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APPLYING ANTHROPOLOGY An Introductory Reader

TENTH EDITION

Aaron Podolefsky Buffalo State University (SUNY)

Peter J. Brown Emory University

Scott M. Lacy Fairfi eld University

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APPLYING ANTHROPOLOGY: AN INTRODUCTORY READER, TENTH EDITION

Published by McGraw-Hill, a business unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020. Copyright © 2012 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Previous editions © 2009, 2007, and 2003. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written consent of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., including, but not limited to, in any network or other electronic storage or transmission, or broadcast for distance learning.

Some ancillaries, including electronic and print components, may not be available to cus- tomers outside the United States.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Applying anthropology : an introductory reader / [edited by] Aaron Podolefsky, Peter J. Brown, Scott M. Lacy.—10th ed. p. cm. ISBN 978-0-07-811704-6 (alk. paper) 1. Applied anthropology. 2. Anthropology. I. Podolefsky, Aaron. II. Brown, Peter J. III. Title. GN397.5.A67 2012 301—dc23

2011036666

www.mhhe.com

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There are things I couldn’t have known when Peter and I began developing the ideas for this book during the late 1980s. I could not predict its growth and development nor how grateful

I now am that the numerous editions have brought enlightenment to so many students over the years. In a similar way, my sons—young boys at the time—were also works in

progress and at the start of their own lives. Looking back I refl ect with great joy, pride, and satisfaction as I have watched these young boys blossom into men of character and wisdom.

This book is dedicated to my sons, Noah and Isaac, who have grown to be men since our fi rst edition eighteen years ago.

—Aaron Podolefsky

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v

Contents

Theme Finder for Chapters xiii

To the Student xv

To the Instructor xvii

Introduction: Understanding Humans and Human Problems 1

PART I Biological Anthropology 3

HUMAN EVOLUTION

1 Teaching Theories: The Evolution-Creation Controversy 6 Robert Root-Bernstein and Donald L. McEachron (The American Biology Teacher, 1982) Through a comparison of evolution and creationism, this article examines the logic of scientifi c inquiry and the characteristics of scientifi c theory. Scientifi c theories are testable and correctable, which is why they lead to new and useful knowledge.

2 Re-reading Root-Bernstein and McEachron in Cobb County, Georgia: A Year Past and Present 15 Benjamin Z. Freed (Article written especially for Applying Anthropology) Cultural confl icts about evolution and creationism have centered on the American classroom. This selection describes recent debates and legal skirmishes about teaching evolution in public schools.

3 Great Mysteries of Human Evolution 21 Carl Zimmer (Discover, 2003) Despite the extraordinary number of hominid fossils discovered in the past thirty years, many questions remain open about human origins and evolution. This article asks eight basic questions about what is fundamentally human.

4 A New Kind of Ancestor: Ardipithecus Unveiled 27 Ann Gibbons (Science, 2009) In a 5 million-year-old forensic “cold case,” anthropologists have discovered the skeletal remains of some of our earliest human ancestors in Africa. Paleontology, genetics, and the virtual reconstruction of fossils have revealed exciting new details about lives and physiology of our earliest human ancestors.

PRIMATOLOGY

5 What Are Friends For? 32 Barbara Smuts (Natural History, 1987) “Friendship” between adult males and females is an important part of the society of olive baboons of Kenya. These mutually benefi cial, long-term relationships are usually based on female choice and are only indirectly related to sex. Observations of nonhuman primates make anthropologists rethink the origin and nature of human sociality.

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6 Mothers and Others 38 Sarah Blaff er Hrdy (Delivered as a Tanner Lecture on Human Values) Based on observations of other primates and hunter-gatherers, a new way of thinking about our species challenges long-held beliefs and has implications for child rearing and gender roles, the importance of kin groups and neighbors, and the practices and policies of our day-care systems.

7 Apes, Hominids, and the Roots of Religion 45 Barbara J. King Can modern apes teach us about human religious life? Recent primatology research suggests that empathy, compassion, and shared emotional experiences were not only evolutionarily advantageous behaviors for our primate ancestors, but they may help us mark the origins of human religious practices.

HUMAN BIOLOGY

8 How Race Becomes Biology: Embodiment of Social Inequality 49 Clarence C. Gravlee Many contemporary ideas about the relationship between race and health are based on three fundamental mistakes: that race equals human biological variation, that biology equals genetics, and that race is a myth. Health inequalities between socially defi ned groups are the enduring result of stress in reaction to racist social interactions and discrimination, which can also cause low birth weight babies and chronic adult diseases.

9 Ancient Bodies, Modern Customs, and Our Health 64 Elizabeth D. Whitaker Biological anthropologists believe that our long evolutionary history has shaped our bodies and therefore strongly infl uences our health. Infant sleeping and breast-feeding patterns are linked to health issues like birth spacing, allergies, diarrhea, and dehydration, as well as increased risk of breast cancer and sudden infant death syndrome.

10 Ancient Genes and Modern Health 74 S. Boyd Eaton and Melvin Konner (The Leakey Foundation) Many of the serious health problems confronting us today may be the result of an incongruity between our genetic heritage as descendants of hunter-gatherers and our current diet and lifestyle. The study of Paleolithic people may be the key to a healthy life.

11 The Tall and the Short of It 78 Barry Bogin (Discover, 1998) A biological anthropologist discusses changes in the average height of populations as an example of human plasticity in the context of changing nutrition in childhood. Our environment is shaped by culture, and it affects our outward biological characteristics or phenotype.

12 Identifying Victims after a Disaster 82 Dick Gould (Anthropology News, 2005) Forensic anthropology has taken on an important role both in the American public imagination and on the front lines of disaster relief efforts. This selection discusses how archaeology and forensic anthropology have increasingly played a part in the identifi cation of victims of human and natural disasters.

PART II Archaeology 85

13 Dawn of a New Stone Age in Eye Surgery 88 Payson D. Sheets (Archaeology: Discovering Our Past, 1993) An anthropologist applies his knowledge of the stone toolmaking technology of ancient Maya to the manufacture of surgical scalpels; his obsidian blades are more than 200 times sharper than the surgical steel scalpels currently in use.

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14 Feminine Knowledge and Skill Reconsidered: Women and Flaked Stone Tools 91 Kathryn Weedman Arthur (American Anthropologist, 2010) The idea of the naturally inclined male provider (and his dependent female) is a modern mythology that tells us more about contemporary gender constructs than it does the continuity of a prehistoric patriarchy. Experimental archaeology collaborations with present-day female foragers who make sophisticated stone tools contradict prevailing theories of the dependent and domestic foraging women.

15 The Secrets of Ancient Tiwanaku Are Benefi ting Today’s Bolivia 106 Baird Straughan (Smithsonian, 1991) Archaeologists working at Tiwanaku discover an ingenious agricultural system used by the Inca that has led to signifi cant increases in crop yields and the quality of life of present-day residents.

16 Disease and Death at Dr. Dickson’s Mounds 112 Alan H. Goodman and George J. Armelagos (Natural History, 1985) The intensifi cation of maize agriculture among prehistoric Native Americans of the Mississippian period, combined with their involvement in a trading network, led to a drastic decline in their health.

17 Uncovering America’s Pyramid Builders 117 Karen Wright (Discover, 2004) An earthen mound in Illinois once served as the foundation of a 5,000-square-foot temple bigger than any of the Egyptian pyramids at Giza. This mound, now known as Monks Mound, sat at the center of a thriving civilization that disappeared approximately 700 years ago.

18 Battle of the Bones 121 Robson Bonnichsen and Alan L. Schneider (The Sciences, 2000) How does one weigh the importance of new, and possibly revolutionary, knowledge about the prehistory of North America against the rights of some Native Americans to rebury the bones of those they believe to be their ancestors? The authors examine this contemporary controversy.

19 The Challenge of Race to American Historical Archaeology 127 Charles E. Orser Jr. (American Anthropologist, 1998) People in the United States may sometimes misinterpret race by confusing it with ethnicity and class. Historical archaeology can help us better understand race as a social construction. This selection demonstrates how material dimensions of racial categorization reveal the dynamic nature of racial identify and class distinctions.

20 Archaeology and Vanua Development in Fiji 136 Andrew Crosby (World Archaeology, 2002) While it may seem strange to non-anthropologists, indigenous mythologies and creation stories contain hints and explanations that guide the scientifi c discovery and analysis of archaeological artifacts. Archaeologists who collaborate with indigenous populations fi nd ways to produce and integrate scientifi c knowledge with the values, priorities, and subjective points of view of indigenous populations.

21 Around the Mall and Beyond 148 Michael Kernan (Smithsonian, 1995) What does your garbage reveal about you? The recent construction of the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, DC, unearthed the refuse of previous generations, allowing archaeologists a unique peek into the past.

22 “Clean Your Plate. There Are People Starving in Africa!”: The Application of Archaeology and Ethnography to America’s Food Loss Issues 151 Timothy W. Jones Food waste is a growing problem in industrial countries like the United States. In this selection, an archaeologist looks at patterns of food loss as revealed not just by talking to producers and consumers, but also by looking at their garbage.

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PART III Linguistic Anthropology 157

23 From Heofonum to Heavens 159 Yudhijit Bhattacharjee (Science, 2004) Languages evolve to fi t the needs and lives of the people who use them. This selection explores how computer modeling helps linguists see the infl uence of children, migration, and nationalism on linguistic evolution throughout the history of humankind.

24 “To Give up on Words”: Silence in Western Apache Culture 163 Keith H. Basso (Southwestern Journal of Anthropology, 1970) Cross-cultural communication involves more than differences in language and gesture. This sociolinguistic analysis explores the role of silence in Apache society in particular situational contexts. There are social rules that dictate when talking is appropriate, and these rules vary across cultures.

25 Village of the Deaf: In a Bedouin Town, a Language Is Born 173 Margalit Fox (Discover, 2007) This selection describes the evolution of language through an analysis of the development of Al-Sayyid Bedouin Sign Language. This unique sign language was created in a remote Israeli village where an inherited form of deafness has created an incidence of deafness approximately forty times that of the general population.

26 Shifting Norms of Linguistic and Cultural Respect: Hybrid Sociolinguistic Zulu Identities 177 Stephanie Inge Rudwick The idea of respecting your elders is not complicated, but translating that relatively universal idea into practice is another matter.

27 Lost in Translation 187 Lera Boroditsky (The Wall Street Journal, 2010) Anthropologists have been thinking for decades about the relationship between how we speak and how we think. Recent collaborations between sociolinguists and other researchers explains that what we see, how we understand, and what we remember may be the result of the language we speak.

28 Talk in the Intimate Relationship: His and Hers 190 Deborah Tannen Within a given culture, conversations rely on unspoken understandings about tone of voice, visual cues, silence, and a variety of other subtle conventions. A sociolinguistic analysis of male–female conversation reveals that contrasting communication styles may be to blame when marriages and long-term male–female relationships fail.

PART IV Cultural Anthropology 197

FIELDWORK

29 Body Ritual among the Nacirema 200 Horace Miner (American Anthropologist, 1956) The examination and analysis of the rituals of this tribe shed light on the meaning of culture and help us refl ect on our own way of life.

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30 Shakespeare in the Bush 204 Laura Bohannan (Natural History, 1966) Laura Bohannan fi nds great diffi culty in communicating the dramatic themes (and basic story line) of Hamlet to the Tiv of Nigeria. Assumptions about human motivations, morality, and the nature of reality are embedded in a cultural context and limit the possible understanding of the story. Great art does not necessarily transcend cultural boundaries.

31 Eating Christmas in the Kalahari 210 Richard Borshay Lee (Natural History, 1969) When the !Kung San make fun of an ox that the anthropologist wants to give the group for a Christmas feast, Richard Lee learns about the important value of reciprocity in a food foraging band.

FAMILY & KINSHIP

32 Our Babies, Ourselves 215 Meredith F. Small (Natural History, 1997) Cross-cultural research on parenting and child development demonstrates a wide variety of parenting styles, particularly in regard to baby care. All these variations produce culturally competent adults. Parenting variations make sense given the diversity of social contexts as well as differences in cultural values.

33 How Many Fathers Are Best for a Child? 222 Meredith F. Small (Discover, 2003) Kinship is a central topic of anthropological research, as anthropologists examine how people use culture to create variations in understandings of human biology. This selection considers the Barí of South America, whose children have one mother and several fathers.

34 When Brothers Share a Wife 226 Melvyn C. Goldstein (Natural History, 1987) Fraternal polyandry, a rare form of plural marriage, has both benefi ts and costs for the people of Tibet. Given the economy and ecology of this area, the practice of polyandry has adaptive functions.

35 How Families Work: Love, Labor and Mediated Oppositions in American Domestic Ritual 231 Mark Auslander Recent studies show that in comparison with workers in all other industrial countries, Ameri- cans spend more hours at work and receive less paid vacation and sick time. Domestic rituals like weddings and holiday celebrations are one way that middle-class Americans mediate heavy work demands with family life.

GENDER & SEXUALITY

36 “Strange Country This”: An Introduction to North American Gender Diversity 249 Will Roscoe (Changing Ones, 1998) Unlike contemporary terms like gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender, the term two-spirit represents people whose societies respectfully understand them as both male and female. This selection describes the two-spirit tradition in Native North America, including how two-spirit people differed from region to region and tribe to tribe.

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37 Tricking and Tripping: Fieldwork on Prostitution in the Era of AIDS 257 Claire E. Sterk (2000) An anthropologist who works at a school of public health describes the fi eldwork methods she used to study women’s health and sexual behavior among prostitutes in New York City and Atlanta. Gaining access, establishing rapport, and leaving the fi eld create both methodological and emotional challenges.

38 Law, Custom, and Crimes against Women: The Problem of Dowry Death in India 265 John van Willigen and V. C. Channa (Human Organization, 1991) Dowry-related violence against women in northern India is a serious and perplexing problem, diffi cult to explain with an anthropological functionalist approach. Economic transformations have negatively affected the status of women and have intensifi ed economic pressures on families to provide a dowry at the marriage of daughters.

MEDICAL ANTHROPOLOGY & GLOBAL HEALTH

39 Culture and the Evolution of Obesity 276 Peter J. Brown (Human Nature, 1991) Why do people get fat? Is it cultural or is it in our genes—or, as with most things, is it some of each? This selection provides a cross-cultural and evolutionary analysis of how both biological and cultural factors in obesity evolved.

40 Pocahontas Goes to the Clinic: Popular Culture as Lingua Franca in a Cultural Borderland 287 Cheryl Mattingly (American Anthropologist, 2006) Establishing effective communication and understanding between patients and caregivers is complicated by ethnic divisions, differences in language, and racial/ethnic stereotyping. Nonetheless, creative clinicians have found ways to bridge these differences through the use of global icons like Disney characters and Spider Man.

41 Culture, Poverty, and HIV Transmission: The Case of Rural Haiti 297 Paul Farmer (Infections and Inequalities, 1999) Diseases are sometimes blamed on their stigmatized victims. Anthropologists describe and explain patterns of transmission of HIV in the global AIDS pandemic. Social and political circumstances beyond their control put poor Haitians at high risk for HIV infection.

42 Circumcision, Pluralism, and Dilemmas of Cultural Relativism 310 Corinne A. Kratz There are a variety of cultural practices throughout the world that involve surgical genital modifi cation, and some of these carry risks of medical complications. Female circumcision practices in Africa have been targeted for elimination by a variety of international groups for nearly a century. Understanding how this practice is interpreted by people in different cultural contexts is the key to understanding the current controversy.

WORK, BUSINESS, & ECONOMY

43 Confl ict and Confl uence in Advertising Meetings 322 Robert J. Morais (Human Organization, 2007) Anthropology can help businesses reach consumers and develop successful new products, but it can also help business executives and account managers understand and improve their relationships with employees, clients, and each other.

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44 Just Another Job?: The Commodifi cation of Domestic Labor 334 Bridget Anderson Millions of people from poor countries travel across land and sea seeking work in wealthier countries. Globalization creates challenges for transnational migrants as they try to support their own families by performing diffi cult and sometimes demeaning work in the homes of strangers.

LAW, CONFLICT, & WAR

45 Contemporary Warfare in the New Guinea Highlands 340 Aaron Podolefsky (Ethnology, 1984) Intertribal warfare fl ares up in the highlands of Papua New Guinea even after decades of relative peace. To understand why, anthropologists focus on changes in the local economic system that have, in turn, changed marriage patterns.

46 The Kpelle Moot 349 James L. Gibbs, Jr. (Africa, 1963) The informal moot, a method of resolving disputes among the Kpelle of Liberia, is signifi cantly different from our court system. It emphasizes the mending of social relations between the dis- puting parties; the process of the hearing is therapeutic. The moot is a useful alternative model for settling disputes in our own society.

47 Army Enlists Anthropology in War Zones 357 David Rohde (The New York Times, 2007) In hopes of helping U.S. soldiers better understand the cultural landscape in Iraq and Afghanistan, a $41 million military project places anthropologists in combat zones to advise and help develop counterinsurgency operations.

GLOBALIZATION & CULTURE CHANGE

48 Moral Fibers of Farmer Cooperatives: Creating Poverty and Wealth with Cotton in Southern Mali 360 Scott M. Lacy (2008) Development offi cials promote cotton production as a means to combat endemic poverty in rural Malian communities, but cotton farming can create poverty as well. When world cotton prices are high, cotton-producing countries like Mali may reap fi nancial benefi ts, but when prices fall, small-scale cotton farmers pay the price.

49 Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving?: Anthropological Refl ections on Cultural Relativism and Its Others 368 Lila Abu-Lughod (American Anthropologist, 2002) One of the rationales used for war in Afghanistan after September 11, 2001, was the liberation of Afghani women from the oppression of strict Muslim orthodoxy. Western ethnocentrism of that rationale has obscured more complex historical and political dimensions of violence in Afghanistan.

50 The Price of Progress 375 John H. Bodley (Victims of Progress, 1999) Economic development, sometimes called “progress,” can bring about ununtended social and medical consequences, especially for marginalized tribal peoples. New disease burdens, ecological degradation, and increased discrimination are among the hidden costs of economic change for many people.

Glossary G1

Index I1

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An introductory course in any discipline is full of new terminology, concepts, and facts. Sometimes stu- dents forget that these new ideas and vocabulary are actually intellectual tools that can be put to work for analyzing and solving problems. In preparing this book, we have selected readings that will show you how anthropological concepts, discoveries, and meth- ods can be applied in today’s world.

The study of anthropology can help you view the world in a completely different way than you ever have before. You can come to appreciate the great diversity of human cultures and the interrelatedness of economic, sociopolitical, and religious systems. An- thropology can give you a broad perspective on hu- manity and help you understand other people’s beliefs and customs. In doing so, it can help you become a better citizen in an increasingly global society. But your motivation need not be completely altruistic—there are many examples in this book of how cross-cultural awareness can improve performances in business, negotiations, and clinical medicine.

The fascinating side of anthropology seems obvi- ous to most educated people, but there is also a lesser- known practical side of the discipline. The readings we have selected demonstrate that practical, applied side. Many of the articles depict anthropological ideas and research methods in action—as they are used to understand and solve practical problems. We have included articles on anthropologists working outside the aca demic setting to show how they are applying anthropology. We believe that the fundamental lessons of anthropology can be applied to many careers and all areas of human endeavor.

To benefi t from the study of anthropology, you need to study effectively. Over the years, we have found that students often read assignments without planning, and this actually makes studying less ef- fi cient. Before you read a selection, spend a few mo- ments skimming it to get an idea of what it is about, where it is going, and what you should look for. This kind of preliminary reading is a poor idea for mystery novels but is essential for academic assignments. With- out this preparation, the article may be come a hodge- podge of facts and fi gures; details may be meaningless because you have missed the big picture. By planning

your reading, you can see how the details are relevant to the central themes of an article.

To help you plan your reading, at the beginning of each article we have included questions and a list of glossary terms. Looking at these questions in ad- vance, you may gain an idea of what is to come and why the article is important. This will help make the time you spend reading more fruitful. Most of the questions highlight the central themes of the selection or draw your attention to interesting details. Some of the questions, however, do not have straightforward answers —they are food for thought and topics for debate. Some of the selections refer directly to current discussions of HIV, migration, obesity, gender diversity, and drug use. Our idea is to challenge you to think about how anthropology can be applied to your own life and education.

These articles have been selected with you, the student, in mind. We hope they convey our excitement about the anthropological adventure, and we trust that you will fi nd them both enjoyable and thought- provoking.

“Applied anthropology” most often refers to a situation in which a client hires an anthropologist to do research that will help the client resolve a particular problem. Some applied anthropologists run their own research companies that bid and win research contracts from clients and funding agencies; other applied an- thropologists work directly for corporations. Applied anthropologists write their reports specifi cally for their clients. A good place to fi nd out about applied anthro- pology is at the society for applied anthropology’s Web site,