occur depend on their height before the age of 12. This general pattern appears to hold true for other measurements. The author also maintains that for each boy there is an identifiable point at which, if he was growing slowly (before the age of 14), his growth rate increases or spurts at irregular intervals. Similarly for boys who were growing rapidly (before the age of 14), their growth rate slows down irregularly. The maximum rate of growth however appears to be between the 13-15 age range. Finally he contents that boys who were the tallest in their age group either at 12 or 17, were those who grow the most before 14. However, Wissler does caution the reader that there are external factors that may influence the rate of growth. CLARITY RANKING: 2 ALISON MC LETCHIE University of South Carolina (Ann Kingsolver)
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