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American
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Ames, David. The Use of a Traditional Cloth-Money Token among the Wolof. American Anthropologist October, 1955 Vol. 57 ( 5):1016-1023. This article discusses
the different uses of cloth money in different areas of Africa, mainly On the third page
of the article, the author lays out a graph of how the cloth money
was "measured" economically. The exchange rate between the
cloth and "paper money" as well as a price listing of certain
items, such as grain, cows, roosters, etc., and their monetary value
was illustrated. Cloth money was not just used within the Wolof community,
but was also used in external trade (1019). It could be used to buy
materials in other areas, such as Serahuli, Fula, and Bambara. After
the Europeans invaded CLARITY: 3 JESSICA SAVAGE: .gif){kind=small} Arensberg, Conrad. American Communities. American Anthropologist. December, 1955 Vol. 57 (6):1143-1161. Conrad M. Arensberg,
a professor from After discussing
the elements of a culture, Arensberg discusses historical communities
in the CLARITY: 3 KELLY GILFEATHER: Berndt, Ronald M. "Murngin" (Wulamba) Social Organization. American Anthropologist February, 1955 Vol. 57 (1): 84-105. Berndt sets out
in this article to discuss the "Murngin" (Wulamba) kinship
system and social organization of north central and northeastern Arnhem
Land, in Berndt is a structural functionalist who believes that the mode of social organization, in this case a kinship system, is what allows the Wulamba to reproduce and survive as a society. Their society is guided by the principles of unilineal descent. The kinship system of the Wulamba is an asymmetrical system, which is based on marriage with a matri-cross-cousin. Using the diagram first shown in the work of Radcliffe-Brown, the lines of patrilineal descent are shown vertically, while the lines of matrilineal descent are shown diagonally. Females in the system do not inherit or transmit the status of their descent, however they serve as an agent or link in the passing down of status and privilege through their matri-line. There is great detail given to the specific structure of the Wulamba kinship system, but in summary, Berndtís goal is to show how marriage alliances are a means of creating social cohesion within their society. In his conclusion, Berndt does respond to other authorís ideas on the social organization of the Wulamba. He, however, concludes with the statement that there is a need for even more empirical testing to understand the full extent to which kinship and marriage are used to govern the society. CLARITY: 3 Berreman, Gerald
D. Inquiry into Community Integration
in an Berreman hypothesizes
that when a community is forced to rapidly adapt to an alien culture
without the use of its own cultural context, it will suffer from a
decrease of integration. He analyzes the factors that have contributed
to community integration and disintegration of the Nikolski village
on American purchase
of CLARITY: 4 .gif){kind=small} Berreman, Gerald
D. Inquiry into Community Integration in
an The primary objective
of this article is the exploration of community "integration" and "disintegration",
which the author feels is a relatively neglected area of anthropological
community studies. Gerald Berreman’s main focus is on ‘Nikolski’, which
is an Aleut village, located in Prior to contact
with the "white man", Berreman describes an "emphasis
upon self-sufficiency, supplemented by co-operation, reciprocal aid
and mutual responsibility" (p49), which provided the people of
Nikolski with maximum economic security. Contact between
the Aleut and "whites" can be classified into two main periods.
Contact with the Russians was made between 1759-1867, and then followed
by the Americans. The author mainly wishes to emphasize that Russian
contact with the Aleut culture was less disruptive in comparison to
contact with the Americans. According to Berreman, Russian contact
allowed for "selective assimilation" and "integration",
whereas American contact has resulted in "assimilation" and "disintegration",
for various reasons described throughout this article in detail. The
end result has been an ideological split amongst the villagers of Nikolski,
which Berreman divides into and describes as being "outside-oriented" and "village
oriented". Berreman concludes
by stating that, "…persistently attempted projection to an unprecedented,
alien context, if it cannot be achieved by community members within
their community, is disintegrative to that community" (p 58).
Berreman suggests that further community studies related to "integration" and "disintegration" be
made in the context of anthropological work. CLARITY RANKING:
5 Bohannan, Paul. Some
Principles of Exchange and Investment Among the Tiv. American
Anthropologist 1955 Vol.57:60-70 This article is
a brief introduction to the exchange and investment practices amongst
the Tiv. The Tive are a pagan people numbering over 800,000 who live
in northern Bohannan splits
his article into three parts. The first part is all about how the Tiv
ideas of exchange are expressed in their language. There are two different
ways that goods are distributed amongst the Tiv: through "gift" and "market".
Gifts mark a somewhat permanent relationship whereas the market calls
upon no long-term relationship. In the second section, Bohannan goes
into the categories of the investment and exchange items. Food is the
most important category of exchangeable goods. This category is associated
with subsistence. Then comes the exchanging of cattle and slaves. This
category is associated with prestige. The third category is the exchange
of humans rights of slaves and women. Bohannan tries to emphasize that
the Tiv notions of "exchange" only covers a little part of
the large range to which the English word "exchange" means.
Bohannan also heavily emphasizes that the element of kinship is far
superior to the element of prestige to the Tiv. This is an example
of the moral basis of hierarchy that occurs amongst the Tiv. The third
part of Bohannan’s article discusses the difficulties the Tiv are experiencing
while trying to adapt to some of the new economic practices. Two of
the three categories according to the Tiv have no overt validity to
the Western economy. Furthermore, the introduction of money has created
an upraor towards the Tiv practices of "exchange". Tiv have
a hard time accepting money because, unlike food, money does not produce
seed or reproduce itself - once you spend it, it is gone. This article is
very interesting because it is a clear example of the conflicting practices,
ideas and beliefs regarding exchange and investment. Bohannan emphasizes
that the meaning of these words are not universal. CLARITY RANKING:
5 RIE KOREEDA: Broom, Leonard
and Kitsuse, John I. The Validation of Acculturation:
A Condition to Ethnic Assimilation. American Anthropologist 1955
Vol. 57: 44-48 Broom and Kitsuse
are explaining how a culture assimilates into a new society. Specifically,
analyzing what obstacles may hinder that assimilation. The example
used is the acculturation of Japanese society into American society,
where acculturation is defined as the ultimate assimilation into a
society. Access to dominant societies such as The validation of
acculturation must take place in the host society. It cannot take place
in the ethnic community of that society. Validation is acceptance and,
for the best outcome it must take place where the dominant society
is widespread. There exist varying degrees of acculturation. Parallel Ethnic
Community is also discussed in this article. It is the organizations
and institutions of an ethnic community within a society taking on
the institutional roles of the larger society. This parallelism is
important in three regards. First, it reduces some stresses of interethnic
situations therefore allowing for acculturation under accommodating
circumstances. Second, it will allow acculturation for individuals
who are relatively isolated within their ethnic group. Finally, it
will legitimize the status of the ethnic community in question. For racially visible
groups, acculturation does not guarantee acceptance into the society.
Acceptance may take a significantly longer period of time for them.
This ethnic group becomes slowed by its society’s unwillingness to
accept them based on racial exclusion. CLARITY: 4 Bruner, Edward M. Two Processes of Change in Mandan-Hidatsa Kinship Terminology. American Anthropologist August, 1955 Vol.57 (4):840-850. Edward Bruner tackles
the process of kinship change in a Mandan-Hidatsa Indian village in The two processes that accompany kinship change are: (1) a slow, orderly, and progressive modification; and (2) a more radical, abrupt jump from one kinship system to another. An Indian who has converted, "embraces a new way of life and comes to internalize a set of goals and values which are incongruent with the Crow lineage system" (846). The Crow system emphasizes older societal values. The Crow kinship "provides the means for mutual aid and cooperation in the village" (847). Those who choose to convert become more individualistic. Few converted Indians remain in Lone Hill. This departure from the area explains the "retention of traditional Indian ways" (847). Those that do remain serve as a source of change in the Crow kinship system. CLARITY: 2 LISA BAER: Cory, H. The Buswezi. American Anthropologist. October, 1955. Vol. 57 (5):923-952. The Buswezi is a
secret society with branches widespread throughout what was previously
called CLARITY RANKING: 5 Davis, Hilda J. The History of Seminole Clothing and Its Multi-Colored Designs. American Anthropology, 1955. 57 pg. 974-980 This article by The designs for
these clothes were made from memory and there aren't any design patterns
that have been discovered. Also women can change the designs to make
new ones. There were several different patterns used to make the clothing
and these were sewed together to make the new clothes. These clothes
are not only used as clothing for a family but also as a means of income
for the Seminoles. CLARITY 4 Du Bois, Cora. The Dominant Value Profile of American Culture. American Anthropologist December, 1955 Vol. 57 (6):1232-1239. This paper attempts to manufacture and standardize the approach on American values advanced by a group of writers from De Tocqueville through Myrdal to the authors of the polemic or conversational pieces that have been so numerous in the last decade. It solely addresses the dominant value system in middle-class Americans. Du Bois makes the general assumption that this system is rooted in the Protestant ethic and eighteenth-century rationalism. She justifies this piece of work by saying that this system shares some specific values with other societies, but its configuration has become considered peculiarly American. Du Bois makes two basic overall assumptions. Firstly, that no feasible value system can entertain logical contraries and secondly, that there is a strain for consistency among the contradictions that may be inherent in any value system. Du Bois believes that four major notions underlie the American middle-class value system: (1) a mechanistically conceived universe, (2) man’s mastery over the universe, (3) the equality of men, and (4) man’s perfectibility. Du Bois suggests three focal values for these four premises: (1) effort-optimism, (2) material well-being, and (3) conformity. Du Bois concludes that each of these three focal values are derived from each of the four major notions, each constitutes a series of specific values and directives, and each are more or less consistently interlocked. Du Bois also concludes that the viability of a value system rest on both its internal and external coherence. "Changes in value systems will result, therefore, from a strain for consistency not only within the value system but also between values and situational factors" (1239). CLARITY: 4 SIMON BUSTOW: Du Bois, Cora. The Dominant Value Profile of American Culture. American Anthropologist 1955 Vol.57: 1232-1239. There is an effort
to bring consistency to the American value system, and this effort
might just account to its change over the last few hundred years. We
see this strain in change itself and in compromise. There are four premises
assumed by the American middle class: 1) the universe is mechanistically
conceived, 2) man is its master, 3) men are equal, and 4) men are perfectible.
These four premises create three crucial values: material well-being
that derives from the premise tat man is master of a mechanistic universe;
conformity that derives from the premise of man’s equality; effort-optimism
that derives form the premise of man’s perfectibility. Within Effort-Optimism,
we see that work in a specific value in American society. It is through
this value that man tries to reach his own perfectibility and also
the mastering of the universe that we have created. American work hard
to have ‘fun’. Material Well-Being
is consistent within the value system. Americans believe they have
a ‘right’ to this, because of the effort they put into work. Conformity is a
more recent crucial American value that has been brought about, in
comparison to effort-optimism and material well-being. Man must get
along and co-operate with his fellow man in order to master the universe.
Co-operation is an important value system now. All three of these focal
values lead to mass-education. The three values
which were discussed above derive from the four basic premises that
were stated earlier. A change in this value system will come from a
continued effort for consistency within the value system. CLARITY RANKING:
3 Ehrenfels, U.
R. Three Matrilineal Groups of In his article, "Three
Matrilineal Groups of Assam," U.R. Ehrenfels discusses the similarities
and differences between the Khasis, Lygngam-Khasis and Garos of Assam, After presenting
the general problem between the three groups and briefly explaining
how the background of each complicates the issue further, Ehrenfels
shows how each group had an impact on the Lygngam-Khasis people. The
ancestry of the Lygngam-Khasis people contains both Khasis and Garos
origins; in addition, the Lygngam-Khasis group is located between the
two other groups. Because of these factors Ehrenfels explains the problem
from a Lygngam-Khasis perspective because they are affected the most
from the similarities and differences between each group. Furthermore,
although the groups still consider themselves separate from one another
intermarriages often occur between all three. By showing the numerous
similarities and differences between the Khasis, Lygngam-Khasi and
Garos in CLARITY RANKING:
4 Erasmus, Charles
J. Work Patterns in a This paper provides
additional support for the work Melville Herskovits has conducted on
work patterns of primitive peoples. "Using quantitative data found
in several ethnographic descriptions, Herskovits shows that considerable
effort is expended by primitive peoples in their productive activities." Erasmus
uses field data collected in 1948 in the Mayo The entire village was used as a "sample" for the quantitative study, and individual charts were created for each person in the village in order to examine the daily rhythm of work activities. Over a period of three months, from July to September 1948, five thousand observations were recorded of adults, children, and the aged. Three charts are provided in the article, describing distributions of work and leisure activities and the sexual division of labor. Interspersed among these is a description of the quantitative data in each chart, with examples of daily activities to illustrate the data. Erasmus concludes "that each adult in Tenian is his own boss and can work and rest as he feels inclined. Men in the village spend the same amount of time working as the women, but when taking leisure time, they lie down more, which has led to the misconception that women are more active. Personal inclination of alternating work and leisure time, however, is what Erasmus argues "is related to a low degree of industrial specialization" in Tenia and other "nonliterate" communities. CLARITY RATING: 4 Ewers, John. Problems and Procedures in Modernizing Ethnological Exhibits. American Anthropologist February, 1955 Vol. 57 (1):1-12. In this article, Ewers has artfully described the processes that must be conducted in order to update an out of date museum. For the basis of his description, he is using the renovation of the New World Ethnology Hall in the U.S. National Museum. An assessment had been conducted in order to determine the merits of such a project and to readily suggest specific aspects of the hall that would need to be reviewed. The space arrangement in the hall itself was quite cumbersome. There were many wood cases, most with inadequate lighting and far too many artifacts within them. This alone was presenting problems to the viewer, in particular to groups that would attend museum function; there was not enough space for them to explore together and the mind was overwhelmed at each case. There additionally was not enough information given about objects for the viewer to feel confident that they have learned something new. All in all, the hall looked like storage space for a number of artifacts. Ewer emphasizes that the main concern with renovating was for the viewer. Items needed to be readily accessible, information easy to read, over-crowding of artifacts eliminated, and the dull colors replaced with brighter ones. The visitor is coming to see new things and would not want to be confused by a number of charts or complex labels. With these ideas in mind, the hall was renovated to include the ideas of the visitor, the museum director, the anthropologists, the ethnologists, and everyday folks who traveled to the museum. This article would be beneficial to anyone interested in the creation of order and modernization in the museum. CLARITY: 5 Ewers, John C. Problems and Procedures in Modernizing Ethnological Exhibits American Anthropologist 1955 Vol. 57: 1-12 From early in the
20th century, ethnology and anthropology have been a part
of museum exhibits throughout In this article,
Ewers reviews the evidence that over the years of evolution of the
public presentation of ideas, where methods are becoming more attractive
and capture the eye and imagination of the spectator, museum exhibits
have not evolved to such an extent and in many cases have remained
virtually static, above all compromising the effectiveness of their ‘presentation’.
The ‘modernizing’ of museum exhibits is an anticipated and necessary
change. Taking Hall 11,
an area in the U.S. National Museum devoted to an interpretation of ‘New
World Ethnology’, as an example, Ewers reviews a critical survey of
the exhibit analyzing elements such as unbalanced representation, disordered
arrangement of subject matter, lighting, and labeling of
items to name a few. After examining a "survey of visitor interests
in the exhibit," taking note of who the visitors were (in this
case 40% were found to be children) and exactly what they were curious
about, the author takes us through the planned ‘modernization.’ Key
to the process was results of an observatory and exploratory study
that revealed that visitors walking freely through the museum often
were more taken by the size of the exhibits rather than the details.
Visitors often could not get a good chronological or qualitative sense
of the materials and did not see many of the detailed exhibits. These and other
discovered elements shaped the in-progress modernization of these areas
of the museum in a way that it would consider diversity of visitors
and respective backgrounds and interests. Overall what was learned
to be the fallacy in past exhibits was their static nature. To quote
Ewers, "Ideally exhibit improvement should be a continuing program." CLARITY RANKING:
4 Fallers, Lloyd. The
Predicament of the Modern African Chief: An Instance in According to Fallers,
the role of the modern African chief poses difficult problems for analysis
because it is played out within the context of diverse and often conflicting
institutions. The African chief has a series of roles in the indigenous
institutions of African societies, as well as the institutions of colonial
governments. Fallers believes that institutions are constantly getting
in each other’s way, and individuals are institutionally required to
do conflicting things. The notion of "social order" or "social
system" can have two different referents, which should be distinguished,
that of harmonious integration and disharmonious integration. African
and European social systems have interpenetrated, resulting in new
social systems made up of diverse and conflicting elements which affect
the functioning of the system as a whole. Fallers illustrates this
with an example of the chief in the Busoga District of Uganda. In CLARITY RATING: 4 Fallers, Lloyd. The
Predicament of the Modern African Chief: An Instance of In the article "The
Predicament of the Modern African Chief: An Instance of Uganda," Lloyd
Fallers argues that the role of the modern African chief poses difficult
problems of analysis because it is a role that is played out in a matrix
of diverse and often conflicting institutions. In other words, the
chief has a series of roles in the indigenous institutions of African
society, as well as roles in the imported institutions of colonial
government. Thus, Faller argues that integrated social systems have
caused cultures to clash and societies to undergo disorganization,
especially in the case of In order to better
understand his argument, Faller points out that there are two possible
conceptions of order or systems in social life. The first conception
of order finds its place in the sharing of a common system of values
by a society’s members. If the actions of the people who are members
of the system are to be mutually supporting, these actions must be
founded upon common conceptions of what is right and proper. As a result,
actions that are in accord with the common norm will be rewarded and
those that run counter to it will be punished. Faller points out
that the second general characteristic of the integrated social system
is the sharing of beliefs or a common system of cognition and communication.
In other words, persons must also share a common system of symbols
enabling them to interpret each other’s behavior. For example, for
traffic to flow smoothly on a crowded street, drivers must not only
share the common value of obeying the law, but must also interpret
red light and green lights in the same way. Thus, in integrated social
system is one in which the motivations of its component individuals
are to a high degree complementary with the shared systems of values
and beliefs. With that explanation,
Faller begins to point out that the system of beliefs and communications
is also a focus of disharmony within the social system. Relatively
widespread primary education and exposure to mass communications of
media have produced a situation in which at least two sets of symbols
and two views of the nature of the world are in the society. For example,
a chief may read a newspaper and have a good working knowledge of world
politics, but he may still believe that witchcraft does really work.
These disharmonies in the system of beliefs and communication center
upon the chief because he is simultaneously involved in the two systems
through his relations with European officers on the one side and the
peasants on the other. Thus, it appears that the African chief holds
both systems of value and beliefs at the same time. Consequently, this
results in frequent conflict, both between persons and within persons. CLARITY: 4 Fischer, J.L. Avunculocal Residence on Losap. American Anthropologist October, 1955 Vol.57 (5):1025-1032. J.L. Fischer’s paper
looks at reasons for why the people of the as well. For instance, a father may choose to have his son live with him when he is approaching death. The father has many personal reasons for choosing to do this. The avunculocal residence occurs despite neighboring matrilocal islands. The author focuses on the existence of concentrated villages, the population, and the geography to explain this style of living. Prehistoric economic and political factors favored men and thus created a shift from a matrilocal residence to an avunculocal residence. This development was an easy transition due to the population of the village. CLARITY: 2 LISA BAER: Garn, Stanley M., and Carleton S. Coon On the Number of Races of Mankind. American Anthropologist. October, 1955 Vol. 57 (5): 996-1001. Garn and Coon write, "what seems to be a disagreement of considerable magnitude narrows down to a lack of agreement on just what taxonomic unit is properly designated as a race in man." Defining race by using different taxonomies, like those of Linnaeus and Blumenbach, or population genetics of Mendelian studies, lends different meanings to the concept. The authors argue that both can be used in order to describe geographical race and local race, and thus, "the discrepancies mentioned above cease to exist." "A geographical
race is, in simplest terms, a collection of (race) populations having
features in common, such as a high gene frequency for blood group B,
and extending over a geographically definable area." The geographical
limits generally correspond to continental areas. The authors wish
to "stress the fact that the taxonomic unit immediately below
the species is best defined as a geographical race." Local races
can be defined as "units that can be subjected to study and these
are the units that change most in evolutionary time." In densely
populated areas, the local race can be expressed in microgeographical
races, which are different from the local races only in qualitative
aspects. In taxonomy, there has been a desire to assign every population
to an appropriate geographical race, because of the need for order
and the incorrect assumption that taxonomy can serve as phylogeny.
Using "It is possible to achieve agreement on the number of races of mankind, once we distinguish between geographical races and local and microgeographical races." When one defines these groupings, it is easier to enumerate the races that exist. On one level, there are as few as seven races and on another level there are more than thirty. "Since adequate data in many cases are lacking, every local race cannot be assigned to an appropriate geographical race." This is frustrating because it upsets the order of taxonomic classification. Geographic races are more useful pedagogical purposes, while local and microgeographical races "not only are susceptible to direct study but also afford insight into the evolutionary mechanisms still at work in shaping man." For these purposes, there is no need to count the number of races, only to acknowledge the different categories when classifying and studying different human populations. CLARITY: 5 JONATHAN VAN BALEN Denison University (Bahram Tavakolian) Garn H. Stanley. On the Number of Races of Mankind. American Anthropologist. 1955 Vol.35: 996-1001 This article describes
the difficulties that physical anthropologists, taxonomists, and geneticists
have when attempting to classify how many races make up mankind. The
article distinguishes the two methods that are used when attempting
to classify races. The geographical race is concerned with those "populations
having an obvious similarity and contained within particular geographical
limits" (996). The local races are characterized by the "populations
themselves…corresponding to the units that are subject to investigation" (997).
The article further describes each method of classification. For the
geographical races, it says that it is "a collection of race populations
having features in common, such as a high gene frequency for blood
group B, and extending over a geographically definable area" (997).
When describing the local races, the article describes it as "units
that change most in evolutionary time…in many cases such local races
can be identified, not so much by average differences, but by their
nearly complete isolation" (998). The articles concluding paragraphs
deal with the actual number of races that can be assigned to each classification.
For the geographical race, there are approximately six or seven including, "Caucasian", " CLARITY RANKING:
2 Gillin, John. Ethos Components in Modern Latin American Culture. American Anthropologist June, 1955 Vol. 57 (3): 488-500. Gillin does not
attempt to present a comprehensive image of modern Latin American culture.
Instead, he focuses "on a limited number of components of the
ethos, which is taken to mean the constellation of acquired drives
or motivations that are characteristic of the culture, plus the goals,
both explicit and implicit, toward which cultural activities are directed
or upon which high value is placed." He asks if there is a common
pattern of customs, institutions that exist in modern Latin American
society as a whole, and if there are certain cultural uniformities
in the area that distinguish the people here from those in other areas.
He asserts that there are, but he agrees that subcultures do exist
in the region and that one must recognize a distinction between the
urban and rural phases of the culture that exist, as well as those
based on different social and class categories. The modern culture
of In constructing the basic "components of ethos," Gillin comes up with a list of four: the concept of the individual and his culturally respected objectives; the concept of man in society; the transcendental or idealistic view of the world; and the patterns derivative from these basic premises in political, economic, and spiritual life. Individuality is highly valued, and in Latin American culture "the individual is valued precisely because he is not exactly ‘like’ anyone else." What is considered to be paradoxical to North Americans is the acceptance of social inequality in Latin American culture. The agreement about the degree to which societies are stratified varies among individuals, but all are aware of the hierarchical social structure in which they live. CLARITY RANKING: 3 JONATHAN VAN BALEN Denison University (Bahram Tavakolian) Gilmore, Harlan. Cultural Diffusion via Salt. American Anthropologist October, 1955 Vol. 57 (5):1011-1015. Harlan Gilmore,
a professor at Due to the high demand for salt, historically, humans have migrated to salt lake/mines. It has also been noted that humans have perceived salt as a commodity for economic independence. In many ways, individuals would hide salt for trade. Furthermore, certain governments would place a tax on salt. Since every individual uses salt, the government would have a steady income. In Gilmore’s last concepts, the author recognizes the little attention involving the customs and practices of salt. Throughout history, salt has been an instrumental tool for many rituals and customs. Although, today, salt is viewed as a condiment, the historic and cultural uses of salt are an important indicator of its value in many societies. CLARITY: 3 KELLY GILFEATHER: Gilmore, Harlan. Cultural Diffusion Via Salt. American Anthropologist. 1955 Vol. 57:1011-1015. The main point of
this article is to assert the importance of salt through history. Harlan
Gilmore states that although salt has been an important part of almost
every civilization, it has largely been ignored for its cultural importance
by anthropologists. The article goes
on to list some uses of salt, including the flavoring and preservation
of food. It follows this with a brief history of salt mining. Gilmore believes
that in all cultures were it is used, salt is seen as a necessity which
cannot be substituted. As well, salt cannot be produced everywhere
and for this reason pilgrimages for salt have occurred in various cultures
throughout history. Gilmore also gives several historical examples
where politics and culture have been greatly affected by salt and the
acquisition of it. Salt is also important
because it is a universal trade item which is very durable and can
withstand almost any conditions. As such, history has proven that salt
is easy to tax because it is a necessity. For many governments taxes
on salt have provided consistent revenues. Salt supplies have also
played roles in military strategy, treaties and peace talks. Gilmore’s final
thoughts contend that because salt is seen as a necessity, it is worthy
of being studied and considered more seriously as a part of history
as well as part of many cultures’ customs and beliefs. CLARITY RANKING:
5 Godfrey, William. Vikings
in It is absolutely
certain that the Vikings were some of the first explorers in One main controversy
is where on continental A new approach is
needed to explore the Vikings in CLARITY: 3.5 Goldschmidt,
Walter. Social Class and the Dynamics of
Status in Walter Goldschmidt,
from the CLARITY: 3 KELLY GILFEATHER: Goldschmidt,
Walter. Social Class and the Dynamics of
Status in In this article,
Walter Goldschmidt discusses social class, as well as ideas concerning "status" in
the Goldschmidt chooses
not to deal with separate "ethnographies" of Goldschmidt maintains
that anthropologists tend to see social class in Goldschmidt concludes
by stating that the American culture is built upon mobility, peopled
by "humanity on the move". Historical, geographical, philosophical,
economic and social mobility remain significant factors in determining
social class and status in the CLARITY RANKING:
4 Goldman, Goldman begins the
article immediately with his main concept, cultural evolution. However,
to be more specific, the main point of the article is to look at the
effects of cultural evolution and its result on social status within Goldman is able to associate cultural evolution and change in social status with a number of different changes in the society. Some of the common cultural changes that occurred in many of the Polynesian islands were changes in government, land systems, and kinship, as well as that mentioned at the beginning of the article, a change in social status. Some of the less prominent changes within the different societies were such things as societal position of women, sexual practices, an increase in warfare, changes in religion or religious deities. In conclusion, Goldman
argues that along with Polynesian cultural evolution came a change
in political practices, an increase in violence, conflict, as well
as a "greater general insecurity." Although all of these
changes have had a negative effect on the society as a whole, one of
the positive changes that occurred as a result of the Polynesian cultural
evolution was an increase in the specialization of the arts and crafts.
It should be noted, however, that these changes did not occur because
of an influence of new "elements", but rather they occurred
because of a rearrangement in the traditional culture throughout CLARITY: 4 JESIICA SAVAGE: Goodenough,
Ward H. A Problem in Malayo-Polynesian Social Organization. American
Anthropologist February, 1955 Vol. 57 (1): 71-83. Ward H. Goodenough’s
publication concentrates on Malayo-Polynesian social structure and
its historical significance. He argues that the traditional view of
and definition of “Hawaiian” social organizations (bilocal extended
families, bilateral kindreds and the absence of unilinear kingroups),
is lacking. For, in order to truly understand why bilocal extended
families, bilateral kindreds and the absence of unilinear kingroups
exist within Malayo-Polynesian society, one must understand the relevance
of land rights within a location with a scarcity of land. Subsequently, to
value the importance of land rights in relation to kindred and social
organization, one must first comprehend what Goodenough meant by “kindred.” Within
his article, he employs two similar yet different definitions. The
first, originally defined by G.P. Murdock, defines kindreds as “a group
of persons who have a relative in common, regardless whether kinship
is traced through men or women” (71). The second definition is a group
who recognizes a common ancestor. The first group is an unrestricted
descent group, one that includes all of the ancestor’s descendents.
However, the second group utilizes limitations to include only some
descendents of the original ancestor. Other ways to restrict members
is through the adoption of only certain descendents who attain particular
land rights, or to include only those members who reside near their
familial group. Additionally, restrictions
become necessary when many types of kingroups overlap in members. Goodenough
uses the five types of kingroups on the Goodenough employs
the particular example of the CLARITY: 3 HANNAH
GORDON: Harding, Charles F. The Social Anthropology of American Industry. American Anthropologist December, 1955 Vol. 57(6):1218-1231. Harding attempts to paint a picture of American industry and its many facets. He admits that American industry, as a whole, is an enormous topic to try to cover in a single article, but he reviews the works of colleagues who have examined specific components. His main objective is to describe American Industry as a system of organizations that have grown and changed through history. He defines industrial organization as "a group of individuals organized into an institution for the processing of materials into products or the assembling of products from parts" (1218). As an anthropologist would study the people of a culture and the tools that they develop and use, so does Harding study the tools and developments of those involved in industry. He draws close attention to the divisions of labor in industry, namely the production line and the management, and the interactions these two groups have. In general, orders flow down from management to the production floor and reports flow up. This network of relationship is what Harding finds most important in his study. The middlemen of management and the production line are the foreman and the union shop steward. These individuals bear most of the direct contact between management and production line and union officials and the workers, respectively. Changes that have been made in industry include a further standardization of parts, products and the motions used to create them. Harding talks about how changes made by the management have caused unease on the production lines, causing the developments of unions (both local and national) and strikes. Unions and industrial management have always found some way to cooperate, and cooperation between industries has allowed American Industry to grow nationwide. Harding's structural-functionalist views are seen throughout this article. He feels that an individual's place in American industry (whether he is part of a majority or minority, management or production line) is set due to his or her skill level, and that the organization of industry keeps the individual where he or she is unless deemed worthy of promotion, granted by vacancies higher up the ladder. Primarily, though, the promotion of a few only occurs, with many never moving from their station at all. CLARITY: 3 Harding, Charles. The Social Anthropology of American Industry. American Anthropologist 1950 Vol.57:1218-1231. In this article
Harding gives a reasonably whole picture of American industry. The
article attempts to draw a picture of American industry, even if it’s
only in the broadest outline. Harding touches on many areas of industry
and their importance to each other. Because an industrial institution
basically processes minerals and assembles parts, it is simpler that
it first appears and covers many basic relationships. In a plant engaged
in modern mass production the minerals and parts pass from hand to
hand to be worked upon through the various stages necessary to complete
the product. Thus by following the objects as they are being made,
one follows a line of relationships. The relationships of any given
individual in a production line are largely determined by his or her
position in the system. The symbols of status
in an industrial organization in general relate to position in the
supervisory hierarchy. Rise in status occurs through promotion up the
ladder. In the industrial system, as individuals retire at the top
levels others are promoted from below, but for every person promoted
many people must remain where they are or fall by the wayside. This
system is one of the sources of the urge to ‘succeed’ and also many
of the frustrations common in American life. Traditionally and according
to folklore, promotion depends upon ability, however other factors
such as family, religious affiliation or out of plant social activities
may also be involved. A modern industrial
institution is an extremely complex affair. To study such a complex
organization it is necessary to have some general approach. Two such
approaches may be recognized in anthropological studies. In the first
the symbols important to the people who make up the organization are
identified and studied as a means of understanding the social system.
In the second, the organization is looked upon as a network of relationships
and these networks are studied. As a matter of fact, most studies make
use of both approaches but tend to focus on one over the other. Harding
tends to focus on network systems in his approach for this article. CLARITY: 4 Harrington, J. C. Archeology as an Auxiliary Science to American History. American Anthropologist December, 1955 Vol. 57 (6):1121-1130. This article examines
the relationship between history and archaeology, using the It is important to consider, according to Harrington, the projects in accordance with their objectives. Often, reconstruction or site development is a key goal in archaeology. The historical data are used to educate visitors about the site. Thus, a goal of archaeology is "‘to make the past live again.’" However, some excavations have different objectives. Some sites are part of salvage archaeology, meaning the sites that are in danger are excavated as an emergency. Another objective is to provide data for a specific reason or research goal. Although evidence may not be conclusive, data may lend credibility to some hypotheses over others. The last objective discussed is to excavate in order to incorporate other research fields. For example, some sites are investigated to contribute to anthropological acculturation studies. Harrington also addresses the shortcomings of archaeology: publications and trained specialists. Publications are essential to communicating information about the site. However, these publications often lack substance or are less detailed than they should be. In order to be useful, they need to provide all of the historical data that was discovered, and in adequate detail. As for trained specialists, there is a shortage of them in the field. Archaeologists need to be trained in history, as well as anthropology. Further, archaeologists should be trained in specific areas, both of history and geography. Archaeology is essential as a historical tool. Many historians are beginning to use data from archaeological excavations in their research. Harrington agrees with Wertenbaker, a historian, in that historians have "‘depended too much upon manuscript evidences.’" Although historical archaeology has developed significantly, there are many improvements to be made. Then, Harrington believes archaeology will be able to become an auxiliary component to history. CLARITY: 4 Henry, Jules. et al. Projective Testing in Ethnography. American Anthropologist April, 1955 Vol. 57 (2):245-270. Jules Henry, from
the As part of this article, several professors across the nation commented on Henry’s discussion. The comments ranged from total disagreement with Henry to partial agreement. As a whole, the commentators believed that in the field of anthropology, there needs to be further development of other methods for observation and interviewing. Although the Rorschach Test and TAT are not perfect testing models, they do provide a framework to other methods of research. At the end of the article and after reading the comments, Henry posed his opinions of the comments. He returned to his previous thoughts, and restated why he felt the Rorschach Test and TAT are not applicable methods in the field of anthropology. The major point that Henry emphasized is the fact that these two tests are not good methods for studying personality and culture. Henry believes that through observation and extensive interviewing, a researcher can truly gain a well-rounded perspective of an individual’s personality. CLARITY: 3 KELLY GILFEATHER: Hewes, Gordon W. World Distribution of Certain Postural Habits. American Anthropologist April, 1955 Vol. 57 (2):231-244. Gordon W. Hewes explores the geographic and cultural distribution of one hundred postural habits. Some postural habits are determined by physiological limitations, whereas others may be more culturally determined. Furthermore, some postural positions are divided along gender lines. Hewes claims that ethnographic accounts rarely include enough description about postural positions, thus it is a difficult topic to study. The methodology used in this article is based upon a random collection of ethnographic data, in which Hewes recorded all evidence of postural positions. Of these recordings, he selected one hundred postural positions to study. Most of these positions are varieties of sitting, kneeling, crouching and squatting. Postural habits are attributed to many different factors, such as excretory patterns, infant-carrying customs, emotional responses etc. Additionally, he states that postural habits are often enforced by rule and etiquette. In the course of the article, Hewes argues that there are several levels of relevance for organizing data on the distributions of postural habits. The first level of relevance is applied physical anthropology, in which research is conducted on cultural distribution of postural habits for the application of building machinery to fit postural habits. The second level of relevance is the interrelations of postures and nonpostural cultural phenomena (terrain, clothing, status etc.). The third level is psychological implications of postural habits. The fourth level is culture-historical, rooted in the work of Franz Boas. The final level of relevance is phylogenetics. Hewes concludes that postural distributions are not only culturally specific on many occasions, but these geographic patterns exhibit the distributions that "we have come to expect for other features of cultural behavior." Generally, postural habits are understudied across disciplines, including science and social sciences. CLARITY: 5 Ho, Ping-Ti. The
Introduction of American Food Plants into Ho’s article discusses
the controversial introduction of American food plants into To construct his
argument, Ho provides ample historical documentation that these plants
existed in CLARITY: 4 Ho, Ping-Ti. The
Introduction of American Food Plants into This article is
about the introduction of American food plants, such as the peanut,
the sweet potato, and maize, into The peanut is the
first discussed. There are three sources that state their acknowledgement
of the growth of peanuts but none of them mention the place where the
peanut originated. The debate continues of the many places the peanut
could have come from; however, the end result is that the peanut was
introduced to The sweet potato
date has been cautiously fixed at 1594, the year where there was a
widespread crop failure in Maize, a cultivated
cereal plant, is thought to have been introduced decades before the
first written account. In 1555 there was a reference made to maize
in a western Ho states that it
is foolish to believe that a certain plant can only be introduced to
a new area once and only by a certain route. There are many possible
channels for the dissemination of food plants: traders, travelers,
emissaries, and government officials. CLARITY RANKING:
4 Homans C.G. Kinship
Terminology and the American Kinship System. American Anthropologist
1955 Vol. 57: 1194-1208 The main focus in
this article discusses how Americans value kinship ties and illustrates
how the American Kinship is marked by bilateral descent, and the nuclear
family is the basic kin group. In this article the author argues that
American kin ship is used purely for the family and does not have anything
too do with the job you take on in society as well no political office
is given to someone on the basis of kinship. Secondly the author also
states that in the American kinship system there are a number of terms
that one could be called which all mean the same thing. An example
of this is seen with a young child his kinship terms will change as
he grows up. A young boy may call his mother "mommy" when
he is younger but as he gets old he may feel to childish saying that
and call her "mom". Although both names give the same idea
of how a mother is portrayed it demonstrated how in the American Kinship
system uses many variations of names but all lead up to the exact same
idea or image of a person. In this article
the author give many examples of how the American Kinship system works
and how it differs from other countries definition. The author concludes
that the kinship system is primarily used as a socialization device
it is the dominant value of the whole culture and is essential to maintain
any social and cultural system. CLARITY RANKING:
4 Kelly, J. Charles. Juan
Sabeata and Diffusion in Aboriginal This study focuses
on cultural diffusion in Sabeata’s travels
ranged from east Most of the Jumano
and Cibola spent the winter in west CLARITY: 5 Kimball, Solon T. Problems of Studying American Culture. American Anthropologist. December, 1955. Vol. 57 (6):1131-1142. Kimball writes about the recent interest in the study of contemporary civilizations and, specifically, the anthropological study of American society. He is concerned with "the adequacy of methodology and techniques for research; the quality of the substantive findings; the relations and influences with and from other disciplines; the effect of incorporation and modification of new techniques upon outlook and theory; and the prospect for the future" (1131). Using anthropology as opposed to sociology to study American society introduces several questions about how the study will be carried out and what will be. Major concentrations for most prior anthropological studies of American society have been the social class-caste stratification system, institutional organization, value systems, and small groups. Kimball criticizes the fact that no examination has been made of the larger integrative organizations of American society, nor have there been any community studies of cities. He considers attempts to study such topics to be a test of how well the anthropological methodology can hold up. Anthropology has long used the method of "natural history," or the comparative approach, while quantitative approaches and statistical models are commonly used in many sociological studies. Kimball feels that "event analysis," in which the factors of time, space, activity, persons, and conditions are all accounted for and taken into consideration in analysis" (1140) is the answer that anthropologists have already found. This method has been used in the study of primitive society and small-group studies, and it can be applied in the case of American society as well. While contemporary society is vastly different than primitive society, methods can stay the same while techniques must be changed. "One cannot overcome this difficulty by isolating particular segments of behavior or attempting to comprehend the whole through statistical analysis, but only by selecting communities as representative microcosms" (1135). While this helps in understanding aspects of American society, it does not touch on the superstructure of American life and economy, nor does it offer comparability. Throughout the article, Kimball draws from several other authors’ works on the topic of anthropology and American society. Though several methodologies and analytical hurdles must be met, he feels that anthropology is and will remain a valid and effective basis for the study of contemporary civilizations. CLARITY RANKING: 3 Kimball, Solon T. Problems of Studying American Culture. American Anthropologist 1955 Vol.57: 1131-1143. The most constant
tone within the article by Kimball is the question of how to and to
what extent anthropological interest in American culture and society
is measured and therefore appreciated. It has been consistent
through the passing of the ages that the political climate, development
to society and methodologies shared of all individuals in society needs
to be looked at seriously so as to provide the deficiencies in the
system, and to provide insight to the future cause of events. However clearly
stated, the question becomes more defined when presented with the idea
of what American culture faces as "difficulties" and "pitfalls".
As Kimball states, "by definition, anthropology had proclaimed
a catholicity of interest but, by tradition, had confined to primitive
societies, and not until after 1925 did Boas permit any of his students
to study other than American Indian tribes." Point well made.
The interesting facet of this article remains that it has been the
confines of anthropology and not the study of the science itself that
has hindered growth and understanding of what anthropology tries to
maintain. Often, we have all combined anthropology with the other social
sciences, i.e.: sociology and psychology, to place some validity on
what the science of anthropology tries to achieve. In conclusion there
is almost a "desperate" need for the development and implementation
of new techniques to show the inter-relations between cultural and
psychological facts. The overall goal is one where to achieve a clear
understanding on our cultural history. CLARITY RANKING:
3.5 Kluckhohn, Kluckhohn centers his article on the "anthropometric and morphological studies of the dominant American population" (1280). This topic sounds extraordinarily broad, and even after he states his limitations (contained within the 48 contiguous states, little attention to the Chinese, Mexican, etc. populations, little attention given to specialized subjects, etc.), it still seems broad. He bases much of his work on the research of others. Boas, for example, is an obvious choice to draw from since his was the first effective study of immigrants and their descendants. Kluckhohn also gives mention to Terry and Trotter’s work to which we "owe the bulk of the limited anthropological information on the skeletons and cadavers of the American white and Negro populations" (1281). Kluckhohn complains about the inadequacies in the general description of American human biology, and he claims that most studies have been "phenotypic rather than genetic. They consist primarily in measurements, most of which have arguable interpretations and questionable biological significance" (1281). A number of studies on this topic have drawn their subjects from the military or from college students. These studies, though, do not reflect the heterogeneity of the American population as a whole. He feels that Boas’ and Hrdlicka’s studies have been the most complete as far as analysis is concerned. Kluckhohn is not surprised that there are few generalizations that can be made from the extensive amount of data that have been collected. Almost the only broad finding that is scientifically exciting is that made by Boas, and confirmed by others, of the biological ability in certain respects of transplanted individuals and their descendents" (1283). The author, after sifting through various findings and generalizations is left only with the occasional "hunch, based on intensive metrical and observational study, that is intriguing and susceptible of rigorous genetic investigation" (1283), such as Hrdlicka’s finding that female faces are more apt to show various ancestral features. Finally, he goes on to cite other generalizations from previous research findings but concludes, "there is a great need both for new data and for reworking of data already available" (1289). Kluckhohn hopes that a new study will produce findings within a genetic framework as opposed to a strictly phenotypic study. CLARITY RANKING: 4 Kluckhohn, In this article,
Kluckhohn examines the anthropometric and morphological studies of
American populations excluding American Indians, Hawaiians and other
populations. He bases his studies on the biological characteristics
and processes of distinctive American populations. He begins by detailing
a ‘historical sketch’ of anthropological studies that began around
1908 with authors such as Boas and many others. He than discusses the ‘limitation
of the data’ as being inadequate. The data is ‘pre-Mendelian’ and is
more phenotypic than genetic. Also the anthropometric data is inadequate
because it was obtained before the population concept. He begins discussing
the information found by other authors and the importance of the data
to describe an ‘American type’ and concludes that nothing could generally
fit that category. There is also an effort to describe regional and
nationality types within the study and also studies information on
what is called hybrids. The evidence found of the ‘typical American’ had
very little scientific meaning and is rare amongst actual Americans.
He than describes the work in this field as lacking in theory except
for the work done by Boas, which has been poorly followed. The need
for new data and the reworking of data within a genetic framework is
important. In conclusion, the
data is insufficient and there must be more work done on the ‘American
population’ with the requirement of a genetically oriented study with
more random subjects, the use of many workers with different training
and interests and, finally, an attempt to translate material for genetic
analysis. CLARITY RATING:
2 Kluckhohn, This article serves
as an obituary for a Navajo Indian known as The Son of Many Beads,
Bidaga, or José Pino. Many Beads, who died on July 30, 1954, served
as leader of his tribe for a lengthy period of time. He also provided
ethnographic information to many researchers, including W.W Hill, Robert
Young, and the Ramah Project and Values Study research teams. Cluckhohn
and Vogt say that he will be remembered for “his integrity, his wisdom,
his unfailing sense of humor, and his lively and perceptive curiosity.” He
was as eager to learn as he was to teach and asked numerous questions
about other parts of the world, as well as the rest of Many Beads also
served as a spokesman for and defender of his Navajo culture. He resented
the people invading his tribe’s land and worked for years to save it,
making many trips to Indian Service agencies and even one to CLARITY: 5 ALLISON
TITMAN Kluckhohn, The Kluckhohn/Vogt
paper is dedicated to representing the late José Pino, otherwise known
as Bidaga, a Navajo Indian. They aim to portray not only his role and
contributions within the general workings of society but also within
the disciplines of anthropology. In the eulogy, Kluckhohn and Vogt
seek to express Bidaga’s wholeheartedness, witticism, and inquisitiveness
while subsequently revealing relations between the Navahos and the
Whites. The paper lacks
a traditional argument in that it simply presents the importance of
Bidaga’s contributions. In addition to discussing his life history
and accomplishments, the article reveals Bidaga’s relations with the
Whites and his opinions regarding the coexistence between the two cultures.
Kluckhohn and Vogt consequently display the Whites’ presumed propriety
over the Navahos. They accurately
present Bidaga’s life story by setting the eulogy in a historical context
and including personal quotations; the incorporation of their own opinions
regarding him and his successes further strengthen their discussion.
The authors subtlety and successfully persuade the reader into forming
her own conclusions regarding Bidaga and the relations between Whites
and Navahos. As a result, they demonstrate that Native Americans can
be respected and valued members of a community. CLARITY: 4 AMY
GUITTARD Landes, Ruth. Biracialism
in American Society: A Comparative View. American
Anthropologist 1955. Vol. 57 (3): 1253 - 1263 In this article
the author analyzes the issue of “belongingness” of the Negro race
to the American society. Throughout the history of Negroes in However, this raises
the question of social alienation. Negroes do not belong inalienably and automatically
to their societies. In In contrast to In CLARITY RANKING: 3 YANA ZORINA Lantis, Margaret. The In the introduction to this special issue of American Anthropologist, Margaret Lantis brings together the articles of the journal and places them into the context of studies of North American society and culture. According to Lantis, there were three objectives suggested to the articles’ authors for this issue. These objectives were the following: The papers should summarize the substantive content of the American anthropologists' study of their own culture and people and the conclusions from this study, all papers should be integrative and evaluative, and all articles should present suggestions for practical future work. Lantis discusses several of the papers written by the anthropologists and explains what they have to offer to the field of anthropology. The subject matter varied among the articles, however Lantis drew correlations among them and discussed their contribution to the growing field of anthropology. The articles show a commonality in their interest in specific aspects of American culture and people. Lantis concludes from the variety of papers that there is a real change beginning to come about in the field of anthropology. Lantis argue that some of the papers set up a hypotheses about American culture that we should be testing and relating to our own sub-cultural view of American history. There are three things Lantis suggests we can do to further the study living culture. First, she explains, we can apply the concepts used by anthropologists to study and analyze other languages and cultures, and we can use these same anthropological concepts to make physical studies of other populations. Second, she argues that anthropologists should look to hypotheses suggested in other disciplines, such as psychology or sociology, and do intensive investigation of their conclusions about American culture and language. Third, she explains that among the duties of the anthropologist is the obligation to record the history of ideas. Lantis concludes her introduction to this unique issue of the journal by stating that the articles in this particular issue are an honest appraisal of the small but important contribution anthropologists have made to the study of American culture as well the beginning of the first look at the large task of these studies that anthropologists will face in the future. CLARITY: 5 Lothorp, S.K. Alfred
Marston Tozzer. American Anthropologist February, 1955 Vol.57:614-617. Lothorp provides
a summarized biography of Alfred Marston Tozzer, a professor who specialized
in Mayan civilization. His account of Tozzer’s accomplishments culminates
with a eulogy and with praise towards Tozzer. A Harvard graduate,
Tozzer became a professor of subjects such as anthropology, religion,
social origins and continuities, drawing on knowledge that he gained
from his extensive traveling. As a Traveling Fellow of the Archeological
Institute of America, Tozzer went to the Maya region and was exposed
to the archeology and culture of this area, which became his specialty
of study and provided the material for his Ph.D. thesis. While he was a professor
at Harvard, he had the opportunity to become director of the 1910 archeological
expedition in He continued teaching,
establishing a reputation as an excellent and well-known professor,
and in 1914, became Director of the International School of American
Archeology in He eventually married
and lived in During WWII, Tozzer
left Harvard to become director of The Maya and
Their Neighbors, a book written in his honor in 1940, is an accumulative
work with contributions from various anthropologists, some who did
and some who did not take Tozzer’s courses. Lothorp concludes his
article with praise to Tozzer as an inspiring professor, a passionate
anthropologist and a very generous person, revealing how Tozzer cared
for the undergraduates, provided a substantial amount of financial
aid and was a most loyal adviser. CLARITY RATING:
4 LYUDMILA GOROKHOVICH Lothrop, S.K.
Alfred Marston Tozzer, 1876 – 1954. American Anthropologist,
1955. Vol. 57: 614-
618. This article is
not typical in that it is an obituary. It contains no particular argument
except that Alfred Tozzer was an exceptional man. He was an anthropologist
who specialized in the Maya. In 1902 Tozzer first traveled to the Maya
area to study linguistics, but became fascinated with an archaeological
dig going on at the same time. This interest swelled into Tozzer becoming
the first student of ethnology to work with the Maya. After many important
achievements and writings in the field, Tozzer became more active administratively
in museums and at Harvard. According to Lothrop, Tozzer’s translation
of the Bishop of Yucatan Diego de Landa’s writings are considered a
monumental scholarly achievement that will probably have no equal.
Tozzer was considered a great professor by everyone from the undergraduates
to the people who only read him. His commitment to his students personally
and financially was considered extraordinary when this was written
in the 1950’s. Undoubtedly it would be considered fantastic today.
Perhaps the most telling indication of how influential Tozzer was is
brought by Lothrop with the book, “The Maya and Their Neighbors.” Written
in 1940, this book is an anthology of writings from all professional
anthropologists in the field. It yields the most extraordinary fact
about Tozzer’s influence—eight out of ten had taken Tozzer’s courses
and of these, two-thirds had become specialists in the field. An extraordinary
commentary on the influence of this man. CLARITY: 4 LISA SWYERS Mason, Leonard. The Characterization of American Culture in Studies of Acculturation. American Anthropologist 1955 Vol.57:1264-1275. This article contributes
to one aspect of acculturation studies, that is it focuses on the ‘significance
of differential participation by members of donor groups where ever
cultural contact is obscured (p.1264)". The main focus of this
article is to outline a variety of acculturation studies done historically.
The study of acculturation is always changing as society progresses.
The field primarily looks at native people and their cultures in understanding
donor groups and the total impact of other contacts made. This article
focuses on North American culture and acculturation. The article is well
organized, firstly surveying past acculturation studies outlining key
anthropologists and their findings. Secondly, the article sketches
out some of the characterizations of American culture. The ethos of
American culture is also summarized; aspects of individual’s lives
and how they participate in American culture and what conditions are
considered normal and accepted are all covered. The American capitalistic
society has been described as a ‘money gathering economy’ and other
aspects of the economic scene and technology’s impacts are discussed.
American social organization, class systems and issues of social equality
are outlined in the sixth section. Religion and morality are discussed
with regard to how Americans are a modern and secular society, turning
on and off religion. The American government and administration are
summarized to end the article. In concluding this
summary, the article illustrates for readers the heterogeneous character
of American culture. CLARITY: 3 McQuown, Norman
A. The Indigenous Languages of McQuown’s article
focuses on the various American Indian languages spoken in the in certain locations all provided information regarding these languages and dialects. McQuown then describes the criteria which have been used in such classifications. Often, simple geographic proximity, or references in historical documents to cultural likeness, and assumed linguistic likeness as well, are the last resort in classification. All reliable groupings are based upon similarities in language. However, McQuown acknowledges that these similarities in language may be due to a variety of different factors. He states that physiological and psychological similarities derive from mere human nature. As a result of the limited number of functionally different sounds that are able to be produced by the human voice, similar successions of similar sounds will occur throughout many languages, and similar meanings may be associated with these similar series of sounds. Some of these similarities in form or meaning may be due to historical contacts and linguistic and cultural borrowings. Thus, McQuown suggests setting up a matrix of correspondence for the whole or portions of the sound system. Once this matrix has been established, it functions as a testing frame through which one can determine if, for example, a pair of forms from two languages are originally one, or if they are "innovations," or analogical extensions of the possibilities present in the structured language which are built up out of the native material of a language model. McQuown states that this testing frame is absolutely necessary for classification, since without it, an individual would be unable to separate the innovations due to borrowed materials from other languages, and trace these innovations to their origins. CLARITY RATING:3 Merriam, Alan P. Music in American Culture. American Anthropologist December, 1965 Vol. 57 (6):1173-1181. This author discusses the types of research, or lack thereof, conducted on music in American culture. He discusses the relationship of the musician to his or her community, and the different musical communities which exist. He has divided them into four different communities: academic music, often referred to as "classical"; folk music of the white communities; popular music, distinct from jazz and including the hit tunes of the day; and Negro music, subdivided to distinguish jazz from other forms of music. Merriam then discusses the influence of these forms of music on society, and the different influences on these types of music, jazz for example existing as the fusion of European and African forms as originated and interpreted by Negroes. Popular music has perhaps the greatest influence on society, because it reaches so many people at the most important age defined by society, the age at which patterns of behavior are developed which carry individuals into adult life- the "teen" years. The text material of these songs is especially important in influencing behavioral patterns. Research and interest
in the texts and styles of jazz music has waxed and waned, correlating
with the interests in African-American culture. However, this music
has never been fully accepted by society, according to four main conclusions
stated by Morroe Berger, who studied the problem of the spread of jazz
in the CLARITY: 5 Merriam, Alan. The Use of Music in the Study of a Problem of Acculturation. American Anthropologist February, 1955 Vol. 57 (1): 28-34. The overall concern
addressed in this article is the changes that have taken place in the
musical traditions of North American Indians in Merriam begins by explaining the differences and the changes the musicology of the North American Indian groups has gone through. He explains that there has been a change in the instruments, change in the text of the songs, but that there have been no changes in the musical performance, only changes in the materials used. He says that there has been a European influence, but that this style of music is being kept separate from the more "traditional" aspect of their music culture. However, within the African context, there has been an adoption of a Western style of music and not only has there been a Western influence in African music, but that there is also an African influence in Western music. The author makes connections with percussion instruments as well as string instruments used in African music, which are very similar to the instruments that are used in Western folk music. The North American Indians, whose music did not have any relation to a Western European style of music, ideas and values about the music culture were not exchanged between the two groups. There was a Western influence, but this influence was kept totally separate from the "traditional" forms of musicology. In the African groups, however, whose music and instruments were comparable and similar to those of a Western folk theme, these two groups were able to share values and borrow ideas from one another. CLARITY: 4 JESSICA SAVAGE: Miller, Walter B. Two Concepts of Authority. American Anthropologist. April, 1955 Vol. 57 (2): 271- 289. Walter Miller discusses the concepts of authority in this article by examining the structure of authority in Central Algonkian tribes and European societies. Miller explains that Central Algonkian tribes seem to carry out activities without any sort of recognizable authority. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, documents show European’s astonishment of the lack of authority within the tribes. For Europeans, societies are based on the relationship of power within authoritative structures, which they see as normal and right. Analytically, Miller explains, the interaction between individuals can be viewed structurally and described with distinctive features such as the following: the directive component, role-based, permanence, prestige differential, functional differential, and differential access to system of rules. In European societies these are all features of defining authority between individuals, and can be visually conceived as a "vertical" authority relationship. Central Algonkian tribes have a negative view of a vertical system of authority. Authority for them is "ongoing interaction between individuals." Any authority that can be found within the tribes is only brought about due to the need for the co-ordination of collective action. Each individual has an integral role in the action, the leader just serves as a peaceful guide to maintain unity in the group. The Algonkians strongly resent external direction, but this is matched by their intense desire to conform to the regulations and norms of their society. So for them, an order is seen as an insult. It implies that the person is lacking in his knowledge of the traditional rules of how to behave correctly within his culture. There are a few characteristics of vertical authority found in Algonkian society, however, but the relationship between individuals is not the same as with the standard structure of vertical authority. Miller concludes by explaining that his work should raise substantial questions about how authority is analyzed cross-culturally. When the concept of authority is equated with vertical authority, one might assume that a society which lacks vertical authority must lack authority altogether. Miller states that considerable analysis of diverse cultures must be done in order to fully understand the concept of authority. CLARITY:4 Millon, Rene F. Trade, Tree Cultivation, and the Development of Private Property in Land. American Anthropologist. August, 1955. Vol. 57 (4): 698-711. Millon notes that
the development of incipient classes in an isolated society is the
direct result of the institution of private property in land from the
outside. This is clearly evidence in tree cultivation in CLARITY RANKING: 3 Mills, George
T. Social Anthropology and
the Art Museum. American
Anthropologist 1955 Vol.57:1002-1010. Mills’ article addresses
the function of the modern day art museum and its relation to social
anthropology. Mills is concerned
with the fear of art felt by those who hail scientific knowledge, and
argues “the museum may attempt to overcome these fears and prejudices
by demonstrating art’s profound ability to intensify and clarify the
meaning of existence.” However,
in tackling these meanings certain problems arise in regards to interpretation. The art museum is held partly accountable
for misinterpretations as the display of art contributes to ideologies. Mills therefore
calls for an educational experience in the art museum, but this creates
another problem in that the museum-going audience is nearly impossible
to target. Mills attempts to
narrow in on this shifting audience by splitting it into three categories:
the artists, the idle drifters and the veteran regulars. Mills emphasizes the importance of education
in the art museum that is not limited to one category, but instead
reaches all. Mills then discusses
the interpretation of “primitive art” in the museum. He
suggests that the display and curator’s commentary of such art is responsible
for the meaning that museum-goers derive from it. In this way the museum must be responsible
in the impressions they give while also making the educational experience
appealing. Mills continues by
further honoring the universal value of meaning found in art’s expression. At the end of his
article Mills enlists the aid of social anthropologists for the educational
purposes of the art museum. He claims the social anthropology can help
define the art museum’s audience, help ascertain the educational goals
for that audience, scrutinize the methods used by the museum towards
that end, and propose new methods that might “bring some of the central,
cultural issues of our time before the general public.” Although Mills’ arguments are vividly articulated,
his article as a whole is somewhat incoherent as his points are sporadically
placed throughout and seemingly disjointed from one another. CLARITY:
3 Montagu, Ashley
M. F. Time, Morphology, and Neoteny in the
Evolutions of Montagu asserts the need to understand neotenous mutations and their role in human evolution and morphology. There has been confusion among anthropologists as to how "modernlike types of man" appear early in the evolutionary process. Traditionally the evolutionary process has been understood in terms of orthogenesis; as time progresses so does morphological development. However, the study of human evolution has been made more complex with the discovery of fossil specimen that resemble modern humans but which date back to the existence of Neanderthal man. Many paleontologists and paleoanthropologists have tried to ignore fossil findings such as Swanscombe in order to maintain their "straight line" evolutionary theories. Montagu urges these scientists to take into account the more advanced morphology of these species in order to more fully understand hominid evolution. Nevertheless, theorists must consider all the scientific evidence and constantly challenge their assumptions. He even challenges his own assumption about morphology by stating that while fossils such as Swanscombe appear to resemble modern man, they may have in fact been more primitive forms than the Neanderthal. One way that Montagu chooses to explain the existence of modernlike species in early evolutionary history is through a discussion of geographic isolation. Through a process of migration hominid ancestors began to live in isolation from one another. As they began to adapt to different social and physical environments their evolutionary rates began to change and some groups evolved more rapidly than others. Some of the distinction between groups can also be explained by neotenous mutuations. It is difficult to trace the ancestors of humans and it is more important to ask whether neotenous mutation is an important factor in the evolution of man. CLARITY: 3 Montagu, Ashley M.F. Time, Morphology, and Neotony in the Evolution of Man American Anthropologist 1955 Vol. 57: 13-27 This article is
concerned with the theory that modern-like types of man appeared quite
early in the evolution of the genus. The issue the author considers
is the difficulty in understanding how and from which ancestors modern-like
forms of man could have developed. Montagu attempts to indicate how
this puzzlement can be deciphered. By evaluating certain
seemingly incontrovertible facts, Montagu attempts to shed some light
on how modern-like forms of man came into being so early in the evolutionary
history of man. By examining such concepts as the time/morphology relationship,
orthogenesis, as well as the questions of probability related to findings,
the author attempts to make sense of morphological differences found
in different types of remains. Continuing, the author discusses the
morphology of findings such as Fontéchevade, specimens from the Third
Interglacial, Swanscombe man, the early Neanderthals, Kanam jaw fossils
and Kanjera skull fossils, discussing their chronological placements
in evolution. He focuses particularly on skull morphology. Evolutionary
rates, or the measure of morphological change relative to given periods
of elapsed time, according to his research, should be taken into account
in the noted comparison studies. Finally, he addresses mutations, such
as pedomorphosis, fetalization, and neotony, as playing a role in evolutionary
differences. Additionally, he alludes to the importance underlined
by other scientists that more attention might better be paid to the ‘developing’ organism
than to the adult forms, as has long been done. The possibilities of
neotonous mutations in different frequencies, cited by Dobzhansky,
has lacked in attention and implies that more questions need to be
asked and experiments carried out in relation to the functional roles
of many morphological characteristics over time. Reevaluating the
role of time in evolution, Montagu concludes that time does not necessarily
have a direct effect on evolution. Indirectly, time is a necessity,
as without it, evolutionary events, such as the mutations discussed,
could not transpire. CLARITY RANKING:
3 Nadel, S. F. Two Nuba Religions: An Essay in Comparison. American Anthropologist. August, 1955 Vol.57 (4):661-679. In this article
Nadel focuses on the Heiban and Otoro people of the Nadel argues that the difference in religious thought between these two groups is based on their systems of thought. He reports that these two groups are completely self-governing and that the way in which they chose to act socially and culturally directly affect divergences in religious belief. Thus differences in size and political solidarity, regulation of young adults, the juridical status of wives and sexual morality, all vary between the two, leading to the difference in religious belief. To support his argument, Nadel views the differences between the two groups’ views of a supreme being, spirit beings, body/soul (inanimate/animate), miraculous gifts or mysterious human enhancements, aspects of rituals, cultivation rites, rain rituals, and healing practices. Through these examples Nadel shows that the Heiban rely on highly ritualized acts of worship, "magical" manipulations, symbolic meanings and that they view the world as sinister. While on the other hand the Otoro view the world as ordered and rationalize, their beliefs are more "religious" in a submissive way towards God. Nadel concludes that the social norms of the groups give rise to the difference in religious thought and that both the Heiban and Otoro are valid in their separate religious thoughts. Thus, in the context of his work, Nadel says it is unnecessary to further question why the social norms of these two groups create such differences. CLARITY: 4 Nicholson, H.
B. Native Historical Traditions of Nuclear Nicholson is looking
at a number of ways in which traditions and physical culture can be
utilized by the archaeologist to develop a history for native peoples
in the Within the contest
of this article various groups in Nuclear America are examined to illustrate
the difficulty of correlating archaeological data with traditional
history. The Mayas, both highland and lowland, CLARITY: 4 Oberg, Kalervo. Types
of Social Structure among the Lowland Tribes of South and Oberg discusses
six types of social structures among indigenous societies in Central
and Oberg first discusses homogenous tribes, which he defines as small groups of people related through kinship ties without any named subgroups within the tribe. These groups are self-perpetuating, and have various settlement patterns. Homogenous tribes in South and Central America tend to either have a two-lineage system or a four-lineage system, depending on the rules that determine who is eligible for marriage. Segmented tribes classify subgroups as well as individuals within themselves and result from increased population size and density. Politically organized chiefdoms consist of villages under the control of one chief; their emergence depends on the existence of a food surplus. Feudal states include a hereditary nobility, serfdom, priesthood, and a greater concentration of wealth. City-states depend on intensive agriculture and have specialized occupations as well as markets. The most complex social structure that Oberg describes is the Inca theocratic empire that organized the economy of a very large area and collected surpluses for rulers, priests, and public works. In conclusion, increases in the food supply are the "necessary preconditions for the appearance of levels of increasing social complexity." CLARITY RANKING: 3 Oberg, Kalervo. Types
of Social Structure among the Lowland Tribes of South and In this article
Kalervo summarizes Steward’s classification of the marginal, tropical
forests, Circum Caribbean, and Andean civilizations. He structures
his material with three objectives in mind: 1. To classify tribes
or other culture- carrying units on the basis of certain typical culture
traits. 2. To distinguish
broad cultural strata of levels and to indicate the developmental interrelationship
of these levels. 3. To determine,
in so far as possible, the concrete historical processes by which these
developments have taken place. He divides the tribes
into six major social political units: Homogenous, Segmented, Politically
Organized Chiefdoms, He concludes that
the digging-stick agriculture varies so much by specific environments
that each situation should be evaluated separately in order to weigh
major developments and subsistence practices, like irrigation agriculture,
and their correlation with social complexity. In this paper the relationship
between social organization and subsistence and other economic activities
has not been discussed, for the correlation here is of a different
order. CLARITY RANKING:
3 Rouse, The purpose of this article is to examine the concepts of "component" and "phase" in regards to archeological research. Phillip and Willey (1953) propose that the majority of archeologists concentrate on tangible evidence from cultures, such as artifacts, but they believe that it is important to have a greater understanding of cultures themselves. Before Rouse begins his discussion, he states that he is not favoring one side but trying to illustrate the collaboration of all sides. .A component is a tangible aspects of cultures such as "group of burials, food remains, collection of artifacts"( 1955: 713). A phase is the rituals, beliefs, and values of a culture. Thus, a phase is the uses of the component. Rouse brings forth several methods in determination of phases: descriptive correlation, distributional correlation, and genetic correlation. A descriptive correlation is the idea that there are similarities among phases. Distributional correlation asserts that it is mportant to know when and where phases began. Genetic correlation studies the relationships among phases. Although these correlations are critical to understand cultures, there are limitations to these methods. Distributional and genetic correlation are limited to availabe data. In general, none of the three correlations can be sufficient by itself. It is critical to have a collaboration among all types of correlations. Rouse concludes that culture historians need to understand that there "is no short cut to historical reconstruction" (1955: 721). It is fundamental that culture historians adopt new methods and concepts to gain a better and more complete understanding of cultures. CLARITY 3 KELLY GILFEATHER: Sayles, E.B. Three Mexican Crafts. American Anthropologist October, 1955 Vol. 57 (5): 953-973. The purpose of this
article is "to call attention to three important crafts now practiced
in The pottery making is unique because the artists use a hand molding method to create the pots. Rather than using potting wheels, which were introduced by the Spanish, the artist uses their fist as a "lathe" to mold the pot. The other unique method used in pottery making is the firing method, where the heat of the kiln is increased steadily over time. Another unique type of pottery made by the artist is "Talavera" pottery, or a particular type of glazed pottery. Within the weaving
craft, there are different types of looms and weaves that can be used
to create certain patterns and pieces. The body loom helps to weave
particular types of cloth and clothing. For example, it can help to
create a "rebozo", or a female scarf that is often worn in Metal casting, is
another process used that helps to create different pieces of art.
It has often been compared to the lost-wax casting method found in
the I believe an underlying theme of this article is stated at the end when the author describes the importance of knowing about these different forms of craftsmanship: "by connecting the past to the present one can see how "ancient" art processes and creations were made." CLARITY: 5 JESSICA SAVAGE: Sayles, E.B.. Three Mexican Crafts. American Anthropologist 1955 Vol.57:953-973 In The principal types
of pottery making are: the black ware of Coyotepec; the red ware and
green-glazed ware of Atzompa; and the "Maiolica" or "Talavera" ware
made in The second type
of craft used by the The last type of
craft described is metal casting, which is used in jewelry making.
In This article is
basically an overview of the different processes of pottery making
used in CLARITY: 5 Schneider, David M. and Homans, George C. Kinship Terminology and the American Kinship System. American Anthropologist. December, 1955 Vol.57 (6)1194-1208. The authors set
out to explain the American kinship system through the analysis of
terms that Americans use for their kin. A variety of techniques were
used on both students and faculty in the Department of Social Relations
at The American kinship system is unique in how it makes use of alternate terms in referring to one’s kin. Not only is there a very large number of alternate terms that can be used when talking or referring to one’s relative, but there is also the usage of possessive pronouns that can vary as well when referring to whom the relationship is with. The authors found that the situational context influenced the reference and address made. "Second cousin" is an example of a term used in reference but never in address. There are instances in which the term can serve both purposes; not only does "father" define a class, but it also distinguishes a role. Many of those studied claimed to use a "principal" term and a couple variant terms when speaking or referring to their parents. Formality seemed to play a part in what term was used for one’s parents. Another significant finding is that, over time, changes are made in the terms we use. As adults we rarely use the same "names" that we did as a young child. For the terms for aunt and uncle, the variables included which side of the family the person was on, the gender and age of the informant, and whether a positive or negative relationship existed between the two relatives. It was also found that their informants made a distinction between "mother" and the person who raised them. This study showed just how complex the American kinship system is: "Kinship must therefore teach him more than the limited scope of pure kinship, it must teach him the fundamentals of his whole culture" (1208). CLARITY: 4 Service, Elman
R. Indian-European Relations in Colonial Service addresses
the issue of aboriginal racial and cultural assimilation in various
regions of Service divides The lowlands populations were less dense, and the slash-and-burn horticultural made the villages less stable than in the highlands. Escape from European control was easier in these regions, and in order to keep Indians in the area for labor purposes, European and indigenous cultures were put into closer proximity, accounting for the Mestizo composition of the lowlands. The cultural values and organization of these groups were stripped away more rapidly, and the cultural and racial assimilation was much more complete. Service’s conclusion is that the more similar the society of the conquered is to the conquerors’, the less their racial and cultural composition will be disrupted. Greater assimilarion will take place when these two cultures are radically different and must come into closer contact for the conquering to be successful. CLARITY: 4 Service, R. Elman. Indian-European
Relations in Colonial The following article
examines the degree to which aboriginal racial and cultural traits
in modern CLARITY RANKING:
3 Simmons, Ozzie G. The Criollo Outlook in the Mestizo Culture. American Anthropologist February, 1955 Vol.57 (1): 107-117. Simmons focuses
on defining the criollo outlook in The author begins
with examining previous literature on criollo and mestizo culture.
He finds that criollo culture is part of mestizo culture and is not
the same as the culture of the original criollos in CLARITY: 4 Simmons, Ozzie
G. The Criollo Outlook in the Mestizo Culture
of Coastal In this article,
Simmons is concerned with identifying and analyzing a key pattern of
mestizo culture, with particular reference to Simmons begins this
article by comparing the prior works and opinions of John Gillin and
Harry Tschopik. They each have varying opinions of what the term criollo means
and to whom. Gillin uses the term to identify the Peruvian mestizo
culture as a whole, while Tschopik restricts the term’s use to the
upper-class way of life. Although Gillin and Tschopik use this term
quite differently, the term is actually used to designate a set of
patterns that represent mestizo culture in 1955 Peru. Simmons also
touches on the various biological make-up of the people and the names
that are applied. The criollo outlook
comes from the viewpoint of those oriented to it. There are many aspects
of the culture that are revealed throughout the article, from dancing
and courting to bullfighting and sports. Some of the characteristics
of the culture have been in process since pre-colonial times, whereas
others can only be traced as far back as the nineteenth century. They
are depicted, as Tschopik believes because the upper- and lower-class
have slight differences. Simmons closes by stating that this article
has been about establishing and affirming the cultural identity of
the Peruvian mestizo. CLARITY RANKING:
3 Slotkin, J.S. Peyotism. American Anthropologist April 1955 Vol. 57 (2): 202-230. After reviewing the literature available in 1955, Slotkin felt that there was simply not enough information known about peyote, its uses in Native American and American cultures, or the history of its usage. Slotkin begins the paper by analyzing and describing exactly what is meant by term peyote. The term peyote has, over time, been misconstrued into meaning several different things and referring to several different plants. From there, Slotkin then moves on to discuss the different tribes that had or still have a high level of peyote usage in their society. The reader is then presented with a map that shows the suspected areas, ranging from Mexico to just over the Rio Grande, that grow the cactus from which peyote is made as well as the regions of peyote using tribes. Next, Slotkin presents the reader with a list of the many different usages of peyote amongst the different tribes listed earlier. These uses vary from a healing compound to the tribe admitting to using the cactus simply as an intoxicant. Finally, the reader is presented with an explanation of exactly what is meant by the Peyote Cult and the role is plays in the current usage of peyote in these tribes. Slotkin finishes his paper with a long list of interviews, historical documents, and quotes from sources on the region. These sources are meant to give the reader a better understanding of exactly how the peyote problem was identified and handled. Since the main point of the paper was to simply provide more information and better definitions on the peyote phenomenon, Slotkin makes no predictions and asks no questions that could be answered by his research. The only questions that Slotkin asks cannot be answered due to a lack of information and sources. CLARITY:3 DEVIN GINGRICH: Spiro, Melford E. The Acculturation of American Ethnic Groups. American Anthropologist December, 1955 Vol. 57 (6):1240-1251. Melford Spiro’s paper begins with a survey of the literature on American ethnic groups. Spiro finds that the main focus of such literature has dealt with the cultures and the acculturation of ethnic groups. Spiro’s survey of literature examines anthropological studies which he finds focus largely on minority groups and race relations implying a strong interest in prejudice, discrimination, and what he terms ‘inter-group’ relations. Spiro then conducts a brief survey of research pertaining to American ethnic groups. His discussion of ‘Who has been studied?’ ranges from Mexicans to Jews to Japanese to Italians to Norwegians to Irish and to many others. Then Spiro examines ‘What has been studied?’ which emphasizes eight main categories. Spiro assumes it is better to restrict his comments to a few selected topics in his section, ‘What has been learned?’, rather than commenting on all these categories. Below is a summary of Spiro’s five main focuses followed by his five main conclusion or findings or beliefs: (1) Acculturation and social mobility (since acculturation is a necessary condition for mobility achievement, mobility aspirations lead to an acceleration of the acculturative process), (2) Acculturation and nativism (discusses that ethnocentrism is always present in the native), (3) Acculturation and religion (religion is an independent variable in acculturation and may serve to accelerate or retard the process), (4) Acculturation and the family (the influence of the Church serves to keep the structure of the family ‘inviolate’), and (5) Acculturation and personality (cultural changes occur without corresponding changes in personality). CLARITY: 4 SIMON BUSTOW: Trager, George
L. The Language of Trager analyzes
the different languages of CLARITY: 4 Vogt, Evon Z. American Subcultural Continua as Exemplified by the Mormons and Texans. American Anthropologist December, 1955 Vol. 57 (6):1163-1172. Vogt’s overall concern is that although anthropologists research all different types of variation in American culture, there are some that have not been sufficiently addressed to date (1955). The thesis of this paper is that there is a variation in American culture, which he calls ‘a historically derived subcultural continuum’. Vogt’s main argument is that there are subcultures that can be mapped in time and space and categorized by specific patterns and values. The Mormon culture and Texan culture are used as examples throughout this paper and argument. The section labeled ‘Temporal and Spatial Distributions’ defines the author’s operational definition of Mormon culture and Texan culture and contains a brief historical time line of the two subcultures. The section labeled ‘Cultural Pattern and Value Characteristics’ compares and contrasts similarities and differences between the two subcultures and then with the generalized American culture. In Vogt’s conclusion, he acknowledges that he has advanced the idea of the concept of a historically derived subcultural continuum. Vogt notes that for a more exact and clearer set of boundaries and characteristics a much closer study is required. Finally, Vogt briefly addresses ‘regionalism’. CLARITY: 3 Vogt, Evon Z. A Study of Southwestern Fiesta Systems as Exemplified by the Laguna Fiesta. August, 1955 American Anthropologist Vol. 57 (4): 820-839. The main attempt of this paper is to round out the understanding of the fiesta scene in the small village setting of the American Midwest. Vogt feels that the literature of the time did not cover the fiesta scene with the depth that was necessary to understand what was happening. Vogt also looks at the ties between the fiestas and Catholicism in their organization and their justification. Vogt then begins to discuss exactly what the sacred meanings were behind the fiesta. According to Vogt, it seems that there are several different reasons that the fiesta takes place. Originally the fiesta was held in March in remembrance of the patron saint of the pueblo. Over time, the fiesta was moved to September so that it would coincide with the harvest of the season, as well as being in the more favorable weather of September. Next, Vogt launches into a discussion of exactly what happens at the Laguna Fiesta. After spending two years at the festival, he is able to present information on who was present, what vendors were there, and how attendance changed from year to year. Vogt concludes by discussing the communal beliefs about the fiesta. He feels that although there are many different groups of people present at the fiesta, there is no one reason for having the fiesta. Each group justifies their presence at the fiesta in their own manor, but are able to exist in harmony. CLARITY:3 DEVIN GINGRICH: Wagley, Charles. Bernard
Mishkin. American Anthropologist, 1955. Vol.
37: 1033,1035. Charles Wagley’s “Bernard
Mishkin” is a short biography of Bernard Mishkin, an influential anthropologist
during the mid twentieth century. Mishkin died of a heart attack in
1954 at the young age of forty-one; however, he had the theoretical
insight which could have made him one of the foremost anthropologists
of his generation. In order to convince that Mishkin had a gift in
the field of anthropology, Wagley explores all of the contributions
that Mishkin made during his short period of anthropological research.
Wagley reveals all of the contributions Mishkin made to the field of
anthropology and emphasizes his dedication. He presents Mishkin’s biography
in chronological order, mentioning Mishkin’s background, education,
and occupations. By giving a detailed list of the impressive institutions
where Mishkin studied and taught, Wagley justifies Mishkin’s potential.
He also confirms that Columbia University’s Franz Boas and Ruth Benedict
recognized Mishkin’s abilities. Furthermore, Wagley explores Mishkin’s
fieldwork on the Kiowa of Oklahoma, the Wapi area of CLARITY: 5 ERICA GREENBERG Wagley,
Charles. Bernard Mishkin (1913-1954). American Anthropologist
March 1955 Vol. 57(1):1033-1034 Bernard Mishkin,
a man of real intelligence and of great promise died suddenly of a
heart attack on July 13, 1954 in Mishkin’s education
started in 1933, when he received his B.A from Mishkin’s field
work started during the summer of 1935 with the Kiowa Oklahoma as a
Fellow of the Santa Fe Laboratory of Anthropology. There he examined
the view of the Plains warfare as a just a game and showed it’s relationship
to economic gain and social status and wrote the Rank and Warfare among the Plains Indians. In
1936, his field work took him to the Wapi area in By not being just
an ethnographer but a student and observer Mishkin learned a vast amount
about the economic, social and political issues in CLARTIY RANKING:
5 Wagley, Charles
and Marvin Harris. A Typology of Latin American
Subcultures. American Anthropologist June, 1955 Vol. 57 (3):428-451. Wagley and Harris
divide Latin American subcultures into nine different types, based
on combining the results of previous studies. Tribal Indian types are
relatively rare and have been isolated from European influence, while
modern Indian types have incorporated some elements of European and
national culture. Modern Indian groups are still culturally distinct
from the national cultures of their countries and usually speak an
indigenous language. Peasant types are of a variety of racial backgrounds
and work the land in small plots, frequently using slash-and-burn cultivation,
and are more integrated into the national culture and economy than
Indian groups. They live in rural areas and villages. The authors distinguish
between two types of plantation systems, the traditional engenho plantation
and the modern, usina plantation, and the owners of both belong
to the upper class. Engenho plantations were originally based
on slavery and had a subculture that, according to Wagley and Harris,
included a "stable set of relations often accompanied by personal
intimacy and intense loyalty," while the usina plantations
are larger, more mechanized, and worked by mobile workers. Towns have
their own subculture formed by local elites that seek to emulate cosmopolitan,
upper-class lifestyles, while manual labors who live in small towns
have much in common with peasants. The metropolitan upper class is
the new aristocracy that traditionally emulated Wagley and Harris
apply their typology to three Brazilian communities that they studied,
finding that political attitudes, behavior and other characteristics
were divided according to the subcultures in which the people belonged.
The authors conclude that subcultures in CLARITY: 5 Willey, Gordon
R. The Prehistoric Civilizations of Nuclear Gordon Willey describes
at length the cultural content of the native agricultural civilizations
of the In his discussion
of these regions, their cultures, and their significance to later histories,
Willey analyzes a variety of artifacts that reveal "cultural content",
including agricultural patterns, pottery, tools, art, architecture,
technology, and mounds. Focusing his discussion on these factors, Willey’s
discussion is attentive to specific cultural issues and regional and
time differences and similarities. This article is rather comprehensive
in its analysis of the prehistory of CLARITY: 3 KRISTEN SHELL: Willey, Gordon R. and Philip Phillips. Methods and Theory in American Archaeology II: Historical-Developmental Interpretation. American Anthropologist August, 1955 Vol.57 (4):723-819. This article is
the second part of a discussion dealing with how to interpret archaeological
data. The goal of this article is to outline six developmental stages
and the criteria within those stages. The six stages are: Early Lithic,
Archaic, Preformative, Formative, Classic, and Postclassic. The Early
Lithic and Archaic stages are characterized by lithic technology and
techniques. The Preformative stage was created as a theoretical stepping
stone between the Archaic and Formative periods. It represents the
period when elements of the Formative stage ("agriculture, stable
settlement patterns, craft specialization, and ceremonialism")
were beginning to form and emerge. The Formative stage, then, incorporates
the above criteria. It also requires agriculture to be fully integrated
into society, to create socioeconomic complexity. The Classic stage
is not defined by technological advances, but by "perceived characteristics
of aesthetic excellence, religious climax, and general florescence." Thus,
the criteria are qualitative rather than quantitative, and are relative
to the stages before and after. "[F]eatures of, or tendencies
toward, urbanism, secularism, and militarism" define the Postclassic
stage. For all of these stages, the authors elaborate in great detail
the different evidences for the creation of such stages. Also, these
stages are tested on the However, the authors contend that there are no "right" stages to be found, only ones that provide a better way in which to conduct interpretation. Further, there is no "evolution" of culture. The six stages are not inevitable, nor does a culture have to pass through all of them. There are many factors, both cultural and non-cultural, that determine whether or not a culture will undergo any of these stages. The authors ask the readers to question their scheme and they outline the shortcomings. One main problem with their scheme is that it tries to be both developmental and historical. Another problem relates to the change in criteria for stages (from qualitative to quantitative). The last main problem discussed is that the scheme does not allow for cultural regression. The authors then ask a number of questions for the reader to consider, regarding the problems in New World Archaeology and the schemes developed from it, including theirs. CLARITY: 4 Willey, R. Gordon and Phillips, Philip. Method and Theory in American Archeology II: Historical Developmental Interpretation. American Anthropologist 1955 Vol.57:723-818. In their article,
Willey and Phillips, attempt to organize an analytic developmental
scheme for As a point of departure
they ask: "What method of organization can be used to integrate
archeological data on an American-wide scale?" To this end they
list two techniques for integrating historical data (or "units
of culture"), the horizon and tradition. They do
so not only to describe their significance, but more importantly to
point out their limits. The former method for example focuses on an
art style or specific complex of features and thus has little utility
in multiple area synthesis. The later, while allowing for greater flexibility
in spatial dimensions and content by focusing on repeating configurations
of singular or whole systems of technologies, still carries strict
limits of time and space. So it is that they
insist on developing a historical developmental scheme that is "free
from strict limitations of time and space, yet has a general historical
validity in the widest sense." To achieve this they plot out a
series of sequential cultural stages. These are similar to that which
Steward and Krieger had done before them, with the major difference
being that their model is one for the This scheme consists
of six stages, with the first two being primarily based on typological
and technological data, while the proceeding four bear greater configurational
criteria. Furthermore, the authors also give detailed accounts of the
key geographic location(s) of these eras. The scheme includes: 1. Early Lithic:
defined as the stage of unspecialized percussion industries, or rough
and chipped stone technologies. Settlement patterns are such that they
leave little trace. Social organization is small scale and kinship
based, relying on a hunting/gathering economy. 2. Archaic: defined
as the stage where in addition to those stone technologies of the Early
Lithic, grinding and polishing are also used. To be more specific,
significant innovations in those technologies essential to gathering
cultures were made. For example, these include heavy woodworking tools,
or other more precise utensils (e.g.: drills). Settlements are small
yet rich in deposits, denoting a sedentary not nomadic way of life. 3. Preformative:
this stage is suggested as more of a theoretical of their model and
less as one that arises out of sheer archeological evidence. It is
to be that stage at which the elements of the Formative were assembling,
these being agriculture, ceremonialism etc. Thus, the shift to the
formative stage can be more clearly demonstrated than the shift from
the Archaic, as those defining features of the formative are less pronounced. 4. Formative: defined
by the presence of two key forms of agriculture, (maize and/or manioc),
and by their efficient socioeconomic integration into a well-established
sedentary culture. Such societies thus bear a certain level of minimal
complexity, and have arisen from a particular food economy. 5. Classic: defined
by a qualitative and not quantitative or absolute set of criteria.
In other words its identification rests more on the "subjectively
perceived characteristics of aesthetic excellence, religious climax
and general florescence." 6. PostClassic:
is basically defined by features of urbanism, secularism, and militarism.
Thus the criteria are once more objective. Of course such trends may
have been previously present, but at this stage they are far more emphasized.
Not surprisingly, another defining feature of this era was the large-scale
movements of people, along with their ideas or conceptual frameworks. CLARITY RANKING:
4 Wolf, Eric R. Types of Latin American Peasantry: A Preliminary Discussion. American Anthropologist June, 1955 Vol.57 (3): 452-471. Eric R. Wolf discusses two main types of Latin American peasant communities, which he calls open communities and corporate peasant communities. The author defines peasants as agricultural producers who control land, unlike tenants, and aims at subsistence rather than expansion of their production. This definition emphasizes structural relations rather than any specific cultural content, and Wolf states that peasants are parts of larger societies and cultures and are related to urban areas. The first peasant communities that Wolf discusses are those practicing intensive subsistence cultivation in highland areas and that hold land in common. These communities are in marginal areas and use traditional, labor-intensive production technologies. The community allocates power to its members, does not have strong class divisions, and is centered around the nuclear family as a unit of production and consumption. Community members sell a small amount of their crops in order to buy needed items, but produce mostly for their own subsistence. The other type of community that Wolf focuses on are what he calls open communities that sell 50 to 75 percent of their production and tends to be located in humid lowlands. Producing for the market gives them the opportunity to buy more goods, but their income from cash crops is unstable because it is subject to fluctuations in the world market, so they rely on subsistence production to meet their basic food needs. The possible accumulation in goods and economic differences between community members are sources of conflict. Wolf points out that subsistence production and producing for the market should not be seen as two progressive stages in development because peasants often engage in both and shift their production in response to economic trends rather than showing a clear progression towards market production. Wolf points out other types of peasant production should be studied further, including peasants that sell most of their produce to stable local markets. CLARITY: 4 Worsley, P.M. Totemism in a Changing Society. American Anthropologist. August, 1955 Vol. 57 (4):851-861. This article looks
at totemism within WaniNdiljaugwa, an aboriginal Australian tribe and
how it has changed over time. According to Worsley the use of the totem
expresses the relations between man and nature and the relations between
man and man. These relations are based on the resources in the environment
and the influences of these resources and individuals within the area.
Thus the arrival of white on the The attitude towards totemism is not ritually inclined, nor are totems considered to be eponymous ancestors. The totems are divided into three groups that have to do with the landscape or species of the island, the wind, and ships. All of these items have an importance to the people of the island. Certain plants and animals provide food and sustaining materials, the wind brings with it different seasons, and ships that provides methods of trading. CLARITY:3 MAKIVA HARPER: Worsley, P.M. Totemism in a Changing Society. American Anthropologist 1955 Vol. 57: 851-861 By observing the
changes in the totemic system of the Australian tribe WaniNdiljaugwa,
P.M. Worsley aims to prove that totemism changes as society changes. The tribe WaniNdiljaugwa
habits Groote Eyelandt in the Missionary Society Mission and in the
independent settlement at Umbakumba. They are also part of two moieties
with six clans each. Worsley observes they have no ritual attitude
towards the totem, with their principal totems falling into three categories:
totems that are features of the topography of the island or natural
species; wind totems; and ship totems. The wind totems
are connected with annual visits of the Makasaans indicated by the
name of the winds, which are of Makassareste or Malay origin. The Makasaans
were a tribe that visited them annually from at least the last quarter
of the 18th Century to 1907. Furthermore, Worsley states
that the symbols used for the winds in paintings, as indicated by Rose’s
hypothesis, were derived from the shape of Makasaar sails in various
winds. Worsley also states
the ship totem was recent in origin and that it served to explain how
ships were made in Worsley however,
finds no differences between ‘totemic’ songs and ‘historical’ songs,
thus showing new totems would depend on the importance of the social
material from which they derive and that historical events can give
rise to new totems through songs and dances. According to the
findings, Worsley concludes that because the basic life pattern was
maintained almost unchanged over the centuries, so did the totemic
system. This changed with the arrival of Makasaans, which modified
the totemic system and their life pattern. These were further modified
by the impact of white men (war and dependency on the white men’s goods).
Worsley also believes that it is mainly its importance in social groups
that makes the totem important today since no ritual significance is
attached to it. Accordingly, if groups disappear, so will totems, and
only songs as to comment on thing of social interest and change will
remain. CLARITY RANKING:
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