ECONOMIC ANTHROPOLOGY A Study in Comparative Economics Originally published in 1940as THE ECONOMIC LIFE OF PRIMITIVE PFOPLES B Y MELVILLE HERSKOVITS J. 1952 NEW YORK: ALFRED KNOPF A. V 5; 11IIS IS A ROR/OI BOOK >fe PITRLISIlt|) B\ AIFRH) A. KNOIPF, INC. ^ Copyright 1910, 1952 by Melville J. Herskovtts. All rights reserved. No part of this book in excess of five hundred words may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review to be printed in a magazine or newspaper. Manufactured in the United States of America. Published simultaneously in Canada by McClelland & Stewart Limited. Originally published in 19-JO as THE ECONOMIC LIFEOF PRIMIIIVK PEOPLES. Second edition, revised, enlarged, rewritten, reset, and printed from new plates. ECONOMIC: ANTHROPOLOGY PREFACE THIS BOOK, a thorough revision of The Economic Life ofPrimitive Peoples, is an introduction to comparative economics, in the broadest sense of the term. It would have been desirable so to entitle it, had not economic science already assigned to this designation the more restricted field of the comparison of free enterprise with communist and fascist economies. The present title, which stems from a suggestion put forward in 1927 by N. S. B. Gras, seemed a feasible alternative, especially since the term "economic anthropology" has slowly been finding a place in the relevant anthropological literature. It is to be hoped that it will gain currency among economists to define an aspect of their discipline whose significance is receiving increasing recog- nition from them. The change in title represents a reorientation in point of view that goes far beyond the question of mere terminology. Ten years ago, the word "primitive" came easily to the lips. It is only with the rapid development of communications of the past decade, and the growing integration of peoples of the most diverse cultures into the world scene, that the essentially pejora- tive and tendentious character of this designation, like others such as "savage," "backward," or "early," when applied to any functioning way of life, became apparent. This is not the place to analyze the cultural or psychological problems of the emergent nationalisms found in expanding and newly literate communities of Africa and Asia and of other non-machine societies. Yet when their story is told, the role played by the reaction of their leaders against designations of this order will be found to be a major PREFACE VI factor in the latent or explicit hostilities of which these move- ments are in many cases the expression. The word "primitive" is open to objection, further, because it is incapable of precise definition. The presence or absence of a written language, of power machinery, of least common de- nominators of value these are objectively ascertainable facts that have bearing on the study of many problems where cultures of differing historical backgrounds, institutional organization, and psychological orientations are to be compared. They are of relevance where economic behavior and mechanisms particular are under consideration, and in this context exemplify strikingly their desirability as criteria of comparison when contrasted to the essential lack of preciseness of the earlier, more inclusive desig- nation "primitive." The fact that this revision has necessitated what in many cases amounts to a re-writing of the original work reflects in a very real sense the developments in the study of the economics of nonliterate, non-industrial, and non-pecuniary societies that have taken place since 1940, when the earlier volume was pub- lished. The neglect by earlier anthropologists of the economic aspects of the cultures they studied no longer exists. Under present conventions of field-work, no anthropologist of com- petence takes as synonymous the technology of a people with their economics, or considers it sufficient it he only studies the canons of ownership, where problems of differentials in wealth and position are his concern. The change is shown by the differ- ence in length and treatment of many topics in this volume and in its predecessor. The earlier single chapter on labor has had to be expanded into two, one on work-patterns, the other on the rewards of labor. Consumption norms now require separate treatment. Elsewhere, the new data amplify presentations and make it possible to clarify the implications of points that could only be sketched a decade ago. The expansion and revision of the first section, which deals with theoretical and historical aspects of our subject, is likewise the result of this development, though it concomitantly repre- sents a growing interest in the subject-matter on the part of econ- omists. It is true that much of this interest, expressed in con- versations, has not as yet yielded substantial published results; but it is apparent that the interest is there, and that systematic PREFACE Vll exploitation of the data by economists is only a matter of time. I have made it a point to discuss with economists of widely differing orientations problems of mutual concern treated in this book, and have found a receptivity and understanding that could not have been predicted ten years ago. There will perhaps be those who will seek in these pages some treatment of the effects of contact with the economies of Europe and America on the systems with which we are concerned. This is an aspect of the contemporary scene which is focal to the problem of world adjustment. Too often, however, those who must deal with situations of this order assume that the changes that are concurring must be uni-directional, that the simplicity of the "primitive" systems on which the industrialized order is impinging makes the problem one of imposition rather than of interplay. To the extent this is the case, this book may contribute to the understanding of the historical forces at play by bringing to those having to do with problems arising out of the spread of Euroamerican technology and industrialization throughout the non-industrial world a realization of the background against which these innovations must be projected, if a workable adjust- ment is to be achieved. But these situations of contact, or the processes involved in them, are not within the terms of reference of this particular work. It is rather my aim to give the reader a sense of the variation that marks the manner in which all men achieve those aims of the application of scarce means to given ends that can only result from an overview of the various systems that mankind has devised to accomplish this fundamental re- quirement of human civilization. The purpose of this book thus remains what it was when first written to provide information concerning the economic life of nonliterate peoples, to consider some of the questions in eco- nomic science that can be examined by the use of these data, and to suggest lines of attack which may be profitably defined for future use. In the main, I have tried to follow the conventional categories of economics and to indicate the points at which the economies with which we are concerned diverge so sharply from our own that it is not possible to follow these conventions. I have kept to a minimum the specialized technical terms of both an- thropology and economics, so that what is written may be ac- cessible to all whose interest lies in the dynamics of culture and PREFACE Vlll the variety of forms in which comparable institutions of differing ways of life can be cast. In documenting my discussion, I have used examples from my own field research sparingly, sacrificing at times the special in- sight that first-hand knowledge of a culture affords in enlarging on a point, in orderto use pertinentmaterials from other societies. The history of social science is replete with examples of students who have not learned the lesson of scientific method, that valid generalization must rest on a broad base of factual materials. On the other hand, I have not gone to the lengths of some of the older writers of the comparative school, such as Frazer, or Westermarck, or Sumner, who saw to it that every possible in- stance bearing on a given point was included in their discussions. For this, we have learned, means that while the reader ranges widely, he is left without any sense of cultural depth and co- hesiveness. It has seemed to me to be more advantageous to cite fewer cases, and to present these more fully, than the tradition ofthe comparative method as classically practiced would dictate. I have therefore turned in the main to those contributions wherein economic life is adequately treated in preference to those where economic facts enter incidentally, to works repre- senting the use of modern field techniques rather than to the older sources; and I have favored the use of less well-known data over those few instances of economic processes and institu- tions, like the potlatch, which have been cited so often that they need only to be referred to in order to call them to mind. I may express again my indebtedness to the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation and to Northwestern Uni- versity for the support that made it possible for me to write the original study, and to Northwestern University for funds that aided me in preparing the manuscript of the present work for the press. I may likewise repeat my thanks to those institutions, colleagues, and friends whose advice and assistance were so valuable in helping me write the earlier book. In addition I should like to acknowledge the stimulating suggestions of those, like Professor K. F. Walker of Adelaide University, Australia, whose perceptive and detailed reviews of that work I have found To those others who have read and commented on helpful. parts of this re-writing in manuscript I likewise extend my thanks Professors Yale Brozen, Frank Fetter, Jules Henry, Elmo Hoh- PREFACE IX man, Dr. Helen Hohman, Mr. Edward E. LeClair, Dr. Karl Jr., de Schweinitz, Professors Sol Tax and Harold Williamson. Jr., Finally, I take pleasure in expressing my appreciation to my friend, Professor Frank II. Knight, for his willingness to allow me to reprint his analysis of my original presentation which, with my reply, will be found in the Appendix. MELVILLE HERSKOVITS J. Evanston, Illinois ECONOMIC ANTHROPOLOGY CONTENTS INTRODUCTION Parti. i. Economizing and Rational Behavior 3 ii. Before the Machine 25 in. Anthropology and Economics 42 PRODUCTION PartII. iv. Getting a Living 67 v. Patterns of Labor 88 vi. Incentives and Rewards 109 vn. Division of Labor and Specialization 124 Part HI. EXCHANGE AND DISTRIBUTION viii. Gift and Ceremonial Exchange 155 ix. Trade and Barter 180 x. Business Enterprise, Credit, and the Determination of Value 204 xi. Money and Wealth 238 xii. Constunption Norms and Standards of Living 269 xiu. Capital Formation 298 xi CONTENTS Xii PROPERTY Part IV. xiv. The Problem of Ownership 313 xv. Land Tenure: Hunters, Herders and Food Gatherers 331 xvi. Land Tenure: Agricultural Peoples 350 xvii. Goods, Tangible and Intangible 371 Part V. THE ECONOMIC SURPLUS xvni. Population Size, Economic Surplus and Social Leisure 395 xix. The Cost of Government 416 xx. The Service of the Supernatural 439 xxi. Wealth, Display and Status 461 PartVI. CONCLUSIONS xxii. Some Problems and Points of View 487 APPENDIX Deduction and Induction in Economics (by Frank H. Knight and Melville J. Herskovits) 507 Bibliography 533 Index follows page 551