anth 205 exam 3 review - darrell lynch tamu

ethnomedicine

information that pertains to theories of disease and forms of therapy specific to a given culture.

susto

"fright sickness." incredibly wide variety of symptoms - generally things that you tend to find among poorer populations. immediate cause: fright - soul is "scared away" by a scary event (could have occurred up to 6 months before sickness appears). ultimate: witchcraft - concept of limited good (determines who exactly will be subjected to susto).

etic view of susto

people with susto, who were the sickest of the sick, had failed at their social role performance. men were diagnosed at twice the rate of women - symptoms appeared as they fell into depression and ceased caring for themselves.

materia medica

substances used for healing as well as physical manipulation of the body. usually used in conjunction with rituals of some kind (usually religious). all follow the disease theory of the culture they're found in.

aztec disease theory - tonali

aztecs believe that headaches are caused by excessive blood in the head. they believe that the soul of a human being (tonali) resides in the head. therefore, headaches occur because there's too much blood putting pressure on the soul. they used cures like taking the spine of an agave cactus and bore a hole into your nostrils and let it bleed/crush up dried chili seeds and sniff them.

macpalxochitl - "hand flower tree"

aztecs would take macpalxochitl flowers and brew them into a tea, and it was believed that this would strengthen the blood and the heart, combat fatigue, and be especially helpful for the elderly. modern clinical trials actually revealed that it was very effective.

trephination

an ancient cure for cranial pressure where they would bore holes in the skull in such a way that would not damage the blood vessels.

medicinal plant species

require complex knowledge, origins are complicated. these are not random - they are discovered by cultures through the scientific method.

koryak people of siberia - amanita muscaria

the koryak people of siberia had shamans who would feed their patients amanita muscaria - a hallucinogenic mushroom. patient starts to get high, and once they do, the shaman collects the patient's urine and drinks it. after a short amount of time the shaman gets high as well. how did they come up with this idea? they would watch reindeer eat the mushrooms, and then other reindeer would drink their urine and get high. this led humans to start doing this as well. (high reindeer are probably the origin of the idea that reindeer can fly).

medicinal plants - strong alkaloids

many medicinal plants are strong alkaloids with a strong bitter taste. this is how they make themselves toxic to animals so that they protect themselves because they don't have many seeds and don't proliferate quickly. these are most often the medicinally useful plants - easy to identify.

oxytoxic plants

many plants are able to induce labor by stimulating uterine contractions. most of these plants are well known - and are avoided until labor.

people living in poverty - "the world's have-nots"

comprise about 50% of the population - live on less than $2 per day. infant mortality rates are very high - 12% of children don't reach the age of 1. overall health is very poor, overall nutrition is very poor. have little or no autonomy or opportunity. unequal distribution of income.

reasons for underdevelopment - common factors in underdeveloped countries

geography, climate, lack of arable land/resources. history of colonization - mostly done by european countries. inside underdeveloped countries there are often huge discrepancies in income - much more so than anything you would see in the united states.

discrepancies in income

guatemala - 4% of the population owns 92% of the resources. in the united states - the richest 10% earns five times as much as the poorest 40%. this is the largest percentage in western developed countries, but far less than anything you would see in underdeveloped countries.

rural to urban migration and cultural lag

the rise of large agribusinesses force people to move to an urban way of life - laws tend to favor larger agribusinesses, making it hard for these people to be successful.

agrarian family ideals

for agrarian families, it is advantageous to have as many kids as possible - more kids, more labor (this is why kids have summer break - to help on farms). as we have moved away from being an agrarian society - families have gotten smaller on the whole.

penny capitalism

desperate supply and selective demand. many people are willing to work for next to nothing, but they're producing what everyone else is producing - not enough demand to help economic growth. minimum salaries - selling of wares - international companies and cheap labor.

new slavery

has to do with immigration in the united states. crime organizations bring people in promising the american dream, then steal their documentation and force them into all types of slavery - debt bondage. prostitution is common in brazil - girls can be sold by their fathers into prostitution as young as 12. sexual tourism is also popular - prostitutes provide sex and tour guides.

scrimshaw's vicious cycle

the #1 cause of infant mortality worldwide. malnutrition - intestinal parasites - diarrhea - weakening of the immune system - infectious diseases.

epidemics

AIDS, tropical diseases. 300 million cases of malaria each year. people with AIDS don't usually die from AIDS, they die from secondary infections (primarily tuberculosis).

health conditions for the poor

scrimshaw's vicious cycle, epidemics, lack of adequate medical care, dangerous infant feeding practices.

dangerous infant feeding practices

distributing powdered baby formula to poor populations was common - this powder has to be rehydrated, ends up being mixed with contaminated water.

culture and disease patterning

disease is never random - it is always patterned. ex: health problems in u.s. today vs. 100 years ago. 100 years ago - tuberculosis, dysentery, spanish flu, etc. now - heart disease, cancer, etc. (chronic things).

four categories in disease patterning

environmental, demographic, idiosyncratic, cultural

environmental disease patterning

certain diseases only happen in tropical environments and can't proliferate in other climates. ex: fliariasis in india, malaria, etc.

demographic disease patterning

certain people groups don't have evolutionary interaction with certain diseases, and subsequently have never developed a resistance - makes certain diseases incredibly deadly to certain people.

smallpox in the new world

smallpox killed 90% of the exposed aztec population within 1 generation - believed to be cocoliztli - a demon. however, with native north americans - virulence reduced over time as it moved westward. this is because the probability of transmission of a disease relates directly to its virulence. diseases become less virulent in order to increase the probability of transmission.

zoonoses

any disease spread by animals

idiosyncratic disease patterning

disease risks which are particular to the individual, can be behavioral or genetic. genetic - certain people have things like cancer, heart disease, etc. that run in their families. behavioral - smoking, poor health, etc. can cause you to be more predisposed to certain diseases.

cultural disease patterning

health risks can relate directly to normative cultural behavior. ex: beri beri in thailand. prostate cancer in the u.s. related to high consumption rates of red meat. heart disease in japan increasing with the introduction of american style fast food.

incidence rate

the number of new cases in a given population each year.

prevalence rate

the total number of cases of a particular disease in a given population at a given time.

the spread of AIDS

AIDS rates were high in the united states and brazil - where sexual promiscuity was common. in brazil, men were almost expected to have affairs. they also didn't want to use condoms because they believed they didn't need them. AIDS levels were lower in japan because of their more conservative ideas about sex and their open attitudes towards the body and the use of condoms.

filariasis in india

filariasis (elephantiasis) is an illustration of cultural factors in disease. this disease, known as "sli poda" or "bigfoot," has 120 million cases worldwide, mostly in india. humans are infected with the nematode wucheria bancrofti (active only at night). the nematode is transmitted through the culex mosquito, which is the only mosquito with a throat large enough to host the worm. the nematode requires the mosquito and the human to complete its life cycle.

factors in the spread of filariasis

ecological factors: a tropical environment with innumerable stands of stagnant water is required.

demographic factors: a very large, very dense, and mostly unprotected host population is required.

cultural factors: belief that elephantiasis is caused by divine punishment for infidelity and the social stigma that follows keeps people from taking practical measures to protect themselves from infection.

how to prevent filariasis

education is the main way to prevent filariasis - convincing the population of the association between mosquitoes and filariasis is the key. it can be reversed in stages 1 and 2, but not in 3 and 4.

national societies' impact on indigenous peoples - 3 possible outcomes

1. cultural extinction 2. assimilation 3. creation of a subordinate status

examples of cultural extinction

native american groups (pensacola, place names, yahi and ishi).

yahi and ishi - yahi indians of northern california - the last living member of their society was a man named ishi. he wandered down out of the mountains and was taken in by university researchers and they got his whole life story in the 3 years he survived.

yanamamo - gold was discovered on their land and they were attacked because of it.

examples of creation of a subordinate status

history of native north americans. wars - slaughters - promises and treaties - breaking of treaties - forced removals - subordinate status, trail of tears, school system. no matter how much the cherokee people assimilated to american culture, they were seen as a subordinate class - removed on the trail of tears.

dawes act of 1887, 100 million acres of land lost, millions more lost because the indians were unable to farm and cultivate the land.

culture change and modernization

systems of directed change by modern societies: usually have been based on ethnocentric theories of social evolution. "simple" to "complex."

goals of modernization

education, technology transfer, and participation in cash economy.

guarani indians of itanarami village in eastern paraguay

deforestation at a rapid rate, land and soil not suitable for monocropping/raising livestock. guarani traditional subsistence, crop rotation, slash and burn, small clearings. development enters and destroys land and way of life.

apache housing project (1962)

houses set on a grid pattern, clash with traditional customs. disregard for the apache way of life.

pastoralism in kenya

the pastoralists in kenya were forced to small farms and made to give away all their animals and take out loans. they were unable to maintain a healthy standard of living. the government thought they had an inefficient use of land, that pastoralism kept people isolated and prohibited them from modernizing, and depleted the soil from overgrazing. they forced 1/3 of total pastoralists in kenya to live in famine camps in the north. the ngisonyoka pastoralists in the south were able to have much better, appropriate land use and be more successful.

cocaine trade in bolivia

jack weatherford examined the effect of foreign demand for cocaine on rural people in bolivia. 70% of bolivia's total country GDP came from cocaine production, and people regularly converted their agricultural fields to fields to produce solely coca leaves. cocaine production is incredibly inhumane and causes physical issues for the young men who produce it. cocaine production was connected to abuse of people and prostitution. bolivia's army invaded the area with the highest cocaine production and burned the fields. bolivia is south america's poorest country, nixon declared a war on drugs but it was barely effective and drug lords have not backed off yet.

medical anthropology

the comparative and holistic study of culture's impact on health and health-seeking behavior.

paleopathology

the study of disease in prehistoric population. mainly found in markers on bones and teeth. signs of slavery in ancient egypt. found eggs of parasitic worms, pastis tic sistemes, evidence for smallpox in teeth and bones.

skeletal indicators

certain diseases leave markers on the bones - ex: tuberculosis, rickets, syphilis, and malnutrition.

slavery in ancient egypt

the bible states that the israelites were slaves in ancient egypt, and there is good evidence for this from historical records and mass graves. can be shown from bones and the shape of the faces, some poremsiss like trauma on forearms.

degenerative knee disease in eskimos

bone on bone, signs of cartilage being worn away over time from dog sleds on knees. similar effects found in lower back from sitting on snow mobiles.

lack of cancer in pre-industrial societies

cancer is related to industrial developments in society. there was a relative lack of cancer in pre-industrial societies, and even when it is found, ancient cancers were not as malignant as current kinds of cancer - they don't compromise the internal organs.

paleodemography

population factors, settlement changes, age and sex ratios, life expectancy, etc.

ex: shift to agriculture - health goes down. increases in both infectious disease and episodes of nutritional distress.

ex: dickson mound - site in illinois

ex: enamel hypoplasias - spots or bands of thinner, discolored enamel on the teeth that indicate nutritional stress in developmental years. a sign of arrested development.

ex: harris lines and porotic hyperostosis.

frank livingstone - malaria studies

frank livingstone first identified the relationship between sickle cell anemia and malaria. cultural origins - agricultural systems began to move into tropical, previously forested areas in africa - this caused malaria to become a significant, widespread problem.

archeological contributions - reconstructions of diet and habitat

archeology can reveal origins of agriculture, coprolites, artifacts, art depicting illnesses, etc.

coprolites

dried feces that can be tested for things such as intestinal parasites.

linguistics

linguistics can reveal things such as folk domains and taxonomies. linguists study discourse analysis - discourse between healthcare providers and patients and what that reveals about the culture.

three types of cultural studies in medical anthropology

studies of ethnomedicine, studies of personality and mental health in diverse cultural settings, and applied studies in international public health and planned community change programs.

peter brown and malaria in sardinia - native beliefs and health

malaria flares up in sardinia in the summer months. it can only be passed down from one person to the next when that person is currently having a malarial episode. malaria remains a regular and serious problem in sardinia to this day.

ethnobotany

modern drugs and indigenous use. one example: curare - neurotransmitter blocker for skeletal muscles. traditionally used as a blowgun poison. now it is used for abdominal surgeries - these surgeries are dangerous because of involuntary muscle contractions.

eea

environment of evolutionary adaptation - where and under what circumstances our bodies evolved. this determines the way we are today ex: our bodies developed a "sweet tooth" because in our evolutionary past, we needed the vitamins and carbohydrates that came from fruits, which are primarily sweet.

thrifty genes

selected during our evolutionary past to predispose carriers toward more efficient extraction and retention of (then) scarce, yet essential nutrients ie. fats and carbs (energy), protein (cholesterol), and salt. since these nutrients are now no longer scarce, we have things like widespread obesity and diabetes.

eaton and konner - paleolithic nutrition and activity

skeletal remains studied by eaton and konner reveal that our ancestors developed lean body mass and were much healthier than we are today. they ate a ton of high fiber, low fat food. had high caloric intake and output. their carbs came through fruits and wild vegetables. they consumed 10x less salt than we do today. because of our change in diet and activity, chronic illness is much more common now than it was in paleolithic times.

wide spectrum antibacterials

using wide spectrum antibacterials can be harmful in the long run because they kill 99% of the bacteria, but the 1% that survives tends to evolve and become much more virulent. one helpful alternative would be to create specific antibacterials that only target harmful bacteria - however, this is more expensive.

re-thinking cost-benefit analyses

interventions are not currently thought to be cost effective, but they might become so when evolutionary changes in the pathogens are taken into account. ex: using nets to protect people from malaria is rather expensive, but over time as the virus spreads less and less it will become less virulent. one organization, nothing but nets, helps provide netting for countries affected by malaria.

applied anthropology

the use of anthropology to solve practical problems. uses a ground up/grass roots approach.

solar water pumps in housing

using solar energy to make automatic pumps and installing piping to bring water into people's houses/nearby spickets saves time and energy for people in poorer countries who have to walk long distances for water. however, installing these solar pumps took away the social aspect of getting the water - where women would get together with their friends and have an excuse to socialize. also, it took away jobs from men and boys who would get paid to fetch water for people.

two categories of applied anthropology

development anthropology and advocacy

development anthropology

part of the broad, multi-disciplinary field of international development which tries to improve human welfare, particularly in underdeveloped and developing countries. emphasize sustainability as a goal/requirement.

berhorst foundation

in guatemala, dr. carol berhorst set up a clinic in an especially poor area - he found that he would treat people, but they would come back later with the same problem. he saw that this was a widespread societal problem - they were unable to maintain health. so he set out to revitalize the community. he dug wells, started a culturally appropriate local paramedic program, cosigned loans to get seed money and credit for native indians, and set up a women's cooperative to sell their crafts at higher costs. his work is a prime example of how applied anthropology can be used to beneficially change communities in a sustainable way.

pirambu and the quatro varas project

two brothers set out to work in quatro varas - where there was massive rural to urban migration. in their efforts to revitalize the community, they have opened about a dozen cooperative bakeries, started a nut plantation that employs about 7,000 people from the favela (also a cooperative), and taught textile crafts to women.

vicos project - allen holmberg

in the early 1960s, allen holmberg was doing an ethnography report of hacienda workers in the vicos area of peru. he found that they were almost exclusively native indians working for a landlord. they were given a very small plot of land, and paid next to nothing - only paid in scripts that had to be used on the hacienda. all the workers ended up in massive debt. holmberg rented a hacienda from the owner and paid the workers, training them in farm management and agricultural science. productivity increased over 2.5 years to the point where the native indians were able to buy the hacienda from the owner. the hacienda became a cooperative and the community benefited greatly.

what is the general rule for organizations providing basic economic support to communities?

it has been found, basically around the world, that when organizations want to provide basic economic support, they're better off putting that money in the hands of women than men - most of the time. the same is true about information about health and sanitation. this is especially the case in latin america.

AIDS and IV drug use

Studies show that a very high percentage of IV drug users use unclean needles due to low accessibility - leaving them at a heightened risk for AIDS. in some places, the government will supply free needles and syringes with no risk of incarceration for the drug user. sometimes "needle exchange" programs have been useful and have decreased the risk of AIDS - but they have still been difficult to implement in the united states because of moral concerns.

applied ethnography - darrell posey and amazon indian groups, agrisilviculture

darrell posey worked with amazon indian groups to decrease deforestation and increase productivity of their land through the use of agrisilviculture - the growing of trees and agriculture crops on the same land at the same time.

anthropology and program evaluation - james justice and the navahoe paramedic program

because of the navahoe's natural skepticism towards outsiders, the u.s. government decided to fund paramedic education for native americans so that they could provide healthcare for their communities. however, the program was failing dramatically so they called james justice to assess the issue. he discovered that the emphasis on grades and competition, as well as learning from textbooks, did not go well with the navahoe's cultural norms. a new, more successful program was devised that was self-paced and hands-on with more group learning and looser schedules.

anthropology in education - ortiz de montellano

ortiz de montellano developed school curriculum for the united states that would incorporate more mayan and aztec traditions and knowledge - including information about ethnomedicine in science textbooks.

anthropology in education - cathie jordan and project keep

the kamayamaya elementary education program needed to be more effective for teaching children of native hawaiian descent - who were known to be chronic underachievers in school. she discovered that the children needed to be given much more responsibility and much less supervision - when children were allowed to take on more responsibility and undertake large projects that they could design themselves, achievement levels increased dramatically.

airton barreto

lawyer who lived in quatro varhas and worked for the pirambu center for human rights. he received many death threats and put his life in danger many times to help people in the favela, specifically rescuing them from a vigilante cop who was corrupt and would go on killing sprees of people who threatened his drug business.

darrell posey - advocating

darrell posey spent nearly 2 years of his life in jail and has been in jail in all but 3 countries in south america. he was instrumental in stopping the dam project in brazil that would have flooded the entire habitat of the country.

omer stewart - native american church and peyote

peyote is a hallucinogenic drug that was adopted by native american churches to be used in very ritualized contexts. the supreme court wanted to make it illegal, but omer stewart argued as an expert witness that the use of peyote should be covered in the native american religious freedom act.

john hostetler and the amish

hostetler argued before the supreme court that to force amish teenagers to attend public high schools would cause alienation between the teenagers and their parents - causing psychological harm and threatening the existence of their culture as a whole.

cultural brokers

when anthropologists have spent a significant amount of time in a certain culture, they can be of great value in helping businesses get off the ground in those cultures. some companies don't do well in latin america because of different cultural values especially regarding time - cultural brokers help bridge the gap. they also have had great success teaching capitalism in formerly communist european countries.

hector qirko and the tva

the tennessee valley authority is the largest energy producer in the state of tennessee as well as many other southern states. through hector qirko's work in shadowing every member of the business he was able to get valuable feedback and keep the company running smoothly.

tenncare

tennessee's new medicaid program was not a success - most of the doctors and healthcare providers hated it and would not see tenncare patients. a multi-disciplinary task force was assembled to assess their issues and they found that doctors weren't getting paid, there were too many obstacles to care, and certain patients were getting coverage taken away.

haiti - geography and ecology

1/3rd of the island of hispaniola, about 9.7 million inhabitants. used to be a dense rainforest, but is now almost entirely deforested.

haiti - original inhabitants

original inhabitants were the taino people. when columbus arrived there were 400,000 in haiti - post-columbus there were only 500. now they live on in dna.

haiti - early colonial powers and slavery

columbus' soldiers raped several taino women, so a taino chief killed them. columbus retaliated by razing their villages and murdering or enslaving their people. after this, the french progressively took over control. it became the most profitable french colony and quickly filled with slaves.

haiti - politics

gained independence by revolution. between 1843-1915, there were 22 different dictators. america occupied it out of concern that germany would use it for a naval base. the duvalier family were brutal dictators who were famous for their national security force - uncle knapsack - who would make their enemies disappear.

haiti - society and economy

the poorest country in the western hemisphere by far. massive rural to urban migration because of deforestation. half of adults are illiterate - more than half of children don't go to school.

why is haiti so impoverished?

long history of political turmoil - no long term planning. shift of power to cities and complete lack of concern for rural lands that could be the breadbasket of the nation. individual needs valued over the common good - no history of any sort of public welfare.

recent disasters in haiti

earthquake in january 2010 - 200,000 killed, 300,000 injured. cholera epidemics have killed tens of thousands of people. many haitians are illegal immigrants - no asylum is provided to them.

who are the nuer people?

the nuer people are the second largest ethnic group in southern sudan, numbering more than a million. their subsistence is a mix of pastoralism and horticulture - but pastoralism is favored. a typical nuer homestead consists of a hut and a cattle barn.

what is the focus of nuer life?

cattle are the focus of nuer life. cattle are the thread that runs through nuer institutions, language, rites of passage, politics, economy, and allegiances. foreigners are classified in two ways: bar (people with few cattle) and jur (people with no cattle). nnuer

nuer sociopolitical organization

the nuer are a kin-based society, with no centralized political leadership. they are deeply democratic and egalitarian.

they have a segmentary lineage organization. also, they fight a lot and disputes often end in death. the "leopard skin chief" is the one who settles disputes to prevent further bloodshed.

nuer religion

the nuer people believe in kwoth (spirit) who is the creator, father, and judge of all - roughly analogous to God in western cultures. they also believe in spirits of above (highly revered spirits) and spirits of below (fallen spirits, less revered).

nuer people today

many nuer people have been affected by the ongoing violence in sudan and have fled to the united states - specifically minnesota.

who are the hmong people?

the hmong are a tribal people who have traditionally lived in isolated mountain villages throughout china, laos, thailand, and vietnam. hmong is their own word meaning "free people." they practice slash and burn agriculture and live in villages mostly constructed of bamboo.

hmong and the arts

the hmong people are very involved in arts and have a rich culture. music is an important part of everyday traditional life - the most important instrument is a flute made out of bamboo reeds. traditional hmong dress is elaborate and colorful and the women are renowned textile artists - their textiles often have stories woven into them.

hmong social organization

the hmong are divided into patrilineal clans, and each house is a self-contained unit with the oldest married man acting as the head and owner of all material goods. marriages are arranged with cross-cousin marriage as the preferential form. polygamy is permitted, but uncommon and people who really want to be married can elope without it being arranged.

hmong religion

the vast majority of hmong are animists, with 10-20% having been converted to christianity. they view balance and harmony as the overarching goals of life. there are many different spirits responsible for health and harmony and nature and much more. illness can be caused by imbalance of natural elements, wandering of the soul, or even social conflict. shamans are used to maintain contact with the spirit world