Human Relations Area Files at Society for American Archaeology (SAA) Meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii, April 2013.
The SAA meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii is well under way and we’ve been busy telling the archaeological community of the new and improved eHRAF Archaeology database. Especially the “Add Subject/Culture” in Advanced Search and the “sort results by subsistence type” features are well received.
Because most research topics are quite complex, we’ve set up a “research help station” at the booth to assist archaeologists in searching eHRAF. If you are attending the SAA, stop by the HRAF booth with your research question and we’ll be happy to help you get the most out of eHRAF.
The picture shows the HRAF booth with Jo-Ann Teadtke and Christiane Cunnar (on the right).
No, we are not a big company, but a small non-profit organization with a dedicated team that believes that eHRAF World Cultures and Archaeology can make a difference in cross-cultural study of human culture, society, and behavior in the past and present. The picture was taken June 2012 and shows current and former HRAF staff http://screencast.com/t/SbhBCFSnUkK.
Left to right front row: Matt Roth, Jo-Ann Teadtke, Marlene Martin, Leon Doyon
Left to right middle row: Sarah Berry, Maureen Sacchetti, Molly Dillon, Jessie Cohen, Doug Black
Left to right back row: Tefere Abate, Carol Ember, Christiane Cunnar, Ian Skoggard, John Beierle, Patricia Andreucci.
Not in the photograph is Marilyn Hentz.
A 26-year-old mother of two in Los Angeles, depicted on the cover of TIME this week breast-feeding her 3 year old son, has made the news around the world and stirred up controversy about the length of time for breastfeeding. Cross-culturally, 3 years is not an unusual length of time for breast-feeding. In fact, in preindustrial societies, it is close to average. A survey of 64 societies from the Human Relations Area Files cited by SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN found an average of slightly less than 3 years for breast-feeding.
By hraf755
|
Posted in eHRAF World Cultures
|
Also tagged breast-feeding, comparative studies, cross-cultural research, cultural anthropology, eHRAF World Cultures, ethnic cultures, ethnographic studies, ethnographies, ethnography, HRAF, indigenous peoples, non-western cultures, OCM, Outline of Cultural Materials, social anthropology, tribal cultures, tribes
|
According to the New York Times the Dogon masked dance called the tireli is a condensed version of a much longer and more elaborate performance urging the honored dead onward to the afterlife. The YouTube video shows you how to search the ethnographic database eHRAF World Cultures for information on Dogon masked dance. Contact www.yale.edu/hraf for log in information.
By hraf755
|
Posted in eHRAF World Cultures
|
Also tagged comparative studies, cultural anthropology, Dogon Masked Dance, eHRAF World Cultures, ethnic cultures, ethnographic studies, ethnographies, ethnography, HRAF, indigenous peoples, non-western cultures, OCM, Outline of Cultural Materials, social anthropology, tribal cultures, tribes
|
NPR’s Morning Edition reports that the European Union is investing more than four million dollars to research the use of insects as protein source for humans. Interested in learning about how non-western cultures and indigenous people use bugs and insects in their diet? The YouTube video shows you how to search the ethnographic database eHRAF World Cultures for information on bugs in diet.
By hraf755
|
Posted in eHRAF World Cultures
|
Also tagged comparative studies, cross-cultural research, cultural anthropology, eHRAF World Cultures, ethnic cultures, ethnographic studies, ethnographies, ethnography, HRAF, indigenous people, insects and bugs in diet or food, non-western cultures, OCM, Outline of Cultural Materials, social anthropology, tribal cultures, tribes
|
National Public Radio (NPR) recently aired a report on Mali’s Tuareg Rebels . The Tuareg are agro-pastoralist people living in the northern and western African countries of Niger, Mali, Algeria and Libya. They speak several dialects of Temacheg, a branch of the Berber language family, reinforcing the belief that they all descended from the Berbers who lived in the Fezzan region of Libya. Traditional social organization included clans and clan sections internally divided into broad social classes consisting of nobles, religious practitioners, artisans, tribute paying cultivators, and laborers (former slaves). Relationships among clans were facilitated through loose clan confederations under the leadership of a sultan elected by the chiefs of noble clans. The Tuareg are Muslims, but their religious belief system also includes non-Islamic elements. Want to learn more? Visit the Tuareg Culture Summary for log-in information.
By hraf755
|
Posted in eHRAF World Cultures
|
Also tagged African Cultures, comparative studies, cross-cultural research, cultural anthropology, eHRAF World Cultures, ethnic cultures, ethnographic studies, ethnographies, ethnography, HRAF, indigenous peoples, non-western cultures, social anthropology, tribal cultures, tribes, Tuareg
|
We often get requests from users of eHRAF World Cultures to search by subsistence types (e.g. hunter-gatherers, pastoralists, agriculturalists, etc.). We are working on an improved interface with new features—one of these features will allow users to narrow their search by type of subsistence.
In the meantime, if you or your students want to study a particular type of society, such as hunter-gatherers (foragers), you can find a list of “Subsistence Types” in http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu through a link in the left-hand margin. I’ve put together a short tutorial that shows how to search for subsistence types using the current interface http://youtu.be/UQnKPrYotqA .
By hraf755
|
Posted in eHRAF World Cultures
|
Also tagged agriculturalists, comparative studies, cross-cultural research, cultural anthropology, eHRAF World Cultures, ethnic cultures, ethnographic studies, ethnographies, ethnography, horticulturalists, HRAF, hunter-gatherers, indigenous peoples, non-western cultures, OCM, Outline of Cultural Materials, pastoralists, social anthropology, subsistence types, tribal cultures, tribes
|
Preparing the dead king for
his 40-day long journey to the underworld, the Scythians embalmed his body with aromatic spices and cover it with wax (Rolle 1989*). The Scythian-Sarmation tradition dates from 4000 to 1700 BP (2000 BC – AD 300) in the steppes north of the Black Sea from the Don River to east of the Urals, and points further east. The Scythian-Sarmations were nomadic pastoralists who bred cattle, sheep, goats and horses. Warfare was an important focus of their life. Society was divided into three hereditary classes. The presence of some large burial mounds, or kurgans, with gold jewelry and bronze tools suggest that the nobility had access to great wealth and controlled labor. Trade existed with nearby Greek colonies in the Black Sea region and East Asia.
*Author: Rolle, Renate Walls, Gayna
Title: The world of the Scythians
Published By: London: B. T. Batsford, 1989. 141 p., plates: ill.
By line: by Renate Rolle ; translated by Gayna Walls from the German Die Welt der Skythen
HRAF Publication Information: New Haven, Conn.: eHRAF Archaeology, 2000. Computer File
Ever wondered how to search for mythology or cosmology in eHRAF World Cultures? This short video tutorial shows you how to combine topics (e.g. animals used as mythological figures) using the Outline of Cultural Materials (OCM) subjects.
By hraf755
|
Posted in eHRAF World Cultures
|
Also tagged comparative studies, cosmology, cross-cultural research, cultural anthropology, eHRAF World Cultures, ethnic cultures, ethnographic studies, ethnographies, ethnography, HRAF, indigenous peoples, mythology, non-western cultures, OCM, Outline of Cultural Materials, social anthropology, tribal cultures, tribes
|
HRAF 