Category Archives: Anthropology

Google for the Anthropology Student (Part I?)

Posted on September 23, 2009 by cfeagans

Image via CrunchBase I’m a big fan of Google. I know a lot of people tend to get a little paranoid about big corporations like Google, Microsoft, Intel, etc. getting their fingers in everything, but so far everything that Google … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthropology | 2 Comments

Sacrifice and the Anthropology of Religion

Posted on August 11, 2009 by cfeagans

Image via Wikipedia Mention the word “sacrifice” in a religious context and, for many people, thoughts of young virgins tossed in volcanoes by a Polynesian King or lying on altars below the obscenely sharp obsidian blade of an Aztec ruler. … Continue reading →

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Anthropology of Religion

Posted on July 29, 2009 by cfeagans

Image via Wikipedia I don’t often post on religious topics on this blog. At least not topics related to modern religion like Christianity. I’m more interested in ancient religion and expression of religion and belief in the material record of … Continue reading →

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The Incredible Human Journey!

Posted on May 16, 2009 by cfeagans

My friend Jeff Rose is interviewed on a recent BBC2 program. Jeff’s a lithicist who works in Oman on early human sites and his presence on camera is dynamite! Here’s hoping we see more of Jeff Rose on BBC -archaeology … Continue reading →

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The Chrysanthemum and the Sword: Reviewing an Ethnography

Posted on September 6, 2008 by cfeagans

I recently had the pleasure of reading Ruth Benedict’s The Chrysanthemum and the Sword, an ethnography done in an experimental style just at the end of World War II in 1946. Benedict studied anthropology under Franz Boas and was the … Continue reading →

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Religion and the Imagination – Cue a John Lennon Song

Posted on May 2, 2008 by admin

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEOkxRLzBf0] According to an anthropologist at the London School of Economics, the very process that John Lennon suggested we use to put religion and other human institutions out our minds might very well be the reason we have religion to … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthropology, religion | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Man’s Best Friend

Posted on December 21, 2007 by cfeagans

One of my most popular blog entries is actually an article I wrote on Anthropology.net called Man’s Best Friends: Part I – The Dog. I had always intended to do at least three parts to that post and things just … Continue reading →

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The Anthropology of Catastrophe: Volcanoes

Posted on December 4, 2007 by cfeagans

Humans have always been afflicted by natural catastrophes ranging from tectonic to weather related and, possibly, even impacts from space! But none, perhaps, have found the significance both culturally and destructively, as the volcano. Throughout the history and prehistory of … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthropology, Favorites | 10 Comments

Video: Dawkins vs. McGrath

Posted on July 15, 2007 by admin

I reviewed Alister McGrath’s book, Dawkins’ God: Genes, Memes, and the Meaning of Life over a year ago and have been waiting ever since for Dawkins and McGrath to square of and hash out their disagreements. John Loftus at, Debunking … Continue reading →

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The Last Foragers of Tanzania – A Farewell to the Hadza?

Posted on June 12, 2007 by cfeagans

Chris O’Brien at Northstate Science has a gut-wrenching post on the plight of the Hadza of northern Tanzania. Their very existence is threatened by wealth, ignorance, and a complete lack of compassion by the government that should be responsible stewards … Continue reading →

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