Tag Archives: culture

The Return of the Comparative Method in Anthropology

Where Have All the Comparisons Gone?, a recently published series from the Society for Cultural Anthropology, revisits a longstanding topic in the social sciences: the debate over the value of comparative cultural studies. In this…

The Social Life of Cheese

There are few signifiers of culture more potent and recognizable than food. Edibles and cultural identity share a deep-seated connection. Food, and especially our preferences for preparing, cooking and eating it, are about far more…

Shaman Lords, Spider Diviners, and Hoards: An Archaeology of the Objects We Bury

Jeffrey Vadala Throughout history, humans have collected and buried groups of objects together, whether for ritual purposes (e.g., offerings to the gods) or pragmatic reasons (e.g., for secret stores of food). Today, many cultural groups…

Trick or treat: Ghosts, demons and zombies found in eHRAF

Happy Halloween! It’s the time of year for ghastly ghouls, wicked witches and terrifying things that go bump in the night. From haunted houses to headless horsemen, there are many spooky legends in Western culture.…

“I have worth”: female body confidence and perceptions of beauty around the world

Based on interviews of 10,500 women – including 5,165 girls aged 10 to 17 – in 13 countries worldwide The Dove Global Beauty and Confidence Report (2017) investigates the current state of female body confidence (Dove…