Biosocial Becomings: Integrating Social and Biological Anthropology

292 Pages·2013·3.99 MB·English

by  Tim Ingold

more information – www.cambridge.org/9781107025639

BiosocialBecomings
IntegratingSocialandBiologicalAnthropology
Allhumanlifeunfoldswithinamatrixofrelations,whichareatonce
socialandbiological.Yetthestudyofhumanityhaslongbeendivided
betweenoftenincompatible(cid:2)social(cid:3)and(cid:2)biological(cid:3)approaches.
Reachingbeyondthedualismsofnatureandsociety,andofbiology
andculture,thisvolumeproposesauniqueandintegratedviewof
anthropologyandthelifesciences.Featuringcontributionsfrom
leadinganthropologists,itexploreshumanlifeasaprocessof
(cid:2)becoming(cid:3)ratherthan(cid:2)being(cid:3),anddemonstratesthathumanityis
neithergiveninthenatureofourspeciesnoracquiredthroughculture,
butforgedintheprocessoflifeitself.Combiningwide-ranging
theoreticalargumentwithin-depthdiscussionofmaterialfromrecent
orongoingfieldresearch,thechaptersdemonstratehow
contemporaryanthropologycanmoveforwardintandemwith
ground-breakingdiscoveriesinthebiologicalsciences.
TIMINGOLDisProfessorofSocialAnthropologyattheUniversityof
Aberdeen.Hisresearchiswide-rangingandinterdisciplinary,spanning
environment,technologyandsocialorganizationinthecircumpolar
North,evolutionarytheory,human(cid:4)animalrelations,languageand
tooluse,environmentalperceptionandskilledpractice.Hiscurrent
workisontheinterfacesbetweenanthropology,archaeology,artand
architecture.
GISLI PALSSONisProfessorofAnthropologyattheUniversityof
Iceland,Reykjavik.HehasconductedfieldworkinIceland,the
RepublicofCapeVerdeandtheCanadianArctic,andhaswrittenona
varietyofissues,includingbiomedicine,genomics,genetichistory,
human(cid:4)animalrelations,fishing,arcticexploration,environmental
discourseandthehistoryofslavery.

Biosocial
Becomings
Integrating Social and
Biological
Anthropology
Editedby
tim ingold
DepartmentofAnthropology,
UniversityofAberdeen
and
gisli palsson
DepartmentofAnthropology,
UniversityofIceland
cambridge university press
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Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9781107025639
'CambridgeUniversityPress2013
Thispublicationisincopyright.Subjecttostatutoryexception
andtotheprovisionsofrelevantcollectivelicensingagreements,
noreproductionofanypartmaytakeplacewithoutthewritten
permissionofCambridgeUniversityPress.
Firstpublished2013
PrintedandboundintheUnitedKingdombytheMPGBooksGroup
AcataloguerecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary
LibraryofCongressCataloguinginPublicationdata
Biosocialbecomings:integratingsocialandbiological
anthropology/editedbyTimIngold,DepartmentofAnthropology,
UniversityofAberdeen,andGisliPalsson,DepartmentofAnthropology,
UniversityofIceland.
pages cm
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN978-1-107-02563-9
1. Ethnology. 2. Physicalanthropology. I. Ingold,Tim,1948(cid:4)
II. GisliPalsson,1949(cid:4)
GN316.B55 2013
306(cid:4)dc23
2012047938
ISBN978-1-107-02563-9Hardback
CambridgeUniversityPresshasnoresponsibilityforthepersistenceor
accuracyofURLsforexternalorthird-partyinternetwebsitesreferredto
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Contents
Preface pagevii
1. Prospect 1
tim ingold
2. Ensemblesofbiosocialrelations 22
gisli palsson
3. Blurringthebiologicalandsocialinhumanbecomings 42
agust(cid:2)n fuentes
4. Life-in-the-making:epigenesis,bioculturalenvironments
andhumanbecomings 59
eugenia ramirez-goicoechea
5. Thalassaemiclivesasstoriesofbecoming:mediated
biologiesandgenetic(un)certainties 84
aglaia chatjouli
6. Sheddingourselves:perspectivism,theboundedsubject
andthenature(cid:4)culturedivide 106
noa vaisman
7. Reflectionsonacollectivebrainatwork:oneweekinthe
workinglifeofanNGOteaminurbanMorocco 123
barbara gçtsch
8. Thehabitsofwater:marginalityandthesacralizationof
non-humansinNorth-EasternGhana 145
gaetano mangiameli
9. (cid:2)Bringingwoodtolife(cid:3):lines,flowsandmaterialsinaSwazi
sawmill 162
vito laterza, bob forrester and patience
mususa
v
vi Contents
10. Humanityandlifeastheperpetualmaintenanceofspecific
efforts:areappraisalofanimism 191
istvan praet
11. Ravelling/unravelling:being-in-the-worldandfalling-out-
of-the-world 211
hayder al-mohammad
12. Retrospect 229
gisli palsson
References 249
Notesonthecontributors 273
Index 276
Preface
The articles in this book were developed in response to an invited
panel(HumanBecomings:Beyondthe(cid:2)Biological(cid:3)andthe(cid:2)Social(cid:3))whichwe
organizedatthebiennialmeetingoftheEuropeanAssociationofSocial
Anthropologists (EASA) in Maynooth, Ireland, in August 2010. When
readingsubmittedpanelabstractsforthebiennialmeetingandplan-
ning the event a few months before it actually took place, the EASA
organizershadbeenstruckbytheabsenceofanyproposaltoseriously
engage with the (cid:2)biological(cid:3) and its implications for the discipline of
anthropology. This seemed rather strange in the light of repeated
critiquesinrecentyearsofthenature/societydualism,oftheincreas-
ing frustration with received theoretical paradigms, and of growing
demandsforsomeformofintegrationofthesocialandthebiological
inavarietyoffieldsanddisciplinesbothinthehumanitiesandsocial
sciences(socialandculturalanthropology,sociology,psychology,phi-
losophy) and in the life sciences (biological anthropology, human
genetics,evolutionaryanddevelopmentalbiology,environmentalsci-
ence). The need for integration seemed all the more pressing in the
contextofthestudyofhumans,traditionallydividedbetweenthetwo
radicallyseparated subfieldsof biological-physical and social-cultural
anthropology.
As a result, we were invited to organize a panel to address the
theoreticaldualismofnatureandsocietyandtoexplorepossiblenew
directions for anthropology and related disciplines. Our panel sum-
marygeneratedextensiveinterestandwereceivedfarmoreabstracts
thanwecouldcopewith,giventhetimeconstraintsoftheconference.
Thepanelitselfwasverywellattendedandgeneratedkeeninterestand
discussionswhichcontinueintheformofanewnetworkthathasbeen
setupundertheumbrellaoftheEASA:http://www.easaonline.org/net-
works/biosoc/index.shtml.
vii
viii Preface
WewouldliketothanktheEASAandtheorganizersatMaynooth
whoofferedusaplatformforthelivelydiscussionsthattookplace.We
alsothankCambridgeUniversityPressandtheiranonymousreviewers
whowarmlyembracedtheconceptwepromised.Finally,wethankour
universitiesforfinancialsupport.
TimIngoldandGisliPalsson
AberdeenandReykjavik