Works of Caroline Tennant-Kelly Rediscovered

PhysOrg.Com has an interesting item on the rediscovery of some of the anthropological works of Caroline Tennant-Kelly: Mrs Tennant-Kelly’s work as an anthropologist spans from 1932 to 1970. The collection details daily Aboriginal life at Cherbourg Aboriginal Settlement in Queensland in 1934. In the late 1930s she also worked at Aboriginal settlements in New South [...]

Herskovits At The Heart Of Blackness: A Review

Melville Herskovits was one of a number of Boasian anthropologists. Like Kroeber, and a plethora of Boas’ other students, Herskovits founded an anthropology department. He wrote economic anthropology and cultural relativism. He is not really mentioned in theoretical overviews (such as in High Points in Anthropology) and I hardly ever heard him in mentioned in [...]

Big Pharma Peddles Racism

At least that is the message I take away a story I heard on NPR. I was listening to The Marketplace when I heard this story about a book by Ethan Watters. Watters is being interviewed by Kai Ryssdal and has this to say:

In Memorium: Claude Levi-Strauss

Via Hawks comes the news that Claude Levi-Strauss has died. MSNBC has more: The French intellectual was regarded as having reshaped the field of anthropology, introducing structuralism — concepts about common patterns of behavior and thought, especially myths, in a wide range of human societies. Defined as the search for the underlying patterns of thought [...]

Yale, Skull and Bones, and the Federal Government Sued By Geronimo’s Family: Complications

I recently wrote about a lawsuit filed against Yale, Skull and Bones, and the Federal Government by descendents of Geronimo. The situation has become a little more complicated.

Happy Birthday Claude Levi-Strauss

I don’t know how I missed this, but last Friday legendary anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss turned 100. The International Herald Tribune has an interesting article on Levi-Strauss that is worth a read.

American Anthropological Association Nods In The General Direction of Open Access

The American Anthropological Association has announced that it will give open access to the American Anthropologist and Anthropology News. There are limitations, however. Starting in 2009 the AAA will give free access to issues published between 1888 and 1973. Basically, there will be a 35 year wait time on an article before it becomes available [...]

Hadza and Modernity

The BBC has an interesting article the Hadza and modernity called The Pied Piper of Eyasi – it is part of their “Life on the Edge” series.

Human Terrain Teams Back In The News

I’m channeling my inner Coturnix and Greg Laden for this and the following posts. Wired Magazine has an article on Montgomery McFate and the Human Terrain Teams and is promising more stories on the subject later in the week. I’ve already given my opinion on the subject, but it would be interesting to see if [...]

Interesting Anthropology in The News

An interesting mix of anthropology and drama:

Interesting Anthropology and Paleontology Stories

The BBC has an interesting, but sad, story called Botswana Bushmen refused borehole: The government of Botswana is refusing to allow Kalahari Bushmen access to a water borehole. In 2006, the Bushmen won a landmark legal victory against the government allowing them to return to land in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. The court found [...]

In Memorium: Anthopologist Germaine Tillion

Germaine Tillion was an extraordinary woman. Here is a rather lengthy quote from Yahoo News:

An End to Warfare?

The website for Discover Magazine has an interesting article called Has Science Found a Way to End All Wars?. The article, ostensibly about Douglas Fry’s book Beyond War seeks the opinion of a number of anthropologists, archaeologists and biologists (Frans de Waal, Robert Sapolsky, Richard Wrangham, Steven LeBlanc, and Edward O. Wilson, surprisingly Raymond Kelly [...]

The Narrabeen Man: Death By Spearing

This is an interesting story, construction workers in Sydney discovered a 4,000 year old skeleton. What makes the find interesting is that it seems to be the oldest example of ritual spearing in Australia.

Thanksgiving Traditions

NPR had an interesting commentary, yesterday, on the evolving thanksgiving tradition in one Nigerian-American family. You can listen to it here.