The Human Relations Area Files (HRAF) are an important source of data for the study of the evolution of human societies. HRAF data are the raw material used by Gerhard Lenski to develop ecological-evolutionary theory. Essentially, HRAF represents a systematic coding by subject matter of historical and ethnographic observations of societies. At one time, HRAF materials filled hundreds of file drawers, and the use of the data required a substantial investment of time and effort. Now, 360 of the over 2,500 HRAF world cultures have been digitized and compiled in the eHRAF database.
The Assignment
Each student will write a short paper comparing and contrasting three societies, utilizing information from the eHRAF. This is an “exercise” rather than a “paper” because its primary goal is to familiarize you with the eHRAF. Note that HRAF is a collection of “cultures” as distinct from “societies”. A culture may represent many distinct societies. So from the information about the culture you may have to deduce the characteristics (such as size) of a society.
The selection of the three societies must follow one of two models. (1) compare three societies with different “subsistence types” (these correspond to the “subsistence technology” in Human Societies), or (2) compare three societies with the same subsistence type. Note that you may choose a hunting and gathering (including fishing), horticulturalist, or intensive agriculturalist societies. You may not choose an industrial society.
Tiv(horticulturalist) Mongolia(Pastoralists) Andamans(hunting and gathering)
I have uploaded culture summaries from eHRAF of the three, use other sources too if need. It’s best if you have access to eHRAF.
Using eHRAF, select three societies for study according to their “Subsistence Type”.
Create a text table containing basic data about the society. A template (in MS-WORD) is provided. Note, most rows of the text table are specified, but you may add characteristics of your own choosing. Your text table should be one page maximum. FIND THE MS WORD TEMPLATE UNDER files/eHRAF.
Write a maximum of three pages (double-spaced) (1) providing a condensed overview of each society; (2) considering how well, or how poorly, the characteristics of the selected societies correspond to the generalizations of ecological-evolutionary theory, and considering variability across different groups within the culture. For example, you might consider whether the size, religion, and stratification correspond to the subsistence type parameters proposed by Nolan and Lenski. If there is deviation from the norm, can you explain them? Your narration may quote from the Cultural Summary or directly from ethnographic sources, but you should cite the source in the text. For example, you might put “(Ainu Cultural Summary)” or “(Author, date: page)”.
The finished exercise will consist of a cover sheet (with your name, student number, and a title), three pages of narration, and a one-page table.
At the top of the eHRAF World Culture home page, click on Advanced Search.
Under “Add Cultures” click “Add All”, then click Search.
Click on “Narrow Results by Subsistence Type”
Select a subsistence type. For the purpose of this exercise, select societies among the “Hunter-gatherer”, “Primarily hunter-gatherer”, “Pastoralists”, “Horticulturalist”, and “Intensive Agriculturalist” categories.
Click on a continent or continents from the list provided, and browse the societies and references.
When you have some candidate societies, at the top of the page click “Browse Cultures”. You can find search for cultures by name. Then click on the “Cultural Summary”. This is a handy overview of data on the selected culture.
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