American Anthropologist 1974
Bascom, William. Richard Alan Waterman, 1914-1971. American Anthropologist March, 1974 Vol.76 (1):76-77.
This is a brief biography of Richard Alan Waterman, a distinguished ethnomusicologist and anthropologist. He was born in Solvang, California on July 10, 1914 and died on November 8, 1971 in Tampa, Florida. Waterman attended and taught at several different schools. He received his A.B. from Santa Barbara State College in 1937. He went on to be a teacher and counselor at Santa Ynez Valley Union High School for three years before completing his masters of anthropology at Claremont College. His thesis was on the functionalism of Bronislaw Malinowski under Morris E. Opler. Waterman received his PhD from Northwestern University in 1943. He wrote his dissertation on “African Patterns in Trinidad Negro Music.” He was an instructor at this university from 1943-45, an assistant professor from 1945-51, and associate professor from 1951-56. From 1953-54 he was a visiting associate professor at the University of Washington. Waterman then went on to aspire many students at Wayne State University. He was an associate professor from 1956-61, and professor from 1961-68. Also, he served as Chairman of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology from 1959-1962. In 1968, for health reasons, he then went to teach at the University of South Florida in Tampa.
Over the years, Waterman produced several important and influential works in the field of ethnomusicology. Some of these works include “African Influence on the Music of the Americas,” “ ‘Hot’ Rhythm in Negro Music,” “The Role of Obscenity in the Folktales of the ‘Intellectual’ Stratum of Our Society (1949),” and many, many others. Many of these papers came from his fieldwork on music around the world including such places as Puerto Rico, Brazil, Chicago, West Africa, Cuba, Australia, and Trinidad, to name a few. In 1952, after receiving the Fulbright Fellowship and a grant from the American Philosophical Society, Waterman conducted a year’s fieldwork, with his wife, among the Yirkalla of Arnhmeland.
Richard Waterman’s fascination for music could be seen by his students, colleagues, and friends in everything he did. He was very much interested in jazz music and played the string bass in his spare time. Waterman had the opportunity to play with many of the leading jazz musicians and was eager to play regardless of his busy schedule or how far he had to travel. Richard was a great musician, ethnomusicologist, anthropologist, teacher, and friend. “Above all, Waterman was an exceptional teacher-popular, informal, stimulating, and generous of his time to both graduate and undergraduate students.”
CLARITY: 5
REBECCA GREENE University of Montana (John Norvell)
Bascom, William. Richard Alan Waterman 1914-1971. American Anthropologist March, 1974 Vol.76(1):76-77.
Richard Waterman was a talented ethnomusicologist, anthropologist and musician. He was born in California in 1914 and grew up in Santa Barbara. He attended Santa Barbara State College where he received an A.B. After teaching in the Ynez Valley Union High School for three years he went on to Claremont Colleges where he got his M.A. in anthropology. He went to Northwestern University for his Ph.D., which he earned in 1943 with a dissertation on, “African Patterns in Trinidad Negro Music.”
Waterman stayed on at Northwestern as a faculty member until 1956, when he transferred to Wayne State University. He taught at Wayne State until 1968, after which he became a professor at the University of South Florida, Tampa. He had gone to South Florida in 1966 as a visiting professor because of ill health.
In addition to being an accomplished scholar and a brilliant teacher, Waterman was a keen jazz enthusiast and played whenever and wherever he could. He belonged to numerous informal musical groups and was familiar to many prominent jazz musicians, who he sometimes sat in with.
Waterman’s work with music included studies in Cuba, West Africa, Trinidad, Puerto Rico, Brazil, and “a Chicago Negro Church (76).” His articles include “African Influence on the Music of the Americas,” “ ‘Hot’ Rhythm in Negro Music,” and “African and New World Negro Folklore,” which he wrote with William Bascom. A favorite article of Bascom’s is “the superbly anticlimactic paper which he [Waterman] read tongue-in-cheek and completely deadpan, to the meeting of the American Folklore Society on ‘The Role of Obscenity in the Folktales of the ‘Intellectual’ Stratum of Our Society (1949).’ (77).” Waterman also co-edited Diprotodon to Detribalization: Studies of Change among Australian Aborigines (1970) with Arnold R. Pilling.
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NICOLE RICHTER Dickinson College (Ann Maxwell Hill)
Boon, James A., Schneider, David M. Kinship Vis-a-Vis Myth Contrasts in Levi-Strauss’ Approaches to Cross-Cultural Comparison. American Anthropologist December, 1974 Vol.76(4):799-815.
In this paper James A. Boon and David M. Schneider contrast two works of Levi-Strauss, Elementary Structures of Kinship and Mythologiques. The first is an analysis of kinship and the latter a work on myth. The problem Boone and Schneider see with the works is that they were each done with different approaches. It seems that Boon and Schneider prefer the approach in Mythologiques.
The writers accuse Levi-Strauss of having preconceived notions when approaching his study of kinship. It is their belief that he had no such notions when writing on myth. He used a different approach, one Boon and Schneider see as more affective. The main question asked in this paper is, what would arise if kinship were studied in the same manner as myth? Boon and Schneider have pointed out this methodological inconsistency in Levi-Strauss’ work in hopes to refine later approaches.
This type of reflection on past work is very important. We can learn much from analyzing others work. What we learn can influence and improve the approaches of future anthropologists.
CLARITY: 3
ADAM WANZER University of Montana (John Norvell)
Boon, James A. and Schneider, David M. Kinship vis-à-vis Myth: Contrasts in Levi-Strauss’ Approaches to Cross-Cultural Comparison American Anthropologist December, 1974 Vol.76(4): 799-817.
In this article, the authors examine the kinship and myth literature produced by Levi-Strauss. His works used in this article are The Elementary Structures of Kinship and Mythologiques. They explain that features of each book are primarily based on ethnological not ethnographic work, and he uses cross-cultural examples to highlight differences and similarities in cultures. The authors discuss the differences between Levi-Strauss methods of expressing kinship material and mythological material.
The authors argue that Levi-Strauss’ conclusions about kinship are based on notions of structuralism whereas his conclusions about myth are based upon what the studied people actually believe. He describes kinship as a facet of social life with a function of keeping different groups connected whereas myths do not result in cohesion, but only relay the experience of the peoples. Boon and Schneider disagree and propose throughout the essay that kinship should be examined in the same manner as myths. They critique Levi-Strauss’ methods and discuss the ways in which he describes kinship as a cross-cultural model, but he fails to include different types of kinship. They then discuss his descriptions of myth and how groups are treated exclusively.
The authors make an convincing argument that the manner in which kinship is evaluated needs to be altered and examining it as a product of myth would be a valuable addition to the field of anthropology.
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JOHNA BOULAFENTIS Dickinson College (Ann Maxwell Hill)
Caws, Peter. Operational, Representational, and Explanatory Models. American Anthropologist March, 1974 Vol.76(1):1-10.
In this article Caws examines the concept of social structure and it’s relation to anthropological field studies. He defines a theory of models that he maintains, “stand for (1)” the conscious and unconscious mental structures of the anthropologists and the subjects. Caws begins with discussion on the theory of models. He argues that if models are abstract representations of reality, then there must be “real” structures that they represent. Caws addresses the issue that theoretical models in anthropology are generally considered to be “supraemirical (2),” but are actually still models based on the anthropologists interpretation of the subjects mental structure, which is influenced by the anthropologists own mental structure.
Caws focuses on the work of Levi-Strauss dealing with structuralism. Caws mentions an idea put forward by Levi-Strauss that models are logical constructions of the anthropologist mind (3). Caws asserts that these constructions may or may not be logical, but they are based on the structures present in the anthropologists mind. He further argues that people have at least two mental structures, which are more less two ways of viewing the world. One is conscious and the other is unconscious and they sometimes influence people to react differently to situations depending on whether the situation is theoretical or actual.
Caws creates a model based on the relationships of anthropologists, subjects and social structure. He labels the subject’s conscious mental structure as a representational model, the subject’s unconscious mental structure as an operational model and the anthropologist’s mental structure as an explanatory model. Caws admits to leaving out the fact that the anthropologist has two mental structures as well, and cannot always be objective. He concludes that social structure is not identical to any of the models representing mental structure, but maintains that it is dependent on all of these models in some way because, “without the relations that constitute it would not exist (10).”
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NICOLE RICHTER Dickinson College (Ann Maxwell Hill)
Conant, Francis P. Dorothy Cross Jensen 1906-1972. American Anthropologist March, 1974 Vol.76(1):80-82.
Dorothy Cross Jensen was born October 2, 1906. She attended the University of Pennsylvania where she earned a B.S. in 1928 and a Ph.D. in Anthropology and Oriental Studies in 1936. During her years as a graduate student she began her life-long relationship with the New Jersey State Museum.
In 1931 and 1932 she was a member of the University of Pennsylvania and American University Schools of Oriental Research Expedition. Two publication resulted from her involvement: “Pottery of Tepe Gawra” (1935) and “a pioneering and enduring analysis of moveable property, as distinct from real estate, in the city of Nuzi, kingdom of Arrapha, second millennium B.C.” (80).
Upon returning to the United States, she also returned to her original professional interest in the Indians of the Delaware Valley. She became an Instructor at Hunter College in 1938, where she stayed for many years serving as Divisional Chair from 1950-1957. All of her various publications were authored using her maiden name, while at Hunter she went by Jensen. “Her Volume 2 of the Archaeology of New Jersey received a national award from the Society of State and Local History” (800. Volume 3, sadly, was still in progress at the time of her death.
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NICOLE RICHTER Dickinson College (Ann Maxwell Hill)
Dalton, George. How Exactly Are Peasants “Exploited”? American Anthropologist September, 1974 Vol.76(3):553-561.
In this article, George Dalton attacks the claim that peasants of ancient times and lesser-developed nations today are merely farmers. He asserts that through the exploitation of peasant laborers by landowners and local governments, the poor and disenfranchised have become more exploited. He continues by presenting an argument about what exploitation actually is. Finally, he calls upon the scientific community to pay greater attention to their use of the word in their scholarly works.
Dalton uses the concept of “surplus” to distinguish peasants from other members of society in third world countries. He claims that peasants are the only members of feudal society that produce excess, or surplus. They do not own the land that they farm and they give much of their crop to the landowner. Dalton considers this a form of exploitation because the peasants give an undue amount of their surplus to the landowner or perhaps to some other powerful figure. He claims that this is truly a case of exploitation because the peasant receives no reconciliation for his efforts.
Dalton goes further to illuminate the discussion of exploitation when he sites the example of the peasants who raise the cash crop for third world nations. The nation then sells the crop on the international market, using the cash they make to pay of the international debt they have from building more modern cities. Dalton considers this a more insidious form of exploitation that needs to be more clearly addressed and defined in the future.
The crux of Dalton’s article is a more of a call to awareness about social equality within poorer laboring societies than a new thesis on economic anthropology. He attempts to bring to the foreground an understanding that using the term “exploited” for peasants and disenfranchised populations of second and third world countries may be a gross over simplification. He sees this over simplification as being the result of seeing exploitation as one sided; that the surplus is handed over and we never really examine how the peasants are repaid. He feels we should move beyond the simplification of the argument and discuss what the definition of “exploitation” really is rather than simply labeling people as exploited.
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CALEB BECKFORD Dickinson College (Ann Maxwell Hill)
Dalton, George. How Exactly Are Peasants “Exploited”? American Anthropologist September, 1974 Vol.74(3):553-561.
The author tries to define what is meant by the term “exploit,” as it is commonly used to describe the plight of peasants. Because this is such a general and overused term, there are numerous different contexts to explain. Dalton discusses two definitions of exploitation, and raises several questions as to the meanings of “exploit” and “surplus.”
Dalton’s first explanation of exploitation is the more general meaning of being taken advantage of without any reliable method to fight it. He argues that lack of political power is not part of the definition, because political institutions are far from cross-cultural and even less so at different periods of time. The definition of exploitation can differ within the respective economic structure itself, whether it is communism, capitalism, or tribal social systems. Each scenario creates different circumstances in which to distinguish peasant classes, let alone the level of exploitation of the peasantry. Scholars must use a sort of comparative analysis relative to the time and location of the peasantry being studied.
His second meaning of exploitation is the commanding of obligatory payments to either the government, royalty, military, or tribal leaders. The level of exploitation depends on the amount of goods and services received in return for these payments. Dalton analyzes the idea of “surplus” and how it is distributed by the society. Payments could be in the form of anything from taxes, rent, children, or surplus crops. This introduces the question of exploitation being confined to peasantry, and if peasants themselves realize they are being exploited.
Dalton argues quite effectively that the terms “exploitation” and “surplus” have become loaded words that automatically bring about negative connotations. The term “exploitation” is so commonly used with peasantry, that an automatic mental association arises that the two cannot be mutually exclusive. Therefore, it is difficult to point to those who are considered peasants that are not exploited. Dalton raises the question of there ever being a peasant class that was not exploited. Upon further investigation, it becomes difficult to find a cross-cultural way to differentiate peasants from non-peasants. For example, when exactly would a tribal society become a peasant society? The author concludes that in order for a scholar to state that a people are exploited, one must provide evidence showing comparative information proving that the peasantry is producing more, yet consuming less than other classes in a relative sense, not only economically, but socially, politically, and culturally.
CLARITY: 4
MYLES MALONEY University of Montana (John Norvell)
Eggen, Fred and Michael Silverstein. Walter Dyk. American Anthropologists March, 1974 Vol.76(1):86.
Walter Dyk, an accomplished professor of anthropology, died December 23, 1972. Dyk was born in Germany before coming to New York as a young child. Dyk was well known for his “classic” ”Son of Old Man Hat”(1938), an ethnography about a Navajo named Left Handed. Dyk’s main emphasis was on linguistics as he gained a B.A. from the University of California at Berkeley, M.A. from the University of Chicago under Edward Sapir, and after following Sapir to Yale, received a Ph.D. in 1933.
Throughout his career he spent much of his field time with his wife on the Navajo reservation. He held positions at the Harvard Psychological Clinic, taught at Simmons College, and eventually joined the faculty at Brooklyn College, where he finished his career in 1962
SENECA LACOMBE: University of Montana (John Norvell)
Eggan, Fred, and Silverstein, Michael. Walter Dyk 1899-1972. American Anthropologist March, 1974 Vol.76(1):86-87.
Walter Dyk was a linguist who worked primarily with the Wishram language, which is spoken among the Navajo. He acquired amazing skill with Wishram, even passing for a Native American at one point. Dyk is best known for his book Son of Old Man Hat (1938), which is the life history of Dyk’s informant, Left Handed.
Dyk was born in Germany in 1899 and moved to Gloversville, New York as a child. He attended the University of California at Berkley and graduated with a degree in Anthropology. He went on to receive his M.A. from the University of Chicago and his Ph.D. from Yale in 1933. Dyk studied under Edward Sapir for both his M.A. and his Ph.D. and worked closely with him for many years after.
Dyk’s work with the Wishram language began with his master’s thesis, and continued throughout his life. Most of his fieldwork was done in the 1930’s, before Parkinson’s disease limited him. He began teaching at Brooklyn College in 1942, and entered early retirement in 1962 due to the disease.
Dyk also published a second part to Son of Old Man Hat that documented the later life of Left Handed and A Navajo Autobiography, which is the life history of Old Mexican, as well as several shorter biographies and “Notes and Illustrations of Navaho Sex Behavior,” and “Stress Accent in Wishram Chinook,” which he wrote with Dell Hymes.
The death of Walter Dyk in 1972 was a loss to both his family and the anthropological community. His wife Ruth, daughter Penelope, son Timothy, two brothers and three granddaughters survive him.
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NICOLE RICHTER Dickinson College (Ann Maxwell Hill)
Eggan, Fred, and Silverstein, Michael. Walter Dyk 1899-1972. American Anthropologist March, 1974. Vol. 76(1):86-87.
Born in Germany on September 30, 1899, linguist Walter Dyk grew up focusing on the Navajo’s Wishram (Chinook) language. He moved to the United States, and lived in Gloversville, New York. He served in the U.S. Navy for two years at the end of WWI before focusing his career on teaching. Dyk attended the University of California at Berkley, majoring in anthropology. Later, he received an M.A. at the University of Chicago with a thesis on the verb in Wishram. Finally, he studied at Yale to attain his Ph.D. with a thesis on Wishram grammar. He accomplished a variety of goals, while also exploring the studies of anthropology.
Dyk was best known for his books, Son of Old Hat (1938) and Notes and Illustrations of Navaho Sex Behavior, along with a paper called, Street Accent in Wishram Chinook. He learned many amazing skills and methods while researching for his writings, all of which helped him relate to the Indians. He was once recognized as an Indian himself. He grew ill in 1962, being forced to retire. And ten years later on December 23, 1972, Walter Dyk died.
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ALEXANDRA STAUBER University of San Diego (Denise Couch)
Glickman, Maurice. Patriliny Among the Gusii and the Luo of Kenya. American Anthropologist June, 1974 Vol.76(2):312-318.
Maurice Glickman’s article examines the historical and economic factors that have influenced the kinship systems of two Kenyan peoples, the Gusii and the Luo.
In his examination, he considers each culture individually, and then shows that both peoples responded to colonialism in a similar manner.
Glickman argues that the influence of British colonialism caused the Gusii and the Luo kinship systems to change because it created marked territorial boundaries and inserted property lines between the peoples. Both the Gusii and the Luo have mixed economies dependent upon cultivation and livestock. Previously in these cultures, people of common descent inherited land, but since land was unmarked and abundant, members of all groups were able to move about easily without concern over who had the “rights” to the land. Land was not regarded as a commodity and all people, regardless of their relationship with those around them, were able to settle on the available land. The cattle that grazed the land served as another economic resource that could only be obtained through marriage.
In the Gusii and Luo cultures, after colonization, the tradition of passing land to a male relative became a major feature of common descent inheritance. Colonization created fixed boundaries, which resulted in land shortages and influenced the people in their decision to keep land within the family. Under colonialism, people no longer had the ability to roam about the land and settle where they pleased, land became a possession that could only be acquired through direct inheritance. This caused family ties to grow stronger due to the need for some form of economic stability. People began to develop deep patrilineal relationships. A person had to live on his blood relatives’ land because he would not be welcome anywhere else. Relationships between blood relatives and non-blood relatives changed. Distinct, sometimes hostile, groups resulted.
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JOHNA BOULAFENTIS Dickinson College (Ann Maxwell Hill)
Gumperz, John J. Linguistic Anthropology in Society. American Anthropologist December, 1974 Vol.76(4):785-797.
Gumperz examines communication problems in post-industrial societies. People in these post-industrial societies, he argues, interact with people from different backgrounds on a daily basis. Previous methods that addressed communication in isolated communities are no longer useful in many cases. Gumperz addresses communication problems in developing countries and urban schools in the U.S., as well as issues dealing with mental disorders. He begins with a description of linguistic research, and how it is failing to account for modern changes in post-industrial societies. He claims that problems are arising both in areas and methods of research. He also argues that researchers own linguistic preconceptions have been interfering with their work.
Gumperz addresses language problems in newly formed nations. The language they use for government in is typically that of a western nation that previously colonized the area. The majority of the people may not understand this language, but it would be more useful in communicating with other countries. The native language is less useful in international relation, but is already spoken by everyone. Gumperz suggests that there are certain issues of power that are implied by which language is made primary and that neither solution would be completely effective in most cases.
Language issues in urban schools in the U.S., according to Gumperz, are a result of the inadequate amount of attention being given to minority students. Minority students often speak different dialects, which educators do not recognize as valid forms of English. These students are frequently labeled as less intelligent or culturally deprived when these dialects are generally just as complex as common English. Gumperz claims that despite research done to illuminate these dialects as complex forms of English, they are not recognized by educators and still present a barrier for minority students.
Gumperz also discusses linguistic studies in the area of mental disorders. He presents research that has been done on mental patients use of nonverbal communication and it’s relationship to language. These studies, which Gumperz argues could be very useful, have been executed very casually and never analyzed properly.
Gumperz ends by suggesting the directions that linguistic research will take in the next few decades and mentioning areas that could be studied further. He claims that new language problems will continue to develop in post-industrial societies, especially relating to the increase in technical vocabulary.
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NICOLE RICHTER Dickinson College (Ann Maxwell Hill)
Gumperz, John J. Linguistic Anthropology in Society. American Anthropologist December, 1974 Vol.76(4):785-798
In this article, Gumperz explores the ways in which cultural and language barriers create communication problems in modern societies. He begins his article with, “Communication problems in post-industrial society are seen to arise from two interacting factors: cultural differences and differences between lay and technical languages.” He writes that loosening social boundaries and increased technological specialization are the necessary consequences of these differences and that all levels of society are affected.
Gumperz defines language as “simultaneously a store or repository of cultural knowledge, a symbol of social identity and a medium of interaction.” He then cites three major problem areas concerning communication in modern societies. The first problem area is language development in nation-states, which involves both “maintaining contact with the world community,” and attempts at bridging gaps between local and governmental languages. The second problem is the “issue of urban education in Western industrialized society.” He comments that in standardized achievement tests, minority members generally rank lowest. The last problem area is the “field of mental abnormality.” Gumperz writes, “It seems that at present progress in all these areas is hampered by the lack of information on three related aspects of the communicative process: grammatical and semantic structure, social settings and speech functions, cross-cultural variability.” He notes that conversational analysis is becoming an increasingly important method for understanding communication gaps.
To conclude, Gumperz writes that these problems based in language are solvable only when language is realized as what it is, “a way of storing and communicating information not a form of cognition.”
CLARITY: 3
SUMMER BEEKS: University of Montana (John Norvell)
Hanna, Joel M. Coca Leaf Use in Southern Peru: Some Biosocial Aspects. American Anthropologist June, 1974 Vol.76(2):281-295.
Joel M. Hanna’s article focuses on the controversial issue of coca leaf use in the Andean region. Many people believe that the practice of chewing coca leaves is equivalent to an addiction to cocaine. However, in this article, Hanna presents multiple studies showing the biological and economic benefits of coca leaves to indigenous people of the Andes.
The initial study that Hanna discusses focused on the use of coca leaves at high altitudes. The study demonstrated that coca leaf chewers at high altitudes in Peru show no behavioral or physiological changes. The results indicate that the drug is not addictive and is easily abandoned. Andeans at high altitudes claim that it “reduces hunger, enhances working ability, and promotes a feeling of warmth in the cold (283).” The study showed that coca leaf use increased with altitude, supporting these climate related claims.
Another study conducted in Nunoa, Peru examined the affect of coca leaf use by testing the psychological and behavioral changes of habitual and non-habitual users after they chewed a “normal” daily amount of coca. No significant differences were found between the groups, and no abnormal behavior was observed. This demonstrated that there are no overt responses to coca leaf use when chewed in an average daily dose.
Another series of studies was conducted to test the claims of Andeans about the benefits of coca chewing at high altitudes. Researchers first monitored the oxygen intake, ventilation, heart rate and blood pressure of users and non-users after exercise. Because no differences were found between the two groups, researchers concluded that coca leaf use did not change working efficiency as users at high altitudes suggested. However, further studies did show that coca use increased endurance time. In a study to determine the effect of coca use on body temperature, researchers found that continual use of coca will reduce the amount of heat loss over time. The final study in this series focused on the nutritional value of coca leaves. Another researcher, Martin, found that coca contains vitamins B and C and riboflavin (290), and that llipta, a frequently used additive, contains calcium, indicating that coca may reduce hunger.
The economic benefits of coca leaf use are also very important. Hanna says that many people in the foothills of the Andes rely on their coca leaf plantations for income. Coca leaves have become a “substitute currency (292),” because they are traded and accepted in many stores as currency. This study shows that coca plays an essential role in the economic system and in Andean life. Hanna argues that because of its economic, physiological, and biological benefits, coca should not be equated to cocaine or condemned as an addictive and detrimental habit.
Coca use is very controversial and has already been banned in Colombia and Equador. Through his summary of these studies and the results of his own research on economic benefits of coca leaves, Hanna provides a convincing argument that Andean life would be negatively affected by the prohibition of coca.
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LINDSEY HUTTER Dickinson College (Ann Maxwell Hill)
Hanna, Joel M. Coca Leaf Use in Southern Peru: Some Biosocial Aspects. American Anthropologist June, 1974 Vol.76(2):281-296
This article investigates the practice of coca leaf use amongst peoples of the high altitude Andean regions in southern Peru. Peoples in this area chew the leaves of Erythroxylin coca for various reasons, but this use is often condemned as merely an addiction to cocaine amongst the lower class. This article brings two additional motivations, one biological and one social, to light suggesting that coca leaf consumption at high altitudes serves a social function. Studies undertaken in the town of Nunoa are represented graphically and analyzed accordingly.
Habitual users and nonusers were given an average of 50mg of coca leaves and an accompanying amount of alkali (Ilipta) on chewing days, and functions such as heart rate, oxygen intake, and body temperature were analyzed while subjects performed a variety of tasks. These same functions were measured in the subjects on days when no coca was consumed. Following these studies, four biological consequences were identified. First, when small quantities of coca are consumed throughout the day by habitual users there seem to be none of the physiological or psychological effects that have been reported in the laboratory. Second, there appear to be no physiological responses related to coca habituation, nor were withdrawal symptoms reported when habitual users abstained. Third, coca leaf consumption has a stimulatory effect similar to caffeine, and during maximal work effort use may reduce fatigue, thus prolonging performance. Both of these factors make labor more bearable for coca users, especially considering the low oxygen rates at high altitudes where consumption is most common. Finally, coca use aids in conservation of central body heat, an advantage in a cold climate and an area where caloric intake may be environmentally limited.
Economics is the only cultural aspect emphasized here. The author states that coca use, and the resulting coca trade, stimulates trade between regions that otherwise would not make such contact. The Indian community of the altiplano tends to be largely self-sufficient, and there would be little incentive to traverse the rugged terrain to the foothills were it not for coca leaves. Because of the coca trade the Indian communities bring meat, potatoes, wool and other goods down to foothill towns, which in turn experience a larger number of consumers for their markets. Coca leaves serve as currency, there even being fixed exchange rates.
These observations grant a fuller insight into why coca leaves are consumed. The author concludes saying “coca use is an integral part of life in the Andes, not simply an addiction of the lower classes.”
CLARITY: 4
LAEL GABRIAN University of Montana (John Norvell)
Holloman, Regina E. Ritual Opening and Individual Transformation: Rites of Passage at Esalen. June, 1974 Vol.76(2):265-279.
“Ritual manipulation of emotion can result in: psychic opening, a state in which the individual’s defenses are suddenly lowered (1).” Regina E. Holloman carries this main idea throughout her article in which she looks at individual’s responses during her experiment at Esalen. She argues that Homo sapiens respond to group and individual settings during varied activities, which breaks down emotional barriers and causes defenses to weaken. These ritual responses or behavioral changes are very powerful as they effect people in different ways.
The experiment was conducted at the Esalen Institute in California, during a five-day workshop which created data based on group interaction and individual seclusion. Both procedures manipulated social interaction with the intention of achieving an emotional transformation. For instance, participants were placed within a close proximity to others with whom they were unfamiliar, and then they were asked to perform activities such as nude baths and mind exercises.
The Esalen instructors varied their teaching technique, although each had the same goals in mind. Separation from the outside world, stripping the participants of their status, and making certain personality changes and progress of the inner-self at the end of the five days. The resulting hypothesis formed from this workshop was if a certain individual is introduced to ritual acts then a psychic opening can occur. In other words, there will be a lowering of defenses, and therefore a major shift of emotion. In the end of the article Holloman states that negative as well as positive changes can occur, and not all participants are affected to the same degree. This experiment was deemed a success, as the participants experienced beneficial changes and became more aware of their inner state. The Esalen workshop opened up people’s minds, and provided researchers with an understanding of how ritual manipulation can be a powerful tool. When this tool is used effectively it can be helpful for individuals in group settings.
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DANIEL WARSHAW Dickinson College (Ann Maxwell Hill)
Holloman, Regina E. Ritual Opening and Individual Transformation: Rites of Passage at Esalen. American Anthropologist June, 1974 Vol.76(2):265-280
In this essay, Holloman describes her firsthand experience of “ritual psychic opening” through a Gestalt workshop at Esalen Institute. This institute provides interpersonal workshops that, “stress the efficacy of small group experience in psychological growth and development.” She writes that the Esalen Institute advocates change in Western life-style systems through experiences of group liminality, ritual opening and individual transformations.
The ritual psychic opening is described as “a state in which all or most of the individual’s defenses are lowered simultaneously and without warning.” This opening “creates a state of vulnerability and high suggestibility; and one in which there is a relatively free flow of unconscious material.” According to Holloman, this psychic opening can occur through meditation or emotional peaking and is the true measure of the success of this social process.
Daily activities of the workshop are patterned so that a group entity can be established and rebirth by its individuals accomplished. The activities included baths, group work sessions, massage, alone time and Arica exercises. She describes the workshop as, “a kind of rite-of-passage ritual whose goal is psychological transformation and whose means are the mobilization of autonomic as well as cognitive processes by cultural techniques which manipulate context and interpersonal interaction.”
Holloman claims that one of her goals is to deal with an aspect of the theoretical gap that anthropologist Victor Turner noted between relationships of symbols, human emotion and ritual organization to each other. She writes that another purpose of her paper is to help dispel the idea commonly held among American anthropologists that research is best done outside of the United States.
Personally, Holloman is intrigued by her own feelings of rebirth through experiencing one of these workshops. Anthropologically, Holloman is intrigued by the “nature of worldview transformation.” She concludes that she hopes to continue inquiries in this area.
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SUMMER BEEKS: University of Montana (John Norvell)
Howells, W. W. Neanderthals: Names, Hypotheses, and Scientific Method. American Anthropologist January, 1974 Vol.76(1): 24-38.
W. W. Howells discusses major issues surrounding the Neanderthals, an extinct group of hominids that were closely related to modern humans. Howells argues that the term “Neanderthal” is used too broadly and that the hypothesis presented by Brose and Wolpoff in a previous article is inaccurate. The main purpose of this article is to enable the reader to understand which of Brose and Wolpoff’s ideas Howells discredits and why. The Brose-Wolpoff hypothesis states that Neanderthals in the Old World essentially gave birth to modern man. Howells argues against this idea by saying that Brose and Wolpoff “have created the formal idea of a homogeneous universal population [of Neanderthals]… lacking internal distinctions.” In short, Howells says that Brose and Wolpoff are not giving enough credit to the differences among pre-human populations. Also, he explains that the term “Neanderthal” has often been misused and confused by many writers. Howells main objection is that people tend to clump early populations together as one and miss important distinctions among them.
Howells’ argument is constructed in an extremely powerful way. He attacks various aspects of the Brose-Wolpoff hypothesis by taking it apart piece by piece and refuting each point using logical and persuasive examples. These examples are very convincing. Another way that Howells proves his point is by confirming data from other paleontologists. For example, Brose and Wolpoff look at Qafza (an early site of a population of hominids in the Near East) remains and estimate that the skull vaults (the height of the skull) are low. Evidence provided by one study, however, demonstrates that the skull vaults are in fact quite high. Incorporating such evidence into the article, Howells’ arguments are strengthened. Although the data and evidence support his ideas, it would have been more beneficial to the reader if key terms were defined.
CLARITY RANKING: 3
BECKY HAMWAY Dickinson College (Ann Maxwell Hill)
Lex, Barbara W. Voodoo Death: New Thoughts on an Old Explanation. American Anthropologist December, 1974 Vol.76(4):818-823.
Lex’s article reexamines the causes behind voodoo deaths. People who believe in voodoo sometimes appear to die from a curse, or an extreme suggestion of their own death. Lex decided to use her knowledge of the autonomic nervous system to explain the phenomenon. She chose this system because it is responsible for maintaining the body’s stability by responding to stimuli.
The autonomic nervous system is made up of two subsystems called sympathetic and parasympathetic. Only one of these two systems is ever in use at a give time. The sympathetic system controls one’s “fight or flight” reactions or one’s reaction to something surprising. These involuntary reactions include increased heart rate and blood pressure, dilated pupils, perspiration, and heavy breathing. By contrast, the parasympathetic system slows blood pressure and heart rate, constricts pupils, and moves blood away from muscles. This system usually is active during sleep, digestion, and states of rest.
Lex believes that a process called central nervous system tuning is both a cause and a cure for psychosomatic disorders, including voodoo death. There are two ways to invoke tuning in a person. The first is to use drugs, which either stimulate or block the sympathetic or the parasympathetic system. The second is to mentally stimulating one of the two systems. There are three stages in nervous system tuning. The first is a very subtle, resting phase. The second phase occurs when the system being tuned has exceeded its threshold. Finally the third phase takes place when both resting and active signals are being sent to the brain.
These mixed signals make it easier for a suggestion, such as voodoo death, to come to reality. For example, if a person is already feeling stress, he or she may feel exhaustion next. Once the suggestion of voodoo death is given, they may feel extreme fright, which leads to the person giving up and dying. When a person is experiencing these kinds of feelings they typically have a response of heartburn, ulcers, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea and therefore do not eat. The suggestion that brought about these symptoms prevents a person from eating which could result in death.
Lex encourages anthropologists to acquaint themselves with the characteristics of central nervous system tuning. When this tuning is noticeable, anthropologists can link it to the cause of voodoo death. This subject gains importance from the threat of voodoo death. Western ideas of medicine make many people skeptical of voodoo death when in fact it could have a real biological background.
CLARITY RANKING: 2
JACLYN DADDONA Dickinson College (Ann Maxwell Hill)
Lex, Barbara W. Voodoo Death: New Thoughts on an Old Explanation. American Anthropologist December, 1974 Vol.76(4):818-823.
Barbara Lex’s article examines the symptoms and stages leading up to voodoo death. Her study is based on the works of previous anthropologists and neurologists in an attempt to correlate their works and build them into a solid conclusion on the mysterious ailment. By combining the study of these to fields Lex is able to identify exactly what the disease attacks in one’s body and the symptoms it includes. She encourages anthropologists in the field to get informed of what symptoms to look for and what actions to take when they come upon a sufferer of the psychosomatic illness.
First, Lex identifies the primary elements of this mystic demise. She begins her quest for knowledge by looking back at earlier studies performed by C.P. Richter and Walter Cannon. She develops her thesis around the definition earlier given to voodoo death by Richter, who identified it as a human manifestation of vagus death resultant from overstimulation, by the parasympathetic nervous system. Lex also examined the experiment Richter performed to confirm this theory and the thoughts of David Lester, who doubted this theory and deemed it inapplicable to man. In light of the case Lester states, Lex donates what she had found through her research of man’s cerebral cortex, which tended to support Richter’s experiment.
This examination moved to other theories in the field in an attempt to ultimately define this illness. Lex looked at the work of Eliot Chapple who offers the idea that the illness is the result of a build-up of emotional tensions in the sympathetic nervous system. Chapple added that extreme fright experienced by person in this state could be as fatal as a dose of poison. Lex let yet another anthropologist, Theodore Barber, into her extensive study. Taking what she could from all of these experts, Lex’s studies and experiences confirmed her opinion and provided ways to counter this illness.
In the conclusion of Lex’s article, she encourages her fellow anthropologists who work in the field to become informed in the matter of voodoo death. She added that an informed person could manipulate the person’s emotions and revive them. Through this article of extensive study, Lex proves that healing is possible and expresses the intense suffering these people go through. By examining the works of other credible anthropologists, Lex has put forth an article that later anthropologists will refer to in their research.
CLARITY: 2
BRAD LOWE University of Montana (John Norvell)
McComb, Marlin R. and Foster, George M. Kalervo Oberg 1901-1973. American Anthropologist June, 1974 Vol.76(2):357-359.
Kalervo Oberg was born in British Columbia to Finnish parents in 1901. He received a B.A. in economics at the University of British Columbia and a M.A. in economics from the University of Pittsburgh. He attended the University of Chicago where he studied under Edward Sapir and A.R. Radcliffe-Brown. Olberg utilized his knowledge of economics in his fieldwork with the Tlingit Indians. The resulting dissertation was called The Social Economy of the Tlingit Indians of Alaska.
After receiving his doctoral degree, Oberg went on to the London School of Economics. There he took a course on Bantu language before traveling to Uganda to study the Banyankole. His paper based on this research, “The Kingdom of Ankole in Uganda,” was published in African Political Systems by Fortes and Evans-Pritchard.
Oberg spent a few years teaching at the universities of Missouri and Montana and directed the Central Texas Archaeological Group on the Colorado River from 1938 to 1939, before moving on to work for the United States government, which he did for many years. He began in the Soil Conservation Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and then became Associate Coordinator of the Middle Rio Grande Board. This work led to Man and Resources in the Rio Grande Valley, New Mexico, which Oberg wrote with Allen G. Harper and Andrew R. Cordova.
In 1942 Oberg became one of the first people involved in the Institute of Inter-American affairs, which lead him to Ecuador for the rehabilitation of El Oro Province, and then to Peru.
Oberg became a U.S. citizen in 1944 while working as a program analyst for the Food Division of the Foreign Economic Administration in Washington. He met Julian Steward just after the founding of the Smithsonian Institution’s Institute of Social Anthropology, and subsequently traveled to Brazil to represent the Institution. His time there led to The Terena and the Caduveo of southern Mato Grosso, Brazil and Indian Tribes of Northern Mato Grosso, Brazil. Oberg continued work in Brazil for years, next with the Institute of Inter-American Affairs and then with the Community Development Division of the International Cooperation Administration.
After retiring from government service, Oberg spent the last years of his life teaching part time at several universities. He was an excellent teacher and was always aware of current events around the world and ready to discuss them. Although he did not publish as much as many anthropologists due to the nature of his work, his contributions were great. He is missed by all his colleagues and students and his wife and research partner, Lois.
CLARITY: 5
NICOLE RICHTER Dickinson College (Ann Maxwell Hill)
McComb, Marlin; Foster, George. Obituaries: Kalervo Oberg. American Anthropologist June, 1974 Vol.76(2):357-360
Kalervo Oberg was born to Finnish immigrants in British Columbia, on January 15, 1901 and died on July 11, 1973. He was known by the anthropology community as “the man in the Stetson hat.” His world-wide work was primarily focused on applied anthropology. His wife, Lois, was his long-time field research partner.
Oberg received B.A. and M.A. degrees in economics at the University of British Columbia and then attended the anthropology program at the University of Chicago. At the University of Chicago, he began his field research under the guidance of Edward Sapir, conducting a study focusing on the social economy of the Tlingit Indians of Alaska. Oberg was influenced by Malinowski’s reputation in fieldwork methodology and went on to study at the London School of Economics. After conducting research in Uganda, Oberg returned to the United States.
When Oberg returned to the United States he began his extensive and impressive quarter-century of work for the United States government service. The work was devoted to the study of social and cultural factors associated with technological change. Oberg worked on the Soil Conservation Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, served as Associate Coordinator of the Middle Rio Grande Board, participated in the rehabilitation of El Oro Province, Ecuador, and served as the program analyst in the Food Division of the Foreign Economic Administration. After becoming an American citizen in 1944, Oberg accepted a position from Julian Steward, the founder of the Smithsonian Institution’s Institute of Social Anthropology, and served as the representative of the Institute in Brazil. Oberg went on to join the Brazilian branch of the Community Development Division of International Cooperation, and on occasion served as its Acting Chief.
Oberg retired from government service in 1963, and occasionally taught at Cornell, Stanford, Southern California, and Oregon. Although he was retired, he remained determined to continue to develop applied anthropology through teaching to future anthropologists. Oberg is considered a career government anthropologist, and through this, combined with his teaching, he had an immense impact on economic anthropology, social organization, law, and of greatest worth to Oberg, applied anthropology.
CLARITY: 4
BRADLEY CLOUSER University of San Diego (Denise Couch)
Murdock, George P. Clellan Stearns Ford 1909-1972. American Anthropologist March, 1974 Vol.76(1):83-85.
Clellan Stearns Ford, who was commonly called “Joe,” was born in Worcester Massachusetts in 1909. He attended Yale University and received a Ph.D. in Chemistry in 1931 and a Ph.D. in sociology in 1935. After earning his second doctoral degree, Ford spent a few years doing ethnographic fieldwork in Fiji and British Columbia.
In 1936 Ford entered the staff of the Institute of Human Relations at Yale, where he helped to form the Cross-Cultural Survey in 1937. He was made Assistant Professor of Anthropology in 1940 and soon, “initiated a program of comparative studies of human reproduction (83).
World War II interrupted his time with this program. During the war, among other things, Ford was assigned to work on series of military government handbooks about the Pacific Islands that were held by the Japanese. When he returned to Yale in 1946 he became Associate Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Cross-Cultural Survey. Through his efforts the Survey was expanded to an inter-university consortium called the Human Relations Area Files with twenty-four institutions having full membership 150 associate members.
Ford’s best-known studies are those on comparative human reproduction. His book, Patterns of Sexual Behavior, which he co-authored with Frank Beach, became something of classic.
He is survived by his wife Edna, his two sons Thomas and John, and four grandchildren.
CLARITY: 5
NICOLE RICHTER Dickinson College (Ann Maxwell Hill)
Murdock, George P. Obituary: Clellan Stearns Ford. American Anthropologist, 1974. Vol.76:83-85.
A professor of Anthropology at Yale University, Clellan Sterns Ford died on November 4, 1972 at the age of sixty-three. He attended Yale University where he received his Ph.D. in Chemistry in 1931 and another Ph.D. in sociology in 1935 for a comparative study of primitive technology.
In 1935 Ford did ethnographic field research in the Fiji Islands and in 1940 he undertook a further field investigation among the Kwakiutl Indians of British Columbia. In 1936, Ford as well as G.P. Murdock, J.W.M. Whiting and other colleagues founded the cross-cultural survey in 1937. Not long before World War II he initiated a program of comparative studies of human reproduction.
During the war Ford held several, brief part time positions such as service for the Board of Economic Warfare, Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs, preparing a series of military government handbooks on the islands of the Pacific held by the Japanese, and participating in the Okinawa campaign in a liaison capacity between military government and the Marine Corps.
In 1946, Ford returned to Yale and became the Director of Cross-Cultural Survey where he initiated a series of technological innovations and obtained funds and support to change the organization from a single institution to an inter-university consortium by the name of Human Relations Area Files. Ford co-authored with Frank Beach, Patterns of Sexual Behavior, which attained the status of a classic in anthropology.
CLARITY: 5
MAGGIE MANN University of San Diego (Denise Couch)
Olmsted, David L. Lee Henderson Watkins 1908-1972. American Anthropologist June, 1974 Vol.76(2):355-356.
Lee Henderson Watkins grew up California as the son of a beekeeper. Shortly after high school he joined a protestant group focused in proselytization, from which he later emerged with a strong aversion to organized religion and belief in separation of church and state. He spent a short period of time Fresno State College before attending the University of California at Berkley. Although he never completed a degree at Berkeley because of a complication with foreign languages, he became an active member of the academic world.
Watkins stayed at Berkeley informally where he was influence by the ideas of Kroeber, Lowie, Radin and especially Teggart. There he found of love of anthropology that stayed with him his whole life. He became what Olmsted describes as, “the nearest thing on this side of the Atlantic to the informed, dedicated British amateur who, without benefit of academic position or higher degree, yet makes solid contributions to his subject” (355). Watkins’ subjects were apiculture and anthropology.
He worked as an apiary assistant in the Department of Entomology at the University of California, Davis. There he continued his interest in anthropology and donated many of his books for the department library.
Watkins was a promoter of women’s rights and of civil liberties in general, being especially concerned with migrant workers. He served a term as the Chairman of the Yolo County Grand Jury and was one of the people instrumental in founding the Sacramento-Davis branch of the American Civil Liberties Union.
Despite ill health in various forms, Watkins continued to research and publish his whole life. Many of his research remain unfinished or unpublished, including a biography of an early beekeeper in California named Harbison. His work dealt mostly with agriculture, a somewhat forgotten field, especially from the anthropological view.
CLARITY: 5
NICOLE RICHTER Dickinson College (Ann Maxwell Hill)
Olmsted, David. Obituaries: Lee Watkins. American Anthropologist June, 1974 Vol.76(2):355-356.
Lee Watkins was born in 1908 and grew up in San Joaquin Valley of California. He was the son of a beekeeper and learned the skill while growing up. His appreciation for beekeeping and agriculture would fuel his anthropological work throughout his life. He had two children with his wife, Millicent Saylor, who was a schoolteacher and librarian and had a large impact on her husband’s work with libraries and women’s rights.
Watkins never obtained a college degree, although he attended Fresno State College and the University of California at Berkeley, where he was unable to fulfill his foreign language requirement. However, Watkins sat in on courses in anthropology under Kroeber and Lowie, while also learning from Paul Radin and Frederick Teggart. Although he never obtained a higher degree, Watkins’ great writing and speaking ability as a fervent proponent of anthropological view applied to all aspects of life led him to make contributions to the subject.
Lee, with the help of his wife Millicent, was a pioneer in “Women’s Liberation” problems. He was always open to talking about the problems and how to solve them with sensitivity and kindliness. After his children grew up, Watkins took the position as apiary assistant in the Department of Entomology at the University of California, Davis. At Davis, Watkins conducted many projects, including the history of science, the history of technology, and the history of agriculture and ethnohistory. Although the subjects seem to be vague and the work difficult, Watkins worked very hard to fulfill the projects. In addition to his own work, he was responsible for developing the anthropology library at the Davis campus and was responsible for gathering the majority of the anthropology content. His passionate help was an important factor in the formation of the Anthropology department at Davis.
After his retirement from his position at Davis, Watkins continued to travel and set up a worldwide network of beekeepers and agricultural scholars. Watkins was also a persistent fighter for civil liberties and is greatly responsible for the formation of the Sacramento-Davis branch of the American Civil Liberties Union. Continuing his passion for furthering civil liberties, Watkins served as Chairman of the Yolo County Grand Jury.
Lee Watkins died on April 6, 1972, but left behind a lasting impact on the University of California, Davis and a vast audience of agricultural technicians. His work in the field of agricultural, which is neglected by most anthropologists, can be seen in specialized journals and is greatly valued. Watkins retained the anthropological approach in everything he did, having a vast impact on women’s rights, civil liberties, and agricultural history.
CLARITY: 4
BRADLEY CLOUSER University of San Diego (Denise Couch)
Segraves, Abbott. Ecological Generalization and Structural Transformation of Sociocultural Systems. American Anthropologist September, 1974. Vol.76(3):530-552
The author of this present essay expounds upon and clarifies ideas and theories contained in Evolution and Culture, a book that gives a contemporary anthropological perspective of cultural evolution. The essay was not intended to be a critique of Evolution and Culture. Segraves’ purpose for this re-examination was to aid in the continual theoretical development of sociocultural evolution through expansion and testing. The author’s article includes theoretical propositions directing most of his attention to parameters concerning the structural aspects of sociocultural systems.
Segraves’ preliminary remarks discuss the attributes of sociocultural systems and that which characterizes theories of social scientists. A sociocultural system is a unit of analysis in the study of cultural evolution. Four elements are given that identify this system are the following: a requirement of humans, themes or patterns in a society, material technology, and language. The theories developed of these systems regard only relevant variables and clearly explain the phenomena being theorized. The variables that this article is concerned with are “general evolutionary progress,” “specific evolutionary progress,” “survival probability,” and “structural stability”. Segraves begins by looking how Sahlins defines “general” and “specific” evolutionary progress in Evolution and Culture and clarifies as well as modifies these aspects of sociocultural evolution. He then examines the book’s definitions of ecological generalization and survival probability and then demonstrates how the authors of this book needed to develop and alter their definitions. Next, 13 “propositions” or laws of structural stability are given and elaborated upon. The remainder of the essay looks at specific examples used by the authors in Evolution and Culture of the previously discussed “propositions” and comments on them. Segraves concludes with the fact that it is only through more anthropological work and testing that the theories presented here can be valued. He mentions that some of the theories presented and elaborated upon may challenge the views of other Anthropologists which will hopefully spur on more analytical evaluations of that which is being theorized.
CLARITY: 3
TIFFANY FERDERER University of Montana (John Norvell)
Segraves, Abbot B. Ecological Generalization and Structural Transformation of Sociocultural Systems American Anthropologist September, 1974 Vol.76(3): 530-551.
In this article, Segraves re-examines the theory of sociocultural evolution presented in Evolution and Culture and offers additional information in order to clarify and enhance the theoretical masterpiece. He develops the existing theory by devoting his discussion to a number of variables in the theory that need further clarification. The article expands on the notions about general and specific evolutionary progress, structural stability, ecological generalization, and survival probability.
Segraves begins the article by defining a sociocultural system as population of human organisms that are interdependent through a system of patterned interaction, material technology, and a set of codes or languages (531). He then discusses and expands upon elements of the general and specific evolutionary progress, and the structural stability concepts. General progress is a function of the interdependence of a sociocultural system’s absolute energy, structural differentiation, and available information. He identifies two types of structural stability-internal and external. The internal stability affects the external stability and the fluctuations of structural differentiation. He includes a table that illustrates the features of the general evolutionary progress and its relation with external stability. Although he states the difficulty in defining specific evolutionary progress, he critiques the variable with the intent to produce a clearer explanation. He concludes that it is a multi-dimensional variable that has more meanings than just the advancement of a system during a period of environmental threats, and then later a manipulation of that environment (536).
In his discussion of ecological generalization and survival probability, he brings forth new features to be added to the theory of sociocultural evolution. He describes ecological generalization as a sociocultural system’s dependence on number of resource bases in order to fuel the energy supply. If threatened by a change in an environment’s resources, a system with multiple resources has the chance of survival.
The final section of the article, Segraves elucidates his position by using the points he made throughout his essay and placing them into clear propositions that could be changed into evolutionary laws.
CLARITY RANKING: 3
JOHNA BOULAFENTIS Dickinson College (Ann Maxwell Hill)
Smith, Henry Lee Jr. Felicia Harben Trager 1930-1972. American Anthropologist March, 1974 Vol. 76(1):78-79.
Felicia Harben Trager was born in 1930 in Detroit Michigan. She graduated from Wayne State University in 1957 and went on to what was then the University of Buffalo (now the State University of New York at Buffalo). The linguistic studies of George L. Trager, who she later married, influenced her decision to attend Buffalo. In 1959 she received an M.A. from the department of Anthropology and Linguistics. He masters thesis was called “English –sion, -tion Nouns.”
While in graduate school Trager spent her summers teaching English as a foreign language at the American Language Center of American University. Washington’s Center for Applied Linguistics employed her from 1959 until 1961, when she married George Trager and moved to Buffalo.
During the early nineteen sixties Trager developed an interest in the Picuris of New Mexico. She spent several years studying the vocabulary and linguistic structure of the Picuris and compared it with other Tanoan languages. These linguistic studies led to cultural studies, of both past and present Picuris society.
In 1968 Trager received her Ph.D. in anthropology from Buffalo. Her dissertation was drawn from her work in New Mexico and titled “Picuris Pueblo, New Mexico: An Ethnolinguistic ‘Salvage’ Study.” Much of her fieldwork has yet to be fully processed or published, which her husband plans to do.
Trager was the Associate Editor of Studies in Linguistics from 1967 until she was made Editor in 1971. Also in 1971, Trager and her husband both began teaching at Northern Illinois University, where she stayed until her death.
Felicia Harben Trager leaves behind not only a promising career, but also a loving husband and two children, Edward and Anne.
CLARITY: 5
NICOLE RICHTER Dickinson College (Ann Maxwell Hill)
Smith, Henry Lee Jr. Obituary: Felicia Harben Trager. American Anthropologist, 1974. Vol.76(1):78-79.
Felicia Harben Trager, born on March 13,1930 and died on February 21,1972, was happily married to her husband George L. Trager and a loving mother of her two children. She attended Wayne State University in 1957 and won several scholarships all four of the years she attended, including The Woodrow Wilson Fellowship and a Graduate Fellowship from Buffalo. In 1959 she wrote an unusual thesis entitled “English –sion, -tion Nouns” and was granted her M.A. from the Department of Anthropology and Linguistics. Trager’s thesis was later on revised and published in 1962 in the Canadian Journal of Linguistics. She was an instructor of English as a foreign language in the American Language Center at American University, as well as being employed as a Project Associate at Washington’s Center for Applied Linguistics.
In 1961 and 1962 Trager was given a summer grant to study at the Linguistics Institute at the University of Texas. It was during this time that she developed an interest in the language and culture of Taos Pueblo of Picuris. It was her academic work in this area that led her to receive her Ph.D. in the Department of Anthropology at The University of Buffalo. Her dissertation was entitled “Picuris Pueblo, New Mexico: An Ethno linguistic ‘Salvage’ Study.” Trager published several articles over the years, yet there are still many more to be published; something that her husband proposed to work on in order to make as much of her work available as possible.
Felicia Trager held many different jobs, some of which include a Lecturer in University College, which she held through 1969. She was an Adjunct Professor of Anthropology and for a short time she was also an Adjunct Professor of Behavioral Sciences at the University of Dallas. In 1971, she accepted a position with her husband at Northern Illinois University as an Assistant Professor of Anthropology that she held until her death. While in school she served as an Associate Editor of Studies in Linguistics and later served as the Editor. She was a member of Sigma Xi since 1968, as well as a member of the American Folklore Society and Associate of Current Anthropology.
CLARITY: 5
MAGGIE MANN University of San Diego (Denise Couch)
Smith, Henry Lee, Jr. Felicia Harben Trager 1930-1972, American Anthropologist, 1974: 78-79
This article is an obituary and brief biography for Felicia Harben Trager, an accomplished ethnolinguist and professor. Felicia Harben Trager was born on March 13, 1930 in Detroit Michigan and died February 21, 1972. She began her career as in linguistics at the then University of Buffalo, now New York State University at Buffalo. She graduated from Wayne State in 1957. She earned her M.A. from the Department of Anthropology and Linguistics with a thesis entitled “English –sion, -tion Nouns,” published in the Canadian Journal of Linguistics. This thesis was a major contribution to developing the concept of the morphophone. She worked as and instructor of English as a foreign language at the American University in 1958. In 1959 she took a position as Project Associate at Washington’s Center for Applied Linguistics. In 1961 she became a teaching fellow for the subsequent school year. She then earned a grant to study at the Linguistic Institute at the University of Texas. This grant fostered and fueled her interest in the culture and language of Taos Pueblo. In 1968 she received her Ph.D. for her study of Picuris Pueblo New Mexico. In this dissertation she was able to distinctly contrast the Picuris with other Tanoan languages, thereby establishing a correlation between the study of Picuris vocabulary no longer used and the deterioration in cultural practices. Because of this innovative discovery, she was able to reconstruct some of the then disintegrated culture. She published related articles from 1968-1972.
Felicia Harben Trager and her husband George L. Trager had two children, Edward and Anne born on December 11, 1962 and March 6, 1965 respectively. In 1967 Felicia and George both accepted positions at the Southern Methodist University in Dallas. The couple worked there until 1971 when they took positions at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb. She served as editor of Studies in Linguistics from 1971 until her death.
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LEAH GARZA SAN DIEGO MESA COLLEGE (Denise Couch)
Smith Jr., Henry Lee. Felicia Harben Trager 1930-1972. American Anthropologist month, 1974 Vol. 73 : 78-79
This is an obituary for Felicia Trager. She was born on March 13, 1930 in Detroit, Michigan.
She completed her undergraduate education at Wayne State University in 1957. She was awarded scholarships for all four years of her undergraduate work as well as a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship for academic excellence. She attended graduate school at the University of Buffalo and received her M.A. from the Department of Anthropology and Linguistics in 1959. Her thesis was titled “English –sion, -tion Nouns” and was an important part of the later development of the concept of morphemes. She met her future husband while attending the University of Buffalo, George L. Trager also an anthropologist and they were married in June of 1961. They had two children Anne born December 11, 1963 and Edward born March 6, 1965.
Felicia Trager completed her dissertation on the Picuris, of Pablo, New Mexico. It was a study of the Picuris vocabulary and she established a correlation indicating that the linguistic evidence was an important index of the reduction in cultural traditions. In doing this she was also able to reconstruct a good deal of the original culture of the Picuris. For this she was awarded her Ph.D. from the Department of Anthropology at the University of Buffalo as well as several National Science Foundation grants.
Throughout her rather short life Felicia Trager was published many times and was also awarded a number of teaching positions. Including positions at all of the following institutions; the American Language Center of American University in Washington D.C., the University of Buffalo, Southern Methodist University, the University of Dallas, and Northern Illinois University, De Kalb where she taught until her death on February 21, 1972 at the age of forty-one. Upon her death her husband George Trager promised to continue and complete as much of her work as possible.
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AMBER LITTLE San Diego Mesa College (Denise Couch)
Spores, Ronald Marital Alliance in the Political Integration of Mixtec Kingdoms. American Anthropologist June, 1974 Vol.76(2):297-311.
Spores discusses the royal marriage practices of the Mixtec in Mesoamerica. He relates Mixtec marriage to the overall political structure of their society. He illustrates how marriages ideally resulted in the combination of kingdoms, “…elite marital alliances served not only to perpetuate individual kingdoms but to link them into larger, but fissionable, cooperative-reciprocal political constellations (306).”
Mixtec kingdoms were relatively small, generally consisting of three or four settlements occupying thirty to fifty square kilometers. Some were larger than others but not always more prosperous, depending on the resources they contained. There were sometimes interkingdom wars, but Spores argues that marriage alliances prevented these “at the time the marriages were contracted (306).”
Marriage was the primary way of forming alliances between kingdoms. Royal marriages were determined by what would be the most profitable alliance, even if it meant sibling marriage. Succession patterns tended toward primogeniture, but were subject to the discretion of the rulers and their families. Females would sometimes inherit, and they did not share their titles with the man they married. Female titles were, however, passed down to the children that resulted. Multiple titles were often split up between children.
Marriage and succession were part of many factors that compromised the Mixtec Political system. Spores claims that the Mixtec political structure was flexible like their marriage practices, and allowed for adaptation because it was decentralized. Although the various kingdoms were not able to combine in effort to defend themselves against the Aztecs or the Spanish, Spores argues that their flexibility is what allowed them to persist through domination.
CLARITY RANKING: 2
NICOLE RICHTER Dickinson College (Ann Maxwell Hill)
Spores, Ronald. Marital Alliance in the Political Integration of Mixtec Kingdoms. American Anthropologist June, 1974. Vol.76(2):297-311.
Few and limited studies have focused on the politics of ancient Mesoamerica. Spores therefore considers a range of political functions within the Mixtec Kingdoms. The marital alliances of the three Mixtec kingdoms played the vital role in the composition of this political system. The author sets out to prove that this examination may in fact aid in the study of political systems regarding more complex societies. Pictographic and conventional documentation is used to support this analysis.
The geographical location and independent characteristics of the three Mixteca’s: The Alta, Baja, and Costa. Marital alliances of elite families within these three sub-areas allowed items to be exchanged, promoted social interaction between the groups, and aided in the continuation and resistance of these societies. He describes the various positions held by the royalty and what the rulers’ as well as their subjects’ functions and responsibilities included in order for the particular states to operate effectively. Some characteristics of this political system consisted of: limited authority, voluntary compliance on the part of the rulers and subjects, and reliance on marriage alliances so the system could continue. The operation of this political system perpetuated the individual kingdoms and linked them to larger systems. The Mixtec kingdoms functioned interdependently and independently, which is what strengthened their political system. Unlike the Aztec, Inca, and Tarascan states, the Mixtec kingdoms political systems were able to endure numerous conquests for almost a thousand years.
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TIFFANY FERDERER University of Montana (John Norvell)
Swedlund, Alan C. The Use of Ecological Hypotheses in Australopithecine Taxonomy. American Anthropologist September, 1974 Vol.76(3):515-529.
In this article Swedlund discusses various theories concerning the classification of australopithecines. There has been much debate as the number of australopithecines species that are represented by the fossils that have been found, and their relation to one another as well as to modern humans. Swedlund examines the current theories dealing with the ecological circumstances that australopithecines lived in, and relates them to both single and multiple species theories.
Swedlund distinguishes between gracile and robust austrolopithecines, the gracile being Homo transvaalensis, Homo africanus, Australopithecus africanus, and Homo Habilis, and the robust being Paranthropus robustus, Zinjanthropus boisei, and Australopithecus robustus. The single species theory claims that the robust forms are simply males and the graciles are females. Their size differences are roughly the same as some modern nonhuman primates. This theory encounters problems with the somewhat different dental morphology of the various species.
The multiple species theory explains the dental differences, but encounters ecological obstacles. Many of these species have been found at the same sites dating to about the same times. If they were multiple species then how did they live together? If they were aggressive toward one another, Swedlund argues, then they probably would not have been able to coexist for as long as they did, either the gracile or robust would have been out competed. If they coexisted peacefully, they would have interbred and consequently we would be descended from both forms.
Swedlund presents and compares many theories concerning how many species of australopithecines there were and how the coexisted. He finds the single species theory to most persuasive at this point, but emphasizes that much more research needs to be done. He uses the research of many other anthropologists to support his views, and point out areas of research that have been overlooked.
CLARITY RANKING: 3
NICOLE RICHTER Dickinson College (Ann Maxwell Hill)
Swedlund, Alan C. The Use of Ecological Hypotheses in Australopithecine Taxonomy.American Anthropologist. September, 1974 Vol.76(3):515-529.
Swedlund stresses that his main intent in this 1974 article is “to show the ecological implications of alternative classification (of Australopithecines) and their supporting arguments.” He claims that the robust and gracile australopithecines represent a single species. He describes both the single and the multiple-species theories of australopithecine distribution and evaluates them from both the allopatric and sympatric perspective.
He explains how the gracile australopithecine is considered to have a much higher level of “culture” (using the presence of tool use as criteria for “culture”) than the robust species. Some paleontologists consider the omnivorous gracile form that occupied the grasslands to be ancestral to the herbivorous, forest-dwelling robustus; others consider the robustus to be the ancestral species. He does suggest that the concept of “culture” has been over-emphasized and that the environmental influences should be given primary consideration in evaluating the relation between the different lower Pleistocene hominids.
Swedlund discusses the different possible temporal and spatial associations, as well as the question of their competing for resources in the 2 million year span of time that these two species overlapped. Because of the long period of time that they overlapped, Swedlund says that it is highly probable that there was a sympatric relationship between the two for at least some of this time. He presents information for the multiple-species theory from both the allopatric and sympatric viewpoints and claims that there are two possibilities; one that suggests that the niches of the two species overlapped to the point where they had to compete for resources, and the other option being that their respective niches did not overlap and that the extinction of the robustus took place without any influence from the gracile form. Understandably, he claims that in order to verify either one of these theories sufficient paleoecological evidence is needed.
In his argument for the single-species theory Swedlund presents two alternative explanations; one is that the robust and the gracile represent sexual dimorphism among one species, the other that either morphological (polymorphic) or intra-species variation (polytypic) was present, whether contemporaneously, or independently as the result of selective evolutionary forces. He presents evidence against the idea of sexual dimorphism and concludes that polymorphic or polytypic variation is the most viable explanation, in his opinion. At the conclusion of the paper, he once again stresses that the main objective of the paper was to call to attention the need to use sound paleoecological principles as the primary criteria for hominid taxonomy. He also states that “(n)ew finds are, of course, inevitable and desirable.”
CLARITY: 5
JEFF MASCORNICK University of Montana (John Norvell)
Thomas, David Hurst. An Archaeological Perspective on Shoshonean Bands. American Anthropologist March, 1974 Vol.76(1):11-23.
This article utilizes archaeological evidence to evaluate two theories designed to explain Shoshonean social organization, especially those living in Nevada’s Central Great Basin. Using the theories of anthropologists Service and Steward, Thomas notes the role archaeology plays in disproving Service’s hypotheses while affirming Steward’s. Overall, the author attempts to convince the reader that modern archaeology supports Steward’s belief that the Shoshoneans lived in family clusters (groups that contained a small number of nuclear families).
Thomas introduces his argument by familiarizing the audience with Service and Steward’s arguments. Then the author comments on the necessity of archaeology to provide tangible data and thus solve the debate. His next section describes the methods utilized by the excavation team to disprove one of the theories. Then, Thomas focuses on Service’s beliefs and what conclusions the audience can draw from them. The author includes his own beliefs in the criticism of Service. Finally, Thomas comments on the archaeological findings and their correlation with Steward’s conclusions. He reminds the audience that no theory has been proven beyond doubt.
Archaeologists such as Robert F. Heizer and Don Fowler researched the Great Basin. Using computer simulated models such as Basin I these researchers were able to diagram artifact density and artifact distribution over the area. If Steward’s hypothesis is correct, then the non-perishable artifacts should have been found in an easily-predicted manner. However, excavation evidence indicates, as Steward hypothesized, that the Shoshoneans lived in family clusters. Thomas’ main point in the article is that Steward’s beliefs appear archaeologically sound, yet nothing is totally certain.
Thomas’s article holds the reader’s interest as his work reaffirms the bond between Anthropology and Archaeology. However, Thomas utilizes excessive archaeological jargon, making his article difficult for some readers to follow. However, he did include thorough evidence which convinced the reader of the fallacy of Service’s hypothesis, while defending the arguments by Steward.
CLARITY RANKING: 3
AMANDA FAITH Dickinson College (Ann Maxwell Hill)
Hurst, David Thomas. An Archaeological Perspective on Shoshonean Bands. American Anthropologist March, 1974 Vol.76(1):11-23.
In this article, David Hurst Thomas presents evidence that pre-European contact Shoshonean bands of the Reese River Valley in central Nevada were most likely organized through a bilateral post-marital residence pattern. This would support Julian Steward’s original theory concerning the kinship patterns in this group. Elman Service, on the other hand, disputes Steward’s findings and argues for a patrilocal organization of the pre-contact Shoshone of the central Great Basin in the 1962 publication of Primitive Social Organization. Hurst examines both arguments, as equally as possible, and comes to the conclusion that Services’s idea is entirely possible, but unfortunately it is not possible to subject his hypothesis to rigorous scientific investigation due to the fact that he bases his argument in terms of an emic phenomena that has virtual no chance of being present in the archaeological record.
Service asserts that Steward had misinterpreted the ecological, archaeological, and ethnographic data. Steward claims that the influence of marginal environments such as that of the Great Basin area (or Artic environments) restricted the social organization of these people to settlements of small, agglomerate groups of nuclear families. Service, on the other hand, believes that the smallest unit of social structure in pre-contact cultures was the patrilocal band. The Radcliffe-Brown interpretation of Australian aboriginal social organization was the primary criteria used by Service to support his claims.
In claiming that pre-contact Shoshonean communities were exogamous, patrilocally organized bands, Service is essentially saying that the Shoshonean informants (who were extremely accurate in terms of all other information) had somehow forgotten or avoided mentioning the basic kinship associations familiar to their grandparents. Although it certainly does not disprove Services’s hypothesis, the evidence supporting Steward’s claim is quite substantial. A computer-aided predictive model (with a confidence interval of 95 percent) of his theory was tested in the area; the project was named Basin I. Basin I was conducted with information from a twenty by fifteen mile section of the Reese River Valley using a stratified, regional random cluster sampling technique and then 140 of these randomly selected sites were surface collected. The result of the project was that 75 percent of the predicted artifact frequencies were confirmed. This, of course, cannot be taken as a representation of the entire archaeological culture of the Central Great Basin, yet it supports Steward’s model quite well. Unfortunately, as stated above, it is impossible to put Services’s hypothesis to such a test because it is based on what he believes the Shoshone’s cognitive representation of social organization was.
CLARITY: 3
JEFF MASCORNICK University of Montana (John Norvell)
Trager, George L. David Bond Stout 1913-1968. American Anthropologist March, 1974 Vol.76(1):73-75.
David Stout was born in Wisconsin in 1913. He earned his B.A. at Wisconsin in 1936 and his M.A. at Michigan in 1937. His doctoral studies were interrupted with service in the Navy from 1942-45. He had spent 1940-41 doing fieldwork in Panama, and his dissertation was on Cuna ethnology.
From 1947-51 Stout was the Secretary of the American Anthropology Association. Stout was asked to write a history of the Association, and was still working on it in his spare time until his death. He taught at Syracuse from 1946-49, Iowa from 1949-59, and the University of buffalo (now the State University of New York at Buffalo) from then on. His students and colleagues remember him as an inspiring instructor.
From 1955-66 Stout studied “Chinese arts and crafts as reflections of the relations between Chinese overt and covert culture (74),” using fieldwork done in Taiwan. Some graduate students were working with him on this project at the time of his death. Although his published works were few, his professional contributions were numerous and his notes may well be published someday.
CLARITY: 5
NICOLE RICHTER Dickinson College (Ann Maxwell Hill)
Washburn, S.L. and Ciochon, R.L. Canine Teeth: Notes on Controversies in the Study of Human Evolution. American Anthropologist June, 1974 Vol.76(4):765-780.
This article by Washburn and Ciochon examines controversies in the
study of human evolution by focusing on canine teeth, particularly those of A. africanus and A. robustus. Realizing that this branch of science is never without debate, the authors express concern with how interpretation of human evolution is affected by factors other than raw physical data.
The authors identify six factors in the study of human evolution that can affect how the canine is interpreted – emotional debates, incomplete knowledge of the process of human evolution, diet, tools, lack of experimental evidence due to the nature of fossil finds, and intellectual conventions of contemporary academic life. All these factors contribute to the construction of particular theories about the role of canine teeth in human evolution.
When they wrote this article in 1974, the authors concluded that there were no fully adequate theories of canine complex evolution. By doing so, the authors intended to remind researchers that scientific endeavors are never straightforward with unambiguous evidence. In their words, scientific proof is “an illusion” and reflects the “emotional needs of contesting individuals.”
In general, I agree that the authors’ concerns should include how human evolution is interpreted with regard to the above factors. However, I feel this article addresses the controversy with uncertainty and doubt, because the authors could go more into more detail and provide additional scientific data. Regardless, I feel we need to revise our theory of human evolution so that it is not solely based upon the interpretation of canine teeth, but rather on something more reliable. Such reliability could possibly result from studying another type of hominid, which may reduce or even eliminate undue controversy, scrutiny, and debate.
CLARITY RANKING: 4
BILL RANSONE Dickinson College (Ann Maxwell Hill)
Washburn, S. L; Ciochon, R. L. Canine Teeth: Notes on Controversies in the Study of Human Evolution. American Anthropologist. December, 1974. Vol.76(4): 765-780.
Washburn and Ciochon start their paper off trying to tease out some of the myths surrounding human evolution. A tasteless approach is taken by the two men, whether intentional or unintentional, to point out the flaws given by their colleagues and mentors regarding evolution. They believe two scientists with access to the same information often produce different results, and blame this on their methods and inadequate data. They supply names of scientists whose work they disagree with and say why their work is inaccurate. This essay was written in hopes to clarify some of information about canine teeth evolution and the sexual dimorphism found in them.
There are essentially three points of view that all evolutionists agree on when discussing human canine teeth evolution. First, canines have become reduced in size because their functions have been replaced by weapons. Second, canine teeth of man were never very large to begin with. Lastly, canine teeth were reduced by seed eating. All three aspects of human evolution are expanded on further in the essay.
Washburn and Ciochon would argue that diet and teeth are related, which is no great surprise to the reader. They provide an example of the diet of chimps, who eat a surprisingly varied diet. Their diet includes the typical plants and vegetation that is well known, but also the less documented meat eating of small mammals. They concluded no dietary hypothesis accounts for the sex differences in the size of the canine teeth.
Tools have also been thought to influence the evolution of canine teeth. This is a well accepted theory since there is actual fossil remains found in Africa indicating a correlation between smaller canine teeth and tool use. Scientists dated the jaw at 2.6 million years and associated the tools found as being the same age. Proving that at least 2.6 million years ago human ancestors were using tools with their smaller canines.
Both Williams and Ciochon would agree that no single evolutionary theory is fully adequate. However, we must look at the views of many, because of differing sets of facts.
CLARITY: 2
COLLIN ORTON University of Montana (John Norvell)
Zamora, Mario D. Henry Otley Beyer, 1883-1966. American Anthropologist June, 1974 Vol.76(2):361-362.
This is a brief biography of Henry Otley Beyer who was born July 13, 1883, in Edgewood, Iowa, and died December 31, 1966, after an outstanding career. He was one of the most accomplished figures in Philippine anthropology, but was never noted in any serious American anthropological journals.
He received his B.A. and M.A. degrees from the University of Denver, Colorado, and later went to Harvard and pursued further graduate studies. In July 1905 he took a job working in Philippine Civil Service for the Ethnological Survey Office but later transferred to the Bureau of Education to do research among the Ifugaos and stayed there until 1908. He traveled Asia, South Africa and Europe and returned to the Philippines in 1910. He did field research from 1910 to 1914 among the Ifugaos, Igorots, Apayaos, Kalingas and the Christian people of Ilocos, Pangasinan, and Pampanga. In October 1914, President Murray Bartlett appointed him to the newly created Chair of Anthropology at the University of the Philippines. Beyer taught at the University of the Philippines from 1914 until 1947 upon his retirement. He then held the position of Curator of the University’s Museum and Institute of Ethnology and Archaeology.
He has been honored by several Philippine institutions. Silliman, Ateneo de Manila, and the University of the Philippines awarded him honorary doctorates.
He was described by a friend as “the Dean of Philippine ethnology, archaeology and prehistory.” Another friend and former student said the he was one “who did a great deal to advance anthropology in the Philippines.”
The article is brief but concise and describes Beyers accomplishments and contributions to anthropology. Beyer was a true developer of Philippine anthropology.
CLARITY: 4
HEIDI HILL University of Montana (John Norvell)
Zamora, Mario D. Henry Otley Beyer 1883-1966. American Anthropologist June, 1974 Vol.76(2):361-362.
Henry Otley Beyer died in December of 1966. Until this issue, no obituary of him had appeared in “serious American anthropological journals”(361). The quantity and variety of contributions to the field warrant the inclusion of his obituary in American Anthropologist even so long after his death.
Beyer was born in Iowa and pursued his higher education in Colorado at the University of Denver, where he earned a B.A. and an M.A. He attended Harvard University for post-graduate work as a Winthrop scholar.
In 1905 he began work for the Ethnological Survey Office of the Philippine Civil Service. The Ethnological Survey Office soon became part of the Bureau of Education due to the Philippine Reorganization Act of 1905. This department sent Beyer to do research among the Ifugaos. After this appointment Beyer spent a year traveling the world before returning to the Philippines in 1910.
Upon his return Beyer studied a variety of ethnic groups in the Philippines. In addition, “he had partial curatorial responsibility for the Philippine Museum which housed ethnographic collections from Luzon and Mindano’ (361).
In 1914 Beyer became the first chair, and really the first professor, in the anthropology department of the University of the Philippines. He kept this position until his retirement in 1947. He was also Professor Emeritus and Curator and founder of the University’s Institute of Ethnology and Archaeology.
Beyer’s studies both published and unpublished were numerous and significant, but he will, perhaps, be best remembered for his work as a teacher to countless scholars in the Philippines and for all that he did to progress Philippine anthropology specifically.
CLARITY: 5
NICOLE RICHTER Dickinson College (Ann Maxwell Hill)
Zamora, Mario D. Henry Otley Beyer. American Anthropologist, 1974. Vol. 76: 361-362.
In this article, Mario Zamora brings to the readers attention the late anthropologist, Henry Otley Beyer. In the opinion of the author, Beyer was not given as much recognition as he deserved. By reading this article, one learns the many incredible contributions that Beyer made to anthropology during his lifetime. The article is more of a biography than anything, chronologically listing many of Beyer’s great achievements, from the time he first became interested in anthropology and the Philippines, to the time of his death. Some of which include: appointment to the newly created chair of anthropology at the University of the Philippines, partial curatorial responsibility for the Philippine museum, and being “awarded honorary doctorates by Silliman, Ateneo de Manila, and the University of the Philippines.” The author continues by quoting several people who gave words of respect and praise to Beyer, for example: “we are proud of his record as a scholar and as a professor. We owe him much and his name will always be remembered as that of one who did a great deal to advance anthropology in the Philippines. This essay is composed very well and the author seems to have been successful in writing an effective persuasive piece.
CLARITY: 5
CHRISTOPHER SPARKS San Diego Mesa College (Denise Couch)