Best of
Anthropology

1984

American Indian Myths and Legends


Richard Erdoes - 1984
    From all across the continent come tales of creation and love, of heroes and war, of animals, tricksters, and the end of the world. Alfonso Ortiz, an eminent anthropologist, and Richard Erdoes, an artist and master storyteller, Indian voices in the best folkloric sources of the nineteenth century to make this the most comprehensive and authentic volume of American Indian myths available anywhere.With black-and-white drawings throughoutPart of the Pantheon Fairy Tale and Folklore Library

The Raven Steals the Light


Robert Bringhurst - 1984
    Ten masterful, complex drawings by Bill Reid and ten tales demonstrate the richness and range of Haida mythology, from bawdy yet profound tales of the trickster Raven to poignant, imagistic narratives of love and its complications in a world where animals speak, dreams come real, and demigods, monsters, and men live side by side.

The Dance of Life: The Other Dimension of Time


Edward T. Hall - 1984
    Business readers will enjoy the cross-cultural comparison of American know-how with practices of compartmentalized German, centralized French, and ceremonious Japanese firms.”— Publishers WeeklyIn his pioneering work The Hidden Dimension, Edward T. Hall spoke of different cultures’ concepts of space. The Dance of Life reveals the ways in which individuals in culture are tied together by invisible threads of rhythm and yet isolated from each other by hidden walls of time. Hall shows how time is an organizer of activities, a synthesizer and integrator, and a special language that reveals how we really feel about each other. Time plays a central role in the diversity of cultures such as the American and the Japanese, which Hall shows to be mirror images of each other. He also deals with how time influences relations among Western Europeans, Latin Americans, Anglo-Americans, and Native Americans.First published in 1983, this book studies how people are tied together and yet isolated by hidden threads of rhythm and walls of time.  Time is treated as a language, organizer, and message system revealing people's feelings about each other and reflecting differences between cultures.

The Sixth Grandfather: Black Elk's Teachings Given to John G. Neihardt


Raymond J. Demallie - 1984
    Neihardt recorded the teachings of the Oglala holy man Black Elk, who had, in a vision, seen himself as the "sixth grandfather," the spiritual representative of the earth and of mankind. Raymond J. DeMallie makes available for the first time the transcripts from Neihardt's interviews with Black Elk in 1931 and 1944, which formed the basis for the two books. His introduction offers new insights into the life of Black Elk.

The Parable of the Tribes: The Problem of Power in Social Evolution


Andrew Bard Schmookler - 1984
    If all choose the way of peace, then all may live in peace. But what if all but one choose peace?" From this basic premise, Andrew Bard Schmookler has built a towering work of intellectual and spiritual insight, a book that will shatter many preconceived notions about how civilization has developed and why human history has been so filled with torment. In this new edition, Schmookler shows how, with the end of the Cold War, we now have an unprecedented opportunity to solve the problem of power that has plagued civilization. The Parable of the Tribes is a new vision of the story of humankind. It presents a radiant new synthesis of history, evolutionary biology, political theory, and psychology.

Cedar: Tree of Life to the Northwest Coast Indians


Hilary Stewart - 1984
    For all its gifts, the Northwest Coast peoples held the cedar and its spirit in high regard, believing deeply in its healing and spiritual powers. Respectfully, they addressed the cedar as Long Life Maker, Life Giver and Healing Woman. Anecdotes, oral history and the accounts of early explorers, traders and missionaries highlight the text. Stewart’s 550 drawings and a selection of 50 photographs depict how the people made and used the finished products of the incomparable tree of life to the Northwest Coast Indians—the cedar.

The Pasteurization of France


Bruno Latour - 1984
    It is the operation of these forces, in combination with the talent of Pasteur, that Bruno Latour sets before us as a prime example of science in action.Latour argues that the triumph of the biologist and his methodology must be understood within the particular historical convergence of competing social forces and conflicting interests. Yet Pasteur was not the only scientist working on the relationships of microbes and disease. How was he able to galvanize the other forces to support his own research? Latour shows Pasteur’s efforts to win over the French public—the farmers, industrialists, politicians, and much of the scientific establishment.Instead of reducing science to a given social environment, Latour tries to show the simultaneous building of a society and its scientific facts. The first section of the book, which retells the story of Pasteur, is a vivid description of an approach to science whose theoretical implications go far beyond a particular case study. In the second part of the book, “Irreductions,” Latour sets out his notion of the dynamics of conflict and interaction, of the “relation of forces.” Latour’s method of analysis cuts across and through the boundaries of the established disciplines of sociology, history, and the philosophy of science, to reveal how it is possible not to make the distinction between reason and force. Instead of leading to sociological reductionism, this method leads to an unexpected irreductionism.

The Mortal Hero: An Introduction to Homer's Iliad


Seth L. Schein - 1984
    It is grounded in technical scholarship, to which it constantly referes and is intended to contribute, and I hope that even Homeric specialists will find ideas and interpretations to interest them. I have tried to present clearly what seem to me the most valuable results of modern research and criticism of the Iliad while setting forth my own views. My goal has been to interpret the poem as much as possible on its own mythological, religious, ethical, and artistic terms. The topics and problems I focus on are those that have arisen most often and most insistently when I have thought the poem, in translation and in the original, as I have done every year since 1968. This book is a literary study of the Iliad. I have not discussed historical, archaeologoical, or even linguistic questions except where they are directly relevant to literary interpretation. Throughout I have emphasized what is thematically, ethically, and artistically distinctive in the Iliad in contrast to the conventions of the poetic tradition of which it is an end product.

Culture Theory: Essays on Mind, Self and Emotion


Richard A. Shweder - 1984
    As a comprehensive and critical account of knowledge and research in the field of culture theory, leading social scientists explore the implications for understanding different aspects of subjective experience, social practice, and individual behavior. The focus of the volume is on the role of symbols and meaning in the development of mind, self, and emotion. They examine the content of culture and how it interacts with cognitive, social, and emotional growth; how ideas relate to attitudes, feelings, and behavior; how concepts and meanings are historically transmitted. They also explore methodological and conceptual problems involved in the definition and study of meaning, and revisit the perennial problem of 'relativism' in light of topical advances in semantic analysis and in culture theory. This book will appeal to an interdisciplinary audience of anthropologists, psychologists, philosophers, historians, and linguists, as well as those interested in hermeneutics and a science of subjectivity.

Diné Bahane': The Navajo Creation Story


Paul G. Zolbrod - 1984
    Zolbrod's new translation renders the power and delicacy of the oral storytelling performance on the page through a poetic idiom appropriate to the Navajo oral tradition.Zolbrod's book offers the general reader a vivid introduction to Navajo culture. For students of literature this book proposes a new way of looking at our literary heritage.

The Biblical Doctrine of Man


Gordon H. Clark - 1984
    

Eternal Word and Changing Worlds: Theology, Anthropology, and Mission in Trialogue


Harvie M. Conn - 1984
    

Genthe's Photographs of San Francisco's Old Chinatown


Arnold Genthe - 1984
    Almost immediately, Genthe was attracted by Chinatown, or "Tangrenbu" — a teeming ten-block area of crowded buildings, narrow streets, and exotic sights and sounds in the shadow of Nob Hill.Fascinated by a living culture totally foreign to his experience, Genthe began to photograph Tangrenbu and its inhabitants. Today, these photographs (over 200 are known to exist) are the best visual documentary record of Chinatown at the turn of the century, offering priceless glimpses of the rich street life of the district before it was leveled by the great earthquake and fire of 1906.Rediscover the lost world of old Chinatown in serene and enduring images of cobbled streets and bustling shops, street vendors and merchants, fish and vegetable markets, Devil's Kitchen, the Street of the Gamblers, Portsmouth Square and more. But most of all, enjoy distinctive candid portraits of the people of old Chinatown: a pipe-bowl member, a paper gatherer, itinerant peddlers, toy merchants, boys playing shuttlecock, a fortune-teller, a sword dancer, women and children in ornate holiday finery, an aged opium smoker and many other unaffected and revealing images.Rich in detail and atmosphere, the photographs are complemented by historian John Tchen's informative and well-researched text, which outlines the turbulent history of Chinese-Americans in California, dispels numerous myths about Chinatown and its residents, and illuminates the role of Genthe's photographs in capturing the subtle flavor and texture of everyday life in the district before 1906.

The Evolution of the Polynesian Chiefdoms


Patrick Vinton Kirch - 1984
    While the growth and development of complex social and political systems in this region have long interested anthropologists and ethnographers, the islands' rich sources of archaeological data have since been exploited. The author combines this fresh archaeological data with comparative ethnographic and linguistic materials to present an innovative and perceptive account of the processes of culture change in the islands over three millennia. Using comparative ethnography, lexical reconstruction and direct archaeological evidence, the author reconstructs the broad outlines of Ancestral Polynesian Society, from which the diverse societies of the Polynesian region descended. Major processes of cultural change are analysed in detail, including colonization, adaptation to changing environments, development of intensive production and social conflict and competition.

Facing Two Ways: The Story of My Life


Katō Shidzué - 1984
    

Culture's Consequences : International Differences in Work-Related Values (Cross Cultural Research and Methodology)


Geert Hofstede - 1984
    This volume comprises the first in-depth discussion of the masculinity dimension and how it can help us to understand differences among cultures.The book begins with a general explanation of the masculinity dimension, and discusses how it illuminates broad features of different cultures. The following parts apply the dimension more specifically to gender (and gender identity), sexuality (and sexual behaviour) and religion, probably the most influential variable of all. Hofstede closes the book

Christianity: The True Humanism


J.I. Packer - 1984
    Book by Howard, Thomas

Infanticide: Comparative And Evolutionary Perspectives


Glenn Hausfater - 1984
    Similarly, studies of birds, fish, amphibians, and invertebrates demonstrate egg and larval mortality in these species, a phenomenon directly analogous to infanticide in mammals. In this collection, Hausfater and Hrdy draw together work on animal and human infanticide and place these studies in a broad evolutionary and comparative perspective.Infanticide presents the theoretical background and taxonomic distribution of infanticide, infanticide in nonhuman primates, infanticide in rodents, and infanticide in humans. It examines closely sex allocation and sex ratio theory, surveys the phylogeny of mammalian interbirth intervals, and reviews data on sources of egg and larval mortality in a variety of invertebrate and lower vertebrate species. Dealing with infanticide in nonhuman primates, two chapters critically examine data on infanticide in langurs and its broader theoretical implications. By reviewing sources of infant mortality in populations of small mammals and new laboratory analyses of the causes and consequences of infanticide, this work explores such issues as the ontogeny of infanticide, proximate cues of infants and females which elicit infanticidal behavior in males, the genetical basis of infanticide, and the hormonal determinants.Hausfater and Sarah Blaffer Hrdy, through their selection of materials for this book, evaluate the frequency, causes, and function of infanticide. Historical, ethnographic, and recent data on infanticide are surveyed. "Infanticide" summarizes current research on the evolutionary origins and proximate causation of infanticide in animals and man. As such it will be indispensable reading for anthropologists and behavioral biologists as well as ecologists, psychologists, demographers, and epidemiologists.

Quaternary Extinctions: A Prehistoric Revolution


Paul S. Martin - 1984
    Quaternary Extinctions presents the latest and most comprehensive examination of these questions." —Geological Magazine "May be regarded as a kind of standard encyclopedia for Pleistocene vertebrate paleontology for years to come." —American Scientist "Should be read by paleobiologists, biologists, wildlife managers, ecologists, archeologists, and anyone concerned about the ongoing extinction of plants and animals." —Science "Uncommonly readable and varied for watchers of paleontology and the rise of humankind." —Scientific American "Represents a quantum leap in our knowledge of Pleistocene and Holocene palaeobiology. . . . Many volumes on our bookshelves are destined to gather dust rather than attention. But not this one." —Nature "Two strong impressions prevail when first looking into this epic compendium. One is the judicious balance of views that range over the whole continuum between monocausal, cultural, or environmental explanations. The second is that both the data base and theoretical sophistication of the protagonists in the debate have improved by a quantum leap since 1967." —American Anthropologist

Food, Sex and Pollution: A New Guinea Religion


Anna S. Meigs - 1984
    .

Culture, Health and Illness


Cecil G. Helman - 1984
    Since first published in 1984, it has been used in over 40 countries within universities, medical schools and nursing colleges. This new edition meets the ever-growing need for a clear starting point in understanding the clinical significance of cultural and social factors. The book addresses the complex interactions between health, illness and culture by setting out anthropological theory in a highly readable, jargon-free style and integrating this with the practice of health care using real-life examples and case histories.Fully revised throughout, the fifth edition has expanded its coverage of topics that are challenging both the patient and the carer's understanding of health and illness: poverty and inequality of healthcare, genetics, biotechnology, the internet and health, chronic diseases, drug-resistant infections, changes in nutrition and body image, medical care of migrants, medical technology, global pandemics such as AIDS and malaria, drug and alcohol dependence, and patients' 'languages of distress', a complex topic central to the doctor-patient relationship.In today's world of increasing cultural, religious and ethnic diversity of populations, "Culture, Health and Illness" is essential reading for students of medicine, nursing, psychiatry, public health, health education, international health and medical anthropology, across the globe.

The Legacy: Tradition and Innovation in Northwest Coast Indian Art


Peter L. Macnair - 1984
    The Legacy is so much more than an elegant art book. It is a delightful and informative guide to the continuing Native American artistic traditions. A spectacular selection of color photographs displays the work of 39 artists, and the authors present a detailed analysis of the culture that inspired their work. The authors also discuss the social function of the artists' work, and the different styles, techniques, and materials used to create them. Since it first appeared in print in 1984, The Legacy has been reprinted a dozen times and sold more than 25,000 copies. This enduring tribute to contemporary Northwest Coast Native American art is an important guide for both scholar and novice.

Dueling in the Old South: Vignettes of Social History


Jack K. Williams - 1984
    A crime on the statue books but a matter of honor to Southern gentlemen, dueling reflected the pre–Civil War individualism of this caste and their distaste for legal governance of their personal affairs. An understanding of the gentry’s acceptance of dueling may even throw light on the mentality of those who led the South into a great mass duel, the American Civil War.This highly readable book gives a lively account, replete with colorful examples, of the pistol duel, the rules for its conduct, its causes, and its typical participants. A popular 1838 dueling code by John Lyde Wilson, one-time governor of South Carolina, is also reprinted in this volume. Its “practical” advice on the etiquette of dueling and its justifications for the practice give a fascinating and sometimes amusing look into the mind of a more chivalrous age.For Southern history buffs and social historians, this excursion into a little-known way of life and death will make entertaining and informative fare.

The Sociological Eye


Everett Cherrington Hughes - 1984
    Hughes pioneered studies in a variety of sociological subjects: social institutions, racial interaction, work and occupations, and research methodology. Cumulatively, these essays show the obvious magnitude and scope of thought of one of the century's most distinguished scholars.In their introduction to this edition, Riesman and Becker provide a biographical background to Hughes' writing, describing his pervading influence on the field of sociology and on younger sociologists through his teaching, fieldwork, work in professional associations, and personality. The essays are grouped into four sections: the relationship of social institutions to changes in their surroundings and to the personalities and careers of persons; problems of multi-ethnic societies; the development of occupations, the monopoly license of professions, the determination of public policy about a line of work, and the relations between work and social role; and social observation and analysis.

A Brief Catechesis on Nature and Grace


Henri de Lubac - 1984
    Cardinal de Lubac gives us one of the most lucid expositions on the meaning of grace and its relationship to the order of nature.

Geographical Ecology: Patterns in the Distribution of Species


Robert H. MacArthur - 1984
    Of permanent interest in the history and philosophy of science, it is also frequently cited in the current ecological literature and is still up-to-date in many categories.The theme running through this book, MacArthur wrote, is that the structure of the environment, the morphology of the species, the economics of species behavior, and the dynamics of population changes are the four essential ingredients of all interesting biogeographic patterns. Written in his beautifully lucid style, this work will continue to be read by anyone concerned with biological ideas.

Blood Revenge: The Enactment and Management of Conflict in Montenegro and Other Tribal Societies


Christopher Boehm - 1984
    

Evolution and Human Nature


Richard Morris - 1984