American Anthropologist
1970

Bascom, William.    Obituary: Fernando Ortiz. American Anthropologist August, 1970 Vol.72 (4):816-818.

Fernando Ortiz was an anthropologist who led the way in Afro-American studies. Through extensive schooling in Spain and Cuba, Ortiz's interests progressed from criminal anthropology to that of Afro-American and Afro-Cuban studies. Ortiz authored many books and was well respected in his field by scholars in Latin America and Europe.

Born in Havana, Cuba in 1881, he was educated at Menorca in Barcelona and Madrid, Spain and Havana, Cuba. He received his third doctorate in law in 1906. Ortiz's career was extensive and he held many public positions such as a Public Prosecutor in Havana, Representative in the Cuban House of Representatives and Professor of Public Law at the University of Havana. A prolific writer, Ortiz authored many books, beginning with Los Negros Brujos in 1906. This book began his focus on Afro-Americans. He used prison convicts as informants and learned a great deal about Afro-Cuban beliefs and customs. Through this he identified the Yoruba of Nigeria as a major influence on Afro-Cuban religion. Ortiz's other books dealt with Africa and the culture between Africa and Cuba in subjects like religion and music. Among other accomplishments, he was a founder of Academia de la Historia de Cuba, Sociedad del Folklore Cubano, Institucion Hispano-Cubana de Cultura.

A poised, benevolent man with a cheerful disposition, Ortiz was greatly respected and admired by his students and colleagues. Fernando Ortiz died in Havana Cuba on April 11, 1969. His dedication and contributions to Afro-Cuban studies are greatly appreciated.

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ANNE KRAEMER Ball State University (Dr. Larry Nesper).

Bricker, Victoria and Collier, George.     Nicknames and Social Structure in Zinacantan.  American Anthropologist April, 1970. Vol.72(2):289-299

The overall problem the authors are concerned with in this essay is the relationship between naming practices and the social structure within a society. They perceive these naming practices to be an incorporated part of the social stratification of various societies, particularly the Zinacantan. They fervently attempt to convince readers that names in a society can be attached to numerous other aspects of society.

They form this argument in various stages, each assessing a particular aspect of the naming system. They begin by merely explaining the existing naming structure of the Zinacantan. They point out that each Zinacanteco possesses three names, a first name, a Spanish surname and an Indian surname. They point out the purpose of each of these names within a society. The Indian surname is meant to create an exogamous group around the individual, whereas the Spanish surname is merely a lineage name passed from generation to generation. The use of nicknames came about due to the commonality of many names and the apparent inability of the Zinacanteco to tell each other apart.

As these nicknames' initial use is informal, they are often extended to members of a local descent group and eventually incorporated into the system of formal names. These nicknames are based on various ideas in the culture, such as mother's name, appearance, living area and unique earthen features surrounding it, occupation and often characteristics unique to the individual. The authors find the most important aspect of the nickname system to be its individualizing feature.

The authors go into great analytical detail in regard to a system of communicative codes and these codes’ ability to measure the communicative efficiency of naming components. They do this by considering the previously mentioned name structure, as in first name, Spanish surname, Indian surname and nickname to be regarded as naming components, A, B, C and D. They devise a system of entropy in order to determine how efficient code, or name, combinations are in individualizing a person. One example of this is by combining the first name with a nickname, the efficiency for individuality is increased, where a combination of the first name and Indian surname causes a decreased efficiency. This all leads to the authors' foray into the aspects of lineage and descent groups. According to the authors, nicknames are appellations acquired by a man and given to his descendants until they perhaps have an appellation given to them. This makes it possible for lineage members to trace their descent back to one common fork in the genealogical ladder without overlapping. This proves helpful in establishing lineage solidarity. One lineage can be considered more solid if it has a higher ratio of household heads to nickname groups.

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JOSHUA SLAVEN Ball State University (Larry Nesper)

Clarke, J. J.     On the Unity and Diversity of Cultures. American Anthropologist June, 1970 Vol.72(3):545-553.

In this article, J. J. Clarke argues that the ideas of basic biological and physical needs do not provide an adequate foundation for explanations of the diversity of cultural phenomena. He reasons that the needs and problems are, in fact, actually functions of the culture and cannot be identified as independent of the cultural structure. It is important, Clarke explains, to examine this problem to determine if criteria can be found that identify universal cultural patterns since relativistic theories claim that any description or theory can only be applied to one specific culture and is meaningless if used to describe a different culture.

Clarke demonstrates throughout the article how attempts by others like Kluckhohn, Goldschmidt, Bennett and Tumin, etc. to establish universal themes underlying cultural variation are defective. He says biological facts cannot be used because only certain ones are relevant to cultural traits, and these can only be chosen through a prior understanding of social structures. He similarly rules out psychological facts and direct observation of societies. Also, any list of cultural universals could not include categories such as family, religion, or war that must be defined by cultural-specific customs and practices. Of course, categories that are too broad are also useless. Clarke argues that it cannot be assumed that the great diversity of cultural phenomena is reducible to basic drives such as hunger, thirst, reproduction, comfort, etc. While they may contribute to it, the customs and rites found in cultures are more than just the fulfillment of these basic needs.

Even the very idea of a basic need, Clarke states, is faulty. No specific aspect can be defined as more "basic" than any other value, as all are interconnected through culture. Finally he objects to a list of universal underlying problems by arguing that they are not basic problems, but instead indicate by their very occurrence that a society has already developed. Therefore, the formation of sociocultural diversity cannot be explained by problems such as "reproduction of new members for the group" because it presupposes that a group already exists with at least a minimal culture.

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KARA HOLTZMAN Ball State University (Dr. Larry Nesper).

Clarke, J.J.     On the Unity and Diversity of Cultures. American Anthropologist. June, 1970 Vol. 72 (3) 545-554.

Clarke argues that "basic need" or "basis problem" concepts do not solve the problem of formulating criteria of intercultural identities. Basic needs are too "flimsy" a foundation for the variety and diversity of cultural phenomena. This is due, not to a lack of basic materials relative to superstructure, but rather to the logical properties of the concepts of need, problems, etc.

The topic is discussed in terms of theories of relativism, functionalism, reductionism, social contact and others, pointing out the shortcomings of each in defining basic needs, their supposed universality and the diversity of solutions. The problem is not just one argument but a class of arguments each of which differs in what is included in the set. The methodology needed to uncover the relationships between these needs and social phenomena is explored. Basic needs would need to be defined in a "culturally neutral" way being careful not to be over-general or over-specific. It is generally accepted that all societies must provide the means to enable its members to eat, procreate, care for the young and protect themselves from the elements in order for the society to survive, but it cannot be inferred from this that basic needs can be found corresponding to these social factors

Societies do indeed have needs and problems, which they satisfy and solve, but these already presuppose the existence of a society that constantly subjects its environmental and biological stresses to reevaluation. The needs of a society are not "given," but are functions of an already developed culture. They cannot then be thought of as constants variably filled with diverse cultural content.

CLARITY RANKING: 4

MARY DUROCHER Wayne State University (Dr Beverly Fogelson)

Cook, Scott.     Price and Output Variability in a Peasant-Artisan Stoneworking Industry in Oaxaca, Mexico: An Analytical Essay in Economic Anthropology. American Anthropologist February, 1970 Vol.72(4):776-795

Cook's purpose in this article is to relate basic environmental, ecological and technological processes to economically productive activities. He attempts to make the argument that the production of the Mexican metate, or grindstone, correlates to numerous factors, including both market and non-market factors.

Cook's basic argument shows that as the metate is produced and sold in the market, it's industry of production is not merely based on the market demands, but also various agricultural and cultural demands. He proposes that both the economic and anthropological modes of explanation are complimentary in the analysis of the fluctuating market output of the metate throughout the seasonal year.

Cook spends considerable time in this article explaining the market and production of the metate at face value. This production takes place in multiple stages including the quarrying of stone, transportation, actual production and retailing. However, this also entails quite often, the involvement of outside lenders, or separate owners of quarries. Due to these outside variables, Cook explains that the metate producer often entertains the lower portion of the economic ladder. This is caused by the relatively low profitability of the metate after all costs have been extracted.

As Cook focuses on output and price variability, he devises a plan in which he refers to as time series data. By the use of various charts he points out the similarities in the selling prices of the metates and the number sold, being identical in highs and lows. He proposes this is due to the various factors of the economy, agricultural season and social aspects. His first series of data involves the agricultural work cycle. He notices that between the months of Sept.-Mar. during what is knows as the dry season, harvesting and particular increases in metate production and sales occur. Conversely, during the remaining months domination the wet season, production decreases as the metate craftsmen plant and cultivate their harvests. This has a direct affect on the demand of the metate as it is less likely to be purchased during these times. Also correlating to this is the idea that not until the end of the harvest season do the metators have enough financial strength to make the purchases of capital needed to produce the metates.

Cook also discussed how the festival cycle plays a part in the demand for metates. The marriage season coincides with the dry season, and as tradition calls, gifts of highly decorated metates are given to the bride on the wedding night. This provides a cultural demand. Cook also takes time to note the faction of non landowning metators which provide the service year round, as it is necessary to earn money to provide survival necessities.

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JOSHUA SLAVEN Ball State University (Larry Nesper)

Cook, Scott.     Price and Output Variability in a Peasant-Artisan Stoneworking Industry in Oaxaca, Mexico: An Analytical Essay in Economic Anthropology. American Anthropologist. August 1970 vol.72: 776-801

The article examines the price and output variability of metates (grinding stones) in the peasant economy of the Oaxaca valley in Mexico. The author begins with the claim that economic anthropology in the past has focused upon either Neo-classical or Marxist models, or on purely cultural concerns, bypassing any of the quantitative methodological approaches that would be used by economists. The author argues for an integration of both cultural and economic models.

The output of metates increases with price, in seeming contrast to capitalist theory of supply and demand. The author isolates a series of environmental, seasonal, cultural, social and economic factors contributing to this. In short, most metateroes (manufacturers of metates) are primarily engaged in subsistence agriculture, resorting to metate production when there is an increased demand. Demand increases when the crops are securely in, and the people can safely spend a little money. This is also the festive wedding season, and metates are a traditional bride-gift. At these times there are less agricultural demands, so there is free time for the production. During bad crop years more metates will be produced, as a way to offset the economic effects of low crop yield.

The metateros act as a unit when dealing with wholesale buyers to keep up prices, and the dealers comply because there are more of them than there are metateros with the means and skills for production. Some peasants produce metates year-round as a primary occupation, providing for some price stabilization. The author appeals to many factors, and to a methodological approach with which to integrate them. The article is 18 pages long including diagrams, and will likely be rather arcane to the non-specialist. A good deal of theoretical and methodological material is included.

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TED B. WALLS   Wayne State University (Beverly J. Fogelson)

Dempsey, Hugh.     Claude Everett Schaeffer 1901-1969. American Anthropologist December 1970 Vol.72(6):1409-1410.

Claude Schaeffer died of a heart attack in his home in Seaside, California on October 11, 1969. In this obituary, Dempsey describes the career of Schaeffer, concerning himself with the major details of Schaeffer's extensive fieldwork.

Dempsey begins by informing the reader of Schaeffer's pre-college work at the Idaho Power Company until he entered the University of Washington, Seattle in 1923. He worked at his family firm until returning to Washington to receive his graduate degree. Dempsey tells of Schaeffer's initial work in the classical Plains culture and his eventual career focus in the area. Schaeffer began his intensive work in 1935, being appointed field consultant to the Department of the Interior, Office of Indian Affairs. He helped establish the Wheeler-Howard program of Indian self-government on the Flathead reservation. He then went on to receive his doctoral work at the University of Pennsylvania, where his first paper, "First Jesuit Mission to the Flathead: A Study of Culture Conflict," was published.

Dempsey points out that this paper was the beginning of a long list of publications by Schaeffer. Dempsey focuses on the seven-year experience of Schaeffer on the fieldwork among the Blackfoot and Kutenai. After his work with these cultures, Schaeffer took a post at Browning and remained there until his retirement.

Dempsey closes out the obituary by describing Schaeffer's last years at Browning. Dempsey expresses great respect as he talks of Schaeffer's significant exhibitions, his initiation of the Studies in Plains Anthropology and History series, and his numerous papers. Dempsey then describes Schaeffer's life in retirement, showing great esteem in his description of the unfinished work in publishing all he could about the Plains Indians. Dempsey's closing contains information concerning his acceptance among the Blackfoot and Kutenai people, and his impact on the scholars around him.

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JOSHUA SLAVEN Ball State University (Dr. Larry Nesper).

Dorian, Nancy C.     The Substitute Name System in the Scottish Highlands. American Anthropologist April, 1970 Vol. 72 (2): 303-319.

Dorian begins her article by describing the number and distribution of the Gaelic speaking populations she studies, located in three villages (Golspie, Embo, and Brora) and the predominant families in the region- the MacRaes, Sutherlands, and MacDonalds, using statistics gained from a survey in 1964.

Next, Dorian discusses why it is that "by-names" are necessary in these communities, and why it is that official surnames are next to useless. Due to relatively large families until at least World War I, the small number of surnames, and the preference for a few Christian names, many people wound up having the same names. Thus, the system of by-names came into use. She also points out the hazards of the by-names, as one person may have several, not all of which are complimentary, and others of which may only be used by close friends or family without offense, as in the case of a man she heard referred to only as "Nogie", which turned out to be the name of a dog. One more problem encountered was her status as an outsider who became competent in the language- she could speak like a local, and knew many by-names, but she could never be entirely sure which name was acceptable to use, unlike all the locals whom she worked with.

Dorian continues, and breaks down the by-names used by the East Sutherlanders into five distinct groups; 1) Basic Genealogical, 2) Descriptive, 3) Derisive, 4) Nonsense, and 5) Secondary Genealogical Patterns built on the second, third, and fourth groups of names. Of these groups, only the Basic Genealogical can be reliably inoffensive to and of anyone. After naming these basic groups, Dorian explains each in more detail, and details how an individual may come by such a by-name, as well as the social implications of certain elements of a name.

Finally, Dorian discusses by-name usage by relative outsiders, such as the children of people who moved away from the villages, or English-speaking residents. In each case, the outsider using a by-name tends to lack all of the social finesse required to know which to use when, similarly to Dorian's own problem. However, also cited are the cases of English speakers gaining and using their own by-names in the community, Gaelic or otherwise, which do not seem to cause the same problems as strictly Gaelic community by-names.

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ERIC PTAK Ball State University (Larry Nesper)

Duffield, Lathel, F.     Vertisols and Their Implications for Archaeological Research American Anthropologist July, 1970 Vol.72(5):1055-1061

Soil that is thought to be the archaeologist’s friend in helping with stratigraphy and understanding the context in which artifacts and ecofacts alike are found. Duffield addresses the problem of a soil that has assumed forty names with Vertisols given to the soil in the 1960’s by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. He defines, explains, and illustrates the complications that Vertisols can create.

According to Duffield, Vertisols are dry, cracked, dark, and compacted soils that are hazardous to farmers and archaeological findings. They form from dolomite, limestone, and various base-rich substances. They are largely found in Texas, and parts of South America, Africa, Asia and Australia.

The soils are dependent on the climates estimated at between 45 degrees north and 45 degrees south latitude. Their rapid movement from expanding in extreme rainfall and contracting in extreme drought make this unsuitable for trees and vegetation alike. They are estimated at covering 235 million hectares according to Duffield’s research at that time. The soil preference of tropical to subtropical regions accounts for its spread in Africa, Asia, and Australia.

With the strong influence of the Vertisols on stratigraphy data, Duffield also explores the rich quality of the soils for agricultural benefit in the right conditions. He theorizes that perhaps the soils have hindered the advancements of some cultures, using the comparison of other cultures to the ones that dealt with the Vertisols.

This article is very clear with its explanation of the soils that slowed down man’s progress from early times until the present.

CLARITY: 5

MARLA VIEIRA Ball State University (Larry Nesper)

Duffield, Lathel F.     Vertisols and Their Implications for Archeological research  American Anthropologist 1970 Vol.72 (5): 1055-1062

In this short paper, Lathel F. Duffield clearly describes, classifies, and gives helpful considerations about vertisols. Vertisols, known by archeologists under many other names, are dark colored and heterogeneous soils that cover about 580 million acres of the World. 20-30 million acres are in the United States. Their main characteristics relate to their capability of being very plastic and after the contact with water they also become very sticky. Both these characteristics are sufficient to make these soils "extremely risky to farm" and to confuse the archeological data found in these sites.

10 million acres of vertisols are found only in Texas. The author uses this fact to explain implications of vertisols during archaeological excavations in three different sites in Texas, which seems to have been a reason of disrupting the stratigraphic sequence and the cultural context. On the other side, vertisols existence explains why primitive agricultural communities of Texas were restricted to the westward spread.

In summary, taking into account the characteristics of vertisols, and their distribution could not only be helpful to understanding their implications on archeological data, but also to explain some of the demographic and cultural phenomenon along with primitive population movement and diffusion of culture.

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DIANA GELLCI Wayne State University, Detroit (Beverly Fogelson)

Dunn, Frederick L.     Cultural Evolution in the Late Pleistocene and Holocene of Southeast Asia. American Anthropologist October 1970 Vol. 72 (5):1041-1054

This article by Dunn is exploratory and speculative. He is examining the cultural adaptation and change in Southeast Asia during the time between the Late Wisconsin glacial substage of the Pleistocene and prehistoric times. He is trying to show how culture spread through Southeast Asia and that it helped the people in this area adapt to changing environments.

Dunn starts his argument with genetics and talks about gene pool and gene flow. He then relates gene flow and gene pool to culture flow and culture pool. He uses the theories of genetics and translates it into a theory of culture. He talks about the geographic isolation that took place for groups of people when the land bridges of Southeast Asia were submerged. This created an evolution of that culture from its original cultural pool. It is these adaptations he says that allowed that culture to survive the new environment created by changing sea levels.

This paper is straight forward and pure speculation. Dunn does not try and fool anyoneby saying this is fact. He merely says that under certain circumstances and with the evidence available this is possible. It is mostly easy to read and enjoyable.

CLARITY RANKING: 4

N. JASON RESLER Ball State University (Larry Nesper)

Dunn, Frederik D.     Cultural Evolution in the Late Pleistocene and Holocene of Southeast Asia. American Anthropologist 1931 Vol. 72 (5):1041-1054.

In this paper, the author employs terms of Darwinian evolution in order to study and explain the cultural environment in southeast Asia during the late Pleistocene and Holocene. The main argument is based upon the premise that adoption takes place culturally and biologically. If the main focus of Darwinian evolution was local population, gene pool, and genetic drift, the same concepts should work in cultural changes (evolution) as well. By analogy, cultural evolution is described and explained in the terms as the adoption of a local population through cultural flow, cultural homeostasis, and the cultural pool.

Thus, in the beginning changes of geological and geographical conditions made the cultural flow among isolated populations closely linked. Then, the cultural distinction among populations (the mainland pools) of northeastern and eastern China, Korea, Japan and eastern Siberia became less meaningful. "New genes and new ideas…began to flow outward back to the mainland from where each of the former isolates with its unique biological and cultural configuration of traits". Finally, changing climatic conditions and increasing population flow east-west and vice-versa brought nothing, but an interaction among "conservative areal tradition" and "innovative areal tradition", the cultural traits fitting into new geographical and biological conditions became traits of a new culture in southeast Asia.

CLARITY RANKING: 5

DIANA GELLCI Wayne State University, Detroit (Beverly Fogelson)

Durbin, Mridula A.     The Transformational Model of Linguistics and its Implications for an Ethnology of Religion: A Case Study of Jainism American Anthropologist April, 1970 Vol.72(2):334-342.

Author Mridula Durbin proposes in this article a theoretical model for an ethnology of religion that she compares to the transformational model of linguistics. She believes that such a model can assist anthropologists in their goal of determining the universals and nature of religions. Specifically she discusses Jainism, an Indian religion that was professed by less than a million people as of the date of the original article.

According to Durbin, like Buddhism, Jainism arose in the sixth century. Originating in Benares, India, Jainism spread west and north. By 1970, however, no Jains remained in Benares and Durbin states that for this analysis, she has used herself as the informant. What sets Jainism apart from Buddhism is its lack of active missionary spirit. Practitioners are content with the quiet, contemplative life. One of the most outstanding characteristics of Jainism, says Durbin, is its belief in a plurality of eternal spirits. Jains believe that every life has its own individual spirit.

At the start, Durbin admits to problems in the study of religions, as there is often confusion for those examining the systems. Most commonly, the author believes the difficulties arise in distinguishing between the design of religion and the relationships between religion and other cultural components. This is a distinction that must be understood and the transformational model taken from linguistics is the suggested format proposed.

A detailed analysis of Jainism follows, outlined by means of what Durbin calls "context-free rules," containing six postulates. Next are eleven "context-sensitive, transformational rules" described as postulates seven through nineteen. This presumably demonstrates the ease by which Janinism can be analyzed using the transformational approach. In her conclusion, Durbin states this is the first time the concepts of religion have been applied using the transformational theory. She believes that because Jainism is a highly formalized religion it may adapt to this analysis better than a religion that is less so. Finally, Durbin hopes many of the unanswered questions in the analysis of religion can be answered by further work with the transformational model.

This article is well written, but because of the philosophical nature of this uncommon religion, it is somewhat difficult to comprehend.

CLARITY: 3

REBECCA FAURE Ball State University (Larry Nesper)

Edmonson, Munro S.     Obituary: Paul David Pavy III. American Anthropologist August, 1970 Vol.72(4):819-820

An intelligent, young, professional anthropologist was lost at the commencement of his bright career. Paul David Pavy III was a passionate man who began with a degree in Zoology from Louisiana State University and then found Anthropology at Tulane. Pavy sought a poetic, literary, yet scientific and scholarly Anthropology. Through his fieldwork, Pavyíss dedication and rigor for Anthropology was evident.

Paul David Pavy III was born in 1938 and began a bright college career in 1956 at Louisiana State University. During his years at Tulane in the early 1960s, he began his fieldwork in Columbia and among the Louisiana Koasati. For the last four years of his life he went back and forth to Colombia, Berkeley, and the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard. Dedication and fervor helped him create his dissertation on The Negro in Western Colombia in 1966. His wide ranges of interests led him to write upon folklore, ethnohistory and schizophrenic speech. In 1968 he began as a full time professor at the University of Washington in Seattle.

Despite being a driven man, an amazing fieldworker, and a fresh teacher, he was full of depression. Although he was married with three children and held an amazing career, his grip on life was not enough. On November 12, 1968 Paul David Pavy III took his own life in Seattle and shocked an entire community. Students, family, and scholars alike realized the great loss to the anthropological community because Pavy was just launching an amazing and brilliant career.

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ANNE KRAEMER Ball State University (Larry Nesper)

Foster, George M.     Robert J. Weitlaner 1883-1968, American Anthropologist April, 1970 Vol. 72(2): 343-347

Foster presents the obituary of Robert J. Weitlaner also known as "Papa Weitlaner" with great admiration and affection. Born on July 23, 1963 in Steyr, Austria. His obituary is a chronology of his journey to fulfill a childhood dream, to interact with Indians, and how that dream touched others.

He’s journey truly began when most have concluded theirs. He followed his father’s footsteps earning a degree of metallurgical engineer. The appeal of live Indians took him o America, a growing trend upon immigrants. In America he began to audit classes in Anthropology. He was encouraged by his professor to continue in his hobbies. He visited the Tuscarora and Seneca reservations gathering information for his first paper published in 1915. Even with the meeting and interaction of intellects of the time, it was not quite what he wanted. He takes his family and moves to Mexico City. HE meets anthropologist from the era of the immediate post revolutionary period. The 1930’s claimed his most significant excavations. Feeding his interest of linguistics and ethnography he became an expert in those fields. His full attention was on the Otomi’s language. His fieldwork lead him to great endeavors and final position of, Professor of Indigenous American Languages, of Otomian Languages, and of contemporary Ethnology of Mexico and Central America, in 1964 at the age of 54. There his method of teaching would take his students on a mystical make believe trip riding a burro and meeting the tribes.

He was trusted by all and was considered the only Austria born Chinantec. AS his last great contribution he worked with others on the Handbook of Middle American Indians, his unforeseen death prevented him from seeing it published. He spent his last forty-six years living out his dream and sharing it with others. He is referred to with such respect and admiration.

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MARLA VIERA Ball State University (Larry Nesper)

Graves, Theodore D.     The Personal Adjustment of Navajo Indian Migrants to Denver, Colorado. The American Anthropologist. February, 1970 Vol.72(1):35-53.

In this article, Theodore D. Graves proposes two complementary theories in order to understand the problems that Navajo Indian migrants encounter via urban migration. He believes that some migrants’ reliance on excessive drinking in order to cope with this adjustment from reservation life is related to structural and psychological variables. He identifies the theory of psychopathology as offering an explanation for the motives to drink. This theory explains the psychological stress accompanied with failed goals. Along with this theory, Graves suggests socialization theories, which identify the process of social learning and the reinforcement of motives through behavior.

In Graves’ argument, these particular Navajo individuals have migrated to Denver in order to find economic success. Those migrants who fail may rely on drinking for social and psychological reasons. This is correlated to the number of Navajo migrants arrested with alcohol charges. The less successful migrants are at earning money, the higher the probability of alcohol reliance. Conversely, drunkenness will be at a lower rate among those migrants who have more opportunity to maintain successful jobs. Graves also expresses the role of "conflict between competing, mutually incompatible goals" as correlating to high levels of drunkenness. When migrants face increased social pressures from fellow Navajo in the city, and decreased constraints from a wife, they will risk a higher chance for drunkenness.

In proposing his argument, Graves uses empirical data including statistics and data from participant observation. He emphasizes the interplay between economic facets of Navajo migrants’ lives and psychological and social factors. The economic situation faced by migrants in his study is explained as "a vicious cycle between structural position, personality, and behavior that is difficult to break once it has been set in motion". Those migrants least likely to be affected by drunkenness have a background of successful parental wage labor, specifically of their fathers. Socially, the same outcome of low drunkenness seems prevalent in the lives of married migrants whose wives pressure them to avoid drinking. Psychologically, when migrants have compatible personal goals and levels of urban success, they also exhibit lower modes of drunkenness. Graves compares the arrests of these Navajo migrants to variations of arrests between other ethnic groups in Denver, Colorado and the nation.

CLARITY: 4

SARAH BRICKER Ball State University (Dr.Larry Nesper).

Gruber, Jacob W.     Ethnographic Salvage and the Shaping of Anthropology. American Anthropologist December 1970 Vol. 72 (6):1289-1299.

Gruber begins his article by pointing out that the questions asked and data collected influence the resulting theories and views in science. He describes the evolution of anthropological efforts, and the awareness that all efforts must be made to preserve as much of "primitive" culture as possible. Gruber argues that this awareness was the beginning of the tradition of salvage ethnography, as well as its driving force.

Gruber provides examples of earlier writings on the subject of disappearing and altered cultures, starting in the early nineteenth century British Empire, and writes of the effect that these had on developing anthropology. Specifically, it became the obligation of the scientist to record as much detail about endangered societies as possible, as the price of the spread of civilization. He discusses various statements by scientists of the era with regards to the "vanishing savage," and of the potential for, and necessity to preserve, the rapidly disappearing data about these cultures. Gruber traces the increased interest in salvage anthropology, and the reasons for the increase, as well as the benefits that this produced.

The article concludes with Gruber asserting that the loss of the savage is a terrible loss to all. "For throughout, in the stress for salvage, we feel that in the disappearance of the savage, in the irrevocable erosion of the human condition, we inevitably lose something of our own identity."

CLARITY: 3

ERIC PTAK Ball State University. (Dr. Larry Nesper).

Gruber, Jacob W.     Ethnographic Salvage and the Shaping of Anthropology. American Anthropologist December, 1970 Vol.72(6): 1289-1299.

Jacob Gruber’s article is concerned with the role anthropology and anthropologists’s have played in collecting data from societies that are losing their indigenous characteristics and adopting Western behaviors. Gruber refers to this as "salvage " ethnography in reference to salvaging whatever information an anthropologist can obtain before these particular societies are extinct.

Gruber stresses the need for salvage anthropology is not just for the sake of the discipline but for humankind as well. As he lamented at the end of the article, if we can’t understand the other how can we understand ourselves?

In order to understand Gruber’s humanistic point of view the reader must understand the historical developments that created the discipline of anthropology. Gruber takes us back to the early developments of anthropology before it was a science. Nineteenth century anthropology was an extension of the collecting and compiling tradition of missionaries and traveler’s that Gruber quotes and analyzes. Anthropology came from the need to document these soon to be extinct societies. But, this documentation needed to be analyzed and the interpretation of this collected data can be scrutinized. Scientists’ are biased by their own culture’s worldview. Gruber gives an example of the evolution of human biology. First, it was an explanation of racial differences that reinforced the existing political situation and then later as an explanation to evolution after Darwin’s Origin of the Species. Gruber stresses that human beings are not similar, as linguists’ have theorized, and that humans alter their natural landscape. The need to "save" some aspect of societies that were going extinct was the beginning of the field of anthropology. Gruber draws from a number of different ethnographers, including Boaz, who wrote about the urgency to document dying cultures.

CLARITY: 5

MARIA ROTI Wayne State University (Beverly Fogelson)

Haller, John S.     The Species Problem: Nineteenth-Century Concepts of Racial Inferiority in the Origin of Man Controversy. American Anthropologist December 1970 Vol. 72(6):1319-1329.

In this article the author offers a thorough overview of the forces and beliefs that shaped the 19th century debate over the origin of man. He gives information on Monogenists, Polygenists, and the various sects of the two. He describes the theories of many scientists and scholars of the era. He also discusses the impact that Darwiníss Origin of Species and Descent of Man had on these ideas.

Monogenists believed that all races were of one species: They were divided into three primary sects, the Adamites, the rational monogenists, and the transformists. The Adamites believed fully in the creation story as told by the Bible. The rational monogenists took a more liberal stance on Christian belief. They thought that the earth was much older than the Bible claimed and that the differences between the races could be explained by evolution as migrants moved into different climates. The transformists disregarded the Bible totally and argued that all plant and animal life evolved slowly from a small number of primordial germs or monads, the offspring of spontaneous generation, humans were simply on the upper extreme of the animal kingdom.

The Polygenists believed that the different races were actually different species and in no way related. There were many sects of Polygenists. One, who called themselves neotraditionalist, attempted to reconcile polygenist thought with the Bible. They argued that there were more people in the beginning than just Adam and his family, but that the writer of the Bible did not concern himself with these races. A second sect concentrated on the lapse of time in the Bible to provide proof of separate creations. They felt that the 5,887 years of lapsed time in the Bible was insufficient to cause the amount of difference in the races that was observed. A third polygenistic school believed that each of the subspecies was derived from a different primate ancestor; the Mongolian from orangutans, Native Americans from the New World monkeys, and Africans from the troglodytes. The polygenists slowly moved to the wayside due to there decidedly anti-Biblical stance. The author also attributes the Civil War and the civil r

ights legislation that followed as a deciding factor in ending the debate in America.

The debate slowly died out as scholars began to realize that the terms "race" and "species" were too arbitrary and that any proof that may exist was buried to deeply in the past. However the terms and ideas of racial inferiority that the debate spawned remained a part of the vocabulary long after the debate ended.

CLARITY RANKING: 4

ERIC BAILEY Ball State University (Larry Nesper)

Haller, John S.     The Species Problem: Nineteenth-Century Concepts of Racial Inferiority in the Origin of Man Controversy. American Anthropologist December, 1970 Vol.72 (6): 1319-1348.

John Haller’s article examines the problem that nineteenth-century anthropologists tried to solve, the origin of man. There were two main schools of thought- the Monogenists and the Polygenists. The monogenists believed that humans came from one genetic species. The polygenists believed that humans descended from multiple genetic species. The controversy, especially in the United States and slavery, had many far-reaching implications; religious, social, ethical, and political. But, for Europeans the implications were religious and political.

Haller gives an historical account of the two opposing thoughts of race, mongenists and polygenists, and the divisions within each. Haller then examines the influence that Darwin had on both groups and how Darwin’s theory eventually bridged the gap between them.

Haller sets the stage by examining the historical development of the race debate that has plagued anthropologists since the nineteenth century. The Monogenists had three factions: the "Adamites", who believed in the Biblical creation; the "rational monogenists", who tried to blend Christian doctrine and science, and the "transformists", who believed in the theories of Lamarck and that the human species was a transformation of apes. The Polygenists also had three schools; "neotraditionalists", who believed in the variety from the Biblical stories; the "mosaic cosmology", who believed in separate and special creations; and the "Lamarckians", who believed in modification from some series of apes.

The Polygenists were supported by the United States to support its’ use of slavery. Haller uses the United State’s history to illustrate how the debate in the United States ended after slavery. In Europe, it was Darwin’s Origin of Species and Descent of Man that ended this controversy. Darwin brought the feud of the monogenists and the polygenists to an end. However, the controversy still existed with the arbitrary use of the word "race" and cranial measurements. The thought of "race" has continued to plague anthropologists well into the twenty-first century and with legal concepts as "racial profiling" being used in the United States, this article is a must read.

CLARITY: 4

MARIA ROTI Wayne State University (Beverly Fogelson)

Halpern, Joel M. and Hammel, E.A.     Milenko S. Filipovic American Anthropologist June 1970 vol. 72 (3):558-60.

Professor Milenko Filipovic was a Bosnian who spent almost all of his academic life in Europe. He earned both his bachelor’s and his doctorate from Belgrade, where he became a faculty member from 1928 to 1930. He then went to Skopje where he lost his job twice during WWII due to being deemed "undesirable" by the regime that took control of Yugoslavia. From 1945 to 1962, he held a number of positions, the last being professor of human geography and ethnography at the University of Sarajevo.

During his career, he wrote around 380 items on Balkan ethnology. Filipovic’s theoretical and methodological orientations were considered much more modern than most European scholars in his field were. His work did not contain evolutionistic reconstruction that was popular in Europe at the time. His ethnographies were unusual in their detail and documentation.

Filipovic had done over 40 years of fieldwork, almost all of it on Balkan folk life. He was a Foreign Fellow of the American Anthropological Association, a Fellow of Current Anthropology, and of the American Geographical Society.

CLARITY: 5

WES PERKINS Ball State University (Larry Nesper)

Hammond, Dorothy.     Magic: A Problem in Semantics. American Anthropologist December, 1970 Vol.72(6):1349-1356.

In this article, Dorothy Hammond suggests that the definition of religion that excludes magical beliefs is incorrect and has led to confusion when attempting to interpret the basis for either. She cites different theorists who have chosen various features as the main point of differentiation between the two, but no matter how they define the terms, she finds that the distinction is not consistent when applied to ethnographic data. Even positions that view religion and magic as a continuum imply that the two are "at least partially distinct."

The idea that there is a distinction between magic and religion is the only similarity in the arguments of different theorists. Hammond argues that this should call into question the validity of the distinction itself. The two main characteristics of magic, she says, are impersonal forces and manipulative techniques. However, many religions also incorporate these features to some degree. The persistence and widespread practice of magical systems indicates that they must serve some purpose in the culture or to the individual. She claims that magic and witchcraft are symbols that represent a cosmology, just as myths often are symbolic expressions. Unlike religions that focus on "remote spiritual forces" and invest "superhuman beings" with universal power, magical power is reflected in the individual, in the power of the self to interact with and manipulate the distant authorities. Just as children acquire, through their experiences, the foundation for the belief in religion, they also find validation f

or magical beliefs.

Since magical beliefs and rituals are expressed even in religions that worship an omnipotent deity, Hammond concludes that magic cannot be contrasted with religion. It is just one type of ritual behavior, like prayer or sacrifice, that "express the belief in human powers as effective forces" and which belong to a subcategory of religion. Therefore, she suggests a solution to the confusion and contradiction that have resulted from this misinterpretation. Magic should be considered an element of religion, and a more appropriate definition of religion would be the "belief in superordinate agencies."

CLARITY RANKING: 4

KARA HOLTZMAN Ball State University (Larry Nesper).

Hammond, Dorothy.     Magic: A Problem in Semantics. American Anthropologist December, 1970 Vol.72 (6): 1349-1356.

Dorothy Hammond’s article addresses the interpretation of anthropological categories. More specifically, she addresses the issue of whether or not magic and religion are two separate phenomena as anthropologists since the time of E.B. Tylor have defined it. Hammond thinks that these categories are ethnocentric and that Tylor’s definition and classification of magic and religion should be changed.

Hammond argues that magic is a ritual practice of religion and should not be treated as a separate subject. Hammond argues that this idea was conceived during Tylor’s time. Other anthropologists since then have used this classification, which according to Hammond, has an evolutionary view of religion.

Hammond examines the works of the major theorists of religion; Tylor, Malinowski, Evans-Pritchard, Frazer, Goody, etc. She also examines the theories and ethnographies of other lesser-known religious theorist such as Spiro and Nadel. Hammond draws from the literature to give examples of how magic is a continuum of religion. She refers to Nadel’s theory of the three power concepts: personified power, impersonal power, and cause and effect sequences. Hammond illustrates that in order for magic to exist, the people that practice magic believe in a higher cosmology that can prevent illness and misfortune.

This idea of a higher cosmology with power defines magic as a part of religion.

Examining the history of anthropological thought from cognitive function of religion (Tylor and Frazer) to sociological function of religion (Durkheim) to how people use religion to create meaning out of their life (Benedict), Hammond uses the literature to show change in the anthropological view of magic and religion. The works of Benedict and Marett, who both use the word continuum to describe magic, and their reference to mana, the impersonal supernatural, reinforce Hammond’s theoretical perspective. The last area that Hammond examined was the use of mythology as a source for magic. Myths, on most accounts, create and reinforce magic in a religious context. Hammond’s argument is a difficult one to ignore because she uses the anthropological literature and many examples from ethnographies to support her claim.

CLARITY: 5

MARIA ROTI Wayne State University (Beverly Fogelson)

Ingham, John M.     On Mexican Folk Medicine. American Anthropologist February 1970 Vol.72(1):76-86

The article focuses on the Mexican peasants view of what causes illness in the body. In the paper, John Ingham, suggests that health is the balance of cold and hot within the body. This cold/hot dichotomy is exhibited in other aspects of society as well. Ingham proposes that the social manifestations of the cold/hot dichotomy are a direct result of how the people of Tlayacapan, Mexico view health, illness and the way illness is treated.

Ingham point out that the hot/cold dichotomy can be seen throughout the world. The Chinese Yin Yang symbolism carries hot/cold connotations. The folk medicines of Burma and India are based on hot and cold. Hippocratic medicine not only involves hot and cold, but also includes wet and dry. Aristotle made tables of things that were hot (left, female, heavy) and of things that were cold (right, male, light). The hot/cold dichotomy can be found in various forms throughout history, so it is unsurprising that it is also found in the New World.

Claude-Levi Strauss has shown that aspects of culture may be conceptualized as structures of opposition and correlation. To apply this to the Tlayacapanese, one can find that they try to balance many things in their lives. Their superstitions are balanced. A positive here leads to a negative there and vice-versa. Another area where hot and cold get balanced is cuisine. A meal usually consists of three courses. The first course is usually cold, the second is a balance of hot and cold foods, and the last course is hot. Social character is also regulated by the hot/cold dichotomy. A village expression clearly illustrates this point: Fuerte, feo, y formal, implies that a man should be strong and tough (hot), ugly and unassuming (cold), and well mannered (hot and cold).

Ingham details three areas of Tlayacapanese culture that are regulated by the hot/cold dichotomy. This cold/hot dichotomy, as he points out, has its foundation in how they view health. What is this health system that influences other spheres of culture? Illness is caused by too much hot or cold in a particular part of the body. Headaches can be hot or cold; when hot, cold herbs are applied to the temples to absorb the excess heat, when cold, hot herbs are applied in the same manner.

To come full circle, the Tlayacapanese view health as a balance between hot and cold. If the balance gets perverted, it needs to be restored. Ingham uncovers the meaning behind other spheres of Tlayacapanese culture in order to show that they, too, are based on the hot/cold dichotomy. He does this in order to show that the structures of these spheres are the same structure that regulates health in the Mexican village of Tlayacapan.

CLARITY: 4

NATHAN L. MORRIN Ball State University (Larry Nesper).

Keesing, Roger M.     Kwaio Fosterage. American Anthropologist October, 1970 Vol.72(5):991-1019.

In Kwaio Fosterage, Keesing reveals how important the effect of unusual circumstances prove to be in discovering deeper levels of structure, grasping a better understanding of data, and forming better investigative models. Such a circumstance is the Kwaio system of fosterage, where a single set of cultural rules of determining custody decisions when a child loses one or both of their parents can produce extremely diverse outcomes. Such outcomes tend to strongly influence the structure and the general makeup of the descent groups, and force the means of a culture’s demography, and even their ecology. Thus examination of the Kwaio fosterage system brings into being a small representative system that contains parallels to the larger system, which in effect provides further insight into the social structure.

Keesing assembles his argument into two foci in order to show how the Kwaio social structure uses fosterage as an element of adaptation to maintain feasible social units and to allow uninterrupted succession of social relations under less than ideal conditions, such as population decline. He uses the first focus to describe the possible circumstances that dictate a dependent child’s household membership if one or both of the parents are deceased. Within the Kwaio society, there are four major forms of fosterage that occur, each containing its own set of supplementary rules governing the rights of guardianship. The second focuses on the two forms of partial fosterage. Together, these six forms and their influences on the overall social structure are described in the form of flow charts and in-depth social research of the circumstances of fosterage. This results in a detailed description of the many aspects of Kwaio culture, especially the significance of unusual circumstances, which can cause breaks in the nuclear family developmental model.

CLARITY: 5

DORESSA BREITFIELD Ball State University (Dr. Larry Nesper).

Keesing, Roger M.     Kwaio Fosterage. American Anthropologist 1970 Vol. 72(5):  991-1019

In this article, Keesing describes and analyzes alternate sequences and decision-making principles of fosterage that occur when one parent dies, disrupting the ideal family cycle in the Kwaio society. In all cases, where dependent children are left behind, an interaction occurs within the agnatic and cognatic family units that reinforces contingency rules, raising them to the level of idealized principles.

Keesing gives a detailed model with diagrams to enhance understanding as to how the Kwaio society really works. He counts the Kwaio fosterage as "a microcosmic model" of the society. Briefly, the principles of a possible fosterage among Kwaio- speakers is strongly affected by their agnatic and cognatic ideology. Thus, on one side of the family the society is mainly composed by agnates who are predominated by agnatic ideology, strongly affecting the rights to domestic dwelling place and gardens within a certain territory. On the other side of the kinship arrangement, matrilateral affiliations are possible whereby the ideology that everybody "belongs to" both paternal and maternal groups is followed. Upon Kwaio monogamous marriage, some principal rules for making decisions about household membership of depended children (with one or both dead parents) are taking place, as alternate sequences related either to ecological and demographic conditions, or cultural rules and the flux of social processes.

In summary, it could be said that in the case of the death of one or both parents, leaving behind dependent children , usually a new household is composed (under strict sexual relationship rules) or there is movement from one household to another.

CLARITY RANKING: 5

DIANA GELLCI Wayne State University, Detroit (Beverly Fogelson)

Keesing, Roger M.     Shrines, Ancestors, and Cognatic Descent: The Kwaio and Tallensi. American Anthropologist August 1970 Vol. 72 (4):755-775.

Keesing, right from the beginning, tells what he is looking for and what he intends to do. He is studying the Kwaio of the Solomon Islands and their system of descent. He is particularly looking to isolate crucial elements of this system. He does this by comparing and contrasting them to another group of people with a similar descent system--the Tallensi of West Africa. Keesing is also looking at the Tallensi and evaluating the work done and asking himself if some rethinking needs to be done about the Tallensi system.

Though the system of the Kwaio and the Tallensi are confusing for people outside of their culture, Keesing argues that he can analytically separate and isolate components of the system in a way that allows for a better understanding. The system of descent is a combination of agnatic and cognatic descent. It draws upon ancestors many times removed. The Kwaio use this ancestry to grant them access to certain territories for farming, habitat, and raising animals. Keesing says by being able to trace one’s ancestry in this manner they are able to gain access to more territories and this increases survival.

Keesing uses many charts and diagrams to explain how the Kwaio system of descent works. In order to make sense of everything and to analyze the data, he parallels them to the Tallensi. To do this he uses the work of Fortes, Goody, Middleton, Scheffler, and Goodenough. In the end he believes that more thought should be given to the Tallensi to make sure we have the correct data and assumptions of their system.

CLARITY RANKING: 3

N. JASON RESLER Ball State University (Dr. Larry Nesper).

Keesing, Roger M.     Shrines, Ancestors, and Cognatic Descent:The Kwaio and Tallensi. American Anthropologist. August, 1970 Vol. 72: 755-775

This article explores the relationship between descent, ancestor worship, and legal/property rights among the Kwaio of the Solomon Islands. The article further seeks a revised understanding of African Tallensi descent and ancestor worship based on paradigms used to interpret the Kwaio.

Kwaio descent is traced cognatically, which means through both mother and father. For legal purposes, such as property rights, agnatic descent (through the father only) is given priority. The Kwaio live on scattered properties, each of which has an ancestral shrine. All descendants of the ancestor have varying property rights to the land about the shrine, but all relatives have equal rights to ritual access and to sacrifices performed at the shrine. The property rights are distributed among the cognatic lineage, while ritual rights extend laterally to include the larger cognatic kinship group, even those who may live in another area, and be members of another cognatic lineage. For instance, one would have property and ritual rights through ones father’s family, but ritual rights only on ones mother’s side.

When studying the Tallensi the distinction between these two cognatic groups was not considered. The research focused on a segmentary lineage system (patrilineal) but was encountering contradictions in the way sacrifices were made to female derived ancestry. A shrine to ones maternal ancestors could be kept in the home, but when performing certain major sacrifices one had to defer to the authority of the agnatic shrine of ones mother’s ancestors. One lived in the political sphere of the male descent group, so all sacrifices had to go through the local functionary at the shrine. Smaller sacrifices to ones matrilineal ancestors, because this fell without the local jurisdiction, could be made autonomously within the home. Larger sacrifices, however, must be taken to the main shrine of the mother’s family.

The functional aspects of this arrangement are explored, and the whole system is well diagrammed and explained. New perspectives are presented on ancestor worship among the Tallensi. The twenty page article is a good primer to gain understanding of the relationship between economy, inherited rights and obligations, and ancestor worship. It offers a working definition of all the terms of descent which are used, making it educational for the student reader.

CLARITY RANKING: 3

TED B. WALLS Wayne State University (Beverly J. Fogelson)

Kiefer, Christie, W.     The Psychological Interdependence of Family, School, and Bureaucracy in Japan. American Anthropologist. February 1970 Vol. 72(1): 66-73.

Christie Kiefer sought to show functional connections between the various aspects of Japanese culture. Kiefer argued that Japanese boys made the transition to manhood through three things: their relationships with their mothers, education, and eventually their careers. At this time, argument was centered on whether or not the Japanese displayed a strong work ethic. Some argued that a work ethic was replaced by the examinations Japanese students had to take in order to attend prestigious high schools and eventually college. These people claim that the emphasis was on passing the examinations not on achieving a job well done. Kiefer appears to argue against this idea. She argues that the examinations keep classroom competition low and as an effect keep the sense of community group strong. However, this was often not the case, as she later points out. Competition arose between family groups who were desperate to have their children come out on top. Kiefer asserted that the education system socializes

children from a young age, bridging the gap between family and career.

Japanese children had a very strong connection with their mothers, as well as their families. A child’s relationship with their family was to be viewed as mutually supportive. The family members were forever bound together. The Japanese boy was able to transfer his affections from his mother to a male figure, or teacher, later in life. Japanese boys learned how to work cooperatively together with their teachers and other students. This connection played out in bureaucracy as well. The Japanese man had a strong sense of commitment to his coworkers and superiors. Demands of Japanese men were made that were not found in the United States.

The transitions between the two stages of maternal home and bureaucracy were mediated by education. Throughout each of these stages a family figure prevails. First this figure was the mother; a male figure or teacher, who was then followed by bureaucracy and the man’s boss, followed her. Throughout each of these transitions the importance of how the peer group viewed the man was constant. A sense of cooperation had to be felt at all times. The threat of failure and lost face was an important determinant of whether or not a man succeeded in life.

CLARITY: 3

LINDSAY CONRAD Ball State University (Larry Nesper).

Lasker, Gabriel.     Physical Anthropology: The Search for General Processes and Principles. American Anthropologist 1970 Vol. 72(1):1-8.

In his article, Gabriel Lasker states that there are two types of study in Physical Anthropology. The first being the biological history of man, and the second being general biological processes in man, such as mechanisms of evolution and growth. Lasker’s point of focus is the biological process.

Lasker describes the history of man as being more popular therefore; gaining more public interest, but the biological processes in man gives physical anthropology more value in the fields of medicine, dentistry, public health, and population policy. His main point is that the study of general processes is the study of human beings in particular situations, not for what we can learn about particular populations, but for the sake of generalization about mankind anywhere in comparable situations.

Lasker states that there are numerous historical questions and humanistic approaches that are out of keeping with the rigorous methodology involved with biological processes. Also, he refers to the humanistic approach as best guess history.

Other points of discussion in Lasker’s article are the current trends in the journals of physical anthropology, the International Biological Project, measurements of distance in human biology, and the relationship of physical anthropology to specialized biology.

CLARITY: 4

WES PERKINS Ball State University (Dr. Larry Nesper).

Lasker, W. Gabriel.     Physical Anthropology: The Search for General Processes and Principles. American Anthropologist. February, 1970 Vol. 72 (1):1-8

In Lasker’s article, Physical Anthropology: The Search for General Processes and Principles, he examines the two types of studies in physical anthropology. The first, is the "biological history of man" and the second is "general biological processes in man." Lasker states, most of the studies in physical anthropology have focused on the "origins of man." Lasker argues that the second approach needs to be researched more thoroughly because it may provide essential information to applied anthropology. Data collected from the general processes of man is valuable and practical and it can be useful to many other disciplines such as public health, dentistry, and medicine.

Lasker supports his argument by providing examples of other researchers that have similar ideas and concerns about the future capabilities of physical anthropology. Chapple, one of the researchers used in the article, supports Lasker by stating that physical anthropologists are often too focused on evolution, which limits or restricts them from doing other types of studies. Both researchers want to explain how physical anthropology can be applied, and how it is an essential paradigm in aiding researchers to gain better understanding of humans. In doing so, the search for general processes can provide valuable information because they can be compared to many other general situations rather than one specific situation.

Lasker studied the frequencies of surnames in populations to understand reproductive practices among the population. He collected data in Detroit and other areas in Michigan on the frequencies of "isonymy." "Isonymy" is the term used to describe when a husband and a wife have the same surname and it can be used to measure when inbreeding occurs. Lasker’s research is significant because it can be compared to other populations to create a general concept of the frequencies of inbreeding.

Overall, Lasker wants to encourage other physical anthropologists to stray from the past mistakes of narrow research studies. Most of all, he wants physical anthropologists to recognize the need and importance of studying diverse subjects to create practical principles and processes.

CLARITY RANKING 3

ANDREA NEVEDAL Wayne State University (Beverly Fogelson)

Leyton, Elliott H.     Spheres of Inheritance in Aughnaboy. American Anthropologist December, 1970 Vol.72(6):1378-1387.

Inheritance is a familiar social function that occurs in society. Leyton explores and analyzes the patterns of inheritance in all forms in a village in Northern Ireland. Aughnaboy, Ireland, a Protestant community that mainly hosts laborers, fishermen and farmers has a population of 900 that is distributed among 259 households which consists of parents and their unmarried children. In Aughnaboy, the ideology is that a man's last act in life is to pass on his property and belongings to his children and/or kin. It is believed in Aughnaboy that the person most entitled to the inheritance should receive it. There is a set of kinship ideals that most men follow when passing on their worldly goods before death. Most likely inheritance will stay with the family or the family name, and there is a tendency to give more to sons than to daughters.

Leyton takes the patterns of inheritance to a complex level by breaking them into individual spheres of inheritance. The three spheres he provides are 1.) Fixed Capital, 2.)Houses, and 3.)Money. Fixed capital consists of pieces of property such as farms, businesses and trawlers from which owners receive their primary source of income. In Aughnaboy it is strongly believed that these items should be held within the family name. It is a monosexual male-to-male emphasis related to occupational affairs from father to son. The father passes the business on to his son. If there is not a son, a man will pass it onto a nephew of his brother or someone on in the family bearing his last name. Houses, however do not hold a name attached to them, and they also do not hold much value in Aguhnaboy because owning and renting houses is extremely cheap. Consequently, houses are given to the person who deserves it the most. The third sphere is money, whose pattern is very different form the others. Money flows freely to kindred and family, males and females, and it usually goes to those who deserve it the most. Also money is readily devisable, unlike houses and fixed capital, and can be given to many people.

Leyton's overall evidence is provided with his interviews with 215 beneficiaries in Aughnaboy that he studied. Provided are tables that state how fixed capital, houses, and money were divided within family and kin and whether it was given to males or females. Throughout the three spheres, Leyton provides examples from many different families in Aughnaboy. The second table provided is that of all the inheritance in each sphere from parents, siblings, maternal and fraternal uncles, aunts, grandparents, husbands, and nonkin. In conclusion Leyton shows that Aughnaboy distinguishes three spheres of inheritance fixed capital, houses, and money. Lastly the inheritance is given away according to the basic principals that inform the decision-making. The principals are genealogical distance, kinship, birth order, sex, need, and esteem.

CLARITY: 4

ANNE KRAEMER Ball State University (Dr. Larry Nesper).

Lurie, Nancy Ostreich.     Stephen Francis Borhegyi 1921-1969. American Anthropologist February, 1970 Vol.72(6): 1398-1402.

In writing this obituary, Lurie provided an extensive glance into the life of Stephen Borhegyi, a respected anthropologist of his time. She begins this obituary with various high praises concerning Brohegyi's personality, image and his impression left on coworkers. She continues to point out his extensive influence on the field of museology, citing his caring nature in a story of his donation of wages to finance graduate students in the field.

Lurie describes the educational life of Borhegyi, beginning with his early education in his home country of Budapest, and continuing through his collegiate career at Peter Pazmany University in 1938. She then tells a tale of his enlistment in the Hungarian army and his recruitment into the Hungarian underground to fight the Nazis. After receiving his Ph.D., he became an assistant in the classical and Near Eastern archaeology section of the Hungarian National Museum, along with an instructor position in anthropology and archaeology at Peter Pazmany. Lurie describes how Borhegyi finally was able to come to the Uni