Humans

Humans, Volume 2, Issue 1 (March 2022) – 2 articles

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16 pages, 538 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Newly Sedentary Lanoh and the Communal Challenge: A Critical Commentary on Anarchist Anthropology

by Csilla Dallos

Humans 2022, 2(1), 15-30; https://doi.org/10.3390/humans2010002 - 11 Feb 2022

Viewed by 2462

Abstract

Discussions of anarchic solidarity in relation to rainforest foragers have resulted in important insights into the sociality of such groups. However, whether anarchic solidarity prevails under the circumstances of regroupment and resettlement resulting in unprecedented communal projects has not been adequately addressed. These communal projects present new challenges to the social and community organization of previously mobile foragers. This article examines the extent to which newly sedentary Lanoh forager-traders of northern Perak, Malaysia, continue to display “cooperative autonomy”, a construct capturing both anarchist aspirations and key aspects of the sociality of egalitarian hunter-gatherers. This study suggests that though foragers such as Lanoh may superficially share attributes associated with anarchic solidarity, they profoundly differ from anarchists in their attitudes toward authority and cooperation. While ideological anarchism is clearly counter-dominant, the same cannot always be said about egalitarian foragers. We may conclude from this research that “cooperative autonomy” is still insufficiently understood and does not grant an assumptive blanket application across contexts. To promote our understanding of the sociality of small-scale societies, this construct requires further scrutiny and development. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Community Organization: Challenges and Novel Approaches)

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14 pages, 836 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Community’s House and Symbolic Dwelling: A Perspective on Power

by Santiago Mora

Humans 2022, 2(1), 1-14; https://doi.org/10.3390/humans2010001 - 28 Jan 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2662

Abstract

For anthropologists and archaeologists, the study of cultural change is the greatest challenge. Initially, the subject was considered from perspectives that included too few variables, resulting in an approximation that proved to be incomplete and inadequate. Since the end of the last century, important efforts have been made to document cultural change in a broader context, revealing the variability of the processes involved. These new studies highlight social relations and their changeability as key components to understanding the dynamic of any community or cultural system. This article explorers social and spatial organization based on one such approach, Lévi-Strauss’ “house society”. This analysis results in a view where multiple dwellings may constitute one conceptual “house”. This perspective should facilitate the archaeological investigation of contexts that nurture the power relationships that structure society. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Community Organization: Challenges and Novel Approaches)

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Humans, Volume 2, Issue 1 (March 2022) – 2 articles

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