Headhunter's heritage

About this book

"Mr. Murphy has attempted, not a general ethnography of Mundurucú culture, but rather an analysis of economy and social structure. He avoids interpretations of a finalistic or teleological nature, and eschews the particularism inherent in the concept of immediate causes. Since he wishes to analyse the continual interplay of the forces of stability and change, he also avoids using the method of two base lines which is common in acculturation studies. He gives particular attention to the importance of ecological adaptation and relations to other societies as causes of social and cultural change; and he stresses that functional and historical analyses are complementary to each other rather than methodologically exclusive. The result is an intriguing story with an element of tragedy-of how the once proud Mundurucú, caught in the trap of their own newly induced needs, have come to the brink of social extinction."-- Book jacket.