"Ethiopia and the Origin of Civilization" by John G. Jackson is a seminal work that challenges traditional Eurocentric perspectives on the origins of civilization. Originally published in 1939, Jackson's book seeks to highlight the significant contributions of African civilizations, particularly Ethiopia, to the development of human culture and civilization. Through meticulous research and historical analysis, Jackson addresses the historical misrepresentations...

For more than 30 years, renowned anthropologist Wade Davis has traveled the globe, studying the mysteries of sacred plants and celebrating the world’s traditional cultures. His passion as an ethnobotanist has brought him to the very center of indigenous life in places as remote and diverse as the Canadian Arctic, the deserts of North Africa, the rain forests of Borneo, the mountains of Tibet, and the surreal cultural landscape of Haiti. In Light...

In essays covering everything from art and common sense to charisma and constructions of the self, the eminent cultural anthropologist and author of The Interpretation of Cultures deepens our understanding of human societies through the intimacies of "local knowledge." A companion volume to The Interpretation of Cultures, this book continues Geertz's exploration of the meaning of culture and the importance of shared cultural symbolism. With a new...

George E. Marcus is Professor of Anthropology at Rice University. Currently, he is producing an innovative series of annuals on contemporary change, Late Editions: Cultural Studies for the End of the Century. He is the coauthor of Anthropology as Cultural Critique (with Michael Fischer) and of Lives in Trust: The Fortunes of Dynastic Families in Late Twentieth-Century America (with Peter Hall). He coedited Writing Culture: The Poetics and Politics...

Clifford Geertz published his famous work, The Interpretation of Cultures, in 1973. It influenced a generation of not only anthropologists but also other scholars and intellectuals. His most recent book is After the Fact: Two Countries, Four Decades, One Anthropologist. He is currently a faculty member at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton. Clifford Geertz, one of the most influential thinkers of our time, here discusses some of the most...

Presenting the history of cannibalism in concert with human evolution, this account takes readers on an astonishing trip around the world and throughout history, painting the incredible, multifaceted realities of cannibalism. Focusing on how cannibalism began with the human species and how it has become an unspeakable taboo today, this study answers questions such as where, when, and how did shame and secrecy become connected with cannibalism? Why...

"The vast majority of human societies known to us have been organized along "immanentist" lines. In such societies, as Marshall Sahlins argues, everything we associate with religion, gods and spirits of every sort is part of the daily, embodied (immanent) lives of people. Plants and animals have souls and the same essential attributes as other persons, and supposedly long-dead ancestors continue to live among people, communicate with them, and have...

David MacDougall is Queen Elizabeth II Fellow and Convenor, Program in Visual Research, Centre for Cross-Cultural Research at the Australian National University, Canberra. Lucien Taylor is the author, with Ilisa Barbash, of Cross-Cultural Filmmaking: A Handbook for Making Documentary and Ethnographic Films and Videos (California). Formerly, he was the editor of the journal Visual Anthropology Review, published by the American Anthropological Association....

The author, who was a Pullman porter, reflects on the white supremacy in America against blacks. His book covers a conversation between a learned Pullman porter (the author) and a passenger, a state senator from Oklahoma. They discuss a book belonging to the porter on equality of the races. At first the senator refuted it. However, with further reading and discussions with the porter, his racial prejudice diminished and he developed an understanding...

In 'The Witch-Cult in Western Europe,' Margaret Alice Murray embarks on a riveting exploration of the ancient and enigmatic practices of witchcraft, weaving a compelling narrative that challenges conventional historical perspectives and invites readers to question the very fabric of societal norms. Through meticulous research and anthropological insight, Murray paints a vivid tapestry of rituals and beliefs that once thrived in the shadows of European...