Department of Anthropology

Bloomsburg
UNIVERSITY

ANTHROPOS -

The Anthropology
Newsletter
Jan ...Feb 2000, Vol 24 No.4

Congratulations!: to Dr. Faith
Warner who successfully defended
her dissertation for the Ph.D. at
Syracuse University on January 4,
2000. Her dissertation was based
on her work among Q'eqchi'
Mayan refugees living in southern
Mexico.
Jane Goodall at Bucknell: by
Kelli Rodgers. On Friday, October
15, 1999, Dr. Jane Goodall visited
Bucknell University as part of a
national tour to promote her new
book, Reason for Hope. She
began by saying "hello"
chimpanzee-style with a pant-hoot,
which was cleverly echoed by a
friend of hers in the audience. Dr.
Goodall told the now familiar story
of how she came to study the
chimpanzees at the Gombe River
Reserve in Tanzania. She had
taken a trip to Olduvai Gorge with
Dr. Louis Leakey; he had been
working in Africa for many years,
and he wanted someone to study
the forest chimpanzees as a way of
providing information about eady
humans. On this trip Leakey saw
how devoted Goodall was to

animals and decided that she was
the one who could get close to the
chimps. The project needed
funding, which came from one of
Leakey's wealthy American
friends. Thus, in 1960, with no
training in field biology, and only
her mother as a companion,
Goodall set out for Africa. She
described her mother as being the
best of many feathers that carried
her to the heights she has reached.
Dr. Goodall told stories of what
she has observed over the past four
decades, especially of the
compassion and empathy she
observed in chimpanzees .. She told
the story of a young male named
Flint who died of grief one month
after his mother passed away. She
noted that chimpanzees are similar
to humans in many ways, not just
in physical appearance. Young
chimps learn through observing
In This Issue:
Midas' Last Meal - p. 4
The Caribs - p. 5
Archaeology at Mansfield - p. 9
BU Anthropology News - p. 9

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and imitating. Non-verbal
communication among chimps is
similar to what humans do and
occurs in the same context. Dr.
Goodall had caused a huge ripple
in the scientific community when
she first reported seeing a
chimpanzee using a tool. Until
then it was assumed that only
humans could create tools. Many
skeptics initially felt that she was
mistaken, given her youth and lack
of formal training. She
persevered, and through many
years of research has shown that
chimpanzees are closer to humans
than was previously thought.
Since she began her work,
many surprising aspects of
chimpanzee life have come to
light. We now know that they
have great memories, that they can
plan for the future and solve
problems, that they can empathize
or understand the emotions of
others, and that they can use
abstract symbols such as American
Sign Language in laboratory
situations to communicate. These
new discoveries have brought up
serious ethical issues as to their
care in laboratories and in zoos.
Also, in the wild, chimpanzees are
endangered; Goodall estimates that
there are only 120 left in the thirtysquare-mile Gombe Reserve. That
is not enough for the successful
survival of the population; the
gene pool is too small. The

Reserve is under intense pressure
from population and political
pressures in east-central Africa.
Refugees from civil wars in
Burundi, Rwanda, and the Congo
have come into the area; local
farmers are expanding their fields
to feed more people, and the
forests central to the survival of
the chimpanzees are coming down.
Dr. Goodall emphasized that
the plight of chimpanzees all
across tropical Africa is the same.
When she first began her work,
there were two million
chimpanzees estimated to live in
twenty-one African nations. Now
there are less than two hundred
thousand- some believe there are
as few as twenty thousand! Illegal
trade is one of the worst threats to
the chimpanzees. Hunters kill
mothers to get the infants, who are
then sold as pets or entertainers.
The young chimps are cute and
cuddly until about age seven when
they become stronger than an adult
human male. To control the
increasingly unruly adult chimps,
their owners use shock collars,
have their teeth pulled, or confine
them in small cages. Even those
chimpanzees who end up being
used in medical research spend
their lives in five-by-five-feet
cages, unable to interact or
socialize normally with other
chimpanzees. Given their high
level of self-awareness, this is
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increasingly being seen as
unethical and wrong.

usually recover, but it must be
given that chance.

Dr. Goodall ended her
presentation by giving her reasons
for hope, based on four things she
believes can save us from the harm
we have done to the environment.
The first is the human brain, which
has led to both good and bad, both
weapons of destruction and the
technology to save lives. We are
smart enough to know there are
problems and to have the
intelligence to solve them. Some
companies have begun to use more
environmentally sound techniques;
some hotels are now urging guests
to reuse towels and sheets if they
are staying over a period of time.
Dr. Goodall urged the audience to
support companies and businesses
that use environmenta1ly sound
techniques.

Thirdly, Dr. Goodall is hopeful
because of the enthusiasm and
conviction of the world's youth.
Children born today see the
destruction caused by past actions
and are looking for ways to
improve the planet they are
inheriting. The Jane Goodall
Institute has created a program
called "Roots & Shoots" to
encourage environmental
awareness and action by children
worldwide. Today, these
programs are found in fifty
countries, including Tanzania,
Taiwan, the United States, and
Germany. The scope of the
program is very broad but is
usually specific to the needs of an
area.

Her second reason for hope is
the resiliency of nature and its
ability to repair itself, given the
chance. Lake Erie was once so
heavily polluted, it was a fire
hazard; now fish are returning to it.
Nagasaki in Japan had regrowth
before the estimated thirty years it
. was thought it would take. In
Asia, the Saka deer were extinct in
the wild, but from the six original
specimens in captivity, there are
now over sixty in national parks.
Given the chance, nature will

Dr. Goodall' s final reason for
hope is the indomitable human
spirit, the ability to achieve
impossible goals, to overcome
disabilities. She used many
examples to illustrate this point.
For example, Nelson Mandela was
imprisoned for many years by the
apartheid South African
government, but the experience did
not make him bitter. Instead, after
he was finally released, he helped
South Africa overcome apartheid
without a bloodbath. In another
story, she told of a man who lost a
thumb and how he became a
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surgeon specializing in children
who are victims of horrible
accidents. Individuals have found
ways to overcome hopeless
situations; now we as a species
must come together ·to save the
planet and the life it supports. We
must shift, our focus and stop the
mass consumption that capitalism
glorifies. The future looks very
dim from where we stand now, but
there can be a reason to hope for a
brighter future.
(If you would like more
information about the Jane
Goodall Institute, contact Dr.
Minderhout or visit their website at

1957. They found the skeleton of
a man in his 60' s wearing a
bronze-studded leather outfit and
lying on a bed of fine purple cloth
and tapestries. Surrounding the
skeleton was elaborately carved
wooden furniture, clay pots,
amphoras, and bronze bowls and
vessels still holding the remains of
a funerary feast. The
archaeologists collected the
remains of the meal in bags, and
until recently those remains had
been unexamined.

King Midas' Last Meal: Most
people have heard the story of the
legendary King Midas whose
touch turned everything to go Id.
What most people do not realize is
that there actually was a King
Midas who ruled over a prosperous
Phrygian kingdom in what is today
Turkey, 2700 years ago. In fact,
he was the first of a series of kings
who ruled from the city of Gordion
during the Iron Age.

Now,using modern
technological means, University of
Pennsylvania researcher Patrick
McGovern has been able to deduce
what that last meal really was.
The flaky residue from a bronze
bucket was analyzed using infrared
spectrometry and liquid
chromatography, which allowed
McGovern to pull apart the
ingredients. He found tartaric acid
and salts found in grapes and wine.
He also found calcium oxalate, the
main ingredient in barley beer.
Archaeological research has shown
that the Phrygians often mixed
wine and beer in the same drink.

When Midas died, he was
sealed in an earthen tomb so
airtight, that organic materials of
all sorts did not completely
decompose. The tomb was
uncovered,by archaeologists from
the University of Pennsylvania in

A bowl filled with what looked
like soft brown earth was found to
contain residues of fatty acids,
triglycerides, and cholesterol- a
mix unique to sheep or goats.
Traces of anisic acid suggests the
meat was flavored with anise or

wirn. janegoodal l.org.)

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fennel, while elaidic acid showed
that olive oil had also been used.
There were also traces of
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons,
indicating the meat had been
barbecued. The absence of bones
shows that the meat had been cut
before being served.
Traces of phytosterol suggests
that the meat had been mixed with
lentils. Large jars filled with
lentils have been found in
archaeological excavations of
ancient Gordion.
The findings may shed some
light on the question of the origins
of Phrygian culture. The
Phrygians arrived in the Middle
East in the seventh century B.C.
Many researchers have believed
that they came out of the central
steppes of Asia. McGovern
disputes that based on the food in
the tomb, suggesting that those
foods suggest a Greek origin.

The Caribs: As this is written, it
is six weeks to Spring Break, and
some of you may be planning a
vacation for the break in the
Caribbean. However, most people
do not know that the Caribbean
originally took its name from the
Spanish label for many of the
Native Americans they found
living on those islands in the late
15 th and early 16th centuries. The
Spanish called these people

"caribis" or "cannibals." Over
time, this label became "Carib,"
and the area in which they lived
was, of course, the Caribbean.
The Spanishjustified their
labeling of the local peoples as
cannibals on the basis of lurid tales
told by returning sailors. Stories
spread through Spain and the rest
of Europe of captured sailors being
roasted alive and consumed by the
blood-thirsty inhabitants of these
new lands. In his 1980 book, The
Man Eating Myth, anthropologist
William Arens noted that there
were, in fact, no authenticated
accounts or archaeological
evidence to support the idea that
these people were cannibals.
Today, most anthropologists
believe that the Spanishjumped"to
the wrong conclusion when they
found that these Native Americans
kept skeletal parts of dead
ancestors in their homes as a way
of honoring and remembering their
deceased relatives.
Carib customs were also
responsible for another myth that
permeates the European view of
Native Americans. The Caribs
dyed their bodies with a red dye
called ''roucou." The Spanish,
believing that this was their natural
color, started the legend of the
"Red Indian."

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The people who came to be
labeled the Caribs called
themselves "Gallabi." They were
one of several Native Americans
groups that inhabited the West
Indies at the time of European
contact; two other well-known
groups were the Arawaks and the
Tainos. Archaeologists believe
that these people had arrived in the
West Indies around 1000 AD,
probably displacing other native
cultures in the process.
Relationships among the various
groups were not peaceful, and the
Caribs were known to be among
the most war-like. By the time of
Spanish contact, the Caribs were
ranging from Trinidad to Puerto
Rico, raiding villages in their well~
constructed canoes, or pirogues.
This also contributed to another
myth which holds to this day, of
the wild and war-like Caribs and
the supposedly peaceful Arawaks.
In fact, both groups were probably
equally hostile to one another, but
the Caribs happened to be in
ascendancy at the time of the
Spanish arrival.
The Caribs are classified by
anthropologists as horticulturalists.
But like many people living in
tropical environments, they could
probably best be said to have
mixed economies. That is, they
were opportunistic, making use of
whatever resources their
environment provided. Thus, they

fished and hunted and collected
wild plant foods in addition to
some slash-and-burn agriculture.
Their most important crop was
cassava, a root crop well-suited to
growing in water-logged soils in
shady conditions under the tropical
forest canopy. However,
according to the Spanish, the
Caribs also raised a variety of
other crops, including avocados,
papayas, sweet potatoes, and, of
course, tobacco - which is a Carib
word.
The Spanish waged war on the
Caribs and were ruthless in their
extermination of people the
Spanish saw as cannibalistic
savages. But like many Native
Americans, the greatest threats to
Carib survival were European
diseases, such as smallpox and
measles. By the early 1ih century,
the Caribs and all other Native
Americans of the Caribbean were
so reduced in numbers that they
were no longer a factor in colonial
affairs; on most islands the native
populations were entirely gone. In
most places, their existence is
marked only by Carib place names
on various islands and a few Carib
words that have found their way
into European languages, such as
tobacco, canoe, hurricane, and
pone (a cake-like food.)
Today, native Carib populations
survive on only two West Indian
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islands - Dominica and Trinidad.
Other populations are also found in
coastal South America, especially
Guyana and Surinam. The
Garifuna people, the so-called
"Black Caribs," are a population
found in coastal Belize and
Honduras; they are the result of
intermarriage between Native
Americans and escaped African
slaves.
On Dominica, approximately
500 Caribs live on a 3 700 acre
reserve stretching for nine miles on
the northeast coast; another 3000
live on the island. Eight hamlets
make up the Carib community.
The reserve is owned communally;
no individual is allowed to .own
and buy land on the reserve. The
reserve is managed by a sevenmember elected council. The
council is presided over by an
elected chief; the current chief is
named Garnette Joseph. The
reserve also has an elected
representative to the Dominican
Parliament.
On the reserve, most Caribs
make a living by raising bananas
for export. Coconuts, copra, soy
beans, ginger, tropical fruits, and
cassava are also raised for sale.
Like everywhere else in the
Caribbean, Dominica has come to
rely heavily on tourism for its
economic survival, and sixteen
Carib craft shops have sprung up

on the reserve to sell baskets, straw
hats, and other handicrafts. The
Dominican Caribs are also known
locally for their enthusiasm for
cricket; in 1999 the Carib Territory
team was the Dominican national
champion in this sport.
Dominica has done quite a bit
in the last few years to promote
Carib ethnicity and pride. The
government created the Kalinago
Center in its capital, Roseau,
which serves as a museum, an
archives of the Carib people, and
an arts & crafts store for tourists.
A non-profit development agency
has also been created by the
government to help preserve and
promote Carib culture. This
agency helps Carib craftsmen
market their goods and is in the
process of setting up a Carib radio
station on the reserve. A
community library and museum is
also planned for the reserve.
On Trinidad, the situation for
Caribs is somewhat different.
While Trinidad's Caribs were
never defeated in war, they
nonetheless succumbed to an
intense process of assimilation by
the dominant Spanish/Catholic
culture; intermarriage also led to
the disappearance of many Caribs
into a national culture. By the
1990' s the only identifiable
symbol of Carib ethnicity was the
Santa Rosa Festival, a Catholic
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saint's festival held traditionally
on August 23. While the festival
is entirely Catholic, historically
Caribs have been the people
responsible for organizing the
ritual. The festival takes place in
the city of Arima, which has long
based its claim for a special
identity in Trinidad on being the
site of the last Spanish mission on
the island; the mission came into
existence, of course, to convert the
Caribs to Catholicism. This
festival dates back over a century
and was promoted by several of
the resident governors when
Trinidad was a British colony.

confronted Trinidadian
government officials with the
importance of the festival for the
last remaining remnants of Carib
ethnicity on the island. Largely
due to their efforts, the festival has
been revived, and a small amount
of government financial help has
kept the ritual economically
solvent.

In association with the festival,
a Carib Queen and King are named
annually. The Queen of the
Caribs, usually an older woman
elected for her knowledge of Carib
traditions, was responsible for
organizing the festival, while the
King oversaw the men's work ~
cutting bamboo and palmwood for
festival structures and cleaning the
mission cemetery. Historically,
this has been the only publicly
recognized identity afforded the
Caribs in Trinidad.

In the 1990' s, the Santa Rosa
Carib Community has tried to raise
support for other Carib-based
proposals. Among these have
been the possible creation of a
Model Carib Village/Botanical
Park, which would serve as a
educational and ecotourism center;
the proclamation of a National Day
to honor Trinidad's Native
American heritage; and research
into Carib history and language,
with the hopes of reviving Carib
customs. Trinidad's Caribs are
also reaching out to other Native
Americans through participation in
the Hemispheric Gathering of
Indigenous Peoples in Ottawa,
Ontario in 1991 and the creation of
links with Carib communities on
the South American coast.

By the 1980's public interest in
the Santa Rosa Festival had
waned, and the ritual's continued
survival was in question. To win
greater support for the festival, the
Santa Rosa Carib Community was
formed as a lobbying group. They

(A program note: In the Fall
2000 semester, Dr. Minderhout
will offer a special section of
46.320, Contemporary World
Cultures, that will focus on the
peoples and cultures of the
Caribbean. The prehistory of the

Caribbean will be a topic in that
course, as well as the history of the
Caribbean, social institutions there,
and the place of the Caribbean in
the world economy.)

Archaeology at Mansfield: For
several years, the anthropologists
at Mansfield University have
promoted an archaeological
exchange program with Volgograd
State University in Russia. In
alternating years, Mansfield
faculty and students either travel to
Russia to work on archaeological
sites, or they host Russian faculty
and students on archaeological
sites in Tioga County, PA. In the
summer of 2000, the Russians will
be coming to Pennsylvania.
While Mansfield has been the
host institution for this exchange,
any SSHE student is eligible to
participate. Some classroom or
field experience in archaeology is
necessary, and a knowledge of
Russian is encouraged, though not
required. If you are interested in
participating, please contact Dr.
Ann Mabe at Mansfield
University. She may be reached at
(570)-662-4482 or by e-maiJ at
amabc,dmnsftcld.edu.

If you are interested in reading
an account of Mansfield's
archaeology exploits in Russia this
past summer, you will find an
article by Dr. Mabe in the SSHE

Anthropology Newsletter. Copies
are available in the department
office in G05 OSH or from Dr.
Minderhout.

BU Anthropology News: Dr.
Dave Minderhout presented a talk
at the Torch Club in Bloomsburg
on January 10. His topic was
"Different Cultures/Different
Systems of Healing. (Thanks to
Dr. Phil Farber for this invitation
to speak to the club.)
Dr. Faith Warner presented her
research in.Mexico at the Phillips
Five-And-Dime Emporium in
Bloomsburg on January 20.
. Two anthropology faculty will
be featured in the TALE Center's
Seminars on Research,
Scholarship, & Pedagogy this
semester. Dr. Wymer will talk
about the 1999 summer field
school in archaeology on February
9. On March 29, Dr. Tom Aleto
will present a program he uses in
his Race & Racism class (46.290)
to show how difficult it is to type
humans by race on physical
appearance alone. The program
has been successful at getting
students to discuss the sensitive
issue of race in the classroom.
Dr. Wymer has also received a
BU Special Initiatives Grant to
fund the radiocarbon dating

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samples obtained from las t
summer's field school.
Faculty Office Hours:

Dr. Ale to:
MW3-4
Tu1:45-3
Th 1:45-2:15
F 3-4:15
Dr. Dauria:
MWF 9-10
Tu9:15-11
Th 12:15-12:45
Dr. Minderhout:
MWF 8:30-12
TuTh 12-2
Tu6-6:30 PM
Dr. Warner:
MWF 2-2:30
M 5:15-6:15
Tu 2:15-3:15
Tu5-6:30
Dr. Wymer:
MWF 11-12
TuTh 10:45-11 :45

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