BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY
Bloomsburg
Pennsylvania
ANTHROPOLOGY NEWSLETTER
Vol. 12, No. 3 February 1988
Department of Philosophy/Anthropology

Meet the New Faculty!: There are two new anthropology faculty members
at Bloomsburg Un~verslty for the Spring 1988 semester.
l

Dr. Flora Church ls replacing Professor Reeder while he ls on
sabbatical for the spring semester. Dr. Church comes to us from Ohio
State University where she completed her Ph.D. ln March 1987. Her
dissertation research ls ln archaeology, but she has interests In
physical anthropology as well. Her dissertation focused on the
transition from the Late Woodland to Late Prehistoric cultures
ln the Central Scioto Valley ln Ohio, a time period which stretches from
500 AD to 1250 AD. She also has interests ln the Lowland Maya and
formative Mesoamerica. She has had an extensive background in classroom
instruction at Ohio State and comes to us highly rec01I111ended by both her
former students and her teaching colleagues.
Professor Kim Lanphear was hired to teach additional introductory
sections ln anthropology for the spring semester. Ms. Lanphear taught
at the State University of New York at Albany and Sklctnore College
before Joining us. She ls completing her dissertation at SUNY-Albany,
focusing on a paleopathological and demographic study of 300 skeletons
excavated from a 19th century American poorhouse In Rochester, New York.
Her maJor area of Interest ls in the prehistory and history of human
disease. She has a background In both physical anthropology, prlmarlly
osteology, and archaeology. She also was highly rec01I111ended to us as a
popular and effective instructor.
We hope that both Flora and Klm will have an enJoyable and
productive semester at Bloomsburg.

Surmner Field Schoo! in Archaeoiogy: The anthropology program will be

sponsoring lts second summer field school ln archeology from May 16 to
July 1. The seven week field school will focus on research In Columbia
County; the proJect will produce the first systematic survey of
archaeological sites in this region. Students will receive Instruction
ln archaeological survey and excavation, sampling strategies, mapping,.
recording techniques, analysis and Interpretation. In addition to field
experience, students will be given classroom presentations on the
culture history of Pennsylvania, the natural history of the area,
archaeological problem solving and hypothesis testing.
The Field School ls offered as 46.301, Field Archaeology, for
either 3 or 6 credits. Those Interested In more Information should
contact Elise Brenner at 4334.

2.

The Garbage ProJect:

While most archaeologists have concentrated on the
human past, one group of researchers at the University of Arizona has
focused on the present by conducting a carefully controlled study of
household wastes in Tucson. This work, which ls under the supervision
of William RathJe, ls used to teach sampling techniques to archaeology
students and to test the validity of assumptions made by archaeologists
about human waste In historic and prehistoric sites. The work has also
been used to test the validity of research techniques used by other
social scientists. The research so far shows a significant difference
between what people tell researchers and what they actually do. For
instance, one study In Tucson in 1973, designed to learn the rate of
alcohol consumption In the city, used a questionnaire to demonstrate
that 15% of respondent households acinitted consuming beer, and none
acinltted drinking more than 8 cans a week. Analysis of the garbage from
the same area, however, showed that 80% of the households consumed beer,
and 50% discarded more than 8 cans per week.
Another Interesting finding of the proJect was that when beef
prices hit an all-time high ln 1973, so dld the amount of beef, wasted by
Tucson households. The same relationship occurred ln 1975 when sugar
became scarce. If lt could be true that people waste more In times of
scarcity, this could lead to a reinterpretation of past human sites.

More recently, Rathje has challenged assumptions about contemporary
garbage made by a cOD1Dentator In the New York Times. In a letter to the
Times on January 26, 1988, RathJe says the writer was mistaken when he
assumed that styrofoam fast-food packaging was the maJor culprit In
growing urban waste. RathJe reports that his research ln Tucson (now
expanded to Include samples In Chicago and San Francisco) shows that
styrofoam packaging accounts for only .27% of garbage by volume. This
contrasts with the popular perception of the situation ln which
respondents report that fast-food packaging accounts for between 5 and
35%. By canparlson, newspapers, which are easily recyclable, account
for 14.11% of waste by volume. By canparlson with fast-food packaging,
disposable baby diapers represent a much larger problem, accounting for
1.01% of waste by volume. A proposed bill In the New York City Council
to control fast-food wastes will, therefore, have little Impact on urban
waste problems.
Predictably, Rathje sums up hls work as follows: •It was not a
pleasant task, but someone had to dolt.•

Anthropology Club News: The Anthropology Club has reorganized for the
spring semester with Denise Etrls serving as president. The Club has a
full slate of actlvltles for the spring. On February 3, the Club ls
sponsoring a movie on apartheid, •south Africa Belongs to Us, in the
Kehr Union Multipurpose Room Cat 7:30 PM. On February 4, the Club ls
sponsoring a cross-cultural feast with the International Club at Faith
Warner~s house. On February 20, the Club will travel to Penn State
University to view the Anthropology Museum there Csee Elise Brenner for
more details). On March 23rd, the Club will sponsor the movie, •songs
of the Fourth World,• about the Hopi Indians ln KUB Multipurpose Room C
at 7:30. Finally, there are plans caning together for an overnight trip
to Washington, D.C. on the 3rd or 4th weekend in March. If you are
11

3.
interested ln Jolnlng and partlclpatlng ln these actlvltles, please see
Denise or any of the anthropology faculty.

The AnthcopoJoglst's Cookbook: This Greek Island recipe produces a
pastry that ls an Easter treat called Melltera. The pastry ls
essentially a miniature cheese cake made like a Jam tart.
For the pastry:
8

oz of flour

4 to 6 oz of butter

2 or 3 tbsp of cold water

Rub butter Into flour and add cold water. Knead gently until flour and
butter are incorporated, taking care not to handle the pastry too much.
Roll out on a floured board to a thickness of about 1/4 cm. Cut out the
cases with a heavy glass tumbler.
For the fllllng:
8
8

oz cottage cheese or curd cheese
oz of sugar

eggs
2 or 3 oz of flour
1/2 tsp van i I 1a

2

Blend the cheese and sugar In a llquldlzer. Add two well-beaten eggs
and flour, blending as we11. Add vanilla. Place a spoonful of cheese
mixture on each pastry case, which must either be pinched around the
sides to prevent cheese from spilling out or placed in Jam tart tins.
Sprinkle tarts with a little sugar and cinnamon. Bake for 30-40 minutes
at 350.
Margaret Kenna, the anthropologist who provided this recipe, adds this
co111I1entary: 11 As there were no Jam tart tins Con the island), the tarts
were given sides by pinching the pastry together at intervals until the
mixture was held In a star-shaped container. The pastry-pinching gave
rise to a lot of teasing and giggling about who liked to be pinched
where and by whom, and this led on to a discussion of the ethics and
aesthetics of various methods of contraception practiced on the lsland. 1
From: The AnthropoJoglst's Cookbook, edited by Jessica Kuper, New York:
Universe Books, 1977, pp 34-36.

Donald Johanson Comes to Bloomsburg: The physical anthropologist and
author Donald Johanson will speak at Bloomsburg on February 29.
Johanson ls the discoverer of 1 Lucy, 11 an early human ancestor generally
labeled Australopithecus afarensis, as well as the author of the
best-selling book of the same name. While final plans have not yet been
realized for his presentations, lt ls understood by the BU anthropology
faculty that Dr. Johanson will speak to one class during the day, talk
Informally with faculty and Interested students later that day, and make
a formal presentation In the evening of the 29th. The Anthropology Club
will be providing publicity for the talks once final plans are made.
Mental Retardation In Iclbal &Peasant socletles: When BU

anthropologists talk about chl1d rearing In other cultures, we are often
asked about the care of mentally retarded children in other cultures.

4.

This ls a frustrating question to face since there ls almost no
literature ln anthropology on mental retardation ln other cultures. In
fact, in an lnterestlng reversal of the usual popular conception of
anthropology, there ls more written on mental retardation in the Unlted
States by anthropologists than for other cultures. In a survey of 20
Introductory texts on cultural anthropology, Dave Minderhout discovered
none that dealt with this topic. As a result, Dave decided to survey
the anthropological literature using the Human Relations Area Flies and
available ethnographic literature to see what might be found.
In the literature available, Dave found 60 references to mental
retardation In other cultures. In the maJorlty of these cases, the
mentally retarded were treated kindly, usually being kept within their
families and given life-long care. Generally, the mentally retarded are
not allowed to marry, hold property, or assume titles or positions of
authority in their societies. Occasionally, the mentally retarded as
viewed as a special gift fran the gods. One South American Indian
culture, the Guarani, say that the mentally retarded are created by god,
conceived without sexual relations between the parents; these people are
treated with special affection. Egyptian villagers refer to the
mentally retarded as •saints•, while Tibetans looked at them as a
special reincarnation and trled to interpret their actions as having
special meanings.
Occasionally, there are references in the anthropological
llter~ture to the mentally retarded being abused or ridiculed. A few
cultures view mental retardation as a kind of demon possession, and one,
the Saulteaux of North America, killed retarded persons to destroy the
demon. Generally, however, the retarded are seen as presenting no
special problems for their families and are treated well.
There are sane Interesting cases ln the literature that are worth
describing in greater detail. In six cases fran Africa and Melanesia
there were reports that the retarded were believed to be compulsive
wanderers, going £ran house to house, doing odd Jobs. These people
generally stayed with relatives as they traveled and were treated with
great care. Fran Cambodia canes an example where a retarded child was
crowned the 'King of Angkor• by hls peers and was carried In a parade
with great ceremony. Finally, the Tlv of West Africa had a custom
whereby chiefs used mentally retarded persons as messengers, especially
ln cases where a person was being sunmoned to appear at court. The
messenger would deliver a memorized sunmons, and the person being
summoned was forced to appear without any knowledge of the state of mind
of the chief or the circumstances of the sumnons, It being thought to be
useless to question a retarded person.

Bog Man Interpreted: The January 26, 1988 Issue of the New York Times
contains an article about research conducted on the body of a man
believed to be 2200 years old which was pulled £ran a peat bog near
Manchester, England. Historic and prehistoric bodies are occasionally
discovered ln peat deposits ln England, Ireland, and the Scandinavian
countries. The chemical properties of the acidic peat dissolve the
bones of people burled there, but they may preserve the flesh and other
soft body tissue. Once unearthed, the bodies begin to decay rapidly,

s.
but chemical techniques exist to halt the decay process. The body In
question was of a young man, who had had his throat cut, his windpipe
crushed, and his face held under water. Despite this, researchers
decided on the basis on the facial expression and the condition of
muscle tissue at death that the man went voluntarily to his death.
Subsequent research has focused on Interpreting what had happened.
Researchers believe that the man was not an ordinary citizen of the
agricultural society to which he belonged. He seemed to be ln good
health at the time of his death, and he lacked calluses on his hands,
suggesting that he had not been a laborer. The key to lnterpretlng his
death was his stomach contents, hls last meat having been a scorched
bannock cake. It ls known from historic sources that Celtic culture
used bannock bread in a ritual manner to select candidates by lot for
special purposes. A griddle cake of bannock was prepared, with one edge
being burned. The cake would then be broken Into pieces, which were
then placed In a bag. Candidates would draw pieces from the bag, and
the one with the burned piece would be chosen. In this case, the
selection appears to have been for ritual sacrifice. Certain Celtic
gods were propitiated by human sacrifice, the manner of death Indicating
the god involved. The god Tarainis was traditionally honored by
beheading or bludgeoning; the god Esus called for a cut throat; and
Teutates was honored by drownings. The young man whose body was
recovered was so highly thought of that he was offered ln sacrifice to
all three of these gods.