Showing papers in "Central Issues in Anthropology in 1982"
TL;DR: The work of some ethnohistorians shows that if more ethnohistorical studies were to pursue positivistic, scientific goals, they might achieve a higher standing within anthropology.
Abstract: Ethnohistory is not highly regarded within anthropology because of two factors. The first is that anthropologists do not value library research. The second, and more fundamental, factor is that ethnohistorians have largely failed to deal with problems of broad anthropological interest. Too often ethnohistorical studies deal not with culture but with chronology. The work of some ethnohistorians shows this need not to be the case. If more ethnohistorians were to pursue positivistic, scientific goals, they might achieve a higher standing within anthropology.
14 citations
TL;DR: A recent case of climate change during the year 1971 is described in this article, and the history of human responses to climate change may be necessary in order to make rational decisions about how to adapt our behavior to future climates.
Abstract: Predictable and reliable agricultural production, industrial output, and, in general, environments that promote human well-being depend on climatic stability. But the prehistoric and historic record indicate that climate change is a recurring feature of the environment. In this paper the climate history of the southwest coast of Ecuador is presented and discussed in relation to its influence on prehistoric and contemporary human populations living in this region. A recent case of climate change during the year 1971 is described. Patterns of land use and water management described for prehistoric peoples continue to be followed by the current population. Understanding the history of human responses to climate change may be necessary in order to make rational decisions about how to adapt our behavior to future climates.
4 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that to understand fishing in modern Iceland, it must be contexualized in terms of a system which includes three subsystems: (1) catching and processing, (2) distribution, and (3) policy.
Abstract: We argue that to understand fishing in modern Iceland, it must be contexualized in terms of a system which includes three subsystems: (1) production–catching and processing, (2) distribution–selling processed fish internationally, (3) policy–establishing fishing areas, gear, periods, prices, quotas, and attempts to influence policy. We briefly outline the components of this system in contemporary Iceland. We conclude that if comparative studies of fishing are to be useful, they must go beyond comparisons of fishing boats to comparisons of fishing systems.
3 citations
TL;DR: Although the transition from midwife- to doctor-attended childbirth ended around 1920 in most parts of the United States, some groups, including ethnic minorities and rural dwellers, continued to rely on the midwife for delivery assistance well into the 1930s and 1940s.
Abstract: Although the transition from midwife- to doctor-attended childbirth ended around 1920 in most parts of the United States, some groups, including ethnic minorities and rural dwellers, continued to rely on the midwife for delivery assistance well into the 1930s and 1940s. Interviews conducted with the members of one of these groups, the people of the southern Appalachian Mountains, yields information concerning the techniques and training of traditional Appalachian midwives, midwifery succession patterns, reasons for the lengthy persistence of this midwifery system, and, lastly, characteristics that may be compared and contrasted to the midwifery system used by rural southern blacks during the same time period (roughly 1920-1950).
3 citations
TL;DR: The potential for natural selection to occur within a population can be estimated through the use of Crow's Index of Total Selection as discussed by the authors, which has been low since the founding of the community in the 19h century, and has decreased in recent generations.
Abstract: The potential for natural selection to occur within a population can be estimated through the use of Crow's Index of Total Selection. In the Greek immigrant population of Columbus, Ohio, this index has been low since the founding of the community in the 19h century, and has decreased in recent generations. This paper delineates specific cultural patterns which have contributed to the low fertility and prereproductive mortality rates in the Columbus Greek population.
2 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the Mende agrarian household in Upper Bambara Chiefdom, Sierra Leone, at three points in time (circa 1900, 1945, and 1967) and argued for the reverse causality.
Abstract: Neo-Marxists and other dependency theorists explain declining domestic food production in Sub-Saharan Africa as the result of increasing production of export crops. This paper examines the Mende agrarian household in Upper Bambara Chiefdom, Sierra Leone, at three points in time (circa 1900, 1945, and 1967) and argues for the reverse causality: the Mende have become commercial farmers of cocoa and coffee because they now lack sufficient labor for self-sufficiency in staple food production.
1 citations
TL;DR: This paper explored the European response to new geographical and ethnographic information in Renaissance travel literature, using Shakespeare's The Tempest and Montaigne's essays, and examined depictions of the savage as an individual and savagery as a social form in order to compare artistic to more avowedly empirical representations.
Abstract: The European response to new geographical and ethnographic information in Renaissance travel literature is explored. Using Shakespeare's The Tempest and Montaigne's essays, the paper also examines depictions of the savage as an individual and savagery as a social form in order to compare artistic to more avowedly empirical representations. The views of the dramatist and the essayist are related to the modern anthropological perspective
1 citations