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We live in an era marked by an accelerating rate of species death,
but since the early days of the discipline, anthropology has
contemplated the death of languages, cultural groups, and ways of
life. The essays in this collection examine processes of-and our
understanding of-extinction across various domains. The
contributors argue that extinction events can be catalysts for new
cultural, social, environmental, and technological
developments-that extinction processes can, paradoxically, be
productive as well as destructive. The essays consider a number of
widely publicized cases: island species in the Galapagos and
Madagascar; the death of Native American languages; ethnic
minorities under pressure to assimilate in China; cloning as a form
of species regeneration; and the tiny hominid Homo floresiensis
fossils ("hobbits") recently identified in Indonesia. The
Anthropology of Extinction offers compelling explorations of issues
of widespread concern. -- Indiana University Press
Lord North was in many ways a most successful politician. Prime
Minister for an unbroken twelve years, his management of both
parliament and of the business of government was adept. He enjoyed
the confidence of King George III, not always an easy political
ally, avoided factional strife (having no political following of
his own), was notably uncorrupt and made virtually no enemies. In
many ways, he epitomizes the political outlook and aristocratic
assumptions of the eighteenth century. He was equally fortunate in
his private life, apart from always being rather short of money. He
is, however, principally remembered for presiding over Britain's
loss of her American colonies. "Lord North: The Prime Minister Who
Lost America" is a scholarly but highly readable account of his
life. It includes a full study of the American War of Independence,
examining it from the perspective of the British Government as well
as from the colonial standpoint. No senior politician had visited
America, and few had proper knowledge or understanding of
Americans. Too often the colonies were regarded as unruly and
ungrateful children, with whom compromise was either a sign of
weakness or the betrayal of the principle of parliamentary
sovereignty. His high-mindedness contributed to the final
humiliation, as did ignorant over-confidence. Military defeat, to a
country that had become preeminent in Europe by the end of the
Seven Years' War, was not entertained as a possibility.
Lord North was in many ways a most successful politician. Prime
Minister for an unbroken twelve years, his management of both
parliament and of the business of government was adept. He enjoyed
the confidence of King George III, not always an easy political
ally, avoided factional strife (having no political following of
his own), was notably uncorrupt and made virtually no enemies. In
many ways he epitomised the political outlook and aristocratic
assumptions of the eighteenth century.
He is, however, principally remembered for presiding over Britain's
loss of her American colonies. "Lord North: The Prime Minister Who
Lost America is a scholarly but highly readable account of his
life. It includes a full study of the American War of Independence,
examining it from the perspective of the British government as well
as from the colonial standpoint. No senior politician had visited
America and few had a proper knowledge or understanding of
Americans. Too often the colonists were regarded as unruly and
ungrateful children, with whom compromise was either a sign of
weakness or the betrayal of the principle of parliamentary
sovereignty. Highmindedness contributed to the final humiliation,
as did ignorant overconfidence. Military defeat, to a country that
had become preeminent in Europe by the end of the Seven Years War,
was not entertained as a possibility.
The "Crow-Omaha problem" has perplexed anthropologists since it was
first described by Lewis Henry Morgan in 1871. During his worldwide
survey of kinship systems, Morgan learned with astonishment that
some Native American societies call some relatives of different
generations by the same terms. Why? Intergenerational "skewing" in
what came to be named "Crow" and "Omaha" systems has provoked a
wealth of anthropological arguments, from Rivers to
Radcliffe-Brown, from Lowie to Levi-Strauss, and many more.
Crow-Omaha systems, it turns out, are both uncommon and yet found
distributed around the world. For anthropologists, cracking the
Crow-Omaha problem is critical to understanding how social systems
transform from one type into another, both historically in
particular settings and evolutionarily in the broader sweep of
human relations.
This volume examines the Crow-Omaha problem from a variety of
perspectives--historical, linguistic, formalist, structuralist,
culturalist, evolutionary, and phylogenetic. It focuses on the
regions where Crow-Omaha systems occur: Native North America,
Amazonia, West Africa, Northeast and East Africa, aboriginal
Australia, northeast India, and the Tibeto-Burman area. The
international roster of authors includes leading experts in their
fields.
The book offers a state-of-the-art assessment of Crow-Omaha kinship
and carries forward the work of the landmark volume Transformations
of Kinship, published in 1998. Intended for students and scholars
alike, it is composed of brief, accessible chapters that respect
the complexity of the ideas while presenting them clearly. The work
serves as both a new benchmark in the explanation of kinship
systems and an introduction to kinship studies for a new generation
of students.
Series Note: Formerly titled Amerind Studies in Archaeology, this
series has recently been expanded and retitled Amerind Studies in
Anthropology to incorporate a high quality and number of
anthropology titles coming in to the series in addition to those in
archaeology.
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