BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY
Bloomsburg
Pennsylvania
ANTHROPOLOGY NEWSLETTER
Vol. 17, No. 3
Nov-Dec 1992

Native American Awareness Month: November has been declared
Native American Awareness Month at Bloomsburg University, and a number
of important events inc 1udi ng speakers, movies, and a two day arts &
crafts show have been scheduled to commemorate the occasion. For its
part, the ANTHROPOLOGY NEWSLETTER is reprinting the fallowing
quotation from a letter written by Benjamin Franklin in 1784. The event
the quotation refers to was an i nvi tat ion issued to the Six Nations in 17 44
by the government of Virginia to allow six Indian men to at tend college at
Williamsburg, VA. An unnamed Indian responded to the invitation as
follows:
"For we know that you highly esteem the kind of learning taught in
those colleges, and that the maintenance of our young men, while with
you, would be very expensive to you. We are convinced, therefore, that you
mean to do us good by your proposal, and we thank you heartily. But you
who are wise must know, that different nations have different
conceptions of things, and you will therefore not take it amiss, if our
ideas of this kind of education happen not to be the same as yours. We
have had some experience of it; several of our young people were formerly
brought up at the co 11 eges of the northern provinces; they were instructed
in all your sciences; but when they came back to us they were bad runners;
ignorant of every means of living in the _woods; unab 1e to bear either co 1d
or hunger; knew neither how to build a cabin, take a deer, or kill an enemy;
spoke our language imperfectly; were therefore neither fit for hunters,
warriors or counselors; they were totally good for nothing. We are not,
however, the less obliged by your kind offer, though we decline accepting
it; and to show our grateful sense of it, if the gent 1emen of Vi rgi ni a wi 11
send us a dozen of their sons, we will take great care of their education,
instruct them in all we know, and make men of them."
This quotation is from the forward to an book of introductory readings
in cultural anthropology by Charles Hughes entitled appropriately enough,
MAKE MEN OF THEM (Rand Mc Na 11 y & Co., 1972).

The Department of Anthropology offers two courses which deal with
native Americans. They are North American Indians (46.340) offered by
Mr. Reeder and Peoples & Cultures of South America (46.450) offered by
Dr. Aleta.
Diseose ond Notive Americons: In a recent paper to the conference,
Coming to the New World: Columbus and the American Experience, 14921992 . Dr. Tom Aleta described the decline of the native population on La
Puna Island, Ecuador.. in the wake of contact with Spanish colonialism. Dr.
Aleta argued in the paper that the rapid disappearance of the Punae people
must have been due to disease since it was in the Spanish's best interest
to keep these native people alive. That thesis fallows a line of reasoning
made by Alfred Crosby in his book, ECOLOGICAL IMPERIALISM: THE
BIOLOGICAL EXPANSION OF EUROPE, 900-1900, (Cambridge University
Press .. 1986) which suggests that except in a few industries, such as
mining, non-European populations were kept aliVP by European colonists in
order to provide certain services. As Dr. Aleta noted, this argument runs
counter to the popular view of the Spanish colonizers in particular, who
are often portrayed as col ct-blooded killers, deliberately set on Native
American genocide. On La Puna at least, he notes, this was not the case.
The Punae were valuable to the Spanish for their strategic location, their
skills as seafaring people, and for their ability to produce certain goods
for the Spanish coastal trade. La Puna Island is strategically located; its
position in the Gulf of Guayaquil allowed it to control trade both along the
coast of Western South America and inland along rivers to the interior.
The Spanish made use of Punae vessels to portage goods, of Punae pilots
to navigate the in 1and waters . and of Punae skills to produce rigging for
the Spanish sailing vessels. The Punae also provisioned Spanish ships
with food and fresh water. There were complaints lodged in the late 16th ,
century that the Pu nae were being overworked in producing food and other
goods for the Spanish and that they did not have enough ti me to provide a
subsistence for themselves, but the complaints were lodged by the
Spanish against a Punae ct1c1qt1e, who sought to become wealthy by trade
with the colonizers. Nevertheless .. despite the many assets the Punae
represented to the Spanish, by the early 17th century, their numbers had
dwindled .. and the current inhabitants of the is 1and do not trace any 1inks
to them. Dr. Aleta surmi zes that illness caused the Punae decline .. though
there is currently no definitive evidence of that.
That surmise is not unreasonable .. however. In the October 1992 issue

· of DISCOVER magazine., Jared Diamond reviews the devastation brought to
the Native Americans by measles., smallpox., influenza .. whooping cough and
other European diseases. In some areas., whole communities were wiped
out by disease. In others., any potential Native American resistance to the
European presence was undermined by the ravages of diseases which
i roni ca 11 y were of ten transmitted from one Native American population to
another after the initial European contact. Diamond is interested in why
the Native Americans were so susceptible to European diseases. The
traditional explanation - that the Native Americans were cut off from the
Old World by the Bering Straits for 10.,000+ years - has never been very
satisfying. Diamond suggests that the key factor was the relative absence
of large herds of domestic animals in the New World.
Diamond notes that many contagious human diseases are thought to
have their origins in ani ma 1 diseases. Examp 1es inc 1ude sma 11 pox (from
cowpox), measles (from the cattle disease rinderpest), and ~ven AIDS
(possi b1y from African green monkeys). Contagious di seas es re qui re 1arge
populations to establish themselves permanently. In small populations,
ei the r the di seas e k il 1s or the sick survive, form i ng anti bodies against the
disease; either way, the disease agent is out of luck. In large populations ..
the disease can spread from individual to individual; by the time the
current population is infected, new hosts for the disease wi 11 have arrived
on the scene, either as newborns or as immigrants. The large, nomadic
herds of wild animals, such as wild horses,cattle or sheep were wellsuited for the development of contagious disease.
But early human populations were not. Early foraging populations,
1i vi ng in groups of perhaps 2 5 to 5 O persons, we re too s ma 11 for the
efficient spread of disease; contagious diseases could not have become
easi 1y estab 1i shed. But with the invention of agriculture - and with it_. the
domestication of the large herd animals, a process that took place
approximately 10,000 years ago, - humans began to live in larger, denser
populations. Li vi ng in close proximity with their animals, these first
farmers were constantly exposed to animal pathogens. It was only a
matter of time before the diseases mutated to be able to infect humans.
However, this scenario is applicable only to the Old World. New World
populations developed only a relative handful of domesticated animals,
including Muscovy ducks, llamas, and guinea pigs. Of these, only llamas
had the potent i a1 to act as disease hosts in a way equi va 1ent to 01 d World

sheep., horses and cows. But llamas and their relatives, all creatures of
the Andes, live in small populations in the wild., in a pattern more like
early foraging humans than the great herds of the Eurasian plains. Llamas
·probably were not good candidates for spreading di~ease to humans. As a
result., Diamond argues., Native Americans had not been exposed to the
wide variety of "germs" that Old World peoples had., and thus they were
highly vulnerable to Old World diseases.
The Coming to the New World Conference was held on November 5 and
6 at Bloomsburg University and was organized by Dr. Christine Sperling of
the Art Department.

Errata: The School of Extended Programs recently issued its schedule of
courses for the Spring 1993 semester. That schedule correctly notes that
the Department of Anthropology is offering Anthropology & World
Problems (46.102) in Sunbury at Shikellamy High School on Tuesday
evenings. However, the instructor for the course is not Dr. Minderhout, as
1i sted, but Dr. Wymer.

Women in Africa: Anthropologists who work in SubSaharan Africa have
routinely noted over the years that women have a particularly difficult
time on that continent. African women are far more likely to be poor,
i 11 iterate., and in poor hea 1th than their ma 1e counterparts. Jo urn a1i st
Thurston Clarke in his book., EQUATOR (William Morrow & Co.: 1988),
quotes an unnamed French anthropologist in her account of women's lives
among the Burundi of Central Africa (pastoral ist cattle herders) as ·
follows:
"The herders sometimes argue about the relative superiority of women
and cows; both sources of milk appear to have their partisans.
It is believed that women are better suited by nature than men for
manual labor. They work longer and better in the fields than men.
It is nonetheless believed that the male role is more important than
that of the female in procreation. Woman., says the proverb., is only the
passive earth; it is man who provides the seed.
If a nusband finds his wife in bed with another man., he is morally
ob 1i ged to beat hi s wife and to qua rre 1 with the man. ·

Beauty does not count very heavily., but a man is not di sp 1eased if his
wife is attractive and well-fleshed., has a long and narrow nose, a light
skin . and is somewhat 1i ke a cow.
Regarding the sentiments of the husband towards the wife, or of men in
general towards women., it is enough to mention that in the rich oral
literature of Burundi., there is not one poem or song of love."
However., as with any other aspect of human behavior., there are
important exceptions to generalizations., and a recent article in NATURAL
HISTORY ("Where All the Women Are Strong."., November 1992., pp. 55-63)
by anthropologist Barbara Worley is a good example. Worley studied the
Tuareg people of northwestern Niger., a Muslim culture of camel
pastoralists noted for their warrior skills., fierce demeanor - and respect
for women. The Tuaregs were greatly feared by the Europeans trying to
settle or develop the arid regions of West and Central Africa earlier in
this century., and they were defeated ultimately only by the technology of
Europeans (machine guns vs. swords and hide shields). Today., the Tuareg
still roam the central Sahara., often living a life not too different for
having had contact with the outside world. To quote Worley:
"The Muslim Tuareg do not drink alcohol or use drugs., and their men
fear the loss of honor that would ensue from beating or raping a woman.
Their women are respected and own property in livestock. In many other
Muslim societies., women follow the Koranic directive to ·cover·
themselves., through veiling and keeping to private quarters. In Tuareg
society., however., the men wear the veils - not a Muslim custom., but one
peculiar to the Tuareg and other Berber peoples of the Central Sahara.
Tuareg women wouldn't consider veiling their faces., and they continue to
assert their right to a public presence and to voice their opinions openly."
Worley describes the rituals that surround the naming of a baby., an
event that typically occurs six days after a birth. For the first six days.,
the new mother and baby are thought to be in danger from powerful
supernatural forces. The rituals held after the sixth day not only name the
baby but drive away those forces. In essence., the community claims the
baby - and the mother - as its own. In other parts of Muslim Africa.,
naming ceremonies are male centered. The Tuareg ceremony is noteworthy
for the .-:ooperat ion and interaction of men and women.

Tuareg women have a great deal of pride in their physical prowess.
They are strong from the physical labors of digging postholes, erecting
and di smant 1i ng tents, and packing heavy tents and househo 1d furniture
onto came 1s and donkeys, a11 of which are routine features of this nomadic
existence. Their hands are 1arge from mi 1king the 1i vestock and are
roughly calloused from gripping and thrusting the four-f oat, heavy wooden
pest 1e with which they pound the f ami 1y mi 11 et. They do not see their
strength as masculine in any way, and they enjoy bouts of physical
roughhouse with each other as sources of feminine pride. Thus, as part of
the naming ceremony, the women who congregate from all over to help in
the ceremony and enjoy the soci a1 i nten~ct ion of ten engage in wrest 1i ng
matches with each other. They are serious about winning, primarily for
bragging rights. "In all the tussles, however, the women joked and
laughed. Later, they would brag about who had trounced whom and kid one
another about their bruised arms and twisted wrists. Close friendships
were cemented, not destroyed, by the competition." Women of all ages
participate, including 60 year old grandmothers - and men stay away. And
the ceremony benefits as well. A ceremony is without value if the women
do. not wrestle, the Tuareg say. A great naming ceremony is one with good
food and drink and memorable bouts between determined female fighters.
A baby is off to an auspicious start with such a memorable occasion.
New Upper Paleolithic Art Treasures Found: The Upper Paleolithic
cave paintings of southern France and northern Spain have captivated the
interest of anthropologists and art historians for more than a century
because they are among the first examples of human artistic expression.
The paintings from such famous sites as Lascaux and Altamira portray the
animals which roamed the European landscape between 20,000 and 10,000
years ago. These images have revealed a great deal about the natural
environment during the last Ice Age and about the early humans who
painted them. The recent discovery of new paintings by French divers in
the partially submerged Cosquer Cave add significantly to the corpus of
early Stone Age art.

-The entrance to Cosquer Cave presently lies 121 feet below the level
of the sea along the southern French coast near Marseilles. The paintings
were found when sport divers followed a 574 foot long tunnel into a large
gallery which is only partially submerged. On the sections of the walls
above the water level and on the roof of the cave, the divers were startled

Be au t y does not count very he av i1 y, but a man i s not di s p1eased H his
wife is attractive and well-fleshed, has a long and narrow nose, a light
skin, and is somewhat 1i ke a cow.
Regarding the sentiments of the husband towards the wife, or of men in
general towards women, it is enough to mention that in the rich oral
literature of Burundi, there is not one poem or song of love."
However, as with any other aspect of human behavior, there are
important exceptions to generalizations .. and a recent article in NATURAL
HISTORV ("Where All the Women Are Strong.", November 1992, pp. 55-63)
by anthropologist Barbara Worley is a good example. Worley studied the
Tuareg people of northwestern Niger, a Muslim culture of camel
pastoralists noted for their warrior skills, fierce demeanor - and respect
for women. The Tuaregs were greatly feared by the Europeans trying to
settle or develop the arid regions of West and Central Africa earlier in
this century .. and they were defeated ultimate 1y on 1y by the techno 1ogy of
Europeans (machine guns vs. swords and hide shields). Today, the Tuareg
still roam the central Sahara, often living a life not too different for
having had contact with the outside world. To quote Worley:
"The Muslim Tuareg do not drink alcohol or use drugs, and their men
fear the loss of honor that would ensue from beating or raping a woman.
Their women are respected and own property in livestock. In many other
Muslim societies, women follow the Koranic directive to ·cover·
themselves .. through veiling and keeping to private quarters. In Tuareg
society, however.. the men wear the veils - not a Muslim custom, but one
peculiar to the Tuareg and other Berber peoples of the Central Sahara.
Tuareg women wouldn't consider veiling their faces .. and they continue to
assert their right to a public presence and to voice their opinions openly."
Worley describes the rituals that surround the naming of a baby .. an
event that typically occurs six days after a birth. For the first six days,
the new mother and baby are thought to be in danger from powerful
supernatural forces. The rituals held after the sixth day not only name the
baby but drive away those forces. In essence .. the community claims the
baby - and the mother - as its own. In other parts of Muslim Africa,
naming ceremonies are ma 1e centered. The Tuareg ceremony is noteworthy
for the ~ooperat ion and interaction of men and women.

to find exquisite 1y rendered portraits of Pleistocene ani ma 1s. At the ti me
the paintings were made, approximately 18.,000 years ago, the level of the
sea was almost 400 feet lower than it is today and the mouth of the cave
was on dry land.
Among the images on the walls are paintings and engravings of birds,
horses, bisons., ibex, and chamois, most of which became extinct at the
c 1ose of the Ice Age nearly 10 .,000 years ago. In addition to the
naturalistic representations of animals, there are impressions of human
hands made by placing the hand on the wall and blowing pigment around it.
Similar representations have been found in other Upper Pa 1eo 1i thi c caves ..
but these at Cosquer are curious because most have one or more shortened
fingers, perhaps indicating that these fingers were mutilated. But the
most intriguing images from Cosquer are the three birds identified as
penguins by some art historians. Penguins., of course, do not occur in
Europe today, and their presence in the Upper Paleolithic wo·u1d suggest a
radically different climate from now. However., at least one zoologist
who has studied the paintings believes they may represent great auks,
flight 1ess water birds that were driven to ext i net ion in historic ti mes.
An interdisciplinary team of French researchers is conducting a
detailed analysis of the cave and its paintings. A definitive determination
of the purpose and meaning of the art will not be available for several
years. In the meantime., the French government has declared the cave a
historic monument and sealed the entrance off in order to protect this
important new art treasure.
Of Note: Dr. Dave Minderhout recently presented a lecture to the Family
Medicine residents at the Geisinger Medical Center. His topic was
Minority Beliefs in the U.S. About Illness and Health Care. Dr. Minderhout
has a1so been recent 1y named to the edi tori a1 board for Co 11 egi ate Press;
he wi 11 be reviewing manuscripts for introductory textbooks in
anthropo 1ogy.
Dr. Dee Anne Wymer attended the Eastern States Archaeological
Federation annua 1 meeting in Pittsburgh on November 5 to 8. In addition to
attending the meetings., Dr. Wymer met with the members of the research
team to which she belongs to plan future publications and research
directions.