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American
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Bagby, Philip C. Culture and the Causes of Culture American Anthropologist October, 1953 Vol.55(4):535-554 Philip C. Bagby argues that vague and loose definitions of words may be having detrimental effects on the determination of the causes of culture. He points out that there is an underlying difficulty in cracking the precise meanings of words and the way in which they are commonly used. Bagby states that defining basic concepts more precisely would serve to clarify, and possibly solve, the difficulties in vague and loose word usage. This would in turn simplify, or once again solve, the question of the causes of culture. Bagby begins with a detailed description of science and continues on to describe such words as level and abstraction. He sets the stage for describing, in detail, a precise and homogeneous definition of culture. By understanding the process of science and how terms such as level and abstraction relate to the sciences, one can begin to understand a meaning and definition of culture. Bagby begins with a very broad description of culture and step-by-step describes how the definition is reducible to a single homogeneous description. He employs psychology and anthropology to reduce the description of culture from "what men think, what they do and what they make", to "culture is behavior" (pp.538-539). Bagby is yet to be satisfied. Such greats as Edward Burnett Tylor and Margaret Mead are cited to show difficulties in Bagby’s first description of culture as a behavior. He moves to "culture is similarities of behavior in the members of a particular society", to "culture is regularities of behavior in the members of a particular society" (p.539). Once again, Bagby comes up unsatisfied. The previous description of culture, as he demonstrates in detail, overlaps with physiology and psychology. He states earlier in his article, that if precisely defined, there should not be any overlapping between sciences. Again Bagby describes culture as, "regularities of behavior among the members of particular societies but not among members of all societies" (p. 540). This description, according to Bagby, excludes cultural universals such as language. Finally, with the exclusion of regularities of behavior that are clearly hereditary in origin, Bagby settles on a description of culture that is precise and homogeneous. "The realm of culture, then, is constituted by regularities (other than those which are clearly hereditary) in the behavior of members of particular societies, a society being here defined simply as a group of people who interact with one another more than they do with outsiders" (p. 541). Bagby goes on to remark that the new description may not be fitted to every context, but it does clarify the relationship between cultural anthropology and certain closely related sciences, such as sociology, cultural history, and cultural psychology. Now that the definition of culture has been established, the process of tackling the cause of culture can be undertaken. Prior to excavating the causes, Bagby turns to individual words and their precise and homogeneous meanings. This time he takes a look at what it is that we mean by the word cause. A cause "is an antecedent feature of some recurrent process" (p. 545). When we usually think of a cause, we usually subsume an effect. Bagby cites the philosopher David Hume as saying, "we can never observe any connection or flow between cause and effect; all that we can prove is their recurrence as part of a regularly recurrent sequence of events" (p. 545). In science, the concept of recurrent processes should be utilized in the search for the cause of a particular cultural phenomenon. Bagby goes on to describe in detail several possibilities of culture. Causes such as human nature, physiological structure, race, and environment are stated as being possible causes of culture. These causes cannot explain the differences between cultures, but can explain the similarities among them. Individual behavior is discussed as not being able to cause culture and culture is discussed as not being able to cause human behavior. In no way is Bagby trying to undermine the idea of individualism or the notion of free will. In Philip C. Bagby’s outlining of the precise meanings of words that have caused fuzziness in previous literature, it was easy to recognize the exact usage in the context at hand. The assemblage of meanings and causes of culture tied nicely together; there was no jumping back and fourth. The article pulls information in from a variety of disciplines, such as anthropology, philosophy, psychology and history. Without a previous general knowledge of science and the various disciplines, the context of the article would have been difficult to pick up. Overall, the article was easy to read and understand given a previous general knowledge of science and various disciplines. On a bad note, the length of the article was exhaustive. CLARITY: 4 SARAH M. LITTLE .gif){kind=small} Bagby,
Philip H. Culture and the Causes of Culture. American Anthropologist January,
1953. Vol. 55:535-554. In this article,
the author addresses issues concerning the origins of culture. He
states that although the explicit causes of culture are difficult to
identify, the real problem lies in the weak definition of fundamental
concepts. Bagby suggests that by better defining these
abstract ideas, the ultimate question of what causes culture will at
least be elucidated, if not resolved. He
then proceeds to systematically define three basic abstractions: “level,” “culture,” and “cause.” By giving examples
from other areas of science, Bagby ultimately relates the concept of “level” with
the idea that some classes of abstractions are commensurable while
others are not. He argues that
previous attempts at categorizing subject-matters from various sciences
into larger classes still experienced a degree of incommensurability,
and that the same set of phenomena can yield a number of diverse abstractions
which not necessarily commensurable with one another. Bagby then proceeds
to define “culture.” Beginning with the notion that it is “what men
think, what they do and what they make,” he quickly rejects both material
objects as well as mental events in an effort to achieve a homogeneous
description arguing that behavior is the only entity that can be directly
observed that is meaningful to the anthropologist. He then explicates that it is the similarities
of behavior among individuals that is really significant and ultimately
defines culture as the “regularities of behavior in the members of
a particular society.” These
specific regularities are then contrasted with “regular” behavior in
detail. Finally, Bagby defines “cause” as “an
antecedent feature of some recurrent process.” He justifies this by
stating that the connection between cause and effect can never be directly
observed; rather, the events can only be proven to be part of a sequence
of events that consistently reoccur. Regularities rather than causes
are what should be looked for. Thus, Bagby emphasizes that the concept of
causality has been superseded and that a student of culture should
instead concentrate on describing sequences of principal forms. This article also
stresses that culture can only be explained by other commensurate regularities
and that individual behavior is not a part of the recurrent process
involving culture. Moreover, culture cannot be considered a cause of
individual behavior. Understanding
these concepts, however, will ultimately lead to greater insight into
cultural anthropology. CLARITY RANKING:
4 .gif){kind=small} Bartholomew, George A. Jr. and Joseph B. Birdsell Ecology and the Protohominids American Anthropologist October, 1953 Vol. 55(4):481-498 This article is straight forward look at the ecology of protohominids. It focuses on how the environment would have affected the development of humans and how interspecies relations in other mammals relates to the development of human culture. The beginning of the article deals mostly with the way mammals develop, using some common traits such as defense of territory and population equilibrium to infer how protohominids might have developed. The next section uses common sense in relating knowledge of current species and what is known about current animal species to develop and ecology for australopithecines. The article accounts for that fact that it is most likely that australopithecines only shared the earth with hominids for a very short time period if at all. As for the use of tools it is inferred that australopithecines used tools but only simple rocks with edges. The authors also think about the variety and size of possible food with only the most rudimentary clubs and rocks as weapons. This article uses simple principals and rules that must be followed by any animal in a stable ecological environment and comes to several interesting conclusions that reflect understandings theories of protohominid life. The article was not hard to understand but did require some background in either anthropology or ecology. I found the article particularly interesting as Bartholomew and Birdsell came to many conclusions shared by contemporary paleoanthropologists. CLARITY RANKING: 3 Birdsell Ecology and the Protohominids. American Anthropologist October, 1953 Vol. 55(4): 481-498 This article focuses
primarily on the ecology. Man is clearly defined as first being an
animal and that is how his limits are tested. The
article sets up a historic and logical analysis of man, his origins
and how he relates to others. The article begins
with discussion of mammals. The history of mammals serves as a basis
for the understanding of the origin of other animals. The authors go into detail about the order of primates and how they developed
and they relate the evolution of the mammals to the development of
the protohominid. The social
behavior, food size, population density and territorality, and the
size of the protohominid are discussed and inferences are made about
their origins based on mammals. Next the origins
of the australopithecines are examined. The use of tools for survival, the type of
food they ate, and their social
behavior are examined. Fossils
were used extensively in determining this data and serve as a huge
aid in understanding the australopithecine. The
piece stresses the importance of ecology in the understanding of evolution
and that in our environment every species depends on another. Energy is an important source of the relationships
between the population and its environment. The paper was only
created because of inquiries that have been made about the origin of
species. The article shows that
it is essential to ask questions because only then will people look
for answers. The article was written clearly and the information was
understandable and easy to follow. CLARITY RANKING:
5 MARCELA
CALIDONIO Bennett, Wendell C. Area Archeology American Anthropologist January-March, 1953 Vol.55(1):5-16 The basis of archeology is now exact location of finds, which leads to distribution problems, which then involve regions and area interpretations. Ethnologists are not very concerned with the regional approach as this rarely leads to new theories. Archeology on the other hand, makes many interpretations based on this same approach. The archeologist excavated a site and tried to obtain the most information as possible about that particular site. Interpretations from this information is seldom limited to a single site so the archeologist makes up for this limitation by looking at a number of sites and directing the samples toward regional patterns. A survey of an area is the first step and surface remains or pit excavations are examined to understand the range of the materials found. Stratigraphic excavations then determine the time span of the culture. Many specialists and special field techniques are used to properly collect this information. Many archeologists consider this information necessary as a basis for generalizations to understand past cultures. These generalizations fall into either time or space. Archeology has been said to be limited to material culture and cannot be compared to contemporary ethnological studies because of this. Archeology is not only the study of the remains of past cultures, but also "of ways of life as reflected by these remains"(7). Area studies offer promise for combining archeology and ethnography. The first interest is the nature and size of the unit for area analysis. The most useful units are cultural regions and sub-regions. Various disciplines
are involved in area analysis including geographers, historians, anthropologists,
sociologists, political scientists, economists, psychologists, linguists,
and humanists. These disciplines must merge in the analysis of an area "for
sound regional analysis". Area analysis can be used in archeology
for any region, although some areas are more favorable than others.
Regions of complex cultures are more relevant to archeology. Since
unit sites are limited samples, the area approach is most likely used
when looking at past civilizations. Bennett gives the example of the Bennett gives clear statements regarding area analysis and how it is connected with archeology. He gives an excellent, detailed example of an area that is conducive to archeological study. This article is clear, to the point, and easy to follow. CLARITY: 5 Bennett,
Wendell C. Area Archeology. American Anthropologist,
1953 Vol. 55: 5-16 Bennett’s objective
is to convey the idea that area archeology is extremely important to
ethnography in that it helps anthropologists avoid making sweeping
generalizations about the culture in a certain area if they fail to
analyze every aspect of the culture that makes it what it is. He claims that archaeology is so dependent
on the identification of certain areas that they have been designated
with names such as, Southwest, Plains, Caribbean, and others, and that
ethnologists to date are less concerned with a regional approach and
do not often provide area summaries. His
problem with ethnological generalizations is that they are commonly
extended to include the whole tribe while paying less attention to
details in tribal components, while altogether ignoring the ethnological
findings compared or contrasted with other cultures in the same region. He believes that as anthropological interests
shift from isolated primitive cultures to more complex civilizations,
the area approach becomes more favorable (7). According to Bennett,
regional analysis should be inter-disciplinary and involve the work
of the geographer, historian, anthropologist, sociologist, political
scientist, economist, psychologist, linguist, and humanist (8). He
uses the study of the CLARITY RANKING:
5 Braidwood, Robert Did Man Once Live By Beer Alone? American Anthropologist October, 1953 Vol.55(4):515-526 In this symposium, Robert Braidwood raises an interesting question: which came first, the bread or the beer. He offers an archeological evolution of tools which would point to the development of beer over bread first. A panel of professors subsequently shed further light on this isssue. Professor J.D. Sauer leads the pro-beer first side of the debate by pointing out several indications that beer may have been invented prior to bread. He suggests that the oldest domesticated plant may have been yeast. Sauer also suggests that the methods for growing and containing grains were very primative intitially and would have certainly lead to much fermentation, an integral process in the brewing of beer. Sauer’s argument is that beer was discovered accidentally as a bi-product of the early processes of bread making. Thus, for Sauer, before the process of bread making was finalized and perfected, the process of beer making had already been discovered For the most part, however, the consensus among other professors at the symposium seemed to argue that the process of making beer followed the development of making bread. Hans Helbaek notes that there is ample evidence of an evolutionary schema involved in the development of bread making, whereas such a schema is not existant for beer. Paul Mangelsdorf makes some very convincing arguments about a similar evolutionary schema proposed. He shows that even the earlist forms of bread involved a intermediary processes of heating the grains. This process would have stopped the fermenting process required for the brewing of beer. He argues it was not until leavened bread was developed (requiring both heat and yeast) that the process of brewing beer was discovered. Hugh Cutler protests the idea of Sauer’s that yeast was the first domesticated plant by stating that yeast simply was not domesticated, but a natural element of nature. Carleton Coon points out that porridge was one of the earliest methods of developing bread, which was made by Indians who made no beer. Several other professors comment at the symposium, with the majority response relating to the pro-bread side of the argument. Because this symposium entailed rather brief responses and was more like an open debate than an in depth article, it is somewhat meaningless to critique each individuals response. Also, since the topic at hand is one that is clearly unresolved, it is difficult to evaluate whose evidence seems more convincing or plausible. However, as a general comment, each speaker’s comments were very clear and they combined to make an interesting debate. I found this article intriging and engaging. CLARITY: 5 Castellvi. Father Marcelino deCastellvi. American Anthropologist January—March,
1953 Vol.55(1): 239. This is an obituary
of Father Marcelino de Castellvi, who was the Spanish founder and organizer
of “CILEAC” : Centro de Investigaciones Linguisticas y Ethnologicas
de la Amazonia Colombiana (translation: This obituary gives
very little information about de Castellvi and his work, but the information
it does provide is straightforward. CLARITY: 5 Count, Earl W. Symposium: Do We Need More Becoming Words? American Anthropologist, 1953. 55(1): 395-403. Count begins this
symposium with the statement that the English language contains a far
greater number of words denoting the concept of ‘state’ than it has
for the concept of ‘process’. Expressing
his difficulty in finding the correct words to use in his book on the
evolution of human sociality, he circulated a list of concepts for
which he felt no word in the English language properly addressed. The rest of the article consists of various
responses to his query, as well as Count’s rejoinder. Count lists eight
concepts or processes that he feels are lacking in adequate terminology,
which include the processes of ‘coming into existence’, ‘rendering
precise’, ‘becoming human’, ‘achieving culture’, and ‘creating value’. These elusive concepts, Count posits, suffer
due to a cultural conception centered on ‘being’ as opposed to ‘happening’. Count believes that defining these concepts
will expand our cultural thought patterns and hopefully change our
conception of ‘state’. Many of the responses
can be generalized in saying that the authors believe that Count’s
terms would be better off remaining defined in vernacular phrases rather
than specific new terms. Most responses suggest that the solution
lies in Count’s own phrasing of the concepts in his initial letter,
and warn against developing an “obscure technical jargon”. Count’s rejoinder
insists that his intention was misunderstood, and clarifies the purpose
of his query. The main point
is that the lack of these specific terms in the English language reflects
a specific course of what Count calls “culture-history”, and that he
believes that “Occidental” culture is on the brink of a re-orientation
of thought towards the concept of ‘pure process’, without ‘state’ as
the start or end point. CLARITY: 3. INGRID
BERGER Devereux,
George. Geza Roheim 1891-1953.
American Anthropologist Vol.54: 420. This article summarizes
the contributions of Roheim to the field of anthropology. He
is an important figure because he linked two important fields involved
in studying human behavior and interactions: psychology and anthropology.
After studying at the Universities of Leipzig and CLARITY 3 MOLLY
BYRNES Driver, Harold E. Statistics in Anthropology American Anthropologist January-March, 1953 Vol.55(1):42-59. Harold Driver attempts to explain why anthropology varies from other social sciences such as economics, psychology, and sociology, that put a larger emphasis on the use of statistics and how anthropology has rationalized its position on the use of statistical data in its research. He begins with reasons why it is more difficult for anthropologists to incorporate statistics into their work, starting with the most obvious, that anthropology covers a greater range of subject matter, time, and space than other social sciences. The broadness of anthropology makes it more difficult to apply mathematics to data collected by the anthropologist. He moves on to say, that in cultural anthropology, the lack of quantitative thinking on the part of the peoples we are studying makes it even more difficult to apply statistics to their work. He also notes that in spite of the lack of quantitative expression, anthropological data is important to the other social sciences because it often runs contrary to the generalizations formed by other disciplines about human nature and can be used to test the validity of such statements. Driver provides a brief history of the use of statistics in each field of anthropology in an attempt to show how each field is beginning to devise ways to incorporate statistics into their work. Driver concludes that many anthropologists still believe that those who use mathematics consider it to be a technique which insures them against any error. For this reason alone, Driver feels it is important to begin using more mathematics in anthropology because, "the statistician knows better than anyone else that mere figures are never sufficient, . . . The best criticisms of statistics are made by statisticians" (54-55). In other words, even if anthropologists disapprove of the use of mathematics in research, it is important for them to understand, in order to critique the work of others. However, Driver clearly feels that anthropologists should continue with the trend of applying statistical methods to their fieldwork wherever possible. The brief histories of the use of mathematics in fields of anthropology are well put together and provide the reader with good insight into the origins of statistical data in each field by pointing out who initiated the use of statistics in their work and why. Unfortunately, Driver focuses very little attention on why anthropology has been hesitant to incorporate statistics into their work, and what kind of impact that may have on the discipline of anthropology, which has traditionally shown a preference for qualitative data versus quantitative data in the past. In order to fully digest all of the information provided, it is wise to read this article slowly, bit by bit. CLARITY: 3 Driver, Harold E. Statistics In Anthropology. American Anthropologist 1953 Vol. 55: 42-57 Harold Driver acknowledges
Anthropology as a subject of being of much use to other social sciences
and that it is its broadness and lack of quantitative thinking which
limits its use of statistics. Nevertheless, Driver finds this lack
of statistics to cause anthropological findings to be unreliable. Driver describes
how different areas in Ahtropology, do, however use statistics and
how they vary in how much they rely on them. For example it is physical
anthropology that uses the most statistics, often employing Karl Pearson’s
coefficient of racial likeness. Somatotypologists, similarly have also
depended on statistics to test their objectivity and reliability, and
geneticists have also need knowledge and use of statistics for their
research. In archaeology the
first appearance of mathematics of any kind was in 1817 by Spier. From
then on it has continued using statistics to decide, for example, if
the percentile differences of their findings are real or just a sampling
error. Archeology has used statistics for much of its methodology as
well, like in radiocarbon. Likewise, in linguistics, statistics are
used to analyze relations within a single language and to do comparative
research between languages. Furthermore, contradicting
general belief, Driver states that ethnology and social anthropology
also make use of statistics. For example, Driver determined reliability
and validity of test data for the first time by statistically comparing
data from two informants. Nevertheless, the standards required by statistics
for validity requirements are sometimes impossible to obtain by ethnological
and social anthropological data. For example, Chretien came to the
conclusion that for statistical validation it is safe to use inter-tribal
correlation coefficients based on 500 or more traits; but is in rare
occasions when we could expect to have 500 tribes for one sole research. Although twenty
years ago anthropology avoided statistics – and still continues to
do so, according to Driver – now their use is more frequent and accepted.
Statistics are now recognized as a helpful tool to gather accurate
data and Driver argues, could be even of more use if anthropologist
decided to take them into consideration. Moreover, if research is prepared
with the preconceived idea of the use of statistics, the data gathered
could be analyzed and interpreted more easily through statistics. Nevertheless,
it should be understand that it should not take precedence over any
other method that could be more suitable depending on the situation. CLARITY RANKING:
3 Dyson, Robert
H. Jr. Archeology and the Domestication of
Animals in the Dyson’s objective is to discuss the origin of domestic animals during the Neolithic Revolution. A domestic animal is identified in two ways, " first a domestic animal may be defined ‘culturally’, as one which breeds in captivity and is of some significant use to a community" (661). Secondly, a domestic animal may be defined osteologically as "demonstrable by the morphology of the bones themselves…it necessarily follows cultural domestication in time" (661). The author characterizes these animals as domestic by " the fact that an animal is controlled and utilized" (661). The author discusses domestication of four animals in the Near East, cattle, pig, sheep, and goat. The animals’ introduction spread the idea of domestication through the Old World in two ways: " (1) as an idea which was applied either to the wild relatives of already domesticated animals or to entirely new species, and (2) as a movement of the animals themselves into areas formerly unoccupied by them or into areas inhabited by their wild relatives" (670). In a brief summary,
Dyson stated that, "it would be unrealistic to infer that all
domestic animals in the Old World had to be derived from the This article was very interesting, but it became confusing when the detailed description of all the different types of species of animals was listed. The detailed description of each animal could have been just as effective if it was shorter. The author’s main objective was concluded, however there was no sound evidence given if the four species mentioned were the only domesticated animals. CLARITY RANKING: 2 Dyson,
Robert H. Archeology and the Domestication of Animals
in the Archeology and the
Domestication of Animals in the The origination
of the cattle, sheep/goat and the pig is pretty clear between the archeologist
and the zoologist, according to Dyson. The Neolithic economy is based partly on
the domestication of these animals, which first developed in the The origins of the
domestic pig can be found in the Karim Shahir, Jarmo, Anau and The problem is even
more complex in the case of the sheep. It was first thought that there was a single
origin for all sheep, but this theory was no longer valid. There ended up being several different types
of sheep that originated from different areas. For example, it is known that the earliest
domestic sheep appeared to be from the The goat is known
to be present in many prehistoric eras but has not been reported on
very well, so is commonly included with the sheep references as an
alternate identification for some information. Other animals, such as the horse, camel elephant,
water buffalo, and chicken were introduced much later in the second
millennium B.C. Also, not only
did animals originate from the Near East, but from all over the world,
including many areas around Europe and Consequently, the
domestication of animals first began in the CLARITY: 3 YUMI
CHO Edel,
Abraham. Some Relations of Philosophy and Anthropology. American Anthropologist December
1953 Vol.55 (5):649-660. As the title clearly
explains, Abraham Edel explores the relationship between philosophy
and anthropology. In this article,
Edel groups philosophy with all the other sciences in order to represent
anthropology as a separate category. As anthropology becomes more systematic,
Edel points out, philosophy must be called upon more and more often
to meet the demands of understanding human nature. At
the same time, anthropology may be increasingly called into service
for those trying to reach solutions to philosophical questions. In five sections, Edel defines the sciences,
uses the example of morality in society to illuminate the relationship,
and describes the method in answering anthropological questions and
how philosophy relates. According to Edel,
anthropology has a logical advantage over the other sciences as it
deals with small groups of relatively homogenous peoples. This description is the movement towards
a more systematic theory of social interaction and means of allocating
value. The paradox of anthropology
is the constant change amongst the peoples being studied. What philosophy contributes is an anchored
perspective of human nature; Edel describes philosophy as ‘old’ and
consisting of a history that is absent in anthropology. The change that
occurs in anthropology is described in Edel’s own special field of
inquiry, the treatment of morality. Edel
argues that at present, morality acts as a reference point of those
peoples and institutions that determine society’s moral code. This mirrored reflection has become a way
of describing people. However,
it is only through a psychological or philosophical analysis of the
systematic social or cultural structure that will be able to frame
the question of human nature. Edel’s analysis
of the relationship is further expressed through the methodology of
understanding a philosophical proposal. According to Edel, it would take a set of
various biological, psychological “givens” that individualizes the
conditions. It would also require
an exploration of scope and a “mode of operation” that include limitations
and pressures on the principle factors. While
the framing is conducted through philosophy, it is through anthropological
skills and methods that will actually reach any conclusions. CLARITY RATING:
3 KORWIN
CHIU Eggan,
Fred Karl Schmitt, 1915-1952 American
Anthropologist 1953 Vol.55: 237-239 In his obituary
of Karl Schmitt, Fred Eggan outlines the life and career path, to date,
of the deceased. Karl Schmitt was just beginning of what promised
to be an outstanding career in anthropology when his car collided with
a train, killing him at the age of 37. Karl's career began as
a kid when he took an interest in Indian artifacts found close to his
home in After spending a
summer on an archaeological excavation, Schmitt entered the Schmitt served as
a member of a number of archaeological excavations before he was inducted
into the army not long after receiving his M.A. After leaving the air
force Schmitt, returned to the The papers that
Karl Schmitt published show the range of his interests. CLARITY: 5 Elkin, A.P. Murgnin Kinship Re-examined, and Remarks on Some Generalizations American Anthropologist August, 1953 Vol.55(3):412-419 A.P. Elkin wrote this article in order that the importance of re-examination of societal studies might be known. Specifically, in looking at Australian tribal societies, he takes already published studies, and searches for the informants, in order to see what kind of changes the society has undergone, what the causality of such changes might be, and to correct any errors or oversights that may have been committed. In order to accomplish this task, Elkin revisited the site of genealogy research done by Laurence and Murdock, and sought out their "eighth line". In the paper, Elkin shows a genealogy chart, showing the many and varied types of relationships. He also discusses complications to the genealogy that present themselves in the form of "alternative marriages," additional marriages, and terminology that uses the same word, but does not have the same meaning to each party (reciprocity). These degrees of variation in terminology, and the effect of subsections and division by moiety amongst the Murgnin, caused the initial genealogy to be slightly flawed in its interpretation. In its great complexity, it was misread by a Mr. Webb (discussed in Lawrence and Murdock’s paper), and the importance of the subsections and matrilineal descent missed or ignored by Radcliffe-Brown. The discussion by
Elkin of the various relations and their relative positions on the
genealogy show a clear example of how language creates a framework
for understanding culture. Without a knowledge of the word meanings
within the context of language, the genealogy is simply too confusing
to break down. Elkin shows this as he describes the relationships. "Thus
while the son of my It should be clear from this passage that the text was extremely difficult to dissect. However, the remarks at the end were a bit more manageable. The author uses his comments on the generalizations made by previous anthropologists to show that while they may be true for some cases, they are indeed not true for all. Specifically, Radcliffe-Brown’s notion that all tribal Australian societies were patrilineal, and ideas of reciprocal kinship divided into moieties may have been true for some societies, but as Warner and Lawrence showed, and Elkin concurred, not all societies are the same, and generalizations can never be made to be all inclusive. CLARITY RANKING: 3 Elkin,
A.P. Murngin Kinship Re-Examined, and Remarks
on Some Generalizations. American Anthropologist August, 1953 Vol.55(3):412-419. The Murngin are
a group of clans inhabiting the Milingimbi, or the Examination of this
seemingly complex social structure has been performed historically
by several individuals including Professor W. L. Warner in 1926-29,
Mr. Lawrence and Professor Murdock two decades later, and Radcliffe-Brown
in 1951. Elkin, himself, visited the region with the goal of settling
the conflicting reports in 1949. Elkin reports that
determining the social structure of this group was not difficult due
to the good quality of information collected through both genealogy
recording and discussion. He proposes that others, namely Mr. Webb,
may have falsely identified patrilineal lines in the past as a result
of the allowed alternative marriages, which can be misleading. Additionally,
each term has a reciprocal and this may also lead to confusion. Elkin
presents his conclusions in, what he identifies as, his field chart,
which shows a generic genealogy, and ends by supporting Mr. Warner
whose work he has reaffirmed. Elkin then proceeds
to comment on generalizations, some of which have been made by his
colleagues. He here reiterates the difficulties presented by the existence
of allowed alternative marriages as well as reciprocal relationships,
which make wide scale generalization problematical. He also disputes
the generalization made by Radcliffe-Brown concerning the universality
of patrilineal groups in Elkin’s own work
is premised on the on the conflictual accounts of Mr. Webb and Mr.
Warner, which he clarifies. However, although Elkin elucidates the
patrilineal lines of descent of the Murngin, he also demonstrates the
complexity of their marital system and suggests that further research
be done in this area. CLARITY RANKING:
2 LAUREN
D. BLOOM Emory, Kenneth P. A Program for Polynesian Archeology. American Anthropogist. October, 1953. Vol.55:752-755 The author’s objective is to explain details about Polynesian archeology. He begins by stating that archeologists have gathered quite a bit of material about the people and culture of this area. Trying to find a significant historical explanation will help archeologists reconstruct the history. This reconstruction can only be done if they can gather information about the first settler’s culture. Up to the 1950’s, the research has only been done with the collection of bones, stones and shell artifacts and some on the surface structures. With all of the information collected, archeologists can give us a "potential range of 1,000 years that we may be able to penetrate Polynesian history" (752). The author then
states that much pioneer work has already been accomplished. In Emory then goes
into very little about the theories of the origin of the settler’s
before explaining what archeologists still need. He notes that information
deduced from Overall, this article is very explanatory and descriptive. While it is well written, it is very boring because the content is uninteresting. This article is easy to read and is short in length. Archeologists will find this article intriguing. CLARITY RANKING: 4 Evans-Pritchard, E. E. The Nuer Conception of Spirit in its Relation to the Social Order. American Anthropologist April-June, 1953 Vol.55(2):201-214. In Evans-Pritchard's essay he presents an extensive amount of information, which supports the purpose of his paper, that the Nuer conception of spirit relates to the social order. The author lays out his evidence by first defining the concept of the Nuers' general word for spirit, which is kwoth. After kwoth is defined, Evans-Pritchard goes on to explain how the spiritual figures are regarded as social refractions of God. The author provides two main detailed examples, which clearly support this statement. The first example is a brief, but detailed summary of a religious ceremony in which speakers talk of many spirits. After this first example, Evans-Pritchard explains each spirit mentioned as a specific patron of local communities. The second example is also the account of another religious ceremony in which only one spirit, the spirit as a conception of God and oneness, is mentioned. Following the lay out of these two examples, the author recaps the main idea that attachment of spiritual figures to social groups is indicated in various ways but mostly through ceremony. Also, he points out that the spiritual figures play different roles according to the context in which they are being used. The last half of Evans-Pritchard's evidence accounts for the comparison between the social order hierarchy and the spiritual order hierarchy and the accounts of borrowing spiritual names. The author, with an example, clearly shows the relation and similarities that the social and spiritual orders have. After providing evidence of this relationship, Evans-Pritchard explains that kwoth in itself is a structural dimension because it entails phenomena, great and terrible happenings such as famine and moral order, which are all attributed to God. He presents the notion the information of a spiritual hierarchy with his knowing that the Neurs have multiple levels of gods. The author accounts for the borrowing of spiritual concepts and ideas because of the geographic location and contact with other cultures. Evans-Pritchard, along with this concept of diffusion, explains the two sides of borrowing as that of opportunity and need. He uses examples to further explain this notion. Finally in his concluding statements, Evans-Pritchard reiterates the spiritual refractions as corresponding to social activity. The author, throughout his essay, fully elaborates his ideas with clear, easy to picture examples. The vocabulary is basic and his stories as well as his notions are well worded. Because Evans-Pritchard fulfills his purpose, to explain the relation of social order with the Nuer conception of spirit with evidence that is easily comprehended, he makes his essay enlightening and enjoyable. CLARITY RANKING: 5 Evans-Pritchard, E. E. The Nuer Conception of Spirit in it’s Relation to the Social Order. American Anthropologist 1953 Vol.55 201-214. In this article,
Pritchard sets out to define the meaning of Kwoth, Spirit, in
relation to the social order of the Nuer society. Kwoth, in
general means spirit, but it can mean different spirits when used in
different contexts. There is kwoth a nhial, Spirit of the sky
or also God, kuth dwanga, the spirits of the air, and col
wic, spirits of the souls of those killed by lightning. The rest
are considered spirits of the below: totemic spirits and nature spirits.
All of these however can be referred to as kwoth, spirit The problem that
arises here when one is trying to translate certain instances within
the Nuer society. To the Nuer they understand what they are talking
about, and in what context they are talking when referring to kwoth. It
is the reader who has a hard time grasping in what context the term kwoth is
being used. Pritchard tries
to explain through examples the different ways in which kwoth is
used, and how its meaning is understood. It is easier to look at the
particular spirits as different representations of God, in relation
to certain activities, events, persons, and groups. Spirit can be seen
at different levels and experiences. There is the spirit as in itself,
God. Then there is the spirit in persons, those spirits that fall from
the sky and possess a person’s body. The person then becomes a prophet
and owns the spirit within it, taking part in social groups and activities.
There are also the spirits in creatures and things. These are spirits
in the lowest forms. Spirit therefore
is seen as both outside social order and inside social order in the
Nuer society. On one end there is God, who there is no control over.
Then there are those refractions such as nature, society, and culture,
which they have some say in. CLARITY RANKING:
3 Fortes,
Meyer. The structure of Unilineal Descent Groups. American Anthropologist January-March, 1925 Vol.
27(1): 17-.41 This article mainly
focuses on The author writes
a great deal about Malinowski and his contributions and influence on
the work of British anthropologists. He claims that the main theoretical influence
behind the work done by these British anthropologists is Malinowski’s “functional” theory. Malinowski
basically thought of culture in terms of utilitarian philosophy in
which individuals use culture to satisfy universal needs by attaining
culturally defined ends. Fortes
stresses the importance of Malinowski’s work and how he has shown anthropologists
of his time period how intensive field work can and must be done. Although Fortes feels that Malinowski is
a great contributor to social anthropology in many ways, he also feels
that Malinowski lacked insight for some aspects of the field. He believes that Malinowski had no real understanding
of kinship or political organization and as a result was blinded to
a lot of the concepts such as the kinship terms. Using the African
societies, which he refers to as unilineal descent groups, or lineage
systems, Fortes exemplifies the many concepts of cultures that anthropologists
such as Malinowski failed to see. He focuses on the development and persistence
of African societies and how they are based upon the principles of
the concept of unilineal descent groups. Using
other anthropologists’ ideas and theories, he implies that the poverty
of habitat and of productive technology tend to inhibit the development
of unilineal descent groups by limiting the scale and stability of
their settlement. However, he
also shows evidence that when modern developments are introduced, these
groups tend to break up. Fortes
emphasizes that the key to the survival of these unilineal descent
groups in Fortes talks about
the strong points of these African societies but also discusses the
dangers. He says that a society
made up of corporate lineages is always in danger of splitting into
rival lineage factions. However,
there are ways to prevent this, one of which is by extending the lineage
framework to the widest range within which sanctions exist for preventing
conflicts and disputes from ending in feud or warfare. He
uses the examples of the Gusii, Nuer the Tiv and the Beduin to illustrate
cultures that use this method. Another
method is for the common interest of the political community to be
asserted periodically to counter the private interest of the component
lineages. Examples of cultures
that practice this method are the Tallensi and the Yako. Because the author
goes very much in depth on this topic using an immense amount of data
collected by various anthropologists of the past and during his time
period, it would be impossible to include all his points in a short
summary. Overall, Fortes does
a fairly good job of incorporating data analysis and theories to show
the strengths of the survival tactics of African unilineal descent
groups. He portrays these groups to be strong, persistent
and enduring people who through time have used their kinship ties and
corporate groups to survive as distinct cultural groups who have served
as good research subjects for British anthropologists. CLARITY:3 HANNAH
AHN Foster, George M. What is Folk Culture? American Anthropologist April-June,1953 Vol.55(2):159-173 During the past generation folk culture has been described as neither "primitive" or "civilized" but somewhere in between. This description is due to an anthropologist, Redfield, who says that folk cultures are simple cultures that are the opposite of an urban society. Foster’s article discusses the limitations of Redfield’s approach, and suggests "an alternative concept of folk culture which seems better to fit the facts of real societies as described by anthropologists" (159). Redfield sees folk societies as small, isolated, and nearly self-sufficient groups that are homogeneous regarding race and custom. Individuals are closely interdependent, technology is simple, and there is little division of labor. He says these groups are relatively immobile, and member habits correspond to custom. Redfield sees societies as either urban or non-urban. Foster has three main problems with this view. First, the view mixes all groups of non-urban people together, no matter how "primitive" they are, or where they live in the world. Redfield also uses the terms "primitive" and "folk" synonymously. Second, "this view presupposes that all human society must have been ‘folk’ until the beginnings of city life which, over an ever-increasing area incroaches upon and destroys folk culture" (162). Third, this concept of polar types makes it difficult to analyze folk culture in the city. Foster sees folk societies not as whole societies that are isolated, but rather as half-societies, or parts of larger social units like nations. A folk society is a component of the nation, and is in a symbiotic spacial-temporal relationship with the more complex nation. To describe folk cultures, one must know the history, structure, and content of the larger national cultures. Foster points out that folk cultures have had constant contact with civilization. Most of the significant elements of folk culture have filtered down from sophisticated cultures centuries earlier. Folk cultures simply reworked them to make them fit their needs. Most of these elements are considered folk instead of deriving from advanced cultures because they are not widely used anymore in the centers that developed them. For example, modern Hispanic folk villages employ the grid-pattern in their towns that was originally a colonial Spanish design, and many of the herbs used in Latin American folk medicine were used by Spanish physicians in the 16th century. Of course, not all elements are borrowed, and folk cultures even influence elements of non-folk culture. American square dancing derived from folk entertainment. Foster concludes by saying that folk culture is a more common way of life than a complete culture, and that they exist today in areas that are not highly industrialized. Finally, he says that folk cultures will lose their qualities as they are integrated with industrial societies. This article is well written and easy to understand with the exception of the first few pages, where too many other anthropologists’ viewpoints are expressed. CLARITY: 5 Foster, George M. What is Folk Culture? American Anthropologist 1953 Vol 55: 159-173. In his article ‘What
is Folk Culture?’ Foster discusses Redfield’s definition of folk-culture
and folk-society and its effect on other anthropologists’ studies.
He points out the inherent limitations in Redfield’s hypothesis and
proposes an alternative concept of folk-culture. Redfield’s folk-society
is an ideal, mental construction of all the typical characteristics
a folk-society may possess: small, isolated, homogenous in race and
custom, closely interdependent, family based institutions, ritual is
well developed and relied on. This definition creates a ‘polarity’ in
defining urban societies and thus creates a linear scale for anything
in between. Foster compares
Redfield’s concept to Durkheim’s horde and Tonnies’ Gemeinschaft.
He points to the shortcomings of unilinear theories when applied to
existing societies. He gives examples of Guatemalan Indian villages
and West African urban centers, which function as urban societies and
folk society respectively, in complete contradiction to the linear
concept. Foster then proposes
his concept: folk societies are integral parts of the larger, pre-industrial
society, existing interdependently and interactively with it. He examines
pre-industrial He concludes, that
folk culture appeared with the urban revolution and the ‘folk-stratum’ existed
in the pre-industrial society in rural and urban settings. With higher
degrees of industrialization the folk-cultures are disappearing or
assimilating into the industrial society and cannot sustain their existence. CLARITY 3 Gillin,
John. Ralph Linton, 1893-1953. American Anthropologist, 1953. Vol. 56:
274-280. Ralph Linton, Sterling
Professor of Anthropology at He was born on February
27, 1893 in Linton spent the
first sixteen years of his career as a field archeologist and museum
anthropologist, interests he continued to pursue upon entering academic
life by maintaining his museum associations and field involvement. His
extensive field experience influenced his anthropological interests,
eventually focused on psycho-social cultural influences. He
published a number of works with this concern including The Study of
Man, An Introduction. His ability
to synthesize ideas and recall esoteric fact is exemplified in this
volume. The Study of Mane, as other publications,
allowed for his creation of new theories bolstered by a variety of
cross discipline theory and physical evidence. It
was such unfettered insight and original construct of thought that
led his attaining an unprecedented number of awards. These awards included being named a Viking
Fund Medalist, receiving the Huxley Medal of the Royal Anthropological
Institute of Great Britain and Linton’s death,
on December 24, 1953, due to one in a series of heart attacks did not
impact his contributions to the field as both a personality and academic. The
commendations he received prove his lifetime achievements. His
essays and books are testament to his articulate use of “simple English” and
moderate words attested to by the author’s personal knowledge. His
clarity will continue to survive in his mediating theories and serve
to elucidate the unusual, interdisciplinary perceptions he applied
to both life and anthropology. Neither his words, nor record of his subsequent
awards, will be lost; leaving Linton's contributions to withstand time. CLARITY: 4 SUZANNE
DEMAS, Gilmore, Harry
W. Habits of the Early The author's objective
is to list and describe the various animals with which made up the
diet of the Nevada Paiutes, and the methods by which each distinct
animal was caught. The lakes and "small, snow-fed rivers" were
responsible for the abundance of animal life within the Deer and antelope were caught by following their tracks from a local watering hole and shooting them with arrows with "the deadly venom obtained from rattlesnakes" (148). After a direct hit, the hunter signaled home to bring horses to carry back his prey, which was "jerked and dried in little strings" for later consumption (148). Mountain goats were an important animal used for food. The method of capture entailed goat drives. These goat drives consisted of many hunters spread over a wide territory, "closing in gradually as they moved toward the corral" (149). Goat drives included tremendous amounts of planning and hard work, and were reserved for special occasions decided by the local medicine men. Mountain streams are a common gathering place for sage hens, and many hunters constructed blinds near these places for easy access. The Paiute Indians would shoot the leader of the flock which was "permitted to die before the next arrow was fired" (150). After each bird died, another was shot until enough birds were left over to produce young for the next season. Bone-hooks were used in catching both geese and fish. Geese were fed cracked nuts containing these hooks, which enabled the hunters to very easily capture a large number of geese. Swans were also caught in this manner, but their meat was considered a delicacy, as opposed to the geese which was thought to have tasted like fish. Finally, rabbits and squirrels were an important source of nutrition for the Nevada Paiute. Rabbits were caught using either a 3000 foot net made of hemp or by using a bow and arrow. Ground squirrels were drowned out of their holes made for their young, and when escape attempts were made, dogs were used to catch them. Both rabbits and squirrels were eaten either fresh or dried. The author provides an extensive list of the many animals hunted and the specific methods for hunting each animal. However, ways in which these methods define Paiute culture, and a poorly defined thesis makes for a dull read. CLARITY RANKING: 1 Gulick, John. The In this article,
Gulick attempts to show how Lebanese villages are arranged, primarily
in regard to kinship ties. He starts off by describing the area of
his particular study in the nation of Gulick describes how lineages are determined and also presents the differences between matrilateral and patrilateral kin. He reports that different village groups have different ways to determine who should marry together in the society. In some groups, usually certain Islamic sects, the first patrilateral cousins are allowed, even encouraged, to marry. However, in some Christian Arab communities, first cousins are not allowed to marry at all, whether matrilateral or patrilateral. In rare instances, some matrilateral first cousins have been married, but only after having an "episcopal dispensation", that is, approval by the bishop. Gulick states that in the majority of Lebanese villages, family/community ties are very strong. People very often regard themselves as members of the same family. In one particular group that he studied, each family was able to trace their ancestors back to a common one. Gulick also defines certain terms of kinship such as sihr and ‘amm. Sihr is the name a male calls a man from his own generation who marries a woman in the first man’s lineage, or a man who marries the first man’s matrilineal first cousin. It can also be used by a male to refer to any man who marries a woman in the first man’s own village. ‘Amm is used to refer to a father’s brother. It is also used to refer to the father of one’s spouse. This is likely because it is common for one’s spouse’s father to be one’s uncle. Gulick states that the "Lebanese village as a type of kinship structure may be defined as an endogamous local group which is segmented into patrilineages which are preferably endogamous but often exogamous in practice" (emphasis in original, 371). Gulick briefly discusses how religion and "devotion to the land" affect village structure and interactions. He sates that a shared religion helps to keep peace between neighboring villages, while groups that differ in religious beliefs have more of a tendency to hostile behavior and suspicion. Gulick also briefly discusses the issue of p |
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