A new topical summary on Art is now available in Explaining Human Culture, our open access database that summarizes the results of over 1,000 cross-cultural studies. The art module is co-authored by HRAF President Carol R. Ember,…
By Francine Barone Proverbs are a simple way of expressing a well-known truth or adage based on common sense or experience. They are usually considered to be imbued with ancestral wisdom, passed down from generation…
In Advanced Search, the Add Subjects function can be used to select “body modification” as an OCM Subject. This and other Subjects can be used to search across all cultures, or to search within a…
By Francine Barone A popular annual request from our members is for information about how we are growing our culture collections in our eHRAF databases. Below is a brief summary of what cultures and traditions…
Does vocal music, or song, exist across all known human cultures? What behaviors are commonly associated with it? Do the musical features of a song predict the behavioral context in which it is performed? Samuel…
“I must admit that through my college career so far, this was the most enjoyable topic to research! Thank you for the opportunity and teaching us how to use eHRAF. I will be using this database for…
By Francine Barone Editor’s note: The following post contains contributions from Bernadette Bucher, Professor Emerita of Anthropology and Comparative Literature, Fordham University. The early history of the Human Relations Area Files from 1949 in North…
Today, popular television shows featuring ethnographic culinary adventures bring food and film together for the enjoyment, entertainment, and enlightenment of foodies and anthropologists alike. While most of us do not have the opportunity to travel…
In their book, The True Story of Chocolate, husband and wife co-authors Sophie Coe and Michael Coe make claim to the idea that chocolate – which originated in ancient Mesoamerica – is far older than…
Our anthropologists and programmers have been hard at work to bring you five new culture collections: Babylonians (MH07) Hadza (FN11) Kanak (OP04) Kimam (OJ82) Mao (MP19) These collections include 46 new documents in total, with…