Tag Archives: Ethnography

Craving comfort: bonding with food across cultures

Food is a universal human experience. People everywhere must eat to survive, yet what foods are eaten and how they are enjoyed can vary widely across cultures and time. “Comfort foods” made a comeback in…

Think you know HRAF? Check out our podcast series on Choice’s ‘The Authority File’

Have you ever wondered how the Human Relations Area Files got its name? Or how we organized our ethnographic collections for members before the Internet? HRAF has partnered with Choice’s podcast The Authority File to…

Winter Solstice Celebrations Around the World

The Winter Solstice is upon us in the Northern Hemisphere. Marking the longest night and shortest day of the year, the hibernal solstice is an astronomical event that takes place when the Earth reaches its…

Ethnographic Insights Across Cultures: An online introduction to anthropology

In the third post in our series dedicated to online learning, we explored how the dynamics of classroom teaching everywhere are changing due to temporary campus closures. For instructors grappling with compiling work-from-home-friendly syllabi in…

Ancient solutions to modern problems? Re-examining burning practices

A few years ago, HRAF posted a story titled Burning questions: evidence for off-site fire use by hunter-gatherers in eHRAF Archaeology, which was written in follow up to the publication of a journal article Burning…

New and Forthcoming Cultures and Traditions in eHRAF World Cultures & Archaeology (2019-2020)

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 we have added…