Inequality in New Guinea Highlands Societies (Paperback)

Now reissued in paperback with a new preface. The Highlands societies of Papua New Guinea, which have been studied intensively by numerous anthropologists since the 1950s, have been widely described as egalitarian and as characterised by achieved leadership. The Melanesian 'big-man' system, in which men achieve social status largely by their manipulation of wealth in elaborate structures of ceremonial exchange, has become an established anthropological model. However research has suggested that this interpretation has underestimated the elements of structured inequality within these societies, and that the classic picture should be modified and supplemented. The five papers in this volume seek to illuminate patterns of inequality in Highlands societies, which revolve around the categories of elders/juniors, big-men/workers and men/women. In setting these into a context of long-term and recent social changes, they also aim to develop schemes of analysis which will permit discussion of the societies over extended periods of time.

General

Imprint:	Cambridge UniversityPress
Country of origin:	United Kingdom
Series:	Cambridge Papers in Social Anthropology
Release date:	July 2009
First published:	October 2009
Authors:	Andrew Strathern
Dimensions:	216 x 140 x 12mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Paperback - Trade
Pages:	204
ISBN-13:	978-0-521-10784-6
Categories:	Books > Social sciences > Sociology, social studies > Anthropology > Social & cultural anthropology > General
LSN:	0-521-10784-9
Barcode:	9780521107846

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