Shamans and other "magico-religious" healers: a cross-cultural study of their origins, nature, and social transformations

Ethos • Vol/Iss. 18 • Published In • Pages: 308-352 •
By Winkelman, Michael James

Hypothesis

The presence of priests will be positively associated with political integration and the presence of agriculture (345).

Test

Test NameSupportSignificanceCoefficientTail
multiple regressionSupportedp<.001UNKNOWNUNKNOWN

Variables

Variable NameVariable Type OCM Term(s)
AgricultureIndependentAnnual Cycle, Tillage, Diet
Political IntegrationIndependentTerritorial Hierarchy
PriestsDependentShamans And Psychotherapists

Related Hypotheses

Main AuthorHypothesis
Ember, Melvin"[There is a] relationship between relative importance of agriculture and level of political integration" (243
Winkelman, Michael James"Societies with a single practitioner type were generally hunting and gathering societies; while those with two practitioner types always had agriculture as a major mode of subsistence. The societies with three practitioner types present had agricultural or pastoral economies and, with one exception, political integration beyond the local level. Those societies with four practitioner types present had agriculture and political integration beyond the local level and, with one exception, the p...
Bentzen, Jeanet Sinding Priests and witches/sorcerers are more common in stratified societies than in unstratified societies.
Winkelman, Michael JamesPolitical integration and the presence of classes are correlated with the presence of Malevolent Practitioners
Otterbein, Keith F."If political complexity has any influence on feuding, there should be a higher correlation between presence of fraternal interest groups and feuding in societies with a low level of political integration than in societies [with] a high level of political integration" (1476)