History Of Anthropology Research Articles

„The Black Box" by George Stocking

Three years before his death on July 13, 2013, George William Stocking, widely regarded as the discipline's "greatest historian of anthropology," wrote an autobiography and memoir entitled Glimpses into My Own Black Box: An Exercise in Self-Deconstruction(2010). The book was published as part of the famous History of Anthropology (HOA) edition, which Stocking started at The University of Wisconsin Press (1983) and edited for two decades. This paper is based on the understanding of the American theoretician of autobiography, William Howarth, who posited that autobiography in literary (and scientific) writing is akin to what self-portrait is in painting. In the introductory chapter of the work, biographical data are presented that bring the character and work of George William Stocking closer to the domestic, Serbian readership (his second marriage to the sociologist Carol Bowman; their stays in Yugoslavia). This is followed by a description of the two main phases in Stocking's life and work: the formative period in his intellectual development and the mature age, known as the "Chicago years", spent in the Departments of History and Anthropology. Bearing in mind the main elements of the autobiographical strategy – character/self-portrait, technique (rhetoric and writing style), and the theme presented by the author's work-text – Stocking's book thematizes the life story, professional and scientific history (history of anthropology) from the position of both a witness and the one of the creators of written histories of the discipline and biographies of its practitioners and theorists. His writing technique is characterized by self-reflection and scientifically argued discussions on anthropological, historical and political topics and problems. Despite the significant influence his writing and edition of the HOA has had in anthropology, social sciences and humanities, the autobiographer problematizes his relationship to the two disciplines that shaped him as a scientist, highlighting his ambivalent position within them. In spite of the objective indicators of professional success, such as prestigious recognitions, awards, a secure position at the University and the Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a comfortable civic life filled with trips, conferences and guest appearances at important American and British scientific research institutions, the subjective experience of "double non-belonging" or rather, liminality, is the leitmotif that colors his self-portrait and the meaning of the text as a whole. The main features of the work, such as its discursive style of narration and description, striving for objectivity and honesty (self-disclosure and „self-deconstruction“), anxiety regarding one's own place, role and importance in science, as well as, at times, a resigned or elegiac tone, especially at the end of the book, i.e. towards the end of his life, provide the basis to include Stocking's strategy in a hybrid type with elements of those two categories that Howarth calls "rhetorical" and "poetic" confession.

An anthropological history of Nepal’s Female Community Health Volunteer program: gender, policy, and social change

BackgroundCommunity health workers (CHWs) are central to Primary Health Care globally. Amidst the current flourishing of work on CHWs, there often is a lack of reference to history—even in studies of programs that have been around for decades. This study examines the 35-year trajectory of Nepal’s Female Community Health Volunteers (FCHVs).MethodsWe conducted a content analysis of an archive of primary and secondary research materials, grey literature and government reports collected during 1977-2019 across several regions in Nepal. Documents were coded in MAXQDA using principles of inductive coding. As questions arose from the materials, data were triangulated with published sources.ResultsLooking across four decades of the program’s history illuminates that issues of gender, workload, and pay—hotly debated in the CHW literature now—have been topics of discussion for observers and FCHVs alike since the inception of the program. Following experiments with predominantly male community volunteers during the 1970s, Nepal scaled up the all-female FCHV program in the late 1980s and early 1990s, in part because of programmatic goals focused on maternal and child health. FCHVs gained legitimacy as health workers in part through participation in donor-funded vertical campaigns. FCHVs received a stable yet modest regular stipend during the early years, but since it was stopped in the 1990s, incentives have been a mix of activity-based payments and in-kind support. With increasing outmigration of men from villages and growing work responsibilities for women, the opportunity cost of health volunteering increased. FCHVs started voicing their dissatisfaction with remuneration, which gave rise to labor movements starting in the 2010s. Government officials have not comprehensively responded to demands by FCHVs for decent work, instead questioning the relevance of FCHVs in a modern, medicalized Nepali health system.ConclusionsAcross public health, an awareness of history is useful in understanding the present and avoiding past mistakes. These histories are often not well-archived, and risk getting lost. Lessons from the history of Nepal’s FCHV program have much to offer present-day debates around CHW policies, particularly around gender, workload and payment.

“Recasting sorcery as critical psycho-social commentary, moral discourse, and local psychotherapy”

This article critically reflects on future directions in cross-cultural psychiatry and cultural psychology by engaging the challenges of interpreting psycho-social theories of causation and evidence in what is conventionally called “sorcery” in anthropology. This anthropologist argues that sorcery, notwithstanding its status as an older, classic topic in the history of anthropology and its seemingly “exotic” reputation, has continuing value in recent efforts to de-colonize the study of local ontology and moral personhood, in particular, in contexts of transcultural encounters. The focus here is on an incident in a Saharan Tuareg community that is locally-defined as “sorcery” (called ark echaghel in Tamajaq, their Amazigh language). Many Tuareg, predominantly Muslim, traditionally semi-nomadic, and socially-ranked, have experienced socio-economic and ecological upheavals, armed conflicts, and settled life in towns. This analysis examines a case of sorcery practice and its social context—of a transcultural encounter between a smith/artisan and a tourist and its aftermath—of diagnosis and commentary by an Islamic scholar—as moral discourse and local psycho-social treatment as critical commentary on and resistance to transcultural inequalities. The broader goal here is to suggest avenues to pursue by showing how sorcery reveals local ontology, moral discourse on evil, and culture theory. Thus, sorcery, rather than a “retrograde” or irrelevant topic, offers rich insights into local ontology’s psycho-social and political implications, thereby contributing to current concerns in transcultural psychiatry with social and political power asymmetries, critical epistemologies, and indigenous critiques that question universalizing absolutist psychological interpretations in cultural encounters.

Patterns of development of religious culture in modern society: problems of systematization and philosophical understanding

Introduction. Religious culture is becoming one of the most important subjects of philosophical science today. The philosophical methodology makes it possible to systematize the available knowledge not only of the philosophical, but also of the general scientific, private scientific level. An analytical review of scientific publications devoted to the identification of laws, patterns and principles of the development of religious culture at the present stage has shown that there are many of them, but they are scattered and very diverse. Therefore, the problem of philosophical understanding of the phenomenon of religious culture at the present stage of development of society is an extremely urgent task.The purpose of the study is to study domestic and foreign publications devoted to the study of the patterns of development of religious culture at the present stage and to identify the possibility of their systematization based on philosophical methodology.Materials and Methods. The main research methods used were methods of analytical review, analysis, generalization and comparison, as well as the dialectical method.Results. In the course of the study, the authors came to the conclusion that the application of philosophical methodology in the study of laws, patterns and principles of the development of religious culture in modern society allows them to build a multidimensional typology, including several levels: civilizational, social, anthropological. At each level, it is possible to study dialectical relations both within religious culture and between it and other phenomena, which will allow us to determine the laws and patterns of its development at each level, as well as between them, and will allow us to conduct a predictive analysis of possible further trajectories of the development of this phenomenon, its impact on human destiny and civilization.Discussion and Conclusions. This complex system analysis will be the subject of research not only by the authors of the article, but also by scientific schools that exist on the basis of Mininsky University. The results of this research will form the basis for the study of religious culture in such areas of scientific activity of the university as philosophy of culture, religious studies, philosophy of religion, social philosophy, history of philosophy, philosophical anthropology, theology, pedagogical and psychological sciences.

Dental Anthropology and Its Role in Forensic Anthropology

Dental anthropology is a subdiscipline of biological anthropology that is concerned with the nonclinical study of teeth. As such, the discipline is distinct from that of forensic odontology, yet still of relevance within forensic anthropology and a medicolegal context. This review of dental anthropology differentiates it as a distinct field of study and highlights its role within medicolegal death investigations, particularly the role of the dentition in estimating parameters of the biological profile. The development and history of dental anthropology in relation to forensic anthropology are outlined. The differentiation of the roles of the dental/forensic anthropologist and the forensic odontologist is discussed. The potential role of the dentition in estimating parameters of the biological profile is discussed, as are the relevant biological processes. Finally, the need for advanced training in dental anthropology is emphasized, as is the potential for future research within this emerging field of study.

The birthing chair, obstetric bed and gynecological chair in obstetrics and gynecology in Russia of XVIII-XX centuries

The purpose of the study is to investigate material culture of obstetrics in New and Modern history of Russia. The most important objective of research is to involve into scientific circulation Russian empirical material in order to study transformation of culture of childbirth during transition from traditional to biomedical model of childbirth exemplified by material culture items (maternity beds, chairs, armchairs). The key approaches were those of historical anthropology, social history of medicine, theory of social control and medicalization. The methods of content analysis, narrative and interpretive analysis were applied to analyze empirical data. In the Russian folk tradition included no such special devices as maternity beds and birth chairs that was explained by dominance of vertical maternity pose. The first birth chairs were brought into Russia by foreign midwives. With development of clinical obstetrics horizontal position of woman in labor was approving that was conditioned by convenience of physicians. Since last quarter of the XIX century, Russian physicians began to experiment, inventing most convenient version of maternity beds and gynecological chairs. The Soviet system of obstetrics was mass and publicly accessible, but consolidated technocratic model of childbirth. In maternity wards, the "Rakhmanov obstetric bed" became widespread. The chairs were not used during childbirth, being used exclusively in gynecology. The material culture of Soviet maternity hospitals turned out to be extremely stable and conservative. In modern Russian obstetrics, with transition to holistic model of childbirth and actualization of free positioning of woman in labor, transformer beds and fitballs began to be applied to provide optimal course of birth process. The material culture of obstetrics is closely related to dominant type of maternity culture.

Recent developments in anthropological methods for the study of complex societies

The focus of traditional anthropology has been on the “simple and primitive” tribal societies that still exist. The question of how anthropology can carry on to study complex civilizations, especially those with a long history like Chinese civilization, has gained attention due to the discipline’s development and expansion. Anthropologists around the world have developed several significant research methods in the study of complex societies in response to this challenge. Taking anthropology research in China as an example, these methods include not only the summary and improvement of Western anthropological methods applied by Chinese scholars to Chinese practice but also methodological innovations based on traditional Chinese research paradigms and explorations of anthropological fieldwork methods in the digital age. In China, the latest advancements in anthropological methods for studying complex societies can be seen in historical anthropology, multi-sited ethnography, internet anthropology, and Rapid Anthropological Assessment. This effectively responds to many doubts about whether anthropological fieldwork methods are capable of studying complex societies and spurred anthropology’s reciprocal adaptation to new fields of study and contemporary needs. In this sense, anthropological research on complex societies is entirely possible, feasible, and necessary.

Spiritual meal, identity and community in Bohemia 1400–1650: historical anthropology and the reformation of religious food and textual practices

ABSTRACT The article explores the early Bohemian reformation (Utraquism) as an alternative Central European project of church reform that has not been as closely connected with the Western European civilizational narrative as the Lutheran reformation. The authors build on cultural anthropological approaches and on the recent ‘material turn’. They draw attention to the close historical associations between holy food and holy texts and look into the reformation of religious food and textual practices. They explore how the chalice functioned as a symbol of inclusivity and collective identity and how this became manifest in material culture. The authors analyse innovations in chalice shape (lips and tubes) and provide evidence of private or family chalices, arguing that such chalices re-introduced elements of social hierarchy in the Utraquist communion. In relation to holy food, the authors also focus on fasting, distinguishing two main lines of discourse: 1) the continuation of the medieval religious discourse of gluttony; and 2) difficulties connected with observing fasting regulations north of the Alps. Finally, they point out that the Bohemian reformation lends itself to a study of changing symbols, as suggested by Peter Burke, and they explore the model-like process through which book(s) largely replaced chalice(s) as the main symbol(s) and source(s) of identity among reformed non-Catholic Christians in the new religious situation in Bohemia after 1620.

Origins of Forensic Anthropology in the United States

Traditional histories of forensic anthropology focus on key figures, events, and/or publications within a larger narrative of disciplinary formation and expansion. These histories typically highlight individuals such as Thomas Dwight or institutions such as the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History. This project represents an interdisciplinary collaboration with the goal of shedding new light onto the origins of forensic anthropology in the United States. By pulling from a number of published scholarly sources, as well as some unpublished correspondence, this project expands upon the more established historical events concerning the history of forensic anthropology. Here we argue that the origins of contemporary forensic anthropology not only trace back to the work of Wilton Krogman but that Krogman’s forensic anthropology must be understood through the life and work of his mentor, T. Wingate Todd, as well as the Hamann-Todd Collection, early efforts toward personal identification of human skeletal remains, and a complex amalgamation of US and UK influences that Krogman was exposed to through Todd’s mentorship efforts.

Philosophical conceptions and theoretical foundations of historical anthropology as a modern philosophy of history forming

The article analyzes the impact of methodological approaches of philosophical thought on the formation of historical anthropology as a modern philosophy of history. The methodology of this work is based on the principles of complementarity, structure, and dialogue. In the study of labor problems, methods were involved: philosophical hermeneutics, systemic- structural, interdisciplinary. Historical anthropology as a version of the philosophy of history, which explores the mental- cultural plane of causes, the essence of historical processes and their possible projection into the future, has a significant potential for understanding the global social- cultural dynamics in past eras through philosophical- historical concepts. An important condition for the implementation of this scientific task is the analysis of the formation of the theoretical foundations of historical- anthropological dimensions of philosophical- historical thought. The study of the specified problem field is based on the study of the philosophical theories of R. G. Collingwood, K. Lévi- Strauss, and M. Foucault. The main ideas of R. G. Collingwood, which are important for the formation of the concepts of historical anthropology as a modern philosophy of history, include the understanding of the philosophical potential of historical thought; the need to combine philosophical concepts and historical methodologies; the importance of understanding the mental and cultural horizon of the past through the philosophy of history. Among the factors influencing the structuralist concepts of K. Lévi- Strauss on the formation of the theoretical foundations of historical anthropology as a modern philosophy of history, it is possible to single out the analysis of mythological elements of perception of the world by proto- societies; identification and studies of unconscious components of psychology and culture of societies of the specified type, implementation of scientific interactions of historical knowledge and ethnology. Important concepts of M. Foucault, which influenced the formation of theoretical approaches of historical anthropology as a modern philosophy of history, includes the analysis of unconscious elements of the psyche of societies in different eras of the past; understanding the phenomenon of «otherness» in history; study of mental representations in European society about mental illnesses; research on the understanding of the phenomenon of madness in Western European art; studies of the mentality of doctors in the Early Modern Time. The theoretical foundations of historical anthropology as a modern philosophy of history, which were formed under the influence of philosophical concepts, include the ontological, epistemological and axiological planes. The ontological plane is manifested in the formation of the problem field of historical- anthropological studies, the mental- cultural horizon of the past. Its composition includes: analysis of the subconscious foundations of psychology and mythological systems of proto- societies and early- historian societies; understanding the communities’ perception of the specified types of various socio- cultural phenomena, in particular diseases and means of treatment; the attitude of societies to certain social groups, in particular to doctors; analysis of the perception of political power and the mechanisms of formation of its social- psychological foundations. The epistemological plane is revealed in the formation of historical- anthropological concepts of methods of analysis of deep, unconscious aspects of the psychological and cultural dimension of past eras; effective application of an interdisciplinary approach in the analysis of mental phenomena and social behavior; realization of cognitive interaction of methodological approaches of ethnology and historical anthropology. The axiological plane consists in stimulating the spread in the understanding of the mental- cultural horizon of historical processes of the values of humanism, pluralism and the equality of cultures and civilizations of the past and the present; dialogue of various cultures, worldview systems and intellectual traditions.

Boundaries and classification: the cultural logic of treating foreign medicine

From the 16th to the 19th centuries, Western medicine emerged in China and was considered dangerous by Chinese residents. Relatedly, Chinese medical practitioners have attempted to use knowledge based on traditional Chinese medicine to explain the principles of Western medicine. From the 19th to 20th centuries, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) was introduced to the United States, and American residents also described it as dangerous; they believed that TCM could only be accepted after scientific verification and explanation. This article uses the method of historical anthropology to explain these phenomena using boundaries as an analytical concept. This article finds that when foreign medicine crosses borders, it causes the disorganization of local classification systems. When a local classification system cannot provide a suitable location for foreign medicine, such medicine is easily regarded as dangerous by residents. The key to solving this problem is to use local classification systems to reinterpret foreign medicine. Reinterpreted by these local classification systems, foreign medicine can gain legitimacy within local societies. Based on this, the current article attempts to illustrate not only that science is a classification method but also that the boundary between science and nonscience is cultural in a sense, thereby undertaking corresponding cultural functions in daily life.

Cultural history: an interdisciplinary approach

AbstractThis article concentrates on what historians have borrowed and adapted from neighbouring disciplines in the last few decades, rather than what they have lent (much more rarely). It discusses the ‘social turn’ of the 1960s, the movements for historical anthropology and ‘psychohistory (drawing on psychoanalysis) in the 1970s, the literary turn of the 1980s (ranging from the poetics of history to the analysis of ‘fiction in the archives’), the history of ‘social’ or ‘cultural’ memory, the rise of the history of gender, and the ‘cultural turn’ of the 1990s. In those forty years, historians were often in dialogue with social scientists and with other scholars in the humanities. In the 21st century, by contrast, there has been a rapprochement with experimental psychology and neuroscience (in the case of studies of memory and emotion) and with biology, culminating – so far – in a ‘bio-history’ concerned with the co-evolution of humans and animals. The famous opposition between ‘nature’ and ‘culture’ is melting away.

СОЦИАЛЬНЫЕ-ЭКОНОМИЧЕСКИЕ ФАКТОРЫ РАЗВИТИЯ ИСТОРИКО-АНТРОПОЛОГИЧЕСКОЙ КОНЦЕПЦИИ РАЗВИТИЯ МЕНТАЛЬНОСТИ

The article analyzes the influence of socio-historical factors on the formation of concepts of the history of mentalities as a direction of historical anthropology – modern philosophy of history, their theoretical and cognitive features. The methodology of this work includes the principles of complementarity, structurality and dialogicality. The following methods were used in the study of the problem field of labor: philosophical hermeneutics, systemic-structural, interdisciplinary. The development of theoretical approaches to historical anthropology as a modern philosophy of history found its manifestation at the stage of the history of mentalities, to which the theoretical approaches formulated in the studies of J. Le Goff made a significant contribution. In their space, ontological, epistemological and axiological factors have been formed, which are important for the further dynamics of historical and anthropological concepts.

Historical memory and restitution of community land in the peasant community of Pararin (Ancash) in the decade of 1960

This paper is situated within the field of historical anthropology and examines the process of land restitution of the peasant community of Pararin, in Northern Peru, in the context of peasant movements in their struggle for land. The people of Pararin are considered as actors of their local history with capacity for agency. Thus, in the decade of 1960, this peasant community used their historical memory to come together, and undertook a process of struggle to reclaim what their regarded, historically, their agricultural lands in the Fortaleza valley. Ultimately, they obtained the recognition of the State, but not without some unexpected difficulties during the process.

Проблема применимости понятия парадигма к философскому процессу

Since the second half of the 20th century, Kuhn's concept has been used in philosophy of natural science, sociology and history of science, biology, medicine, political sciences, economics and history of economics, anthropology and history of anthropology, psychology and history of psychoanalysis, theory of art and literature, mathematics, linguistics. A.P. Ogurtsov and S.S. Neretina systematized the controversial issues of this concept, including the question of the qualification of philosophy as a discipline. The author joined this discussion in the process of reconstructing the political philosophy of M.K. Petrov. This article discusses several new topics related to the interpretation of T. Kuhn's concept.

Pamiętać, upamiętniać, wspominać - nasz obowiązek wobec pokoleń minionych i przyszłych

Jubilees and anniversaries usually are the reason to look back, at times and events, but also at people, predecessors of what we are now a part of. It should not surprise then that while in 2019 the Adam Mickiewicz University celebrated its centenary, several new ideas emerged to commemorate previous generations of University people. The Archaeology Faculty of AMU, being of the same age, also incorporated a few ones, including jubilee editions, conferences, and displays. One of the ideas that appeared at that time was to commemorate, in form of exhibitions, some particular alumni, who devoted their lives to archaeology and the University. There have been five such displays presented since then, the first, dedicated to Professor Wojciech Kóčka (1911–1965), opened on November 13th 2021. The article, referring to the display, presents Kóčka’s life and career, illustrating how interesting figure he was. The subjects discussed herein include Sorbian issues, second world war conspiracy, history of archaeology and anthropology, experiencing of air photography in archaeology in pre-war Poland, and the beginning of excavations at Biskupin, to mention the most important. The article, however, is meant to be just the beginning of a discussion, and the hope is expressed at its end that the future brings a monograph devoted to Kóčka.

Why Gerontology Needs Anthropology: Toward an Applied Anthropological Gerontology.

In this essay, we argue that gerontologists should increase their engagement with anthropologists to increase transdisciplinary collaboration, fulfill the interdisciplinary promise of gerontology as a field, and to ensure the work of anthropologists is formed by, and employed in, situations where meaningful engagement with practitioners and policymakers can lead to social change. Anthropology is the study of human societies in historical, biological, and sociocultural context, comprising a holistic field of study that can contribute unique methods, approaches, and theories to the field of gerontology. Although increasing amounts of anthropological scholarship have focused on older adulthood, this critical work of anthropologists still needs to be utilized by those in positions of power to enact change. Furthermore, the work conducted by anthropologists of aging has not consistently been recognized as anthropological scholarship. Therefore, a notable gap exists between the promise of the anthropology of aging and the utilization of the field, its findings, and engagement with the broader gerontological academy. As such, the contributions of anthropology to aging scholarship and the resulting reduction in inequities in the aging experience are not always adequately recognized. By examining the history of anthropology's engagement with aging and the lifecourse, we argue for a more applied anthropological gerontology. We conclude with a call to action to ensure that anthropological gerontology is seen as a fundamental branch of scholarship, both within anthropology and gerontology, which can be used to improve the lived experiences of older adults globally.

«ТАБЛИЦА НАРОДОВ» В КОНТЕКСТЕ КУЛЬТУРНЫХ СТЕРЕОТИПОВ О РУССКИХ И НЕМЦАХ РАННЕГО НОВОГО ВРЕМЕНИ

The article considers the regional identification of Russia in the European family of peoples with reference to The Table of Nations in the context of the mutual perception of Russians and Germans over a long time. The study is based on the theoretical principles of cognitive history, historical anthropology, and imagology. The methodology of the comparative approach involves internal and external perspectives, as well as two types of stereotypes: as a rule, more positive auto-stereotypes, or self-images, and hetero-stereotypes, or external images. The Styrian Table of Nations (Styrian Völkertafel) published in the Appendix is an exception in this case, since in addition to positive characteristics, the self-description of German-speaking authors contains negative characteristics. The Styrian Völkertafel as a historical source of "grassroots" culture found at the level of the Russian popular print makes it possible analyze ideas and stereotypes about the northern neighbor in two aspects, i.e. visual, with the possibility of turning the visual into the verbal, and textual. The article contains the first ever published translation of the Styrian Völkertafel into Russian.

Generalizations and impositions: redefining the Andean

The Andes have been a melting pot of cultures, myths and traditions rooted in the richness of their past human interactions and manifestations. However, in this sense, the "Andean" emerges as a concept that has evolved as history and anthropology have challenged and redefined the perception of this region. That is why this article dives into this term, through an analysis, with special emphasis on four points that allow a review and evaluation of how to interpret the Andean from historical anthropology: the stereotypes imposed by society, the geographical boundaries as conditioning factors, and the legacy of the colony and government policies that respond to an agenda. It is pertinent to practice a reflective look through which we seek to understand and appreciate the complexity of the Andean in its current evolution, based on the challenges and opportunities that arise in the search for an interpretation.

Evliya’s Song: Listening to the Early Modern Ottoman Court

Abstract This article discusses the relationship between music, sound, writing, and power in the early modern Ottoman Empire. It focuses on a description of a musical gathering at the court of Murad IV (r. 1623–40) in the Seyahatnâme (Book of travels), written by the courtier and musician Evliya Çelebi (1611–ca. 1685). The article draws on literature from historical anthropology, sound studies, and Ottoman cultural history to produce a multilayered reading that underscores the importance of music and other sonic practices in Ottoman courtly culture. Shifting between micro and macro perspectives, the article discusses the role of ceremonial music, Qur’anic recitation, the call to prayer, and patronage networks in the projection of imperial power. It then discusses the social implications of debates about the religious permissibility of music and the distinction between elites and commoners. Elite music-making is situated within a larger context of kin relations, patronage networks, and intimate male companionship. Themes of sensual pleasure, intoxication, and eroticism are discussed as poetic and philosophical tropes that are embodied in the intersubjective space of musical performance. Finally, the article highlights the role of textual practices in the construction of Ottoman music as a discursive formation. A situating of Evliya’s writing practices within the larger textual archive of Ottoman music raises methodological and epistemological questions about the relationship between aural experience and inscription, and about notions of historiographic and ethnographic truth. These questions are connected to current disciplinary debates about writing, sound, and power, particularly in the context of empire.