CLARITY RANKING:  4

SELAH GEISSLER   Hawaii Pacific University   (Robert Borofsky)

Boas, Franz. Evolution or Diffusion? American Anthropologist, 1924 Vol.26: 340-344.

Flom, George    Sun-Symbols of the Tom-Sculptures at Loughcrew, Ireland, Illustrated by Similar Figures in Scandanavian Rock-Tracing American Anthropologist April-June, 1924 Vol.26(2):139-159

In this article, the author compares similarities regarding sun-symbols dating from the Stone Age with those found at Loughcrew, Ireland. Flow contends that the Lougcrew symbols demonstate that the once believed notion of the sun representing two entities - light and darkness - is false. He argues instead that the sun represented many facets of life including, life, death and fertility.

In an attempt to prove his argument, Flom offers evidence drawn from Bronze Age rock tracings where the sun has a dual position, one as the god of fruitfulness, the other as a diety of death. Flom suggests that symbolic interpretations of the sun were shared by various groups in different regions across various periods of time. He offers, as an example, Scandanavian rock tracings which suggest sun worship was part of specific cults involving nature deities and anthropomorphic gods. Flom describes the sun symbols of Loughcrew as representing fruitfulness and life. Those found in Scotland and England contained the same symbols - cupped circles - as a sign of fertility in nature and human life. These same symbols represent Siva, the Hindu deity of fertility in India. It is Flom’s goal to show that the markings used by these diverse groups had (or have) a universal meaning.

Overall, Flom refutes the longstanding theories of earlier archaeologists that the figures and carvings on stones in ancient Irish cairns were merely ornamental. Flom strengthens his argument by citing the findings of other anthropologists who have studied these sculptures and carvings. He emphasizes that the carvings are more characteristic of symbolic as opposed to ornamental designs. Still, Flom concedes that more research is needed to find a satisfactory meaning for the stone engravings.

CLARITY RATING: 4

TRACY PABLO Hawaii Pacific University (Rob Borofsky)

Flom, George T.     Sun-Symbols of the Tomb-Sculptures at Loughcrew, Ireland, illustrated by similar figures in Scandinavian rock-tracings. America Anthropologist. April- June, 1924 Vol. 26(2): 139-159.

Flom compares figures carved on ancient cairns in Ireland to similar looking rock-tracings found in Scandinavia. Flom concludes that the ancient drawings found in Ireland are symbolic of the sun and suggest sun worship.

Flom disagrees with those who argue that the markings found in Ireland " ‘simply represent the style of decoration of the period’"(139). Flom believes that these have symbolic meaning and compares the figures drawn to rock-tracings found in Scandinavia. The ancient rock-tracings found in Scandinavia, while different in their range of representations, have a number of similar features. Both in Scandinavia and in Ireland are there drawings of wheels of four spokes; wheels of eight spokes; wheels without spokes; spirals; flexed and open concentric rings; and cupped rings. The images in Scandinavia have been interpreted as variations of the sun and seen as evidence of sun-worshipping. Flom argues that the figures in Ireland, which share a number of similar features, could "hardly have had entirely different purposes"(142).

Flom argues that in Ireland, "as in the North, we have the sun-symbol in certain characteristic primitive forms and in a considerable variety of developed forms" (143). For Flom, these images, like those found in Scandinavia, are "unmistakable evidence of a well-developed sun-cult"(143). Not only in Scandinavia are these similar looking figures interpreted as evidence for sun worship, but the cairns that these figures in Ireland are carved into are situated on the "highest spot in the region (as near to the sun as possible)"(144).

CLARITY: 3

SHELAGH KING University of British Columbia (Dr. John Barker)

Gamio, Manuel     The Sequence of Cultures in Mexico. American Anthopologist July-September, 1924 Vol. 26(3):307-322.

The author addresses the question of whether pre-Hispanic Mexican cultures constitute offshoots of a primitive "mother culture" which evolved in different ways in response to different climatic and geographic environments in different parts of the country. Gamio suggests that the region’s indigenous population migrated there during Neolithic times. Gamio goes on to assert that present archaeological research is being done backwards. Rather than concentrating on relatively recent complex societies, the focus should be on the mother, primitive culture from which these other societies evolved.

Gamio discusses five issues that need be addressed in archeological studies of the region. The first involves identifying the original Neolithic base culture prior to emigration onto the American continent - so one can understand the foundation on which all later cultural groups were built. The second involves determining where, in North America, traces of this Neolithic culture still exist (or existed in historic times). The third focuses on establishing the traits of the mother culture for all pre-Hispanic Mexican settlements so as to assess to what degree this mother culture is (or is not) an advancement on the earlier Neolithic culture. The fourth involves investigating specific characteristics of the mother culture that influenced the later, derivative, cultures of the region. And the fifth emphasizes tracing the migration of the North American civilization into South and Central America, especially the types of differentiation, from the mother culture, that arose as these groups adapted to different geographic and climactic conditions.

Throughout the article, Gamio offers his own interpretation of where and how Mexican culture arose. Overall, he suggests that more research is needed in the isthmian region of the Panama Republic because a great number of emigrant cultures arose in that area.

CLARITY RANKING: 3

TRACY PABLO Hawaii Pacific University (Rob Borofsky)

Green, Laura C., and Martha W. Beckwith.     Hawaiian Customs and Beliefs Relating To Birth and Infancy. American Anthropologists 1924, Vol.26: 230-246.

This short article is about Hawaiian beliefs surrounding pregnancy and childbirth. It discusses a number of traditions, wives tails, and taboos that mothers believed and practiced during the time of the two author’s research. Specific topics covered include: Beliefs about Pregnancy, Birth, Birthmarks, The Aftermath, The Navel-Cord, Hair Taboos, Naming Customs, The Weaning Ceremony, and Infanticide and Adoption.

According to Hawaiian beliefs, a mother can tell much about her child’s future personality and/or appearance from what happens during pregnancy. A child can be affected by what a mother eats (or craves), by a mother’s illnesses, by certain people that are prominent in the mother’s life during the pregnancy, or by how the child is born. If a mother should become ill during her pregnancy, for example, her child may become mean-natured. Or, again, if the child faces the door at birth, he will be a provider for his family. Birthmarks also convey a sense of the child - different shapes, sizes and colors foretelling different traits.

The article also discusses the importance of the afterbirth and the umbilical cord. Various Hawaiian ceremonies surround these objects. For example a tree is planted with the afterbirth and the tree is cared for as long as the child lives. The child’s navel-cord must be very carefully taken care of by the child’s parents until a sacred place is found for its disposition.

There are several similar such examples touched upon in this article. Overall, the article is an interesting, straight forward description of various Hawaiian beliefs relating to a mother’s pregnancy and the birth of her child.

CLARITY: 5

AMELIA VARGAS-MARÍN Hawaii Pacific University (Rob Borofsky)

Green, Laura & Martha W. Beckwith.     Hawaiian Customs and Beliefs Relating to Birth and Infancy. American Anthropologist 1924 Vol. 26:230-246.

In this purely descriptive article, the authors detail Hawaiian beliefs and practices surrounding pregnancy, birth, and infancy, up to the time of child weaning . They draw from extant literature on Hawaii and Polynesia, Haleole’s myth of Laieikawai (an Hawaiian classic romance involving the birth of twins), and informant interviews.

According to the extensive folklore, a child’s appearance, behaviour and future prospects are dictated by events in the mother’s pregnancy, and by actions of adults and the child during infancy. For example, "Should a woman become ill during pregnancy, her child will have a mean nature. If she is troubled with constant nausea, he will not provide for her. Whatever special food she desires a few days before the child’s birth will be the child’s favorite dish. The kind of food she craves determines some special characteristic of the child." (p. 231).

The customs, superstitions and ceremonies are well organized under topical headings: pregnancy, birth, birthmarks, the afterbirth, the ‘navel-cord’, hair, naming customs, ceremony to ensure milk from the mother, weaning ceremony, infanticide and adoption. Full vernacular text and translation of prayers utilized in the ceremonies are included. The authors also describe differences in practice between commoners and chiefs, and between past and present.

The authors do not remain objective throughout the article, and are particularly biased in the discussion of infanticide and religious beliefs and practices. For example: "Common people practised infanticide to rid themselves of work. Often they were too busy waiting on their chiefs to bother about raising children." (p. 245), and "…it is not necessary to attribute the supposed action of the gods to any special miracle." (p. 238). It is unfortunate that in an otherwise interesting and clear paper, such personal judgements are included.

CLARITY RANKING: 5

KIMBERLEY FINK-JENSEN University of British Columbia (John Barker)

Harrington, M.R.     The Ozark Bluff Dwellers. American Anthropologist January-March, 1924 Vol.26(1) 1-21

Harrington studied prehistoric artifacts found in several dry rock shelters in the Ozark mountains. The artifacts are an especially interesting find because they are so well preserved despite the humid Arkansas climate. The study concludes the ancient inhabitants of the region had created special storage rooms which, as a result, protected these artifacts. The article explains in detail what the rock shelters were like, the types of artifacts found there, how well preserved they were, and what they were presumably used for in everyday life.

At first, the artifacts were assumed to belong to a single culture. It was discovered, however, that the articles in fact varied in form through time. The original bottom layer was termed the "Ozark Bluff dwellers" and the topmost layer, the "top-layer culture." A "latest" North East Kansas layer is also documented. The article mainly focuses on the Bluff dwellers but has a short account explaining the differences between the "top layer culture" and the "latest culture." The article, in examining these artifacts, also explores which known Native American tribes the Bluff dwellers, "top layer" and "latest" cultures might have belonged to, or at least, have been related to.

The Ozark Bluff dwellers practiced hunting, agriculture, the gathering of natural products, and fishing, in that order of importance. Harrington describes in detail the types of weapons and tools used by the Ozark Bluff dwellers to obtain their favorite meats and vegetables. How the agricultural products were stored and how they utilized the seasonal products of the forest is also explained. Other artifacts analyzed in detail include woven baskets, pottery and two mysterious objects assumed to be used in spiritual practices. The Bluff dwellers buried their dead between the rocks of the shelter or between fallen rocks. The shelters they stored these bodies in helped preserve them to the point of mummification.

Comparing the products of the Bluff dwellers with products other cultural groups suggests cultural ties with aboriginal groups of the Southwest. However, the group also shares traits with tribes from the North and Central United States as well as surrounding areas to the Bluff dwellers’ home. The most interesting fact is that the only atlatals documented to be like the Bluff dwellers are found in an Aztec temple in Mexico City! It was assumed the Bluff dwellers were clearly pre-colonial because no evidence of European influence was found among them.

The "top layer" is believed to be remains of a Siouan, Osage or Kansa group. The Osage were found, by the first whites to visit the area, to be in possession of the district. The article fails to mention what tribe the Bluff dwellers could possibly belong to, but suggests they likely were not the original occupants of the rock shelter area.

CLARITY: 4

MISHALLA SPEARING Hawaii Pacific University (Rob Borofsky)

Harrington, M.R.     The Ozark Bluff Dwellers. American Anthropologist. January-March, 1924 Vol. 26(1): 1-21

M. R. Harrington in his "brief preliminary paper" gives an update of the nature of the archeological explorations underway in dry rock shelters of the Ozark Mountains by the Museum of the American Indians. Harrington argues that the artifacts uncovered are from three different time periods and cultures. From the artifacts found, he postulates on the type of culture and subsistence strategies of these historic people.

The artifacts found by this expedition are unusual in "quantity and variety". The northwestern corner of Arkansas is humid and unlikely to preserve perishable materials. Due to the dry nature of the rock shelters, however, "prehistoric articles of wood, basketry, vegetal fiber, skin and even feathers"(1) were conserved. The most abundant source of artifacts comes from, what they term, the Ozark Bluff Dweller culture. From the archaeological record, the Ozark Bluff Dwellers appear to have relied on "hunting, agriculture, the gathering of natural products, and fishing"(4) as indicated by the presence food remains and hunting and farming equipment. With the information gathered from the archeological record, Harrington, hypothesizes on the origin of the Ozark Bluff Dwellers, the time of their existence and their geographical distribution. On the basis that 11 of 19 Ozark characteristics resemble those of Southwestern tribes, Harrington argues that the Ozark Bluff Dwellers might have originated from Arizona, New Mexico or Old Mexico. Harrington proposes that the Ozark Bluff Dwellers were from the pre-colonial period, and possibly even later, closer to antiquity. He basis this proposition on the fact that no article suggesting European influence was found and the artifacts "gave an impression of great age"(16) because of their rudimentary fashion. For example, the only type of axe found in the artifact collection was a chipped axe, characteristic of the tool assemblages of Paleolithic Europe. Harrington also in his article alludes to research done to determine the geographical distribution of the Bluff-dweller culture. From evidence found in other rock shelters it is believed that the Ozark Bluff dwellers occupied a territory roughly 175 to 200 miles in each direction.

CLARITY: 5

SHELAGH KING University of British Columbia (Dr. John Barker)

Herskovits, Melville.     A Preliminary Consideration of the Culture Areas of Africa. American Anthropologist. 1924 Vol. 26: 50-63

Herskovits explores the possibility of dividing Africa into several cultural areas to allow better in-depth comparisons among different regions and groups. Since mapping culture areas has proven successful among Native American tribes, Herskovits decides to attempt the same approach for Africa. He articles focuses on the similarities and differences among different cultural areas.

He first discusses the possible reasons why (and why not) such an approach should be used. Among the problems noted are: there may not be distinct changes between related areas and, to some, the continent’s tribes might be perceived as too similar to be worth studying separately. It is argued, however, that real differences exist between cultural groups and these need to be acknowledged. Herskovits notes the more a cultural group is broken up for study, the smaller and smaller it gets to a point approaching non-existence. He argues, instead, for the classifying of cultural data in terms of broad cultural patterns and gaining the "big picture" regarding the continent’s cultural groups.

A map of Africa with a set of culture areas is presented. Herskovits discusses the different ways of life embodied in each cultural area. He discusses, for each cultural area: food, drink, clothing, shelter, the role of men and women, marriage, economy, religion, and politics. For some cultural areas, he also suggests possible causes for why certain exist. For instance, the cultural groups on the Eastern coastline are more influenced by Islam than the central part of the continent where Islam has not spread as much. There is more information on some cultural areas than others. It is fair to say Herskovits mostly presents a preliminary outline of cultural groupings across the continent that is meant to encourage more detailed research rather than constitutes anything definitive in and of itself.

He concludes that cultural areas offer a productive way for studying the cultural diversity of Africa though the method of using cultural areas will need further refinement to be fully effective. He suggests more detailed investigations will follow with time and should shed much more light on the continent’s cultural groupings and the "baffling" historical relationships among diverse groups.

CLARITY: 4

MISHALLA SPEARING Hawaii Pacific University (Rob Borofsky)

Herskovits, Melville J.     A Preliminary Consideration of the Culture Areas of Africa. American Anthropologist. January-March, 1924 Vol. 26(1): 50-63.

Herskovits applies the concept of culture areas, which had only previously been used to study the American Indians, to the civilizations in Africa. Herskovits argues that applying the concept of culture areas to Africa is not only "feasible"(63), but also "cannot but be of value in the study of the cultures of the continent"(63).

In his article, Herskovits defines culture areas as "[r]egions in which the culture is more or less of a unit-i.e., comparable"(50). He discusses the benefits and drawbacks of using the term culture areas. Herskovits states that the concept of culture areas has "proved it usefulness in museum technique, library classification, and for pedagogical purposes"(50). Herstkovits is aware, however, that this method of analysis is complicated because one, the classification of culture areas is arbitrary and empirical in nature. Unless there is a climate or geographical feature that clearly distinguishes between two cultures, the change from one culture area to the next is gradual and difficult to pinpoint. The boundaries drawn are based on the researcher’s understanding of what are the defining aspects of the "typical culture"(50). Two, by comparing all surrounding cultures to the "typical culture"(50), those not having many shared similarities are termed "marginal" which gives a negative connotation not intended by the researcher. Three, the analysis is schematic and can give the impression that those within a culture area are strictly uniform. Four, the concept of culture areas is based on the belief of the diffusion of cultures.

Despite these concerns with the use and concept of culture areas, Herskovits finds it possible to divide the civilizations of Africa into nine distinct culture areas: Hottentot, East African Cattle Area, Bushman, Congo Area, The East Horn, Eastern Sudan, Western Sudan, Desert Area, and, Egypt. He uses differences in modes of subsistence, eating practices, religion, language, inheritance, division of labour, shelter, marriage practices and other aspects particular to the region to categorize and compare the cultures in Africa. Herskovits states that with the use of culture areas, "the chaos a study of Africa ordinarily presents is greatly reduced"(63). Herskovits concludes that further studies of Africa are required to establish the correctness of his distinctions and to identify the historical relationships and role of diffusion between the various regions.

CLARITY: 5

SHELAGH KING University of British Columbia (Dr. John Barker)

Linton, Ralph.     The Origin of the Plains Earth Lodge. American Anthropologists 1924, Vol.26: 247-257.

This article discusses the earth lodges that belonged to the Plains Indians living along the Missouri river. It also explores the origin of the Plains Indians’ earth lodges. Linton compares the structures of earth lodges from ten different tribes and, because they tend to resemble one another, he proposes they all came from the same ancestral source.

The beginning of the article is mostly a description of what the Hidatsa tribe’s earth lodges looked like. They were of wooden frame covered with willows and the doorway was made of rawhide. The floor had a flattened ground surface that went about a foot deep into the ground. There was a fire pit in the center of the lodge and a hole, through the center of the ceiling, for the smoke to leave through.

The next section of the article compares similarities and differences of the Hidatsa earth lodge with other earth lodges built by other tribal groups. There is a discussion of earth lodges not having holes in the ceilings, of earth lodges being rectangular versus round, of earth lodges covered with earth versus with rawhide, and of earth lodges shaped like tipis. Linton notes three different North America areas that possessed earth lodges.

Finally, Linton suggests the Plains Indian earth lodge originated in the lower Mississippi valley. They were carried northward through tribal movements, he infers, principally by the Arikara and the Mandan Indians. He concludes, by noting, although the earth lodge has a long history within North America, its actual origins may be in Asia.

CLARITY: 3

AMELIA VARGAS-MARÍN Hawaii Pacific University (Rob Borofsky).

Linton, Ralph.     The Origin of the Plains Earth Lodge. American Anthropologist 1924 Vol. 26:247-257.

This article attempts to determine the diffusional centre of the Plains Indian earth lodge by defining the extent and location of its range, and by comparison of structural characteristics between regions. Utilizing archaeological data and published descriptions of more recent construction styles and practices from other researchers, the author presents a clear argument for the origin of the Plains style in the lower Mississippi valley. Linton cites the Arikara and Mandan tribes as the probable agents of a relatively recent diffusion northward through migration. He argues further that the style in question is an elaboration of an older shelter type, evidence of which has been found archaeologically in the oldest cultural layers, from Siberia down the west coast, and across the Southwest, indicating a possible Asiatic origin. Further archaeological investigation is needed to verify his conclusions.

Linton systematically reviews the architectural styles of numerous tribal groups, including the Omaha, Ponca, Pawnee, Iowa, Oto, Minnesota, Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara. Through their comparison, he concludes that a four post central support, present in the mythology of most of these groups, was the historical style. This is represented in Mandan and Arikara construction and, therefore, it is posited that these groups approach the original style most closely. From this conclusion, he examines distribution and degree of variation from the four post style, as well as other features of diffusion, to determine a southern geographical locus of dispersion. With this locus established, Linton then describes similar forms of construction distributed throughout North America, divided into three cultural areas, viz., Western, Southwestern and Eastern, with links existing between the regions. The author concludes that "some type of earth-covered dwelling has been used over a practically continuous area extending from eastern Siberia to the Carolinas…(and that) throughout this vast territory the earth lodge is nearly always associated with an old, if not the oldest, cultural stratum… The wide distribution and evident age of the earth lodge in North America strongly suggest that the use of this type of dwelling was a feature of some very ancient generalized American culture, possibly even of that of the Asiatic migrants who were ancestral to the North American Indians." (p. 256).

The author’s arguments are clear and convincing, with candid recognition of the need for further study to test these hypotheses. He concludes with an excellent and clear summary of his argument in the closing paragraph, and it may be advisable to read his conclusions first in order to easily follow and understand the path of his argument.

CLARITY RATING: 5

KIMBERLEY FINK-JENSEN University of British Columbia (John Barker)

Linton, Ralph.     The Significance of Certain Traits in North American Maize Culture. American Anthropologist. 1924. 26:345-349.

Linton argues that the maize complex of North America differed from that of the American Southwest and Mexico (where maize was first domesticated). Linton suggests particular traits of the North American maize complex were either developed independently from those in Mexico, by groups in North America, after the acquisition of maize and/or were derived from older food complexes in North America other than maize.

Linton begins by characterizing the tools and techniques used to cultivate maize in Mexico. Maize cultivation, as practiced in the Southwestern United States, seems to be directly patterned after Mexican practices. While some features may have developed independently in the Southwest, the tools and techniques for hulling, cooking and fermenting are all precisely the same. Eastern maize culture, however, has many distinctive tools and techniques in comparison with these other groups.

Since maize was domesticated in Mexico and moved quickly into the Southwestern United States, if there were evidence that maize production in the Eastern United States was built on that in the Southwest, one could make a nice chronological development: moving from Mexico to the Southwest to the Eastern United States.

But Linton finds certain tools used in the Eastern United States - particularly the hoe and corn mortars - were virtually unknown in the older maize cultures and therefore, such tools must have been developed independently or introduced from other Eastern United States groups. Linton notes that various features of Eastern maize culture, that may seem to represent the survival of archaic Mexican patterns, could just as easily have been taken from pre-agricultural food complexes in the Eastern United States. These include the use of wood ashes for hulling, the griddle, and cooking by boiling.

Linton concludes that while the Southwestern maize complex appears to have developed directly from the Mexican complex, that in the Eastern United States differs in too many ways to have grown directly out of the Southwestern complex. Linton hypothesizes that in the east, maize probably arrived as a result of gradual diffusion, lost most of its cultural context in route, and was adopted into a preexisting cultural pattern which had grown up around other foods.

CLARITY RANKING: 4

SELAH GEISSLER Hawaii Pacific University (Rob Borofsky)

Linton, Ralph. The Significance of Certain Traits in North American Maize Culture. American Anthropologist, 1924 Vol. 26: 345-349.

Loeb, M. E.    The Shaman of Niue. American Anthropologist 1924 Vol. 26: 393-402

The people of Niue differ from other Polynesians in respect to their democratically organized form of government. The island’s political system lacked a system of divine chiefs, caste division of laborers, and a hereditary priesthood (pg. 393). Interestingly, the Niue did not memorize genealogies, a common practice on most other Polynesian islands. Loeb attributes such differences to two possible causes: Either the Niue are descendants of Samoans or Tongans, who embarked on their journey without accompanying priests or nobles, or the founders of Niue left their previous home before the development of aristocracy and theocracy took hold in Polynesia (pg. 393). The functions of priests on Nuie tend to be more individualized and along the lines of shaman in Siberia rather than priests elsewhere in Polynesia.

The priest’s (or shaman’s) duties tend to focus on prophesying and spell casting. Families with tendencies towards mental instability and epileptic fits often have a higher proportion of shaman basically because the Niue shaman are considered possessed by the gods. The role of the shaman was not necessarily inherited from father to son. Sometimes it skipped a generation or two depending on the presence (or absence) of epilepsy in the individual.

The role of the such shaman was not without risks. Shaman whose predictions or spells failed might well lose their social reputation though in certain areas - such as curing illness - many were able to successfully weather the situation where the patient improved or not. If the patient worsened, the shaman would still be paid by the sick person’s family to send the gods to look for the individual’s soul.

CLARITY: 4

FRANK VENTIMIGLIA JR. Hawaii Pacific University (Rob Borofsky)

Loeb, E.M.     The Shaman of Niue. American Anthropologist. 1924 Vol 26:393-402.

In this article the author describes the shamanic practices of the taula-atua (the "anchors of the gods") in Niue, a Polynesian island located 240 miles west of Vavau (in the Tonga group). Also known as "Savage Island", Niue is unique to Polynesia in that its culture lacks a system of divine chiefs, caste division of labor, and hereditary priesthood. Loeb believes this may be the result of an emigration of Samoan or Tongan residents to the island, prior to the development of theocracy or aristocracy. If Niue is, in fact, an example of "archaic survival perpetuated by comparative isolation" (p.394), the spiritual traditions practiced there provide a glimpse into pre-Christian Polynesian society.

Loeb begins by explaining the difference between gods and ghosts (atua and aitu) in terms of their relevance to society, both historically and in the present. In "the olden days", Niue shamans were possessed by gods (atua) that enabled them to bewitch, cure, prophesize and curse the enemy; ghosts (aitu) were the human spirits, floating around, helping shamans or accosting humans as necessary for the reproduction of morals and society. Although the practices are the same, modern taula-atua are possessed by aitu rather than atua, because of the Christian intolerance for "heathen" gods. There are four skills that are required and desired of shamen: the first is witchcraft, or the ability to bewitch another person and cast spells upon the natural elements; it is said that the taula-atua control the sun and rain. The second skill is prophecy, useful in predicting outcomes of war; the third is curing illness, a condition caused by the loss of one’s soul; the fourth skill is cursing the enemy. In all situations the shaman draws on his or her personal character and relationship with the gods in order to perform. In order to show that gods possess them, the taula-atua must either be epileptic or prone to fits of temporary insanity.

Loeb reveals (p.395) that the profession is usually hereditary and runs in families afflicted with a high degree of mental instability. Such a condition allows the taula-atua to go into a deep trance or fit when communicating with gods (or ghosts), bewitching and healing. The author notes the physical appearance of one particular shaman with whom he spoke during his seven month stay in Niue. The man, "Titituli" is subject to epileptic fits, suffers from elephantitis with swollen legs, and is covered in sores (p.398). Yet, despite being unkempt and living in foul conditions, the taula-atua are still utilized in Niue, even after many citizens have converted to Christianity and use Western medicines.

Though it is not as culturally acceptable to admit using the services of the taula-atua, Loeb provides us with accounts from government records to show the various situations wherein shamen were used. Thus, the shamen of Niue have two roles: firstly, to fulfill the medical and spiritual needs of a people who don’t always trust the foreign systems, yet who are also compelled to believe and accept them; and secondly, to be a dynamic, symbolic reminder of a pre-Christian, pre-Western Polynesian cultural tradition found on this island and elsewhere.

CLARITY RANKING: 4

CHRISTINA ZAENKER University of British Columbia (John Barker)

Lutz, H. F.     Geographical Studies Among Babylonians and Egyptians. American Anthropologist.  1924  Vol. 26:160-174.

In Geographical Studies Among Babylonians and Egyptians, H. F. Lutz explores the geographical knowledge of ancient Middle Eastern peoples. In particular, he focuses on Babylonian and Egyptian understandings of particular geographical locations as well as the shape and size of the earth.

Anthropologists have found Babylonian geographical textbooks and maps. Textbooks contained roads and country names, along with distances associated with them. Maps contain distances, waterways, mountains, villages, and topography. Lutz suggests the geographical construction of many of these maps tended to be borrowed from earlier sources, and that these sources, in turn, were borrowed from earlier ones still. This leads Lutz to suggest that Babylonians were unable to incorporate new ideas into their thinking, and, hence, unable to develop more sophisticated geographical knowledge of the world around them.

A tablet from neo-Babylonian times indicates the Babylonians saw themselves as the center of the world. The tablet was a map of what they considered "the world". It contained a circle which represented the salt river or the Persian Gulf. Encircled by the salt river, at the center of the tablet, lay Babylonia and Assyria. Babylonians lacked, that is to say, an understanding of the heliographic nature of the universe. This map reinforces other findings suggesting Babylonians conceived of the world in the shape of a disk occupying a central place in a universe.

Lutz argues that the geographical knowledge of Babylonians was not extensive. Babylonians held to the doctrine that what ever happens in the sky happens on earth, and one has only had to read the map of the sky in order to understand life on earth.

Lutz then turns Egyptian geographical knowledge which he views as comparable with Babylonian knowledge. School textbooks that indicate some geographical instruction was given. Egyptians appeared mostly interested in their own country. Geographical knowledge of foreign lands was limited to a list of cities involving glorified battles and conquests. Such knowledge served mostly as an adornment on walls rather than as data for study.

Like the Babylonians, Egyptians believed that the earth was a copy of the heavenly world and also excluded information that was not compatible with traditional religious beliefs. Lutz suggests these ancient peoples were unable to eliminate false geographical notions because of their overly strong affirmation of their respective traditions.

CLARITY RANKING: 4

JULIE KAHIAPO Hawaii Pacific University (Rob Borofsky)

Lutz, H.F.     Geographical Studies Among Babylonians and Egyptians. America Anthropologist. January 1924 Vol. 26(1): 160-174.

From the archaeological record, Lutz attempts to reconstruct the geographical worldview of the ancient Babylonians and Egyptians. He argues that the Egyptians and Babylonians "shut themselves up in their own world of thought and excluded everything that was not in harmony with traditional knowledge sanctioned by their religion"(174). Despite being exposed to new information, the Egyptians and Babylonians held fast to the geographical concepts of the past, and ignored anything that challenged their beliefs.

Evidence from the archaeological record indicates that both the Babylonians and Egyptians had an interest in geography. The Babylonian archeological record includes many maps engraved on tablets, and metal. School texts from Egypt include lists of fortresses in Egypt and the southern country of Nubia. While there appears to be an interest in geography, this interest does not extend beyond neither the Babylonian's nor the Egyptian's own regions. Both the Babylonians and Egyptians had only a "hazy"(171) understanding of foreign geography. Despite the fact that geographical interest "must have been stimulated by the growing commerce and cultural intercourse of the various peoples with whom they [the Egyptians and Babylonians] had come into contact"(163), these new geographical insights are not reflected in the archeological record. In Babylon, a map was found that Lutz dates back to the times of either Neo-Babylonia of Late Babylon. It is a map of the world and has the Persian Gulf as the source of water for the Eupraseus and the Tigris River. This map, Lutz argues, is a copy of an older tablet. For, as Lutz states, by the time of Tiglathpileser I (1110-1100 B.C) the actual sources of these rivers had been discovered. The drawing of the world with the Persian Gulf as a water source despite their supposed knowledge of the actual sources proves to Lutz that the Babylonians were "unable to express new ideas . . . in fact they disregarded the new to a great extent and went back to the more primitive ideas"(166). Religious beliefs are what Lutz proposes guided geographical thought. Lutz argues that the Egyptians and Babylonians both based their conceptions of the earthly world on their understandings of the heavenly world. They believed that "one has only to read the map of the sky in order to be enabled to come to an understanding of the earth"(170). This, Lutz argues, stunted the active pursuit of geographical knowledge. All new information of the world was processed by this religious understanding and thus prohibited the furthering of geographical understanding.

CLARITY: 2

SHELAGH KING University of British Columbia (Dr. John Barker)

Lutz, H.F.     Kingship in Babylonia, Assyria and Egypt. 1924. American Anthropologist. Vol 26:435-453.

In this article, the author examines the various forms of leadership within the ancient Sumerian, Babylonian, Assyrian and Egyptian cultures in order to shed some light on the origin of kingship. Although he does not actually intend to uncover the origin of this institution (a task he leaves to scholars involved in the study of social institutions), he assumes that kingship is synonymous with leadership and thereby sets out on this analytical adventure, picking apart words, ideas and historical situations wherein leadership in the aforementioned areas was employed. He begins by stating that the basis of social organization is dependent not on religious factors, but on economic ones. Lutz examines the etymological remnants of the transition from matriarchal to patriarchal society in Babylonia, discovering that the titles given to Sumerian rulers reflect this change in social organization. He states, "instead of the great mother goddess, male divinities arose to the lofty position of ‘exalted fathers’" (p.441).

The investigation of the institution of leadership continues when Lutz shows the effects of nearby Semitic groups on the Sumerian conception of a ruler. The latter originally called their leader lugal, or "great man", a title associated with great physical and moral strength. However, after exposure to the Semitic ideology that a king is the "son of the divinity" (p.442), the Sumerians changed their views and adopted a more religious connotation for their leader. In Assyria, kingship actually developed out of the priestship, and the coronation ritual itself "substitutes or employs for the word kingship the word priestship in order to emphasize the special dignity of the Assyrian ruler" (p.446). Similar to the previous situation, the Egyptian "pharaoh" is conceived to be a divine son: he is "the great offspring" of the sun god Horus (p.453). Although his power could be overruled in times of political or social upheaval, his title reveals other aspects of his role, as "father", "councilor" or decider" (p.450).

From the above examples we can see that the institution of kingship developed over many years and across various geographical, cultural and linguistic boundaries. Lutz’s etymological approach to solving the question of kingship is in-depth and at times difficult to read. However, the words and titles are well excavated from their historical context, and the author presents some interesting arguments. Whether or not we will ever know wherefrom the institution of kinship once originated, at least we are aware of the tools with which we can examine the ancient terminology and possibly uncover hidden layers of meaning. In the meantime, we will understand and agree with Lutz that leadership in the ancient world was indeed a complex concept.

CLARITY RANKING: 3

CHRISTINA ZAENKER University of British Columbia (John Barker)

MacCurdy, George Grant.     The Field of Paleolithic Art. American Anthropologist. 1924 (26): 27-49

The subjects chosen by paleolithic artists, their artistic techniques, and the materials used in their art offer clues, MacCurdy suggests, into the lives of these people. MacCurdy is impressed and surprised with the artistry involved and, as a result, goes into great detail describing each of the artifacts considered.

MacCurdy notes the preferred artistic subject is mammals - including humans. He finds three tendencies in the artistic portrayals of humans (by humans): The first is the pictorial predominance of the female over the male, the second is a female type suggestive of the "Huttentot" or "Bushman," and the third is the wide geographic and chronologic distribution of this type in Europe. In addition, MacCurdy notes representations of humans and animals are almost always in whole form, except in the case of the human hand. He lists the places where artifacts were found - mostly in France and Spain - and describes what artifacts were found where.

He goes on to describe the game animals, fish and birds depicted by Paleolithic artists, and lists, again, all the places and their respective artifacts in detail. He explains the types of weapons found as well.

The inanimate objects described include a set of signs, which suggests, to MacCurdy, the existence of primitive writing during the Magdalenian Epoch. The symbols were images designed as signs of objects and, MacCurdy believes, represent words. Other inanimate objects include chevrons, frets, spirals, volutes and wave ornaments. Tectiforms are also depicted, reproducing simple shelters, tents and huts.

MacCurdy explains the techniques and materials involved in the different forms of art referring to both stationary and portable art. Portable art is created from stone, bone, ivory, wood and horns. Stationary art, like murals, is either engraved or painted, sometimes with color. Paleolithic artists did not ignore questions of scale MacCurdy notes, depicting a mother and her young, the male and female of the same species, and a herd of animals. The materials used for such works of art were limited to what the artist could find in nature. Clay was probably used more widely than thought, but such clay artifacts would likely not withstand the ravages of time and hence their actual number remains unclear.

CLARITY: 4

MISHALLA SPEARING Hawaii Pacific University (Rob Borofsky)

Mac Curdy, George Grant.     The Field of Paleolithic Art. American Anthropologist. January –March, 1924 Vol.26 (1): 27-49.

Mac Curdy analyses the importance and meaning of Paleolithic art found in the Old World. Mac Curdy argues that the study of Paleolithic art can inform one about the capabilities, behaviors, and beliefs of early man.

Early man used a variety of materials for his/her artistic expressions including, "stone, bone, ivory, reindeer horn, and stag horn"(48), ocher and oxide of manganese. Art "adorns the walls, ceilings, and sometimes even floors of caverns, and the walls of rock shelters" (48). These examples of artwork done by early man in the Paleolithic era are seen as evidence for early man’s cognitive capabilities. Artistic representations of animate objects like animals, and humans, Mac Curdy argues is proof of early man’s ability to "improvise, to seize upon resemblances and make the imagination a labor-saving device"(39-40). Artistic representations of inanimate objects like chevrons, frets, spirals and volutes are interpreted, by Mac Curdy, as evidence of early man’s ability to conventionalize, to standardize, [and] to symbolize"(45).

Mac Curdy believes the chosen subjects of early man’s artwork is significant for understanding the behavior of early man. The frequency of the representation of animals signifies the importance of that particular animal to the diet. By tabulating the occurrence of animal forms Mac Curdy concludes that the "horse was easily the favorite in France; in Spain it was second, conceding first place to the red deer"(33). The lack of artistic representation of invertebrates is understood, therefore, to be because they "did not serve the needs of man to any appreciable extent; when wanted, they could be had without resort to magic"(44). Representations of what are termed alphabetiform signs, like a dotted circle, are interpreted as proof of "the existence of primitive writing"(45). Representations of "tent-shaped figures"(47) called claviforms, are understood to represent "the kind of temporary abode employed by the Upper Paleolithic races"(47). Evidence of hunting is seen in depictions of what are interpret as pictures of "darts dangling from the side of wounded animals"(47).

The existence of a belief system is also concluded from Mac Curdy’s analysis of Paleolithic art. He concludes, "many of the representations are prayers for the increase of the species useful for food"(27). The frequency of females, especially female hinds in Paleolithic art is due, Mac Curd states, to the female’s connection to reproduction. For example, Mac Curdy argues that the "hind is the symbol of fecundity"(27). Mac Curdy believes that the more hinds the artist drew, "the greater the increase of the herd"(28).

CLARITY: 4

SHELAGH KING University of British Columbia (Dr. John Barker)

MacLeod, William Christie.     Natchez Political Evolution. American Anthropologists  1924, Vol. 26: 201-229.

This article explores the political structure and evolution of the North American Natchez. Most of the material discussed comes from information gathered by J. R. Swanton in 1911. The main topics examined are: the structure of the political class, its reputed origin, who were the honored class, how people could achieve such a status, and a psychological oriented commentary on the political system itself.

Following its title, the first section, "The Structure of the State: The Civil Stratification," is a description of how the political system worked. MacLeod explains the principal officers were members of a royal matrilineal family. The king was known as the Great Sun and his mother or sister was The White Woman or Sun Woman. The king nominated all officers of the state. These officers constituted the uppermost status rank among the Natchez. The lowest status strata were the commoners, known by the derogatory name of "Stinkards.."

Following sections discuss how people could move into the elite status strata. "The War Organization," explains the different warrior grades present in the political structure: the apprentice (the lowest), the ordinary, the true warriors, and the warrior chiefs. Even higher than the chief warriors was the council, which consisted of "the oldest and best warriors." People of "stinkard" status could rise up the status ladder through feats in war.

Another way for moving up the status ladder was through meritorious religious action. When a king died, a father and mother could sacrifice their child in the king’s honor. Or a person could sacrifice him (or her)self at kings death. Either way, the remaining family members would be elevated to an honored status.

The "Components of the Honored Class," then, were: (a) children of nobles, (b) stinkards raised through meritorious service in war and (c) stinkards raised the meritorious religious actions.

The final topic covered in this article is "Psychic Content and Structural Evolution." This section discusses how the political structure influenced Natchez behavior as well as the honored class’s possible origins and changes through time.

CLARITY: 3

AMELIA VARGAS-MARÍN Hawaii Pacific University (Rob Borofsky).

MacLeod, William Christie.     Natchez Political Evolution. American Anthropologist 1924 Vol. 26:201-229

The author takes the opportunity provided by an abundance of information on this extinct culture to examine the unique character of Natchez politico-social organization, and the problem it poses in debates of "convergent evolution versus diffusion by migration and by imitation" (p.201). The author explores the features of Natchez social and political organization, and through comparison with other world cultures, comes to the conclusion of "the improbability of other than independent development accounting for Natchez practice." (p. 227). In the appendix, he also argues for a Floridian origin of the tribe. His primary information is drawn from a collection of materials made by Dr. J. R. Swanton for the Bureau of American Ethnology, which includes accounts from the time of initial contact in the early 1700’s, prior to the Natchez’s destruction. Additional information on cultures used for comparison are drawn from a variety of published sources.

MacLeod provides a detailed description of civil stratification with grades of nobility, and war organization with warrior grades, also describing inter-grade potential for mobility and marriage practices. Society is divided into the ranks of Suns, Nobles, Honored Men and commoners, known as Stinkards. Warrior grades included war chiefs, true warriors, ordinary warriors and apprentice warriors. Both systems provide for mobility between the grades, except to the highest ranks which are ascribed matrilineally. The features of the system of greatest interest to the author include the rule of exogamy for the Suns, they marry only Stinkards, and the requirement of spouses of Suns to commit suicide upon the death of their mate. The author conducts a complicated examination of links between these practices which requires very careful reading to be understood. Essentially, the practice of widow / widower immolation prevented development of an endogamous nobility. Encoded in their origin myth is the creation of grades of nobility, and a prohibition against violent or unnatural death for a Sun. This required their spouses to come from outside their class.

After examining these unique features and comparing them to practices in other cultures, MacLeod dismisses similarities with other cultural groups including the Manchu in China, the Ashanti, and Bantu tribes of West Africa, and concludes these are "very readily understandable as convergences" (p.227).

The author’s most believable conclusions come in his linking of the development of Sun exogamy and widow / widower immolation. His argument for evolution versus diffusion comes across as rather weak, and at some points in the article he appears to be arguing for the opposite. There is an overwhelming amount of detail provided, but the article does whet the appetite for further investigation of the Natchez culture.

CLARITY RANKING: 3.5

KIMBERLEY FINK-JENSEN University of British Columbia (John Barker)

Malcolm, L.W.G (with note by A.S. Parker).     Sex-Ratio in African Peoples. American Anthropologist. October-December, 1924 Vol.26(4): 454-473

Is an uneven sex-ratio a sign of racial decline? L.W.G Malcolm explores the answer to this question by investigating the sex-ratio of men and women in several African tribes. Since women are clearly more numerous than men in many African tribes, the author offers the opinion that mortality rates are probably higher for men than women. This is due, he suggests, to the fact that men in these tribes live more dangerously than women, having to hunt for food as well as protect the tribe against intruders.

In order to find an answer to the uneven sex-ratios between men and women, Malcolm investigates hundreds of tribes in Africa. While he attempts to measure primary (conception), secondary (birth) and tertiary (adult) sex-ratios, Malcolm finds that he mainly has rely on tertiary sex-ratios for his data. The fact that information is so scarce and inconsistent for primary and secondary sex-ratios means the author’s analysis must remain incomplete.

Malcolm compares African sex-ratios with sex-ratios from other parts of the world such as Europe and Asia. Here, too, he finds the same uneven pattern. In search of an explanation, he refers to other authors who have written on the subject. The larger number of women versus men is considered by Westermarck to be a partial result of race mixture. Torday supports Westermarck’s position noting that mixed marriages of Belgian men and "negro" women in the Belgian Congo gave birth to more girls than boys. Thomas suggests that while monogamous relationships favors female births, polygyny gives an excess of male births.

A.S Parker, who writes the last pages of the article, supports Thomas in his statement that polygyny favors male births since increased sexual activity may "alter the ratio between the X-spermatozoa (female producing) and the Y-spermatozoa (maleproducing) in favor of the latter, so that the primary ratio is slightly higher" for males. Parker concludes that it seems natural to have more females than males since women carry the babies while men only carry sperm. One woman can only carry one baby per year, but one man produces millions of sperms every day, Parker notes. He suggests that any society that has more men than women must use some form of "artificial selection such as female infanticide" to alter this basic fact.
CLARITY RANKING: 4

THERESA ARONSSON Hawaii Pacific University (Rob Borofsky)

Malcolm, W. L. G.     Sex-Ratio in African Peoples. 1924 American Anthropologist. Vol 26:454-473.

This article is divided into two parts: the first is an analysis of sex-ratios in African tribes, and the second is a collection of notes written by A. S. Parkes, on the relationship between these ratios and racial decline. In the first section, Malcolm compiles statistics of the tertiary sex-ratios (of adults) of various West African countries: Cameroon, Congo, Nigeria, Togo, and Sierra Leone. He then follows with a brief generalization of the aforementioned ratios in East and Southwest Africa, and Egypt. In all cases, the author finds that there is a greater proportion of women in these tribes, and that men are spread irregularly over a large area. He proposes that this higher percentage of women over men is due to artificial causes such as intertribal warfare, slavery, and forced labor, and a lower birth rate. Malcolm describes the three different types of sex-ratio as: primary (sex-ratio of conception), secondary (of birth) and tertiary (of adults).

In the next discussion of secondary sex-ratio in Africa, Malcolm uses statistics from across the globe in comparison with the African findings. The author finds that, in general, there is a higher proportion of female to male births in African (and "colored", as shown in the European statistics) groups, but admits that more research is needed in this area. The final section, written by Parkes, suggests that the reason for this low secondary ratio may be that African women suffer from malnutrition more often than Europeans and it is more difficult to bear a male fetus. The author wishes to give a definitive assessment as to the interrelation of race decline and high masculinity, but can only state that the limiting factor in the rate of increase in a race is the number of fertile females. Because a tribe cannot reproduce any faster than the duration of one pregnancy per woman, an excess of males would not cause a significant increase in population. Parkes also notes that an excess of males would not be a result of natural causes. A situation where there are more men than women, could perhaps even be a contributory cause of racial decline: Parkes gives the example of lab rats, wherein more males caused stress to the point of sterility in the females.

It took me several readings before I could understand what Malcolm and Parkes were doing. I could not see the relevance of listing the ratios of men to women at birth or even at conception (how can one even do that?), and got lost in their numbers and calculations. I now see that the authors are concerned about the cause of racial decline, yet I wonder if these findings were ever used as a tool to manipulate or control the population. If you know how many men there are in a community, you can assess its strength; if the resources in that area are valuable to outside interests, then this data can be used to determine which areas are least likely capable of defense. I do not suggest that the authors intended their research to be used as a colonial weapon; I just believe that with hindsight we must question the purpose and usefulness of such statistics.

CLARITY RANKING: 2

CHRISTINA ZAENKER University of British Columbia (John Barker)

Parsons, Elsie Clews.    Tewa Kin, Clan, and Moiety American Anthropologist 1924, 26:333-339.

This article examines kinship terms among the northern Tewa. However, since this subject has been studied by J.P. Harrington, Parsons focuses on the relation of kinship terms to clan and moiety structures.

In respect to the northern Tewa, except at Taos where there are no clans, kinship terms are also used as clan terms. Persons bearing the same clan name, however, are not thought of as related. And though there are usually three or four clans in each town, "they are mere names, without function, not even regulating marriage." The following are the clan names recorded in 1885: Coral, Earth, Sun, Gopher, Turquoise, Grass, Bear, Lizard, Badger, Calabash, Mountain Lion, Corn, Cottonwood, Cloud, Firewood, Eagle (painted), Stone and Water.

A moiety classification exists among the northern Tewa as a "substitute for clans in the social consciousness." It "exists to a slight extent for ceremonial purposes; but it is quite dissociated from descent." In the Northern Tewa’s two kiva system, "one belongs to the kiva or ceremonial moiety of his father, or parents, since the woman joins the kiva of her husband." Throughout the region, the "kivas are popularly referred to as Turquoise and Squash, and are associated with ideas of summer and winter."

In some towns, there is a tendency to organize activities mostly around clan or moiety principles. For example, at San Ildelfonso, houses are distributed according to moiety affiliation. This does not occur in all cases and, moreover, there are cultural differences, regarding such practices, even between towns that speak the same language.

CLARITY RANKING: 4

ERICA HIDALGO Hawaii Pacific University (Rob Borofsky)

Parsons, Elsie Clews. Tewa Kin, Clan, and Moiety. American Anthropologist, 1924 Vol.26: 333-339.