ANT E105 Lecture Notes - Lecture 31: Bilateral Descent, Historical Particularism, Ethnography
Document Summary
Franz boas leader of criticism: armchair theorists who neglected empirical facts, go out and see the cultures, stressed historical particularism, not universal statements static. Ethno = people; graphy = study of. Language (can"t understand the people through an interpreter) Matrilineal descent (not every culture in the world is male dominant) Points of interest: yams, stone axes, woven skirts, banana leaf money, value kula necklaces and arm bracelets. Trobrianders not separate from rest of world. Tourism (people wear less clothing which attracts tourism) Males and females complement each other for creating power and prestige for lineage. Bilateral descent = descent traced through both males and females. Matrilineage = descent traced through female line. The baloma spirit and regeneration of the lineage. Females source of identity, family, lineage, resources, wealth, power, prestiage. Incest varies according to how family is defined. Incest for trobrianders = anyone in your lineage = your blood . U. s. more nuclear family oriented, incest drawn narrower.
