Area Studies :: Social Sciences
Ethnic Studies :: Social Sciences
Human Geography :: Geography
Indigenous People :: Ethnicity

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Volume 48, number 6: Eventful Archaeology
Beck Jr. et al. Wed, 21 Nov 2007 13:29:26 -0600
Unexpected ruptures in material culture patterning present interpretive challenges for archaeological narratives of social change. The concept of the event, as proposed by William Sewell Jr., offers a robust theoretical vocabulary for understanding the sudden appearance of novel patterning. Sewell defines historical events as sequences of happenings or occurrences that transform social structures by creating durable ruptures between material resources and their associated virtual schemas. Thus conceived, events occur in three phases: (1) a sequence of contingent happenings produces (2) ruptures in the articulation of resources and schemas, creating (3) an opportunity for rearticulation within new frames of reference. This perspective has much to recommend it for archaeology because it explicitly and uniquely grounds the concepts of structure, structural change, and agency in materiality. The implications of this approach are apparent in the cases of Iceland’s conversion to Christianity (AD 1000–1050), barrow construction during Denmark’s Bronze Age (1700–1500 BC), platform construction at Formative Chiripa, Bolivia (450–400 BC), and the planning and layout of Mississippian Cahokia, Illinois (AD 1050–1100).
Volume 48, number 6: Blaming for Columbine
Strauss Wed, 21 Nov 2007 13:29:26 -0600
Modern Westerners are supposed to embrace a notion of unfettered personal agency. An analysis of public commentary (interviews, editorials, and online message boards) in the United States about the Columbine school shootings shows that the voluntarist cultural model of persons as autonomous agents, while certainly very important, is just one of a number of cultural models Americans use to explain human action and has particular political and interpersonal uses. We might think that conceptions as basic as those of personhood and agency would be hegemonic: both singular and internalized as unexamined, taken-for-granted assumptions. In some contexts, voluntarist ideas about agency are taken for granted, but in others they are promoted quite deliberately. A particularly interesting phenomenon in the United States at this time is the presence of a discourse that may be called defensive voluntarism, an explicit, argumentative version of voluntarism invoked to combat other widely circulating views of behavior. The very need for emphatic pronouncement betrays speakers’ awareness that voluntarism needs to be defended. These findings point to the need for a person-and-context-centered approach to social discourses instead of one that assumes discourses to be constitutive.
Volume 48, number 6: In-law Conflict
Leonetti, Nath, and Hemam Wed, 21 Nov 2007 13:29:26 -0600
Human behavioral ecologists have shown that the reproductive lives of women are affected by both their husbands and the grandmothers of their children. Study of the combined effect of the roles of the husbands and mothers of 650 Khasi women aged 16–50 years supports the ideas that the reproductive agendas of husbands may require more than women want to invest and that mothers provide support and protective services to their daughters and grandchildren. In the absence of the woman’s mother, the husband’s agenda appears to have more influence on her reproductive career. In a cooperative vein, women's mothers may contribute to good marital choices. A view of reproductive pursuits that incorporates in-laws enhances behavioral ecology approaches to the evolutionary comprehension of human reproductive behavior. This view also more readily interfaces with the cultural systems that set up the ecologies of reproductive life.

 

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Amhara - A ethnographic report on the Amhara people of Africa.

Andamans - Isolated group of foragers living on the Andaman Islands.

Anthropology Research Guide - A annotated list of resources primarily for conducting bibliographic and Internet research on the ethnographic present.

Aranda - Ethnography and culture history of one of the largest aboriginal groups in central Australia.

Archive of Turkish Oral Narrative - Full-text ethnographic materials from Central Asia in PDF and MP3 formats [English, Turkish]. Features description of the collection and links to related sites.
Meta Description: [ Archive of Turkish Oral Narrative, Texas Tech University ]

Aymara - An ethnographic description of a people located mainly on the Bolivian and Peruvian altiplano, centering about Lake Titicaca.

Azande - A report on the Azande pastoralists of Africa.

500 Backstrap Weaving in Jacaltenango - Features an illustrated description of a woman using the traditional loom in Jacaltenango, Guatemala. In English and Spanish.
Meta Description: [ This page features a Jacaltec woman weaving on a backstrap loom in Jacaltenango, Guatemala. ]

Bahia Brazilians - An ethnographic analysis of the inhabitants of the city of Bahia (Salvador), the capital of the state of Bahia in eastern Brazil.

Baka Pygmies - Culture and music of a people in the rain forests of Cameroon. Includes the fieldwork and the initiation in the forest of a young Italian ethnomusicologist.
Meta Description: [ Culture and music of Baka Pygmies (Central Africa). Includes the fieldwork and the initiation in the rainforest of the Italian anthropologist Mauro Campagnoli, with photos and videos. ]

Bemba - A short ethnography on the Bemba of Africa.

Blackfoot - Profile of the Great Plains tribe of the United States and Canada.

Bororo - A ethnographic description of a group of Ge-language speakers, are found in the Mato Grosso region of Brazil.

Bradshaw Foundation: The Unambal - Excerpts from Andreas Lommel's 1938 account of the Unambal people of northwestern Australia, including pictures of Wandjina rock paintings.
Meta Description: [ Australian Aborigines and Aborigine Tribes of Australia, a unique first hand account of the life of a Stone Age people ]

Bush Negroes - An ethnographic account of the descendants of Black slaves brought as plantation laborers from Africa to Surinam in northeastern South America.

Cagaba - A group of four Chibchan-speaking tribes located in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, a mountain massif in northern Colombia

Center for the Ethnography of Everyday Life - Cultural anthropologists studying working families in the United States.
Meta Description: [ CEEL fosters research and training to document the challenges of American working families. Working people, everyday lives explored in the tradition where ethnography and documentary come together. Established in 1998 with a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. ]

Central Thai - Ethnographic report on the people of Central Thailand.

Chukchee - Ethnographic description of a people who live in the extreme northeastern reaches of Siberia, partly within the Arctic Circle.

Copper Eskimo - An ethography of a group of arctic foragers.

CSAC's Ethnographics Gallery - A directory of reports and cultural summaries from the University of Kent.
Meta Description: [ CSAC Research, Teaching Resources and Other things for anthropologists, The CSAC Ethnographics Gallery is for the use of anthropologists and others to promote wider access to information. It is maintained by the Centre for Social Anthropology and Computing ]

500 Cultural Display and the Construction of Ethnic Identities - A report that discusses the effects of the spread of independent churches (or spiritual churches) that are proliferating across the African continent.

Cultural Profiles Project - An archive of thumbnail sketch ethnographies that provide an overview of life and customs in the profiled country.
Meta Description: [ Cultural Profiles Project - Projet des Profils Culturels - AFGHANISTAN; ALBANIA; ALGERIA;ARGENTINA;AUSTRALIA;BAHRAIN;BANGLADESH ;BARBADOS ;BELARUS; BOLIVIA; BOSNIA;BRAZIL ; BULGARIA;BURUNDI ;CAMBODIA;CANADA;CHAD;CHILE;CHINA;COLOMBIA; CONGO (ZAIRE) ;CROATIA;CUBA; CZECH REPUBLIC;DOMINICAN REPUBLIC;... ]

Cuna - An ethnolinguistic group located mainly in eastern Panama.

Dogon - A report on the Dogon pastoral society of Uganda.

Ethnographic Research - A description of the Ethnographic Method that includes a discussion of key concepts and a glossary of terms.

Ethnographic Studies Internet Resource Page - A collection of ethnographic resources provided by the American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
Meta Description: [ Ethnographic Resources related to Folklore, Anthropology, Ethnomusicology, and the Humanities: American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress ]

Ethnography and Health Care - An article describing how ethnography can be used to study the social aspects of health care delivery.

Ganda - A ethnography on a group that lives on the shores of Lake Victoria.

Garo - Ethnography of a agricultural society that lives in the Garo Hills in the state of Meghalaya in northeastern India.

Guarani - An ethnography of a culture in Paraguay whose subsistence was originally based on slash-and-burn agriculture.

Hausa - A ethnography on the Hausa people of Africa.

Highland Scots - An ethnographic report on an isolated and culturally conservative people of the Western Highlands of Scotland.

Hopi - An ethnography of a tribe who live on a reservation of nearly 4,000 square miles in northeastern Arizona.

Iban - Ethnography of a riverine group of rice cultivators inhabiting the interior hill country of Sarawak (Malaysia) and parts of Indonesian Borneo.

Ifugao - Ethnographic summary of a group of indigenous mountain peoples of northern Luzon, in the Philippine Islands.

404 IPSG Links - A directory of links to native information and resources worldwide provided by the Indigenous Peoples Specialty Group.

Iroquois - An ethnography and ethnohistoric report on the North Eastern United States people.

Kanuri - A report on the dominant ethnic group of Bornu Province in northeastern Nigeria.

Kapauku - Ethnography of a Papuan ethnic group located in the west-central part of the Central Highlands of Western New Guinea (now West Irian).

Khasi - A ethnographic report on a group that lives in northeastern India in the District of the United Khasi and Jaintia Hills.

Klamath - The ethnography of an Native American ethnic group located in southwestern Oregon.

Korea - An ethnographic analysis of the earliest of the present-day nations of the world.

Kurd - An ethnolinguistic group inhabiting the mountainous crescent that extends from the Euphrates River in northern Syria and Turkey to Kermanshah in Iran.

Lapps - An analysis of an ethnolinguistic group inhabiting an area that extends from the Kola Peninsula in northwestern Russia over the northernmost part of Finland to the Arctic coast of Norway, and through Scandinavia.

Last Refuge: Waorani - A photo gallery of the Waorani, a horticultural society Amazonian tribe found in Ecuador. Features short articles and references.

Lau - Ethnography of the people living in Lau or Eastern Archipelago of the Fiji Islands.

Libyan Bedouin - An ethnographic summary of the nomadic and partially sedentarized Bedouin living in the Libyan Desert.

List of Ethnic Units - A directory of links to thumbnail sketch ethnographies of West African cultures.

Lozi - Profile of interrelated ethnic groups located along the Zambezi River in Barotse Province of western Zambia.

Maithil Brahmans: An Online Ethnography - Details from Carolyn Brown Heinz's research in the Mithila region of North India.

Masai - A ethnographic summary of the famous warrior pastoralists of East Africa.

Mataco - An ethnographic report on an Native American ethnic group located in the western part of the Argentine-Bolivian Gran Chaco.

Maya Pages - Provides original cultural material on the Mayan Indians. Contains information of current struggles, menu of topics, and links.
Meta Description: [ MayaPages -- original cultural material (stories, vocabularies), links to many Mayan sites; Rigoberta Menchu Tum (Guatemala Mayan Nobel Peace Prize Laureate) with current info on the continuing struggles. Menu of topic-organized Maya pages. ]

Native Planet NGO - A resource for studying indigenous cultures, Eco-tourism, documentaries, and travel information. Contains volunteer information, aid projects, photos, and stories.

NPS Archeology and Ethnography - Program features on the preservation, conservation, and protection of archaeological sites, collections, and ethnographic resources. Includes issues about traditional peoples, and ethnographic research conducted in the national parks.
Meta Description: [ The Archeology Program works on the preservation, conservation, and protection of archaeological sites and artifacts in the national parks and throughout the U.S., the curation of archaeological collections and reports, public outreach and education, and the National Archeological Database. ]

Ojibwa - A cultural summary of an American Indian ethnolinguistic group centered about the upper Great Lakes in both Canada and the United States.

Okavango Delta Peoples of Botswana - The Okavango Delta Peoples: their history and culture, and the challenges they face due to rapid economic development and social change.

Ona - A Native American ethnic group formerly occupying most of the large island of Tierra del Fuego.

Pacific Encounters - Ethnographic descriptions and photography of village life in Western Samoa.

Pawnee - A ethnographic report on a Plains Indian ethnic group of the Caddoan linguistic stock.

Peabody Museum-Lewis and Clark - Provides ethnography of Lewis and Clark, Native American objects, and the American quest for commerce, and science.

Peoples and Cultures of the Kingdom of Biffeche - Describes Biffeche Fula (Peulh), Sereer (Ndut), Wolof, Moor, and European peoples and cultural practices in the small Kingdom of Biffeche on the Senegal River between Mauritania and Senegal. Features news and information for visitors.
Meta Description: [ The Kingdom of Biffeche located in West Africa, King Ronald I and Prince Christopher ruling. ]

Pygmies - A ethnographic summary of several various groups of hunter-gatherers of the Ituri Forest of West Africa.

Qurna History Project - Features information on the culture and heritage of the village on the west bank at Luxor, Egypt.

Santal - An ethnography of one of the largest ethnic groups in India.

Serbs - An ethnography and culture history of the Serbian people.

Shluh - A profile of the Shluh who belong to the Masmuda branch of sedentary Berbers inhabiting the Grand-Atlas and Anti-Atlas Mountains.

Silicon Valley Cultures Project - The Silicon Valley Cultures Project is a ten year anthropological study of the identities and cultures of the people living and working in the Silicon Valley region.
Meta Description: [ The Silicon Valley Cultures Project is a fifteen year study of the identities and cultures of the people living and working in the Silicon Valley region. ]

Sinhalese - A ethnographic report on the dominant ethnic group of Sri Lanka (Ceylon).

Social Context and the Limits on Symbolic Meanings - A ethnographic report that discusses the symbolism of the Sixth Festival of Pacific Arts held in Rarotonga, The Cook Islands, during October 1992.

Social Organisation, Economy Development - A doctoral student's ethnographic research in a Pakistani village, with weekly updates from the field.

404 Social Organization and Economy Development - A ethnography of Northern Pakistan that the relationship between social organization, economy and development in an agricultural community.

Somali - A ethnography of this predominantly nomadic pastoralists living in the northern part of the Somali Democratic Republic in northeastern Africa.

Taiwan Hokkien - A cultural summary of the Hokkien-speaking peasant villagers of Taiwan.

Tarahumara - A culture summary of a people who inhabit the Sierra Madre Mountains of the State of Chihuahua in Northwest Mexico.

The Chukotka Autonomous Okrug - Provides an ethnographic study by Patty Gray of the Chukotka. Contains map, facts, reindeer research, aid efforts, scientific research, and archive.

The Songs of the Ancestors - A Comparative Study of Bashiic Folklore - Full-text version of the book by Deszo Benedek of the culture of the Yami, a people of Malayo-Polynesian stock living in Taiwan.

The Transforming Leader: A Meta-Ethnographic Analysis - The author describes a method to conduct an interpretive synthesis of qualitative research and other secondary sources as a counterpart to meta-analysis for quantitative research.

Tikopia - Ethnography of one of the British Solomon Islands whose culture traditionally subsisted by fishing, collecting, and horticulture.

Tiv - A profile of a African ethnic group that is primarily dependent on agriculture for subsistence.

Tlingit - A ethnographic report on a American Indian people living on the southeastern coast and islands of Alaska

Toradja - A ethnographic analysis of a culture that inhabits the high mountain ranges and interior valleys of Central Celebes Island of Indonesia.

Trobriands - Ethnography of an island culture who traditionally subsisted off fishing and horticulture.

Truk - Ethnography and culture history of a formerly isolated population living on a atoll of the Central Caroline Islands in Micronesia is located in the Pacific Ocean

Tucano - An ethnography of a group of horticulturalists who live in the northwestern Amazon region.

Twi (Ashanti) - A ethnographic report on a African chiefdom.

Tzeltal - A ethnographic analysis of a Native American ethnic group concentrated in the central highlands of the State of Chiapas, Mexico.

West New Britain Web Page - Description of research conducted by Dorothy and David Counts in West New Britain between 1966 and 1985. Features reports and links to related sites.

Wolof - A ethnography of a large ethnic group located mainly in the western part of the former French West African colony of Senegal.

Yakut - The Yakut people live in Siberia in the basin of the Middle Lena River and the Aldan and Vilyuy rivers.

Yanoamo - A tribal society living in Venezuela and Brazil that subsists off hunting and gathering and horticulture.

Yanomamo Reader for HRAF - A ethnography that discusses variation in Yanomamö economic activities at cross-cultural, regional, and individual comparative levels.