Department of Anthropology

Surveys the many ways that indigenous South American groups process manioc for consumption--from raw, to fermentation, cassava cakes and farinha, to various fermented beverages.  The distribution of each technique in South America is illustrated with a series of maps.

A description of the ceremonies performed in the fields of the municipio San Miguel Tenancingo, Tlaxcala to protect the crops from hail damage.  This is followed by  a discussion of influences on these ceremonies from both pre-Columbian practices and post-conquest Christian influences.

Presente un sumario del cultivo del Manihot esculenta, y los modos de preparación.  Concluye que no hay distinción morfológica entre las variedades "amargas" y las variedades "dulces." Presente evidencia en soporte de un orígen de la yuca domesticada en el noroeste del continente sudamericana.

Using data from archeology, geographic distribution, historical sources and contemporary ethnography, a proposed reconstruction is offered for the spread and development of Tropical Forest culture in South America.  Movement of both peoples and culture traits has been generally from north-west to southeast and upstream along the rivers, occupying more territory through time.  The striking rapidity of movement during certain periods was facilitated by travel along the great rivers of the Orinoco and Amazon basins as well as along the Caribbean and Atlantic coasts.  It is hypothesized that Arawkan speakers were the earliest, supported early on by the cultivation of manioc, reinforced later by the development of ridged field agriculture.  Expansion of Cariban speakers is linked with the acquisition of maize.  It is proposed that the Ge speakers represent a cultural adaptation to the campo-savanna of central Brazil.  Finally, the spread of Tupian-speaking peoples is linked to migrations in search of their mythical terrestrial paradise.

The Caribs (or "Cannibal" Caribs) began expanding out of an unknown homeland some centuries prior to European discovery of the Americas.  In pursuing warfare against their neighbors they developed a particularly strong war complex glorifying exploits of the warrior and centered on a religious cult that ritually reinforced these activities and included ritual cannibalism. These practises made the Carib fearsome enemies. Their ability to bring together sizable numbers of warriors provided a significant advantage over adversaries living in small independent villages. Chiefdoms on the other hand, seem to have been more succesful in resisting Carib assaults. By the time of European contact, the Carib had expanded throughout the Orinoco basin, along the Atlantic coast of Guayana, and into the Lesser Antilles.
Carib strength continued more or less undiminished throughout the 16th century, as they attacked both their indigenous adversaries and Spanish settlements with relative impunity until the early 17th century.  By the middle of that century, however, the Spanish were able not only to defend themselves, but succeeded in pushing the Carib away from the coast and into the interior.  The Carib were forced to adopt a more defensive attitude, with trade becoming the principle motive for war.  Both the French and Dutch provided opportunities to trade as well as geopolitical encouragement to resist further Spanish expansion.  For almost a century the Carib kept the Spanish at bay, while trade with the Dutch grew to such a volume that annual slaving expeditions drew several hundred Carib warriors far up the Orinoco on voyages of several months.  The appeal of commercial profit led to abandonment of warfare for religious motives, while many Carib warriors became perpetually indebted to their Dutch trading partners, which only drove them to increase their slaving activities.
      In short order most readily accessible populations were decimated, forcing the Caribs to look farther afield for their victims. The Carib fought with a variety of weapons, including firearms. Raiding parties were coordinated in their attacks and in general their war tactics were more shrewd than those of their enemies, further contributing to success.  Success in war and success in trade became intimately interconnected.  Carib men trained rigorously for warfare from childhood, and were impressive antagonists even for the Spanish.
In the end, however, missionary persistence, increasing intrusion of Spanish settlement, and a small but growing military presence in the Orinoco basin produced a defensive retreat. Those Caribs living on or near the river were discouraged from continuing their warfare.  The rest withdrew into the interior of Guayana where they continued the slave trade until the 19th century war of Independence.

This paper seeks to analyze the material aspects of certain supernatural phenomena as they occur among  the Karinya people of northeastern Venezuela.  While one may identify psychological features, and even symbolic implications,  in these phenomena, they are treated here as material manifestations because they are concerned with problems of existence in everyday life.

When Mexican president Calles closed the Catholic churches in the 1920s, a nationalist Catholic sect, the Iglesia Episcopal Mexicana (also known as the Schismatics) was organized.  About 1927 a schismatic priest arrived in San Miguel Tenancingo, Tlaxcala.  In 1952 the schismatic priest was drive out and replaced by a Roman Catholic priest.  Although some in the community supported the Catholic priest, many schismatic adherents took control of the municipal government, continuing to exercise influence in the community.
Believing that the local people did not know how to cooperate, the incoming Catholic priest exercised strong control over his parishioners, taking sole charge of various improvement projects,  By not involving his parishioners, local Catholic leadership became dormant and their involvement was passive.  Other Protestant groups—Methodists and Pentecostals—are allied with the schismatics.

A case of incest which came to light while the author was conducting fieldwork among the Karinya Indians of eastern Venezuela provided an opportunity to explore contrasting attitudes and responses in the two communities of Mamo and Cachama.  In Mamo where the basic residential unit is the nuclear family, proposed sanctions against the miscreants were not so severe.  It is argued that this is because incest is not perceived as an immediate threat to the wider kin group or the community as a whole.  In contrast the Cachamans, where the residential unit is an extended family of several neighboring households, with more distant kin ties linking most of the residents throughout the neighborhood, would impose a dramatic form of capital punishment.  Incest under these circumstances is clearly disruptive of the whole residential cluster, as well as of the neighborhood—and even of the whole community.
Although incest is frequently cited as one of the few cultural universals, this paper differentiates between incest between primary relatives (parents and children, siblings) and its extension to secondary, tertiary, etc. kinsmen.  In the latter instances whether it is tabooed, and how far it is extended beyond primary kinsmen, will differ according to the social structural particulars of a given culture.

Some of the sources of ethnohistoric research are identified, and the two major orientations -historical and scientific -of this type of research are discussed. Within each of these two, orientations numerous examples of specific topics, approaches, method, and theory are cited from Ethnohistory. A strong case is made for increasing application of scientific method in ethnohistoric analysis. Although the wealth of historical materials available has hardly been touched, their very abundance promises rich rewards to the investigator who seeks to make use of them scientifically. Not only must the ethnohistorian search for new facts, he must dare to be innovative and creative in working with the facts. He must search out new ideas, explore their ramifications, and develop their theoretical implications.