Sick Societies: Challenging the Myth of Primitive HarmonyAuthor and scholar Robert Edgerton challenges the notion that primitive societies were happy and healthy before they were corrupted and oppressed by colonialism. He surveys a range of ethnographic writings, and shows that many of these so-called innocent societies were cruel, confused, and misled. |
Contents
From Relativism to Evaluation | |
Maladaptation | |
From Inequality to Exploitation | |
Sickness Suffering and Premature Death | |
From Discontent to Rebellion | |
The Death of Populations Societies and Cultures | |
Adaptation Reconsidered | |
Notes | |
Bibliography | |
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adaptive Africa American Anthropologist Asante Aztec bands Barkow Batak behavior beliefs and practices beliefs or practices Berkeley biological British California Press Cambridge University Press cattle ceremonies conflict cultural relativism death developed Dingiswayo disease E. E. Evans-Pritchard Ecology economic Edgerton environment environmental ethnographic European evaluate evolution evolutionary example fear feuding foraging Gusii Hallpike harmful Harris highland human nature hunting Ibid Indians infibulation Inuit Kaiadilt Kaingáng killed lived maladaptive Marvin Harris Mbuti mental illness military needs neighboring Nevertheless Ojibwa Papua New Guinea people’s percent Perspective Pleistocene Pokot political population Primitive rational relativists result ritual Samburu Sarhili sati schizophrenia scholars sexual Shaka Shweder Sirionó small societies small-scale societies social and cultural Sociobiology sometimes stress suffer suicide survive taboos Tasmanians Tauade traditional beliefs tribes Turnbull University of California urban violence warfare warriors well-being witchcraft witches women Xhosa York Zulu