Medical Anthropology in Ecological Perspective: Fifth Edition

521 Pages·2008·3.56 MB·English

by  Ann Mcelroy

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Medical Anthropology
in Ecological Perspective
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Medical Anthropology
in Ecological Perspective
FIFTH EDITION
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Ann McElroy
Patricia K. Townsend
University at Buffalo
with contributions by
Pamela I. Erickson, University of Connecticut
David A. Himmelgreen, University of South Florida
Richard V. Lee, University at Buffalo
Nancy Romero-Daza, University of South Florida
Linda Whiteford, University of South Florida
John P. Ziker, Boise State University
A Member of the Perseus Books Group
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Copyright © 2009 by Westview Press
Published by Westview Press,
A Member of the Perseus Books Group
Every effort has been made to secure required permissions to use all images,
maps, and other art included in this volume.
All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this
book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written
permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles
and reviews. For information, address Westview Press, 2465 Central Avenue,
Boulder, CO 80301.
Find us on the World Wide Web at www.westviewpress.com.
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information, please contact the Special Markets Department at the Perseus
Books Group, 2300 Chestnut Street, Suite 200, Philadelphia, PA 19103, or call
[phone], ext. 5000, or e-mail [email protected].
Designed by Trish Wilkinson
Set in 11-point Adobe Garamond by the Perseus Books Group
A CIP catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress
ISBN-13: 978-0-8133-4384-6
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To Roger and Alison
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OVERVIEW OF CONTENTS
List of Profiles xiii
About the Authors and Contributors xv
Preface xvii
Chapter One The Ecology of Health and Disease 1
Chapter Two Interdisciplinary Research
in Health Problems 33
Chapter Three Genes, Culture, and Adaptation 81
Chapter Four Changing Patterns of Disease and Health 131
Chapter Five The Ecology and Economics of Nutrition 169
Chapter Six Culture, Ecology, and Reproduction 217
Chapter Seven Stress, Illness, and Healing 267
Chapter Eight Health Resources in Changing Cultures 311
Chapter Nine Costs and Benefits of Development 359
Chapter Ten Medical Anthropologists at Work:
Meeting the Challenges of the
Twenty-first Century 409
Appendix: Projects in Medical Anthropology 429
References Cited 433
Index 483
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CONTENTS
List of Profiles xiii
About the Authors and Contributors xv
Preface to the Fifth Edition xvii
Chapter One The Ecology of Health and Disease 1
Preview 2
Studying Nepali Children: An Example
of Medical Anthropology 2
Environment, Culture, and Health 7
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Profile: Arctic Adaptations 16
A Working Model of Ecology and Health 28
Resources 31
Chapter Two Interdisciplinary Research
in Health Problems 33
Preview 34
The Nature of Collaboration 34
Bio-Environmental Data 37
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Profile: Cannibal Mourners 42
Clinical Data 46
Epidemiological Data 49
Social and Cultural Data 53
Becoming a Medical Anthropologist 62
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viii Contents
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Profile: Learning Field Methods
in Costa Rica, Nancy Romero-Daza and
David A. Himmelgreen 63
Fieldwork Ethics 69
Medical Anthropology at Work 72
Conclusions 79
Resources 80
Chapter Three Genes, Culture, and Adaptation 81
Preview 82
Human Variability and Adaptation 82
Adaptation Through Biological Evolution 85
Skin Color and Adaptation 91
Evolution and Human Immune Systems 92
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Profile: Malaria and Agriculture 96
Evolution and Medicine 100
Physiological and Developmental Adaptation 103
Cultural Adaptation 108
Direct Medical Control Strategies 110
Variability and Change in Cultural Systems 113
Studying Adaptation 115
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Profile: Local Differences in
Iodine Deficiency Goiter in the
Western Himalaya, Richard V. Lee 118
Studying Adaptation to Illness and Disability 124
Conclusions 127
Resources 128
Chapter Four Changing Patterns of Disease and Health 131
Preview 132
Culture as Environment 133
The Study of Population 134
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Profile: Infant Survival
in a Papua New Guinea Society 136
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Contents ix
Life and Death in Hunter-Gatherer Camps
and Farming Villages 143
Paleopathology: The Study of Disease
in Prehistory 148
Life and Death in the Preindustrial City 152
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Profile: The Black Death 153
Life and Death in Industrial Society 157
Conclusions 166
Resources 167
Chapter Five The Ecology and Economics of Nutrition 169
Preview 170
Human Foodways and Nutritional Needs 170
Subsistence by Hunting and Gathering 173
Nutrition in Prehistory 177
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Profile: Dry Bones: Health in
Southwestern Prehistory 180
Subsistence in the Humid Tropics 183
Agriculture 186
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Profile: Famine in Ethiopia 193
Industrial Agriculture 198
The Global Epidemic of Malnutrition 201
Breast or Bottle 206
The Anthropology of Food and Cooking 209
All That Goes in the Mouth Is Not Food 212
Conclusions 214
Resources 214
Chapter Six Culture, Ecology, and Reproduction 217
Preview 218
Three Birth Stories 218
Well-Being in Pregnancy:
Biological and Social Factors 224