The first HRAF Academic Quarterly of 2024 by Dr. Francine Barone features 16 publications since the start of the year. New research in cultural evolution this quarter covers a fascinating mix of topics including punishment; the effect of alcohol on political complexity; mythical monsters; the control of women’s sexuality; and indigenous ethnobotany. Two studies on hunter-gatherers look at foragers’ relationships to animals and to trees.
From medicine, a systematic review of the cultural significance of exfoliated teeth brings eHRAF insights to pediatric dental care, and a review of nutritional anthropology explores critiques of the “Paleo Diet”, which was originally a product of analyses of HRAF data. In education, there is a new volume on child development and education in indigenous communities as well as a UNICEF study on child rights.
eHRAF is once again front and center in discussions of ethnographic, comparative and cross-cultural databases and methodologies. In addition, a case study of building a collaborative community dictionary in the Philippines highlights how HRAF’s subject thesaurus, the Outline of Cultural Materials (OCM), has important applications in linguistics, lexicography and community engagement.
HRAF staff members Ian Skoggard and Samantha King presented their research at the 84th Annual Meeting of the Society for Applied Anthropology in Santa Fe, Arizona.