QN. How ethnographers interprete the remains of fish skeleton, remains of blocken pots, the remains of mats, the remains of alloy of copper and tin, and lastly, the remains of painting of arrows, spears, and animal in caves?
BACKGROUND OF ETHNOGRAPHY
Ethnography (from Greek ἔθνος ethnos = folk/people and
γράφω grapho = to write) is a qualitative research method aimed to learn
and understand cultural phenomena which reflect the knowledge and system of
meanings guiding the life of a cultural group. It was pioneered in the field of
socio-cultural anthropology but has also become a popular method in various
other fields of social sciences—particularly in sociology,
communication studies, and history —that study people, ethnic groups and
other ethnic formations, their ethnogenesis,
composition, resettlement, social welfare characteristics, as well as their
material and spiritual culture. It is often employed for gathering empirical
data on human societies
and cultures.
Data collection is often done through participant observation, interviews,
questionnaires, and so forth. Ethnography aims to describe the nature of those
who are studied (for example to describe a people, an ethnos) through
writing. In the biological sciences, this type of study might be called a
"field study" or a "case report", both of which are used as
common synonyms for "ethnography". (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnography/10-05-2012/6.23Am).
Also the word
Ethnography Etymology as a French Word ethnographie, from ethno-
+ -graphie –graphy, Date: 1834 :
the study and systematic recording of human cultures ; also : a
descriptive work produced from such research, (http://www.americanethnography.com/ethnography.php/10-05-2012/7.39AM).
The term ethnography has come to be equated with virtually any qualitative
research project (Research Gateway)
where the intent is to provide a detailed, in-depth description of everyday
life and practice. This is sometimes referred to as "thick
description" -- a term attributed to the anthropologist Clifford Geertz
writing on the idea of an interpretive theory of culture in the early 1970s (The
Interpretation of Cultures, first published as a collection in
1973). The use of the term "qualitative" is meant to
distinguish this kind of social science research from more
"quantitative" or statistically oriented research. The two
approaches, i.e., quantitative and qualitative, while often complimentary,
ultimately have different aims, (http://www.brianhoey.com/General%20Site/general_defn-ethnography.htm/10-05-2012/2012/7.46AM).
Anthropologists,
ethnographers, and other social scientists may engage in something called
ethnography. Ethnography, simply stated, is the study of people in their own
environment through the use of methods such as participant observation and
face-to-face interviewing. As anthropologist H. Sidky suggests, ethnography
documents cultural similarities and differences through empirical
fieldwork and can help with scientific generalizations about human behavior and
the operation of social and cultural systems (2004:9). Because anthropology as
a discipline is holistic (meaning it looks at the past, present and future of a
community across time and space), ethnography as a first hand, detailed account
of a given community or society attempts to get a comprehensive understanding
of the circumstances of the people being studied. Ethnographers, then, look at
and record a people’s way of life as seen by both the people and the
anthropologist; they take an emic (folk or inside) and etic
(analytic or outside) approach to describing communities and cultures, (http://www.nps.gov/history/ethnography/aah/AAheritage/ERCb.htm/10-05-2012/11.10AM).
Ethnography provides an account
of a particular community, society, or culture. During ethnography field work
the ethnographer gathers data, which he or she organizes, describes, analyzes,
and interprets, to build and present that account, which may be in form of a
book, article, or film. Ethnography use the following methods; participant
observation, rapport, buildings, interviewing, genealogies, work with key
consultants, life histories, and longitudinal research, (Kottak, 2005). Most
anthropologists today point to Bronislaw Malinowski, author of such landmark
ethnographies as Argonauts of the Western Pacific (first published in
1922), as a kind of founding father to ethnographic fieldwork, the practice of
“participant-observation.”
DEFINITION OF THE KEY
CONCEPT
Bronislaw Malinowski
(1884-1942), defined ethnography is
the study and record cultural diversity threatened by westernization.
Ethnography consists of the observation and analysis of human groups considered
as individual entities (the groups are often selected, for practical and
theoretical reasons unrelated to the nature of the research involved, from
those societies that differ most from our own). Ethnography thus aims at
recording as accurately as possible the perspective modes of life of various
groups (In the book “Classic Argonaunts of western passific, 1922/1961).
Ethnography is the field of anthropological research based on
direct observation of and reporting on people’s way of life. Within this
ethnography consists the process of observing, and recording data, usually
description and analysis of the subject under study, (Kottak, 2005).
Ethnography refers to scientific description of people and cultures
with reference to their particular customs and characteristics, (Nelson H.
Graburn, 1982).
Therefore, Ethnography defined as the scientific study of human
social phenomena and communities, through means such as fieldwork. It is
considered a branch of cultural anthropology,
the branch of anthropology which focuses on the study of human societies. Some
people use “ethnography” and “cultural anthropology” interchangeably, although
cultural anthropology includes more research techniques than just ethnography.
An ethnographer
is a person who gathers and records data about human culture and societies. There
are various research methods that can be applied to the different
sub-categories of this social study, such as field, design or visual ethnography. An
ethnographer often needs to be able to find patterns in and understand issues
faced by a wide sample of people with diverse backgrounds, (http://www.wisegeek.com/what-does-an-ethnographer-do.htm/28-05-2012/6.45PM
).
Ethnographic data is a research logic
used to collect data, develop analysis, and organize the presentation of
research findings. Its formal objective is causal explanation, a specification
of the individually necessary and jointly sufficient conditions for the
emergence of some part of social life. Calls for the progressive redefinition
of the phenomenon to be explained (the explanandum) and of explanatory factors
(the explanans), such that a perfect (sometimes called "universal")
relationship is maintained. Initial cases are inspected to locate common
factors and provisional explanations. As new cases are examined and initial
hypotheses are contradicted, the explanation is reworked in one or both of two
ways, (Smelser and Baltes, eds., 2001).
Ethnographic data means a method of
research in the social sciences, involves a researcher's direct, personal
observation of a group of people. A qualitative approach for studying human
societies in terms of their distinctive cultures which defining the defining
aspect of this approach involves the in-depth study of all aspects of a given
human society.(http://www.ehow.com/facts5801143Ethnographic-analysis.htm/10-05-2012AM).
Archaeological interpretation is an
attempt to reconstruct historical often very ancient, people and try to
discover their belief systems, their rituals, their habits, and their
interaction with their environment by analysis of the archaeological record.
Archaeologists are literally stuck between a rock and a hard place when it
comes to the interpretation of archaeological data. The reason it is so
difficult harks back to the purpose of archaeological research,
Society is a group of people related to each other through persistent
relations, or a large social grouping sharing the same geographical or virtual
territory, subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural
expectations. Human societies are characterized by patterns of relationships (social relations)
between individuals who share a distinctive culture
and institutions;
a given society may be described as the sum total of such relationships among
its constituent members. In the social sciences,
a larger society often evinces stratification and/or dominance patterns in subgroups. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Society/27-05-2012/8.43AM).
Michael Hughes
and Kloehler (2005), define society
as a group who live a some territory and share a common culture.
Macionis J. J.
and Plummer K. (2008), defined society
as the people who interrupt and defined space and share culture.
Hess (1991)
defined society is the group of
people living together in a territory under the leader and involving on
economic activities.
Therefore, society means a group of
people living together in a certain territory whereby culture and economic
activities are practicing.
The following are interpretation of the
following:-
(A). The remain of fish skeleton.
The remain of
fish skeleton as ethnographers interprets in three ways such as; within that
areas had practiced Fishing activities, an areas whereby had dams during
previous year ago and later dried, and it is trading center based on selling
fishing. These societies around those areas the main activities had fishing
activities only as a major economic and most of these societies living around
coastal areas or around greater river like River Nile, Mississippi River, Zambezi River
and Niger River and lakes. The remain of fish
skeleton like Maxillae of the great sculpin, and vertabral salmon represents
and being interpreted that area had either fishing activities, dried dams, and
trading center whereby fish were sold.
(B). Remain of broken pots.
The remain of
broken pots anthropology interprets in two ways such as; that area had
activities of making pots and also had trading center whereby pots were sold.
When ethnographer gather data and see broken pots, an area we consider as an
important center for making pots and trading center whereby various people met
their and involving on either buying or sold their pots made by them during
their life time.
(C). Remain of Mats. The remain of mats in a certain area as ethnographer interpreters we consider that area into two main categories such as; people living that period either involved on making mats or that area were an area whereby there are graves of people who died many years ago because most of African graves including Islamic prefers to use mats during burial.
(D). Remain of copper and Tin. As
ethnographer, the remain of copper and tin in a certain area we consider that
areas previous time their main activities had mining activities. They
participated on digging minerals as their major activities. Therefore when
ethnographers during his/her observation look the remain of that kind of
minerals; copper and tin he/she can interpret that within these area people
dealing with minerals. Also, Onwuejeogwe, M. A. (1975:33) said that, within the
area as the place where smelting, trading, mining, and division of labour
activities were concentrated.
(E)Remain of painting of arrow, spear and
animal in caves. The remain of arrows and spear in a certain environment as
ethnographer interprets that, within an areas people living their, their main
activities had hunting and gathering which helped them to find food. And the
remain of animal in caves interpreting that, within an area people involved
either on hunting and gathering or involved on grazing animals within that
caves.
CRICISM
Onwuejeogwe, M.
A. (1975:34) introduced the criticism of the use of archaeological data in
anthropological interpretation as follows; Anthropologists, and ethnographers
facing with the problem of interpreting or explaining cultural and social
facts.
They do this in
various ways, such as by description, reference to antecedents’ events,
reference to the mediating factor, reference to an end or purpose, and
reference to a general law, class, or principle. In order to interpret extent
cultures and social system with
reference to the past, an anthropologist has to rely mostly on oral tradition
scientifically cross-checked and processed; and/ or on written documents
describing the cultures or social systems of hundreds or thousands of years ago
if they are available; and/ or on information obtained from scientific
archaeology.
Written
documents do not occur in all cultures and they do not contain all the facts.
Some of the facts have been recorded incorrectly, or have undergone changes as
the result of continuous modifications and alterations of writers, reporters
and reviewers.
CONCLSION
Ethnography
interpretation, anthropological interpretation, and archaeological data have a
lot of advantages to our society as follows; provide detail, descriptive,
portrait of other culture, group and institution. Provide a basic for future
studies including comparative work, it provide a solution for existed problem,
it provides a new knowledge to different cultures, and it is distinguishing one
culture and another.
REFERENCES
Kottak, C. P,
(2005), “A Concise Introdction to Cultural Anthropology; Mirror for
Humanity”, 4 Edition, Michigan University
Onwuejeogwu, M.
A, (1975), “The Social Anthropology of Africa :
An Introduction”,
POWERED BY CHIWAMBO AUSI R (TEOFILO KISANJI UNIVERSITY (TEKU), MAY 2012
No comments:
Post a Comment