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Cultural Anthropology: The Human Challenge, Twelfth Edition William A. Haviland, Harald E. L. Prins, Dana Walrath, Bunny McBride

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The Essence 1 of Anthropology CHALLENGE ISSUE It is a challenge to make sense of who we are. Where did we come from? Why are we so radically different from other animals and so surprisingly similar to others? Why do our bodies look the way they do? How do we explain so many different beliefs, languages, and customs? What makes us tick? As just one of 10 million species, including 4,000 fellow mammals, we humans are the only creatures on earth with the mental capacity to ask such questions about ourselves and the world around us. We do this not only because we are curious but also because knowledge has enabled us to adapt to radically contrasting environments all across the earth and helps us create and improve our material and social living conditions. Adaptations based on knowledge are essential in every culture, and culture is our species’ ticket to survival. Understanding humanity in all its biological and cultural variety, past and present, is the fundamental contribution of anthropology. This contribution has become all the more important in the era of globalization, when appreciating our common humanity and respecting cultural differences are essential to human survival.

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CHAPTER PREVIEW

What Is Anthropology? How Do Anthropologists How Does Anthropology Anthropology, the study of human- Do What They Do? Compare to Other kind everywhere, throughout time, Anthropologists, like other scholars, Disciplines? produces knowledge about what are concerned with the descrip- In studying humankind, early makes people diff erent from one tion and explanation of reality. anthropologists came to the conclu- another and what they all share in They formulate and test hypoth- sion that to fully understand the common. Anthropologists work eses—tentative explanations of complexities of human thought, within four fi elds of the discipline. observed phenomena—concerning feelings, behavior, and biology, it While physical anthropologists humankind. Their aim is to develop was necessary to study and compare focus on humans as biological reliable theories— interpretations or all humans, wherever and when- organisms (tracing evolutionary explanations supported by bodies of ever. More than any other feature, development and looking at bio- data—about our species. These data this unique cross-cultural, long-term logical variations), cultural anthro- are usually collected through fi eld- perspective distinguishes anthropologists investigate the contrasting work—a particular kind of hands-on pology from other social sciences. ways groups of humans think, feel, research that makes anthropologists Anthropologists are not the only and behave. Archaeologists try to so familiar with a situation that they scholars who study people, but they recover information about human can begin to recognize patterns, are uniquely holistic in their ap- cultures—usually from the past—by regularities, and exceptions. It is proach, focusing on the interconnec- studying material objects, skeletal also through careful observation tions and interdependence of all as- remains, and settlements. Mean- (combined with comparison) that pects of the human experience, past while, linguists study languages— anthropologists test their theories. and present. It is this holistic and communication systems by which integrative perspective that equips cultures are maintained and passed anthropologists to grapple with an on to succeeding generations. Practi- issue of overriding importance for tioners in all four fi elds are informed all of us today: globalization. by one another’s fi ndings and united by a common anthropological perspective on the human condition.

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4 Chapter One/The Essence of Anthropology

This is not to say that people have been unaware of or as long as they have been on earth, people have the existence of others in the world who look and act Fsought answers to questions about who they are, diff erently from themselves. The Bible’s Old and New where they come from, and why they act as they do. Testaments, for example, are full of references to diverse Throughout most of human history, though, people re- ancient peoples, among them Babylonians, Egyptians, lied on myth and folklore for answers, rather than on Greeks, Jews, and Syrians. However, the diff erences the systematic testing of data obtained through careful among these people pale by comparison to those among observation. Anthropology, over the last 150 years, has any of the more recent European nations and (for exam- emerged as a tradition of scientifi c inquiry with its own ple) traditional indigenous peoples of the Pacifi c islands, approaches to answering these questions. Simply stated, the Amazon rainforest, or Siberia. anthropology is the study of humankind in all times and places. While focusing primarily on Homo sapiens—the human species—anthropologists also study our ancestors and close animal relatives for clues about what it means to be human.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY Although works of anthropological signifi cance have a considerable antiquity—two examples being cross- cultural accounts of people written by the Greek his- torian Herodotus about 2,500 years ago and the North African Arab scholar Ibn THOMSON AUDIO Khaldun nearly 700 years STUDY PRODUCTS ago—anthropology as a Take advantage of distinct fi eld of inquiry is the MP3-ready Audio Lecture a relatively recent product Overviews and comprehensive of Western civilization. In audio glossary of key terms the United States, for exam- for each chapter. See the ple, the fi rst course in gen- preface for information on eral anthropology to carry how to access this on-the-go credit in a college or uni- study and review tool. versity (at the University of Rochester in New York) was not off ered until 1879. If people have always been concerned about themselves and their origins, and those of other people, then why did it take such a long time for a systematic discipline of anthropology to appear? The answer to this is as complex as human history. In part, it relates to the limits of human technology. Throughout most of history, people have been restricted © Documentary Educational Resources in their geographic horizons. Without the means of trav- Anthropologists come from many corners of the world and carry out eling to distant parts of the world, observation of cul- research in a huge variety of cultures all around the globe. Dr. Jaya- tures and peoples far from one’s own was a diffi cult—if sinhji Jhala, pictured here, hails from the old city of Dhrangadhra in not impossible—undertaking. Extensive travel was usu- Gujarat, northwest India. A member of the Jhala clan of Rajputs, an ally the exclusive privilege of a few; the study of foreign aristocratic caste of warriors, he grew up in the royal palace of his peoples and cultures was not likely to fl ourish until im- father, the maharaja. After earning a bachelor of arts degree in India, proved modes of transportation and communication he came to the United States and earned a master’s in visual studies from MIT, followed by a doctorate in anthropology from Harvard. Cur- could be developed. rently a professor and director of the programs of Visual Anthropology and the Visual Anthropology Media Laboratory at Temple University, he anthropology The study of humankind in all times and places. returns regularly to India with students to fi lm cultural traditions in his own caste-stratifi ed society.

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The Anthropological Perspective 5

With the invention of the magnetic compass for use because of its focus on the interconnections and interde- aboard better-equipped sailing ships, it became easier to pendence of all aspects of the human experience in all determine geographic direction and travel to truly far- places and times—both biological and cultural, past and away places and meet for the fi rst time such radically dif- present. It is this holistic perspective that best equips ferent groups. It was the massive encounter with hitherto anthropologists to broadly address that elusive phenom- unknown peoples—which began 500 years ago as Euro- enon we call human nature. peans sought to extend their trade and political domina- Anthropologists welcome the contributions of re- tion to all parts of the world—that focused attention on searchers from other disciplines and in return off er their human diff erences in all their amazing variety. own fi ndings for the benefi t of these other disciplines. Another signifi cant element that contributed to the Anthropologists do not expect, for example, to know emergence of anthropology was that Europeans gradu- as much about the structure of the human eye as anato- ally came to recognize that despite all the diff erences, mists or as much about the perception of color as psy- they might share a basic humanity with people every- chologists. As synthesizers, however, anthropologists where. Initially, Europeans labeled societies that did not are prepared to understand how these bodies of knowl- share their fundamental cultural values as “savage” or edge relate to color-naming practices in diff erent human “barbarian.” Over time, however, Europeans came to societies. Because they look for the broad basis of human recognize such highly diverse groups as fellow members ideas and practices without limiting themselves to any of one species and therefore relevant to an understand- single social or biological aspect, anthropologists can ac- ing of what it is to be human. This growing interest in quire an especially expansive and inclusive overview of human diversity, coming at a time when there were in- the complex biological and cultural organism that is the creasing eff orts to explain things in scientifi c terms, cast human being. doubts on the traditional explanations based on religious The holistic perspective also helps anthropologists texts such as the Torah, Bible, or Koran and helped set stay keenly aware of ways that their own culture’s per- the stage for the birth of anthropology. spective and social values may infl uence their research. Although anthropology originated within the histor- As the old saying goes, people often see what they be- ical context of European culture, it has long since gone lieve, rather than what appears before their eyes. By global. Today, it is an exciting, transnational discipline maintaining a critical awareness of their own assump- whose practitioners come from a wide array of societies tions about human nature—checking and recheck- all around the world. Societies that have long been stud- ing the ways their beliefs and actions might be shaping ied by European and North American anthropologists— their research—anthropologists strive to gain objective several African and Native American societies, for exam- knowledge about people. Equipped with this awareness, ple—have produced anthropologists who have made and anthropologists have contributed uniquely to our under- continue to make a mark on the discipline. Their distinct standing of diversity in human thought, biology, and be- perspectives shed new light not only on their own cul- havior, as well as our understanding of the many things tures but also on those of others. It is noteworthy that humans have in common. in one regard diversity has long been a hallmark of the While other social sciences have concentrated pre- discipline: From its earliest days both women and men dominantly on contemporary peoples living in North have entered the fi eld. Throughout this text, we will be American and European (Western) societies, anthro- spotlighting individual anthropologists, illustrating the pologists have traditionally focused on non-Western peo- diversity of these practitioners and their work. ples and cultures. Anthropologists believe that to fully understand the complexities of human ideas, behavior, and biology, all humans, wherever and whenever, must THE ANTHROPOLOGICAL be studied. A cross-cultural and long-term evolutionary perspective not only distinguishes anthropology from PERSPECTIVE other social sciences, but also guards against the danger Many academic disciplines are concerned in one way or that theories of human behavior will be culture-bound: another with our species. For example, biology focuses on the genetic, anatomical, and physiological aspects of organisms. Psychology is concerned primarily with cog- holistic perspective A fundamental principle of anthropol- nitive, mental, and emotional issues, while economics ogy: that the various parts of human culture and biology must examines the production, distribution, and management be viewed in the broadest possible context in order to understand of material resources. And various disciplines in the hu- their interconnections and interdependence. culture-bound Theories about the world and reality based on manities look into the artistic and philosophical achieve- the assumptions and values of one’s own culture. ments of human cultures. But anthropology is distinct

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6 Chapter One/The Essence of Anthropology

VISUAL COUNTERPOINT ollection ved © Michael Newman/PhotoEdit/All rights reser © Marie-Stenzel/National Geographic Image C Image Geographic Marie-Stenzel/National ©

Although infants in the United States typically sleep apart from their parents, cross-cultural research shows that co-sleeping, of mother and baby in particular, is the rule. The photo on the right shows a Nenet family sleeping together in their chum (reindeer-skin tent). Nenet people are arctic reindeer pastoralists living in Siberia.

that is, based on assumptions about the world and reality These benefi ts may lead us to ask, Why do so many that come from the researcher’s own particular culture. mothers continue to sleep apart from their infants? In As a case in point, consider the fact that infants in North America the cultural values of independence and the United States typically sleep apart from their par- consumerism come into play. To begin building indi- ents. To most North Americans, this may seem normal, vidual identities, babies are provided with rooms (or at but cross-cultural research shows that co-sleeping, of least space) of their own. This room of one’s own also mother and baby in particular, is the rule. Only in the provides parents with a place for the toys, furniture, and past 200 years, generally in Western industrial societies, other paraphernalia associated with good parenting in has it been considered proper for parents to sleep apart North America. from their infants. In a way, this practice amounts to a Anthropology’s early emphasis on studying tradi- cultural experiment in child rearing. tional, non-Western peoples has often led to fi ndings that Recent studies have shown that separation of mother run counter to generally accepted opinions derived from and infant in Western societies has important biological Western studies. Thus, anthropologists were the fi rst to and cultural consequences. For one thing, it increases the demonstrate length of the child’s crying bouts. Some mothers incor- that the world does not divide into the pious and rectly interpret the cause as a defi ciency in breast milk the superstitious; that there are sculptures in jun- and switch to less healthy bottle formulas; and in ex- gles and paintings in deserts; that political order treme cases the crying may provoke physical abuse. But is possible without centralized power and princi- the benefi ts of co-sleeping go beyond signifi cant reduc- pled justice without codifi ed rules; that the norms tions in crying: Infants also nurse more often and three of reason were not fi xed in Greece, the evolution times as long per feeding; they receive more stimulation of morality not consummated in England. . . . (important for brain development); and they are appar- We have, with no little success, sought to keep ently less susceptible to sudden infant death syndrome the world off balance; pulling out rugs, upsetting (SIDS or “crib death”). There are benefi ts to the mother tea tables, setting off fi recrackers. It has been the as well: Frequent nursing prevents early ovulation after offi ce of others to reassure; ours to unsettle.2 childbirth, and she gets at least as much sleep as mothers who sleep without their infants.1 Although the fi ndings of anthropologists have often challenged the conclusions of sociologists, psychologists, 1Barr, R. G. (1997, October). The crying game. Natural History, 47. and economists, anthropology is absolutely indispens- Also, McKenna, J. J. (2002, September-October). Breastfeeding and able to them, as it is the only consistent check against bedsharing. Mothering, 28–37; and McKenna, J. J., & McDade, T. (2005, June). Why babies should never sleep alone: A review of the co-sleeping controversy in relation to SIDS, bedsharing, and breast 2Geertz, C. (1984). Distinguished lecture: Anti anti-relativism. feeding. Pediatric Respiratory Reviews 6(2), 134–152. American Anthropologist 86, 275.

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Anthropology and Its Fields 7

culture-bound assertions. In a sense, anthropology is to A these disciplines what the laboratory is to physics and d p i e p chemistry: an essential testing ground for their theories. l L l p L IN i A GY ANT G e p R O H U U L R d T O O IS A L P P T O I U O C e a r L C R s c O H e h T R G

ANTHROPOLOGY AND ITS FIELDS N Y

M Theories

s Individual anthropologists tend to specialize in one of A R e e Y C i t L G four fi elds or subdisciplines: physical anthropology, ar- H h g o o A O A d o l C L A E I chaeology, linguistic anthropology, or cultural anthro- O S O Y P d p LO PH O pology (Figure 1.1). Some anthropologists consider ar- p G R e Y H i l NT l i A chaeology and linguistics as part of the broader study e p d p of human cultures, but, archaeology and linguistics also A have close ties to biological anthropology. For example, while linguistic anthropology focuses on the cultural Figure 1.1 aspects of language, it has deep connections to the evo- The four fi elds of anthropology. Note that the divisions among them lution of human language and the biological basis of are not sharp, indicating that their boundaries overlap. Moreover, each speech and language studied within physical anthropol- operates on the basis of a common body of knowledge. All four are ogy. Each of anthropology’s fi elds may take a distinct ap- involved in theory building, developing their own research methodolo- proach to the study of humans, but all gather and ana- gies, and solving practical problems through applied anthropology. lyze data that are essential to explaining similarities and diff erences among humans, across time and space. More- conducting research together. In this book, examples of over, all of them generate knowledge that has numerous how anthropology contributes to solving a wide range practical applications. of the challenges humans face appear in Anthropology Within the four fi elds are individuals who practice Applied features. applied anthropology, which entails using anthropo- One of the earliest contexts in which anthropologi- logical knowledge and methods to solve practical prob- cal knowledge was applied to a practical problem was lems, often for a specifi c client. Applied anthropologists do not off er their perspectives from the sidelines. In- applied anthropology The use of anthropological knowledge stead, they actively collaborate with the communities in and methods to solve practical problems, often for a specifi c client. which they work—setting goals, solving problems, and

Biocultural Connection The Anthropology of Organ Transplantation In 1954, the fi rst organ transplant oc- Brain death relies upon the absence body rather than in the brain. They resist curred in Boston when surgeons removed of measurable electrical currents in the accepting a warm pink body as a corpse a kidney from one identical twin to place brain and the inability to breathe without from which organs can be harvested. it inside his sick brother. Though some technological assistance. The brain-dead Further, organs cannot be transformed transplants rely upon living donors, individual, though attached to machines, into “gifts” because anonymous donation routine organ transplantation depends still seems alive with a beating heart is not compatible with Japanese social largely upon the availability of organs and pink cheeks. North Americans fi nd patterns of reciprocal exchange. obtained from individuals who have died. brain death acceptable, in part, because Organ transplantation carries far From an anthropological perspective, personhood and individuality are cultur- greater social meaning than the purely the meanings of death and the body vary ally located in the brain. North American biological movement of an organ from cross-culturally. While death could be comfort with brain death has allowed for one individual to another. Cultural and said to represent a particular biological the “gift of life” through organ donation biological processes are tightly woven state, social agreement about this state’s and subsequent transplantation. into every aspect of this new social signifi cance is of paramount importance. By contrast, in Japan, the concept of practice. Anthropologist Margaret Lock has ex- brain death is hotly contested and organ (Based on M. Lock (2001). Twice dead: plored differences between Japanese and transplants are rarely performed. The Organ transplants and the reinvention of North American acceptance of the bio- Japanese do not incorporate a mind– death. Berkeley: University of California logical state of “brain death” and how it body split into their models of themselves Press.) affects the practice of organ transplants. and locate personhood throughout the

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8 Chapter One/The Essence of Anthropology

the international public health movement that began in The fossilized skeletons of our ancestors allow pa- the 1920s, marking the beginning of medical anthropol- leoanthropologists to reconstruct the course of human ogy—a specialization that brings theoretical and applied evolutionary history. They compare the size and shape approaches from the fi elds of cultural and biological an- of these fossils to one another and to the bones of living thropology to the study of human health and disease. species. With each new fossil discovery, paleoanthropol- The work of medical anthropologists sheds light on the ogists have another piece to add to human evolutionary connections between human health and political and history. Biochemical and genetic studies add considerably economic forces, both globally and locally. Examples to the fossil evidence. As we will see in later chapters, ge- from this specialization appear in some of the Biocul- netic evidence establishes the close relationship between tural Connections featured in this text, including the humans and ape species—chimpanzees, bonobos, and one presented in this chapter, “The Anthropology of Or- gorillas. Genetic analyses indicate that the human line gan Transplantation.” originated 5 to 8 million years ago. Physical anthropology therefore deals with much greater time spans than Physical Anthropology archaeology or other fi elds of anthropology. Physical anthropology, also called biological anthropol- Human Growth, Adaptation, and Variation ogy, is the systematic study of humans as biological or- Another specialty of physical anthropologists is the ganisms. Traditionally, biological anthropologists con- study of human growth and development. Anthropolo- centrated on human evolution, primatology, growth gists examine biological mechanisms of growth as well and development, human adaptation, and forensics. To- as the impact of the environment on the growth process. day, molecular anthropology, or the anthropological Franz Boas (see Anthropologists of Note box, page 15), a study of genes and genetic relationships, is another vital pioneer of anthropology of the early 20th century, com- component of biological anthropology. Comparisons pared the heights of European immigrants who spent among groups separated by time, geography, or the fre- their childhood in “the old country” to the increased quency of a particular gene can reveal how humans have heights obtained by their children who grew up in the adapted and where they have migrated. As experts in the United States. Today, physical anthropologists study the anatomy of human bones and tissues, physical anthro- impacts of disease, pollution, and poverty on growth. pologists lend their knowledge about the body to applied Comparisons between human and nonhuman primate areas such as gross anatomy laboratories, public health, growth patterns can provide clues to the evolutionary and criminal investigations. history of humans. Detailed anthropological studies of the hormonal, genetic, and physiological basis of healthy Paleoanthropology growth in living humans also contribute signifi cantly to Human evolutionary studies (known as paleoanthro- the health of children today. pology) investigate the origins and predecessors of the Studies of human adaptation focus on the capacity present human species, focusing on biological changes of humans to adapt or adjust to their material environ- through time to understand how, when, and why we be- ment—biologically and culturally. This branch of physi- came the kind of organisms we are today. In biological cal anthropology takes a comparative approach to hu- terms, we humans are primates, one of the many kinds mans living today in a variety of environments. Humans of mammal. Because we share a common ancestry with are remarkable among the primates in that they now other primates, most specifi cally apes, paleoanthropolo- inhabit the entire earth. Though cultural adaptations gists look back to the earliest primates (65 or so million make it possible for our species to live in some environ- years ago) or even the earliest mammals (225 million mental extremes, biological adaptations also contribute years ago) to reconstruct the complex path of human to survival in extreme cold, heat, and high altitude. evolution. Paleoanthropology unlike other evolutionary Some of these biological adaptations are built into studies, takes a biocultural approach, focusing on the in- the genetic makeup of populations. The long period of teraction of biology and culture. human growth and development provides ample oppor- tunity for the environment to shape the human body. physical anthropology Also known as biological anthropol- These developmental adaptations are responsible for some ogy. The systematic study of humans as biological organisms. features of human variation such as the enlargement molecular anthropology A branch of biological anthropology of the right ventricle of the heart to help push blood to that uses genetic and biochemical techniques to test hypotheses the lungs among the Quechua Indians of highland Peru. about human evolution, adaptation, and variation. Physiological adaptations are short-term changes in re- paleoanthropology The study of the origins and predecessors sponse to a particular environmental stimulus. For ex- of the present human species. biocultural Focusing on the interaction of biology and culture. ample, a person who normally lives at sea level will un- dergo a series of physiological responses if she suddenly

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Anthropology and Its Fields 9

moves to a high altitude. All of these kinds of biological all parts of the world, many primate species are endan- adaptation contribute to present-day human variation. gered. Primatologists often advocate for the preservation Variation in visible traits such as height, body build, of primate habitats so that these remarkable animals will and skin color, as well as biochemical factors such as continue to inhabit the earth with us. blood type and susceptibility to certain diseases, contribute to human biological diversity. Still, we remain members of a single species. Physical anthropology applies all Cultural Anthropology the techniques of modern biology to achieve fuller un- Cultural anthropology (also called social or sociocul- derstanding of human variation and its relationship to tural anthropology) is the study of customary patterns in the diff erent environments in which people have lived. human behavior, thought, and feelings. It focuses on Research in physical anthropology on human varia- humans as culture-producing and culture-reproducing tion has debunked false notions of biologically defi ned creatures. Thus, in order to understand the work of the races—a notion based on widespread misinterpretation cultural anthropologist, we must clarify what we mean of human variation. by culture—a society’s shared and socially transmitted ideas, values, and perceptions, which are used to make Forensic Anthropology sense of experience and which generate behavior and are One of the many practical applications of physical an- refl ected in that behavior. These standards are socially thropology is forensic anthropology: the identifi cation learned, rather than acquired through biological inheri- of human skeletal remains for legal purposes. Although tance. Because they determine, or at least guide, normal they are called upon by law enforcement authorities to day-to-day behavior, thought, and emotional patterns of identify murder victims, forensic anthropologists also the members of a society, human activities, ideas, and investigate human rights abuses such as systematic geno- feelings are above all culturally acquired and infl uenced. cides, terrorism, and war crimes. These specialists use The manifestations of culture may vary considerably details of skeletal anatomy to establish the age, sex, and from place to place, but no person is “more cultured” in stature of the deceased; forensic anthropologists can also the anthropological sense than any other. determine whether the person was right- or left-handed, Cultural anthropology has two main components: exhibited any physical abnormalities, or experienced ethnography and ethnology. An ethnography is a detailed trauma. While forensics relies upon diff ering frequen- description of a particular culture primarily based on cies of certain skeletal characteristics to establish popu- fi eldwork, which is the term anthropologists use for on- lation affi liation, it is nevertheless false to say that all location research. Because the hallmark of ethnographic people from a given population have a particular type of fi eldwork is a combination of social participation and skeleton. (See the Anthropology Applied feature to read personal observation within the community being stud- about the work of several forensic anthropologists and ied, as well as interviews and discussions with individual forensic archaeologists.) members of a group, the ethnographic method is commonly referred to as participant observation. Primatology Studying the anatomy and behavior of the other primates helps us understand what we share with our closest liv- forensic anthropology Applied subfi eld of physical anthropol- ing relatives and what makes humans unique. There- ogy that specializes in the identifi cation of human skeletal remains fore, primatology, or the study of living and fossil pri- for legal purposes. mates, is a vital part of physical anthropology. Primates primatology The study of living and fossil primates. include the Asian and African apes, as well as monkeys, cultural anthropology Also known as social or sociocultural lemurs, lorises, and tarsiers. Biologically, humans are anthropology. The study of customary patterns in human be- apes—large-bodied, broad-shouldered primates with no havior, thought, and feelings. It focuses on humans as culture- tail. Detailed studies of ape behavior in the wild indicate producing and culture-reproducing creatures. that the sharing of learned behavior is a signifi cant part culture A society’s shared and socially transmitted ideas, values, and perceptions, which are used to make sense of experience and of their social life. Increasingly, primatologists designate which generate behavior and are refl ected in that behavior. the shared, learned behavior of nonhuman apes as cul- ethnography A detailed description of a particular culture pri- ture. For example, tool use and communication systems marily based on fi eldwork. indicate the elementary basis of language in some ape fi eldwork The term anthropologists use for on-location research. societies. participant observation In ethnography, the technique of Primate studies off er scientifi cally grounded per- learning a people’s culture through social participation and perspectives on the behavior of our ancestors, as well as sonal observation within the community being studied, as well as interviews and discussion with individual members of the group greater appreciation and respect for the abilities of our over an extended period of time. closest living relatives. As human activity encroaches on

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10 Chapter One/The Essence of Anthropology Anthropology Applied Forensic Anthropology: Voices for the Dead Clyde C. Snow, Karen Burns, Amy Zelson Mundorff, and Michael Blakey

Forensic anthropology is the analysis ernment to help with the identifi cation of of skeletal remains for legal purposes. remains of the desaparecidos, or “disap- Law enforcement authorities call upon peared ones,” the 9,000 or more people forensic anthropologists to use skeletal who were eliminated by government remains to identify murder victims, death squads during seven years of mili- missing persons, or people who have tary rule. A year later, he returned to give died in disasters, such as plane crashes. expert testimony at the trial of nine junta Forensic anthropologists have also members and to teach Argentineans how contributed substantially to the inves- to recover, clean, repair, preserve, photo- tigation of human rights abuses in all graph, x-ray, and analyze bones. Besides parts of the world by identifying victims providing factual accounts of the fate of and documenting the cause of their victims to their surviving kin and refuting death. the assertions of revisionists that the Among the best-known forensic massacres never happened, the work of anthropologists is Clyde C. Snow. He has Snow and his Argentinean associates was been practicing in this fi eld forty years, crucial in convicting several military offi rst for the Federal Aviation Administra- fi cers of kidnapping, torture, and murder. tion and more recently as a freelance Since Snow’s pioneering work, consultant. In addition to the usual police forensic anthropologists have become work, Snow has studied the remains of increasingly involved in the investigation General George Armstrong Custer and of human rights abuses in all parts of the © Susan Meiselas/Magnum Photos his men from the 1876 battlefi eld at world, from Chile to Guatemala, Haiti, Physical anthropologists do not just study Little Big Horn, and in 1985 he went to the Philippines, Rwanda, Iraq, Bosnia, and fossil skulls. Here Clyde Snow holds the Brazil, where he identifi ed the remains Kosovo. Meanwhile, they continue to do skull of a Kurd who was executed by Iraqi of the notorious Nazi war criminal Josef important work for more typical clients. security forces. Snow specializes in foren- Mengele. In the United States these clients include sic anthropology and is best known for his work identifying victims of state-sponsored He was also instrumental in estab- the Federal Bureau of Investigation and terrorism. lishing the fi rst forensic team devoted city, state, and county medical examiners’ to documenting cases of human rights offi ces. abuses around the world. This began in Forensic anthropologists specializ- 1984 when he went to Argentina at the ing in skeletal remains commonly work request of a newly elected civilian gov- closely with forensic archaeologists.

Ethnographies provide the information used to make systematic comparisons among cultures all across the world. Known as ethnology, such cross-cultural research allows anthropologists to develop anthropological theories that help explain why certain important differences or similarities occur among groups. Image not available due to copyright restrictions Ethnography Through participant observation—eating a people’s food, sleeping under their roof, learning how to speak and behave acceptably, and personally experiencing their habits

ethnology The study and analysis of diff erent cultures from a comparative or historical point of view, utilizing ethnographic accounts and developing anthropological theories that help explain why certain important diff erences or similarities occur among groups.

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Anthropology and Its Fields 11

The relation between them is rather like been many executions, she excavated Just a short walk away, construction that between a forensic pathologist, the remains of a man’s body found lying workers in lower Manhattan discovered who examines a corpse to establish time on its side facing Mecca, conforming to a 17th- and 18th-century African burial and manner of death, and a crime scene Islamic practice. Although there was no ground in 1991. Archaeological inves- investigator, who searches the site for intact clothing, two threads of polyester tigation of the burial ground revealed clues. While the forensic anthropologist used to sew clothing were found along the horror of slavery in North America, deals with the human remains—often the sides of both legs. Although the showing that even young children were only bones and teeth—the forensic threads survived, the clothing, because it worked so far beyond their ability to archaeologist controls the site, record- was made of natural fi ber, had decayed. endure that their spines were fractured. ing the position of all relevant fi nds and “Those two threads at each side of the Biological archaeologist Michael Blakey, recovering any clues associated with the leg just shouted that his family didn’t who led the research team, notes: remains. In Rwanda, for example, a team bury him,” says Burns.b Proper though Although bioarchaeology and fo- assembled in 1995 to investigate a mass his position was, no Islamic family would rensics are often confused, when atrocity for the United Nations included bury their own in a garment sewn with skeletal biologists use the population archaeologists from the U.S. National polyester thread; proper ritual would as the unit of analysis (rather than the Park Service’s Midwest Archaeological require a simple shroud. individual), and incorporate cultural Center. They performed the standard In recent years two major anthropo- and historical context (rather than archaeological procedures of mapping logical analyses of skeletal remains have simply ascribing biological character- the site, determining its boundaries, occurred in New York City dealing with istics), and report on the lifeways of photographing and recording all surface both past and present atrocities. Amy a past community (rather than on a fi nds, and excavating, photographing, Zelson Mundorff, a forensic anthropolo- crime for the police and courts), it is and recording buried skeletons and as- gist for New York City’s Offi ce of the bioarchaeology rather than forensics.c sociated materials in mass graves.a Chief Medical Examiner, was injured in In another example, Karen Burns of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack Thus, several kinds of anthropologists the University of Georgia was part of a on the World Trade Center. Two days later analyze human remains for a variety of team sent to northern Iraq after the 1991 she returned to work to supervise and purposes, contributing to the documen- Gulf War to investigate alleged atroci- coordinate the management, treatment, tation and correction of atrocities ties. On a military base where there had and cataloguing of people who lost their committed by humans of the past and lives in the attack. present. aConner, M. (1996). The archaeology of contemporary mass graves. SAA Bulletin bCornwell, T. (1995, November 10). Skeleton cBlakey, M. Personal communication, Octo- 14(4), 6, 31. staff. Times Higher Education, 20. ber 29, 2003.

and customs—the ethnographer seeks to understand a the islands of the Pacifi c Ocean, the Indian reservations particular way of life to a far greater extent than any non- of North America, the deserts of Australia, and so on. participant researcher ever could. Being a participant ob- However, as the discipline of anthropology developed server does not mean that the anthropologist must join in response to the end of colonialism since the mid-20th in a people’s battles in order to study a culture in which century, peoples and cultures in industrialized nations, warfare is prominent; but by living among a warlike including Europe and the United States, also became a people, the ethnographer should be able to understand legitimate focus of anthropological study. Some of this how warfare fi ts into the overall cultural framework. shift occurred as scholars from non-Western nations be- She or he must observe carefully to gain an overview came anthropologists. An even more signifi cant factor is without placing too much emphasis on one part at the globalization, a worldwide process that rapidly transforms expense of another. Only by discovering how all aspects cultures—shifting, blurring, and even breaking long- of a culture—its social, political, economic, and religious established boundaries between diff erent peoples. practices and institutions—relate to one another can the Ethnographic fi eldwork has changed from anthropo- ethnographer begin to understand the cultural system. logical experts observing, documenting, and analyzing This is the holistic perspective so basic to the discipline. people from distant “other places” to collaborative eff orts The popular image of ethnographic fi eldwork is among anthropologists and the communities in which that it occurs among people who live in far-off , isolated they work, producing knowledge that is valuable not only places. To be sure, much ethnographic work has been in the academic realm but also to the people being stud- done in the remote villages of Africa or South America, ied. Today, anthropologists from all parts of the globe

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12 Chapter One/The Essence of Anthropology

employ research techniques similar to those developed practices in the past, as well as human, plant, and ani- in the study of traditional non-Western peoples to inves- mal remains, some of which date back 2.5 million years. tigate a wide range of cultural niches, including those in The details of exactly how these traces were arranged industrial and postindustrial societies—from religious when they were found refl ect specifi c human ideas and movements to confl ict resolution, street gangs, schools, behavior. For example, shallow, restricted concentra- corporate bureaucracies, and health-care systems. tions of charcoal that include oxidized earth, bone frag- ments, and charred plant remains, located near pieces Ethnology of fi re-cracked rock, pottery, and tools suitable for food Although ethnographic fi eldwork is basic to cultural an- preparation, indicate cooking and food processing. Such thropology, it is not the sole occupation of the cultural remains can reveal much about a people’s diet and sub- anthropologist. Largely descriptive in nature, ethnog- sistence practices. Together with skeletal remains, these raphy provides the raw data needed for ethnology—the material remains help archaeologists reconstruct the bio- branch of cultural anthropology that involves cross- cultural context of human life in the past. cultural comparisons and theories that explain diff er- Archaeologists can reach back for clues to human ences or similarities among groups. behavior far beyond the mere 5,000 years to which his- Intriguing insights into one’s own beliefs and prac- torians are confi ned by their reliance on written records. tices may come from cross-cultural comparisons. Con- Calling this time period “prehistoric” does not mean sider, for example, the amount of time spent on domes- that these societies were less interested in their history tic chores by industrialized peoples and traditional food or that they did not have ways of recording and transmit- foragers (people who rely on wild plant and animal ting history. It simply means that written records do not resources for subsistence). Anthropological research now exist. That said, archaeologists are not limited to among food foragers has shown that they work far less the study of societies without written records; they may at domestic tasks, and indeed less at all subsistence pur- also study those for which historic documents are avail- suits, than do people in industrialized societies. Urban able to supplement the material remains. In most liter- women in the United States who were not working for ate societies, written records are associated with govern- wages outside their homes put 55 hours a week into their ing elites rather than with farmers, fi shers, laborers, or housework—this despite all the “labor-saving” dishwash- slaves. Although written records can tell archaeologists ers, washing machines, clothes dryers, vacuum cleaners, much that might not be known from archaeological evi- food processors, and microwave ovens; in contrast, ab- dence alone, it is equally true that material remains can original women in Australia devoted 20 hours a week to tell historians much about a society that is not apparent their chores.3 from its written documents. Considering such cross-cultural comparisons, one Although most archaeologists concentrate on the may think of ethnology as the study of alternative ways human past, some of them study material objects in con- of doing things. But more than that, by making system- temporary settings. One example is the Garbage Project, atic comparisons, ethnologists seek to arrive at scientifi c founded by William Rathje at the University of Arizona conclusions concerning the function and operation of in 1973. This carefully controlled study of household cultural practices in all times and places. Today many waste continues to produce thought-provoking informa- cultural anthropologists apply such insights in a variety tion about contemporary social issues. Among its accom- of contexts ranging from business to education to gov- plishments, the project has tested the validity of survey ernmental interventions to humanitarian aid. techniques, upon which sociologists, economists, and other social scientists and policymakers rely heavily. For example, in 1973 conventional techniques were Archaeology used to construct and administer a questionnaire to fi nd out about the rate of alcohol consumption in Tucson. In Archaeology is the fi eld of anthropology that studies hu- one part of town, 15 percent of respondent households af- man cultures through the recovery and analysis of ma- fi rmed consumption of beer, but no household reported terial remains and environmental data. Material prod- consumption of more than eight cans a week. Analysis of ucts scrutinized by archaeologists include tools, pottery, garbage from the same area, however, demonstrated that hearths, and enclosures that remain as traces of cultural some beer was consumed in over 80 percent of households, and 50 percent discarded more than eight empty 3Bodley, J. H. (1985). Anthropology and contemporary human problems (2nd ed., p. 69). Palo Alto, CA: Mayfi eld. cans a week. Another interesting fi nding of the Garbage Project is that when beef prices reached an all-time high in 1973, so did the amount of beef wasted by households archaeology The study of human cultures through the recovery and analysis of material remains and environmental data. (not just in Tucson but in other parts of the country as well). Although common sense would lead us to suppose

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Anthropology and Its Fields 13 © David Simchock/vagabondvistas.com

Few places have caused as much speculation as Rapa Nui, a tiny volcanic island in the middle of the southern Pacifi c Ocean. Better known as Easter Island, it is one of the most remote and remarkable places on earth. The landscape is punctuated by nearly 900 colossal stone “heads,” some towering to 65 feet. The islanders call them moai, and they have puzzled visitors ever since Dutch seafarers fi rst discovered the island on Easter Day, 1722. By then, it was a barren land with a few thousand people for whom the moai were already ancient relics. Since the 1930s, anthropologists have used evidence from many subfi elds, especially oral traditions and archaeological excavations, to reconstruct a fascinating but troubling island history of environmental destruction and internal warfare.4

just the opposite, high prices and scarcity correlate with the protection of cultural resources and involves sur- more, rather than less, waste. Such fi ndings are impor- veying and/or excavating archaeological and historical tant for they demonstrate that ideas about human behav- remains threatened by construction or development. ior based on conventional interview-survey techniques For example, in the United States, if the transportation alone can be seriously in error. Likewise, they show that department of a state government plans to replace an what people actually do does not always match what inadequate highway bridge, steps have to be taken to they think they do. identify and protect any signifi cant prehistoric or his- In 1987, the Garbage Project began a program of ex- toric resources that might be aff ected by this new con- cavating landfi lls in diff erent parts of the United States struction. Federal legislation passed since the mid-1960s and Canada. From this work came the fi rst reliable data now requires cultural resource management for any on what materials actually go into landfi lls and what building project that is partially funded or licensed by happens to them there. And once again, common beliefs the U.S. government. As a result, the practice of cultural turned out to be at odds with the actual situation. For ex- resource management has fl ourished. Many archaeolo- ample, biodegradable materials such as newspapers take gists are employed by such agencies as the U.S. Army far longer to decay when buried in deep compost land- Corps of Engineers, the National Park Service, the U.S. fi lls than anyone had previously expected. This kind of Forest Service, and the U.S. Soil and Conservation Ser- information is a vital step toward solving waste disposal vice to assist in the preservation, restoration, and salvage problems.5 of archaeological resources. Archaeologists are also employed by state historic Cultural Resource Management preservation agencies. Moreover, they consult for engi- While archaeology may conjure up images of ancient neering fi rms to help them prepare environmental im- pyramids and the like, much archaeological research pact statements. Some of these archaeologists operate is carried out as cultural resource management. This out of universities and colleges, while others are on the branch of archaeology is tied to government policies for staff s of independent consulting fi rms. Finally, some archaeologists now also work for American Indian nations 4For more information, see the following: Anderson, A. (2002). involved in cultural resource management on reserva- Faunal collapse, landscape change, and settlement history in Re- tion lands. mote Oceania. World Archaeology 33(3),375–390; Van Tilburg, J. A. (1994). Easter Island: Archaeology, ecology, and culture. London: Brit- cultural resource management A branch of archaeology tied ish Museum Press. to government policies for the protection of cultural resources and 5Details about the Garbage Project’s past and present work can involving surveying and/or excavating archaeological and histori- be seen on its website:http://info-center.ccit.arizona.edu/~bara/ cal remains threatened by construction or development. report.htm.

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14 Chapter One/The Essence of Anthropology Linguistic Anthropology ANTHROPOLOGY, SCIENCE, Perhaps the most distinctive feature of the human spe- AND THE HUMANITIES cies is language. Although the sounds and gestures made Anthropology has been called the most humane of the by some other animals—especially by apes—may serve sciences and the most scientifi c of the humanities—a functions comparable to those of human language, no designation that most anthropologists accept with pride. other animal has developed a system of symbolic com- Given their intense involvement with people of all times munication as complex as that of humans. Language al- and places, it should come as no surprise that anthropol- lows people to preserve and transmit countless details of ogists have amassed considerable information about hu- their culture from generation to generation. man failure and success, weakness and greatness—the The fi eld of anthropology that studies human lan- real stuff of the humanities. While anthropologists steer guages is called linguistic anthropology. Linguists may clear of an impersonal scientifi c approach that reduces deal with the description of a language (such as the way people and the things they do and think to mere num- a sentence is formed or a verb conjugated), the history of bers, their quantitative studies have contributed substan- languages (the way languages develop and change with tially to the scientifi c study of the human condition. But the passage of time), or with language in relation to social even the most scientifi c anthropologists always keep in and cultural contexts. All three approaches yield valu- mind that human societies are made up of individuals able information about how people communicate and with rich assortments of emotions and aspirations that how they understand the world around them. The ev- demand respect. eryday language of English-speaking North Americans, Beyond this, anthropologists remain committed to for example, includes a number of slang words, such as the proposition that one cannot fully understand another dough, greenback, dust, loot, bucks, change, and bread, to culture by simply observing it; as the term participant identify what an indigenous inhabitant of Papua New observation implies, one must experience it as well. This Guinea would recognize only as “money.” The profusion same commitment to fi eldwork and to the systematic col- of names helps to identify a thing of special importance lection of data, whether it is qualitative or quantitative, is to a culture. also evidence of the scientifi c side of anthropology. An- Anthropological linguists also make a signifi cant thropology is an empirical social science based in obser- contribution to our understanding of the human past. By vations about humans. But what distinguishes anthro- working out relationships among languages and exam- pology from other sciences are the diverse ways in which ining their spatial distributions, they may estimate how scientifi c research is conducted within anthropology. long the speakers of those languages have lived where Science, a carefully honed way of producing knowl- they do. By identifying those words in related languages edge, aims to reveal and explain the underlying logic, that have survived from an ancient ancestral tongue, the structural processes that make the world “tick.” It is they can also suggest not only where, but how, the speak- a creative endeavor that seeks testable explanations for ers of the ancestral language lived. Such work shows lin- observed phenomena, ideally in terms of the workings guistic ties between geographically distant groups such of hidden but unchanging principles, or laws. Two basic as the people of Finland and Turkey. ingredients are essential for this: imagination and skepti- Linguistic anthropology is practiced in a number of cism. Imagination, though capable of leading us astray, is applied settings. For example, linguistic anthropologists required to help us recognize unexpected ways phenom- have collaborated with indigenous communities and eth- ena might be ordered and to think of old things in new nic minorities in the preservation or revival of languages ways. Without it, there can be no science. Skepticism is lost during periods of oppression by dominant societies. what allows us to distinguish fact (an observation veri- Anthropologists have helped to create written forms of fi ed by others) from fancy, to test our speculations, and some languages that previously existed only by word of to prevent our imaginations from running away with us. mouth. These examples of applied linguistic anthropol- In their search for explanations, scientists do not as- ogy represent the kind of true collaboration that is char- sume that things are always as they appear on the sur- acteristic of much anthropological fi eldwork today. face. After all, what could be more obvious than that the earth is a stable entity, around which the sun travels ev- linguistic anthropology The study of human languages, ery day? And yet, it isn’t so. looking at their structure, history, and/or relation to social and Like other scientists, anthropologists often begin cultural contexts. their research with a hypothesis (a tentative explana- empirical Based on observations of the world rather than on tion or hunch) about the possible relationships between intuition or faith. certain observed facts or events. By gathering various hypothesis A tentative explanation of the relation between certain phenomena. kinds of data that seem to ground such suggested explanations on evidence, anthropologists come up with a

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Anthropology, Science, and the Humanities 15 Anthropologists of Note Franz Boas (1858–1942) Matilda Coxe Stevenson (1849–1915)

Franz Boas was not the fi rst to teach two generations of great anthropologists, anthropology in the United States, but including numerous women and ethnic it was he and his students, with their minorities. insistence on scientifi c rigor, who made As a Jewish immigrant, Boas recog- anthropology courses a common part nized the dangers of ethnocentrism and of college and university curricula. Born especially racism. Through ethnographic and raised in Germany, where he studied fi eldwork and comparative analysis, he physics, mathematics, and geography, demonstrated that white supremacy Boas did his fi rst ethnographic research theories and other schemes ranking non- among the Inuit (Eskimos) in Arctic European peoples and cultures as inferior Canada in 1883–1884. After a brief were biased, ill-informed, and unscien- academic career in Berlin, he came to tifi c. Throughout his long and illustrious the United States. There, after work in academic career, he not only promoted © Smithsonian Institution Photo # 56196 museums interspersed with ethnographic anthropology as a human science but research among Kwakiutl Indians in the also as an instrument to combat racism since World War II more than half the Canadian Pacifi c, he became a professor and prejudice in the world. presidents of the now 12,000-member at Columbia University in New York City Among the founders of North Amer- American Anthropological Association in 1896. He authored an incredible num- ican anthropology were a number of have been women. ber of publications, founded professional women who were highly infl uential Recording observations on fi lm as organizations and journals, and taught among women’s rights advocates in well as in notebooks, Stevenson and the late 1800s. One such pioneering an- Boas were also pioneers in visual anthropologist was Matilda Coxe Steven- thropology. Stevenson used an early son, who did fi eldwork among the Zuni box camera to document Pueblo Indian Indians of Arizona. In 1885, she founded religious ceremonies and material cul- the Women’s Anthropological Society in ture, while Boas photographed Inuit Washington, D.C., the fi rst professional (Eskimos) in northern Canada in 1883 association for women scientists. Three and Kwakiutl Indians from the early years later, hired by the Smithsonian’s 1890s for cultural as well as physical Bureau of American Ethnology, she be- anthropological documentation. Today, came one of the fi rst women in the world these old photographs are greatly valued to receive a full-time offi cial position in not only by anthropologists and histo- science. rians, but also by indigenous peoples The tradition of women being ac- themselves.

theory—an explanation supported by a reliable body suggested it is strongly motivated to verify it, and this of data. In their eff ort to demonstrate linkages between can cause one to unwittingly overlook negative evidence known facts or events, anthropologists may discover and unanticipated fi ndings. This is a familiar problem in unexpected facts, events, or relationships. An important all science as noted by paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould: function of theory is that it guides us in our explorations “The greatest impediment to scientifi c innovation is usu- and may result in new knowledge. Equally important, ally a conceptual lock, not a factual lock.”6 Because cul- the newly discovered facts may provide evidence that ture provides humans with their concepts and shapes our certain explanations, however popular or fi rmly believed very thoughts, it can be challenging to frame hypotheses to be true, are unfounded. When the evidence is lacking or develop interpretations that are not culture-bound. or fails to support the suggested explanations, anthro- By encompassing both humanism and science, the disci- pologists are forced to drop promising hypotheses or pline of anthropology can draw on its internal diversity attractive hunches. In other words, anthropology relies to overcome conceptual locks. on empirical evidence. Moreover, no scientifi c theory, no matter how widely accepted by the international com- 6Gould, S. J. (1989). Wonderful life (p. 226). New York: Norton. munity of scholars, is beyond challenge. Straightforward though the scientifi c approach may theory In science, an explanation of natural phenomena, sup- seem, its application is not always easy. For instance, ported by a reliable body of data. once a hypothesis has been proposed, the person who

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16 Chapter One/The Essence of Anthropology Fieldwork cultural comfort zone into a world that is unfamiliar and sometimes unsettling. Anthropologists in the fi eld are All anthropologists are aware that personal and cultural likely to face a host of challenges—physical, social, men- background may shape their research questions and, tal, political, and ethical. They may have to deal with the more importantly, modify or even distort their actual physical challenge of adjusting to unfamiliar food, cli- observations. Engaging in such critical self-refl ection, mate, and hygiene conditions. Typically, anthropologists they rely on a technique that also has proved success- in the fi eld struggle with such mental challenges as lone- ful in other disciplines: They immerse themselves in the liness, feeling like a perpetual outsider, being socially data to the fullest extent possible. In the process, anthro- clumsy and clueless in their new cultural setting, and pologists become so thoroughly familiar with even the having to be alert around the clock because anything smallest details that they may begin to identify possible that is happening or being said may be signifi cant to relationships and underlying patterns in the data. Recog- their research. Political challenges include the possibility nition of such suspected relationships and patterns en- of unwittingly letting oneself be used by factions within ables anthropologists to frame meaningful hypotheses, the community or being viewed with hostility by gov- which then may be subjected to further testing on loca- ernment authorities who may suspect the anthropologist tion or “in the fi eld.” Within anthropology, such fi eld- is a spy. And there are ethical dilemmas: what to do if work brings additional rigor to the concept of total im- faced with a cultural practice one fi nds troubling, such as mersion in the data. female circumcision; how to deal with demands for food Touched upon above in our discussion of cultural an- supplies and/or medicine; how to handle the temptation thropology, fi eldwork is also characteristic of the other to use deception to gain vital information; and so on. anthropological subdisciplines. Archaeologists and pa- At the same time, fi eldwork often leads to tangible leoanthropologists excavate sites in the fi eld. A biologi- and meaningful personal, professional, and social re- cal anthropologist interested in the eff ects of globaliza- wards, ranging from lasting friendships to vital knowl- tion on nutrition and human growth will reside in the edge and insights concerning the human condition that particular community of people selected for study. A make positive contributions to people’s lives. Some- primatologist might live among a group of chimpanzees thing of the meaning of anthropological fi eldwork—its or baboons just as a linguist will study the language of usefulness and its impact on researcher and subject—is a people by living among them and sharing their daily conveyed in the following Original Study by Suzanne life. Fieldwork, being on location and fully immersed Leclerc-Madlala, an anthropologist who left her familiar in another way of life, challenges the anthropologist to New England surroundings two decades ago to do AIDS be constantly aware of the possible ways that otherwise research among Zulu-speaking people in South Africa. unsuspected cultural factors may infl uence the research Her research interest has changed the course of her own questions, observations, and explanations. life, not to mention the lives of individuals who have Fieldwork requires researchers to step out of their HIV/AIDS and the type of treatment they receive.

Original Study By Suzanne Leclerc-Madlala Fighting HIV/AIDS in Africa: Traditional Healers KwaZulu- on the Front Line Natal

E In the 1980s, as a North American an- that I could to make a difference, and U IQ B thropology graduate student at George this culminated in earning a Ph.D. from ZIMBABWE M A Indian Z Washington University, I met and married the University of Natal on the cultural BOTSWANA O Ocean a Zulu-speaking student from South construction of AIDS among the Zulu. NAMIBIA M Africa. It was the height of apartheid, The HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa became SWAZILAND KwaZulu- and upon moving to that country I was my professional passion. Atlantic SOUTH Natal classifi ed as “honorary black” and forced Faced with overwhelming global Ocean AFRICA to live in a segregated township with my health-care needs, the World Health LESOTHO husband. The AIDS epidemic was in its Organization passed a series of resolu- infancy, but it was clear from the start tions in the 1970s promoting collabora- of modern medicine by a ratio of 100 to 1 that an anthropological understanding tion between traditional and modern or more. Given Africa’s disproportionate of how people perceive and engage with medicine. Such moves held a special burden of disease, supporting partnership this disease would be crucial for develop- relevance for Africa where traditional efforts with traditional healers makes ing interventions. I wanted to learn all healers typically outnumber practitioners sense. But what sounds sensible today

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Anthropology’s Comparative Method 17

was once considered absurd, even hereti- tures and convince them of the superior- previously healers reused the same razor cal. For centuries Westerners generally ity of modern medicine. Yet, today, few on many clients. Some healers claim viewed traditional healing as a whole lot of the 6,000-plus KwaZulu-Natal healers they have given up the practice of biting of primitive mumbo jumbo practiced by who have been trained in AIDS education clients’ skin to remove foreign objects witchdoctors with demonic powers who say they would opt for less collaboration; from the body. It is not uncommon today, perpetuated superstition. Yet, its practice most want to have more. especially in urban centers like Durban, survived. Today, as the African continent Treatments by Zulu healers for HIV/ to fi nd healers proudly displaying AIDS grapples with an HIV/AIDS epidemic of AIDS often take the form of infusions training certifi cates in their inner-city crisis proportion, millions of sick people of bitter herbs to “cleanse” the body, “surgeries” where they don white jackets who are either too poor or too distant to strengthen the blood, and remove mis- and wear protective latex gloves. access modern health care are proving fortune and “pollution.” Some treatments Politics and controversy have dogged that traditional healers are an invaluable provide effective relief from common South Africa’s offi cial response to HIV/ resource in the fi ght against AIDS. ailments associated with AIDS such as AIDS. But back home in the waddle-and- Of the world’s estimated 40 million itchy skin rashes, oral thrush, persistent daub, animal-skin-draped herbariums people currently infected by HIV, 70 per- diarrhea, and general debility. Indigenous and divining huts of traditional healers, cent live in sub-Saharan Africa, and the plants such as unwele (Sutherlandia the politics of AIDS holds little relevance. vast majority of children Here the sick and dying left orphaned by AIDS are are coming in droves to be African. From the 1980s treated by healers who have onward, as Africa became been part and parcel of synonymous with the community life (and death) rapid spread of HIV/AIDS, since time immemorial. In a number of preven- many cases traditional heal- tion programs involved ers have transformed their traditional healers. My homes into hospices for initial research in South AIDS patients. Because of Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal the strong stigma that still province—where it is esti- plagues the disease, those mated that 36 percent of with AIDS symptoms are of- the population is HIV in- ten abandoned or sometimes fected—revealed that tra- chased away from their ditional Zulu healers were homes by family members. regularly consulted for They seek refuge with heal- the treatment of sexually ers who provide them with transmitted disease (STD). © Kerry Cullinan comfort in their fi nal days. I found that such diseases, Medical anthropologist Suzanne Leclerc-Madlala visits with “Doctor” Koloko Healers’ homes are also along with HIV/AIDS, in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. This Zulu traditional healer proudly displays becoming orphanages as were usually attributed to her offi cial AIDS training certifi cate. healers respond to what has transgressions of taboos been called the “third wave” related to birth, pregnancy, marriage, frutescens) and African potato (Hy- of AIDS destruction: the growing legions and death. Moreover, these diseases were poxis hemerocallidea) are well-known of orphaned children. often understood within a framework of traditional medicines that have proven The practice of traditional healing in pollution and contagion, and like most immuno-boosting properties. Africa is adapting to the changing face serious illnesses, ultimately believed to Both have recently become available of health and illness in the context of have their causal roots in witchcraft. in modern pharmacies packaged in tablet HIV/AIDS. But those who are suffering go In the course of my research, I investi- form. With modern anti-retroviral treat- to traditional healers not only in search gated a pioneer program in STD and HIV ments still well beyond the reach of most of relief for physical symptoms. They go education for traditional healers in the South Africans, indigenous medicines to learn about the ultimate cause of their province. The program aimed to provide that can delay or alleviate some of the disease—something other than the im- basic biomedical knowledge about the suffering caused by AIDS are proving to mediate cause of a sexually transmitted various modes of disease transmission, be valuable and popular treatments. “germ” or “virus.” They go to fi nd answers the means available for prevention, the Knowledge about potentially infec- to the “why me and not him” questions, diagnosing of symptoms, the keeping of tious bodily fl uids has led healers to the “why now” and “why this.” As with records, and the making of patient refer- change some of their practices. Where most traditional healing systems world- rals to local clinics and hospitals. porcupine quills were once used to give wide, healing among the Zulu and most Interviews with the healers showed a type of indigenous injection, patients all African ethnic groups cannot be sepa- that many maintained a deep suspicion are now advised to bring their own sew- rated from the spiritual concerns of the of modern medicine. They perceived AIDS ing needles to consultations. Patients individual and the cosmological beliefs of education as a one-way street intended provide their own individual razor blades the community at large. Traditional heal- to press them into formal health struc- for making incisions on their skin, where CONTINUED

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18 Chapter One/The Essence of Anthropology

CONTINUED ers help to restore a sense of balance be- of healing than that offered by modern can facilitate, like no other discipline, the tween the individual and the community, medicine. type of understanding that is urgently on one hand, and between the individual Traditional healing in Africa is fl our- needed to address the AIDS crisis. and the cosmos, or ancestors, on the ishing in the era of AIDS, and under- (By Suzanne Leclerc-Madlala. Adapted other hand. They provide health care that standing why this is so requires a shift in part from S. Leclerc-Madlala (2002). is personalized, culturally appropriate, in the conceptual framework by which Bodies and politics: Healing rituals in the holistic, and tailored to meet the needs we understand, explain, and interpret democratic South Africa. In V. Faure (Ed.), and expectations of the patient. In many health. Anthropological methods and Les cahiers de ‘I’IFAS, No. 2. Johannesburg: ways it is a far more satisfactory form its comparative and holistic perspective The French Institute.)

ANTHROPOLOGY’S through time. Anthropologists examine a global sample of societies in order to discover whether or not hypoth- COMPARATIVE METHOD eses proposed to explain cultural phenomena or biologi- The end product of anthropological research, if properly cal variation are universally applicable. However, cross- carried out, is a coherent statement about a people that cultural researchers depend upon data gathered by other provides an explanatory framework for understanding scholars as well as their own. Similarly, archaeologists the beliefs, behavior, or biology of those who have been and biological anthropologists rely on artifacts and skel- studied. And this, in turn, is what permits the anthropol- etal collections housed in museums, as well as published ogist to frame broader hypotheses about human beliefs, descriptions of these collections. behavior, and biology. A single instance of any phenom- enon is generally insuffi cient for supporting a plausible hypothesis. Without some basis for comparison, the hy- QUESTIONS OF ETHICS pothesis grounded in a single case may be no more than The kinds of research carried out by anthropologists, and a particular historical coincidence. On the other hand, a the settings within which they work, raise a number of single case may be enough to cast doubt on, if not re- important moral questions about the potential uses and fute, a theory that had previously been held to be valid. abuses of our knowledge. Who will utilize our fi ndings For example, the discovery in 1948 that aborigines living and for what purposes? Who decides what research ques- in Australia’s northern Arnhem Land put in an average tions are asked? Who, if anyone, will profi t from the re- workday of less than 6 hours, while living well above a search? For example, in the case of research on an ethnic level of bare suffi ciency, was enough to call into question or religious minority whose values may be at odds with the widely accepted notion that food-foraging peoples dominant mainstream society, will governmental or cor- are so preoccupied with fi nding scarce food that they porate interests use anthropological data to suppress that lack time for any of life’s more pleasurable activities. The group? And what of traditional communities around the observations made in the Arnhem Land study have since world? Who is to decide what changes should, or should been confi rmed many times over in various parts of the not, be introduced for community “betterment”? And world. who defi nes what constitutes betterment—the commu- Hypothetical explanations of cultural and biologi- nity, a national government, or an international agency cal phenomena may be tested through comparison of like the World Health Organization? What are the limits archaeological, biological, linguistic, historical, and/or of cultural relativism when a traditional practice is con- ethnographic data for several societies found in a par- sidered a human rights abuse globally? ticular region. Carefully controlled comparison pro- Then there is the problem of privacy. Anthropolo- vides a broader basis for drawing general conclusions gists deal with matters that are private and sensitive, in- about humans than does the study of a single culture or cluding things that individuals would prefer not to have population. The anthropologist who undertakes such a generally known about them. How does one write about comparison may be more confi dent that events or fea- such important but delicate issues and at the same time tures believed to be related really are related, at least protect the privacy of the individuals who have shared within the area under investigation; however, an expla- their stories? The American Anthropological Associa- nation that is valid in one area is not necessarily so in tion (AAA) maintains a Statement of Ethics, which is another. regularly examined and modifi ed to refl ect the practice Ideally, theories in anthropology are generated from of anthropology in a changing world. This educational worldwide comparisons or comparisons across species or document lays out the rules and ideals applicable to an-

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Anthropology and Globalization 19

thropologists in all the subdisciplines. While the AAA nication costs, faster knowledge transfers, and increased has no legal authority, it does issue policy statements on trade and fi nancial integration among countries. Touch- research ethics questions as they come up. For example, ing almost everybody’s life on the planet, globalization recently the AAA recommended that fi eld notes from is about economics as much as politics, and it changes medical settings should be protected and not subject to human relations and ideas as well as our natural envi- subpoena in malpractice lawsuits. This honors the ethi- ronments. Even geographically remote communities cal imperative to protect the privacy of individuals who are quickly becoming more interdependent through have shared their stories with anthropologists. globalization. Anthropologists recognize that they have special ob- Doing research in all corners of the world, anthro- ligations to three sets of people: those whom they study, pologists are confronted with the impact of globalization those who fund the research, and those in the profession on human communities wherever they are located. As who expect us to publish our fi ndings so that they may be participant observers, they describe and try to explain used to further our collective knowledge. Because fi eld- how individuals and organizations respond to the mas- work requires a relationship of trust between fi eldwork- sive changes confronting them. Anthropologists may ers and the community in which they work, the anthro- also fi nd out how local responses sometimes change the pologist’s fi rst responsibility clearly is to the individuals global fl ows directed at them. who have shared their stories and the greater commu- Dramatically increasing every year, globalization nity. Everything possible must be done to protect their can be a two-edged sword. It may generate economic physical, social, and psychological welfare and to honor growth and prosperity, but it also undermines long- their dignity and privacy. This task is frequently com- established institutions. Generally, globalization has plex. For example, telling the story of a group of people brought signifi cant gains to higher-educated groups in gives information both to relief agencies who might help wealthier countries, while doing little to boost develop- them and to others who might take advantage of them. ing countries and actually contributing to the erosion of While anthropologists regard as basic a people’s traditional cultures. Upheavals born of globalization are right to maintain their own culture, any connections key causes for rising levels of ethnic and religious con- with outsiders can endanger the cultural identity of the fl ict throughout the world. community being studied. To overcome these obstacles, Since all of us now live in a global village, we can no anthropologists frequently collaborate with and contrib- longer aff ord the luxury of ignoring our neighbors, no ute to the communities in which they are working, al- matter how distant they may seem. In this age of global- lowing the people being studied to have some say about ization, anthropology may not only provide humanity how their stories are told. with useful insights concerning diversity, but it may also assist us in avoiding or overcoming signifi cant problems born of that diversity. In countless social arenas, from ANTHROPOLOGY schools to businesses to hospitals to emergency centers, anthropologists have done cross-cultural research that AND GLOBALIZATION makes it possible for educators, businesspeople, doctors, A holistic perspective and a long-term commitment and humanitarians to do their work more eff ectively. to understanding the human species in all its variety The wide-ranging relevance of anthropological is the essence of anthropology. Thus, anthropology is knowledge in today’s world may be illustrated by three well equipped to grapple with an issue that has overrid- quite diff erent examples. In the United States today, dis- ing importance for all of us at the beginning of the 21st crimination based on notions of race continues to be a century: globalization. This term refers to worldwide serious issue aff ecting economic, political, and social re- interconnectedness, evidenced in global movements of lations. Far from being a biological reality, anthropolo- natural resources, human labor, fi nance capital, informa- gists have shown that the concept of race emerged in the tion, infectious diseases, and trade goods (including hu- 18th century as a device for justifying European domi- man organs as described in this chapter’s Globalscape). nance over Africans and American Indians. In fact, dif- Although worldwide travel, trade relations, and infor- ferences of skin color are simply surface adaptations to mation fl ow have existed for several centuries, the pace diff erent climatic zones and have nothing to do with and magnitude of these long-distance exchanges has physical or mental capabilities. Indeed, geneticists fi nd picked up enormously in recent decades; the Internet, in particular, has greatly expanded information exchange capacities. globalization Worldwide interconnectedness, evidenced in global movements of natural resources, trade goods, human labor, The powerful forces driving globalization are tech- fi nance capital, information, and infectious diseases. nological innovations, lower transportation and commu-

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20 Chapter One/The Essence of Anthropology

GLOBALSCAPE

Arctic Ocean

ASIA

NORTH EUROPE AMERICA

Atlantic Ocean

AFRICA Bangalore Paciﬁc Ocean Paciﬁc Mandya Ocean

Indian SOUTH Ocean AMERICA

AUSTRALIA

ANTARCTICA Vol. 49, No. 7

A Global Body Shop? Lakhsmamma, a mother in southern India’s rural village of Holalu, near Mandya, has sold one of her kidneys for about 30,000 rupees ($650). This is far below the average going rate of $6,000 per kidney in the global organ transplant business. But, the bro- ker took his commission, and corrupt offi cials needed to be paid as well. Although India passed a law in 1994 prohibiting the buying and selling of human organs, the business is booming. In Europe and North America, kidney transplants can cost $200,000 or more, plus the waiting © K. Bhagya Prakash in Frontline, list for donor kidneys is long, and dialysis is expensive. Thus, “transplant tourism” to India and several other countries caters to affl uent patients in search of “fresh” kidneys to be harvested from poor people like Lakshmamma, pictured here with her daughter. Global Twister Considering that $650 is a fortune in a poor village like Holalu, does medical globalization benefi t or exploit people like Lakshmamma who are looked upon as human commodities?

far more biological variation within any given human sexual unions the benefi ts and protections aff orded by population than among them. In short, human “races” marriage.7 In some societies—including Spain, Canada, are divisive categories based on prejudice, false ideas of Belgium, and the Netherlands—same-sex marriages are diff erences, and erroneous notions of the superiority of considered socially acceptable and allowed by law, even one’s own group. Given the importance of this issue, though opposite-sex marriages are far more common. race and other aspects of biological variation will be dis- As individuals, countries, and states struggle to de- cussed further in upcoming sections of the text. fi ne the boundaries of legal protections they will grant A second example involves the issue of same-sex to same-sex couples, the anthropological perspective on marriage. In 1989, Denmark became the fi rst country to enact a comprehensive set of legal protections for same-sex couples, known as the Registered Partner- 7Merin, Y. (2002). Equality for same-sex couples: The legal recognition of ship Act. At this writing, more than a half-dozen other gay partnerships in Europe and the United States. Chicago: University of Chicago Press; “Court says same-sex marriage is a right” (2004, countries and some individual states within the United February 5), San Francisco Chronicle; current overviews and updates States have passed similar laws, variously named, and on the global status of same-sex marriage are posted on the Inter- numerous countries around the world are considering net by the Partners Task Force for Gay & Lesbian Couples at www or have passed legislation providing people in homo- .buddybuddy.com.

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Sugg ested Readings 21

marriage is useful. Anthropologists have documented vided among several states, primarily Turkey, Iraq, and same-sex marriages in many human societies in various Iran. The modern boundaries of these states were drawn parts of the world, where they are regarded as accept- up after World War I, with little regard for the region’s able under appropriate circumstances. Homosexual be- ethnic groups or nations. Similar processes have taken havior occurs in the animal world just as it does among place throughout the world, especially in Asia and Af- humans.8 The key diff erence between people and other rica, often making political conditions in these countries animals is that human societies entertain beliefs regard- inherently unstable. ing homosexual behavior, just as they do for hetero- As we will see in later chapters, states and nations sexual behavior—beliefs that specify when, where, how, rarely coincide, nations being split among diff erent and with whom sexual relations are appropriate or “nor- states, and states typically being controlled by members mal.” An understanding of global variation in marriage of one nation who commonly use their control to gain patterns and sexual behavior does not dictate that one access to the land, resources, and labor of other nation- pattern is more right than another. It simply illustrates alities within the state. Most of the armed confl icts in the that all human societies defi ne the boundaries for social world today, such as the many-layered confl icts among relationships. the peoples of the former Yugoslavia, are of this sort and A fi nal example relates to the common confusion are not mere acts of tribalism or terrorism, as commonly of nation with state. Anthropology makes an important asserted. distinction between these two: States are politically or- As these examples show, ignorance about other ganized territories that are internationally recognized, peoples and their ways causes serious problems through- whereas nations are socially organized bodies of people, out the world, especially now that we have developed who putatively share ethnicity—a common origin, lan- a global system of fast information exchange and mass guage, and cultural heritage. For example, the Kurds transportation that greatly increase our interaction and constitute a nation, but their homeland (Kurdistan) is di- interdependence. Anthropology off ers a way of looking at and understanding the world’s peoples—insights that 8Kirkpatrick, R. C. (2000). The evolution of human homosexual be- are nothing less than basic skills for survival in this age havior. Current Anthropology 41, 384. of globalization.

Questions for Refl ection Suggested Readings

1. Anthropology uses a holistic approach to explain all aspects Bonvillain, N. (2000). Language, culture, and communication: of human beliefs, behavior, and biology. How might anthro- The meaning of messages (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: pology challenge your personal perspective on the following Prentice-Hall. questions: Where did we come from? Why do we act in cer- An up-to-date text on language and communication in a cul- tain ways? What makes us tick? tural context. 2. From the holistic anthropological perspective, humans have one leg in culture and the other in nature. Are there examples Fagan, B. M. (1999). Archeology: A brief introduction (7th ed.). from your life that illustrate the interconnectedness of human New York: Longman. biology and culture? This primer off ers an overview of archaeological theory and 3. Globalization can be described as a two-edged sword. How methodology, from fi eld survey techniques to excavation to does it foster growth and destruction simultaneously? analysis of materials. 4. The textbook defi nitions ofstate and nation are based on scientifi c distinctions between both organizational types. How- Jones, S., Martin R., & Pilbeam, D. (Eds.). (1992). Cambridge ever, this distinction is commonly lost in everyday language. encyclopedia of human evolution. New York: Cambridge Univer- Consider, for instance, the names United States of America and sity Press. the United Nations. How does confusing the terms contribute This comprehensive introduction to the human species covers to political confl ict? the gamut of biological anthropology, from genetics, prima- 5. The Biocultural Connection in this chapter contrasts diff er- tology, and the fossil evidence to a detailed exploration of con- ent cultural perspectives on brain death, while the Original temporary human ecology, demography, and disease. Contri- Study features a discussion about traditional Zulu healers and butions by over seventy scholars. their role in dealing with AIDS victims. What do these two accounts suggest about the role of applied anthropology in deal- Kedia, S., & Van Willigen, J. (2005). Applied anthropology: Do- ing with cross-cultural health issues around the world? mains of application. New York: Praeger.

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22 Chapter One/The Essence of Anthropology

Compelling essays by prominent scholars on the potential, ing to class, doing laundry, or studying at your desk, you now accomplishments, and methods of applied anthropology in have the freedom to choose when, where, and how you inter- domains including development, agriculture, environment, act with your audio-based educational media. See the preface health and medicine, nutrition, population displacement and for information on how to access this on-the-go study and re- resettlement, business and industry, education, and aging. The view tool. contributors show how anthropology can be used to address today’s social, economic, health, and technical challenges. The Anthropology Resource Center Peacock, J. L. (2002). The anthropological lens: Harsh light, soft focus (2nd ed.). New York: Cambridge University Press. www.thomsonedu.com/anthropology This lively and innovative book gives the reader a good under- The Anthropology Resource Center provides extended learn- standing of the diversity of activities undertaken by cultural ing materials to reinforce your understanding of key concepts anthropologists, while at the same time identifying the unify- in the four subfi elds of anthropology. For each of the four sub- ing themes that hold the discipline together. Additions to the disciplines, the Resource Center includes dynamic exercises second edition include such topics as globalization, gender, including video exercises, map exercises, simulations, and and postmodernism. “Meet the Scientists” interviews, as well as critical thinking questions that can be assigned and e-mailed to instructors. The Resource Center also provides breaking news in anthropology and interesting material on applied anthropology to Thomson Audio Study Products help you link what you are learning to the world around you. Enjoy the MP3-ready Audio Lecture Overviews for each chapter and a comprehensive audio glossary of key terms for quick study and review. Whether walk-

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