Comparative Method Development within Anthropology

University Of California-Davis, Davis CA

Investigators

Abstract

This continued research will advance the comparative method in anthropology through development and application of new methods involving synchronic (variation across societies) and diachronic (variation across time) change. Using tree- and matrix-based methods to control for "Galton's Problem" (the independence of adjacent societies), and Boolean logic for holistic comparison of cases, the project will develop methods that examine how suites of characteristics covary using historical and present-day ethnographic information; evaluate these methods in relation both to other synchronic methods and to newly developed approaches in comparative historical sociology; and apply these methods to test hypotheses using comparative data. The project will test a set of hypotheses (mainly focusing on marriage and bridewealth) about cross-cultural variability using the ethnographic literature (codings of 120 variables for 38 societies) from East Africa over the past 100 years. This research will advance our knowledge of East African societies, will help re-establish comparative cross-cultural research as a central part of anthropology, and will help link qualitative and quantitative research traditions.