Upon a Stone Altar: A History of the Island of Pohnpei to 1890 (Review)
Alkire, William H.; L. Hanlon, David (September 1990). "Upon a Stone Altar: A History of the Island of Pohnpei to 1890 (Review)". Man. 25 (3): 538–540. doi:10.2307/2803730. ISSN 0025-1496.
Abstract: A review of Upon a Stone Altar: A History of the Island of Pohnpei to 1890 addresses the island of Pohnpei in Micronesia, reporting that the work presents Pohnpeians as primary actors in their own history rather than passive victims. The review records a critique of the handling of oral traditions, noting that oral accounts are sometimes cited as historical fact, and juxtaposes positions associated with J. R. Swanton and Peter Buck against those of Lowie and Malinowski. It quotes B. S. Cohn’s caution that oral history reflects present social and political structure and is continually reshaped to address changing situations, citing the International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences.
A separate review discusses Human Mating Patterns (Soc. Stud. hum. Biol. Symp. 28), edited by C. G. N. Mascie-Taylor and A. J. Boyce, characterizing it as an overview of approaches to the evolutionary consequences of mate choice and noting its relevance to both social and biological anthropology as well as the utility of a reductionist approach. The volume is described as drawing authors from evolutionary biology, human biology, medical genetics, and biological, social, and historical anthropology, and as organized into four sections: historical and demographic studies; mate choice and assortative mating; medical and biological aspects of inbreeding; and social, cultural and religious factors. The third section is noted as less coherent, with studies on animal mating patterns by A. F. Read and P. H. Harvey and on non-human primates by D. Quiatt set alongside P. Harper and D. F. Roberts on mating patterns and genetic disease and Bittles and Makov on inbreeding effects in humans.
Details of the first section are summarized as reviews by Macfarlande, Swedlund, and Jakobi & Darlu of three traditions for studying mating patterns: English historical demographers, American genetical demographers, and the French genetic-structure approach inspired by Jacquard, with Peach and Mitchell contributing a study of inter-ethnic marriage and marriage distance. The second section is reported to examine assortative mating, with Susanne & Lepage reviewing phenotype-based assortative mating, Lasker summarizing research on recurrent marriage of couples sharing the same pair of different surnames, and Mascie-Taylor reviewing and adding data on correspondence of mates for psychometric characteristics. The review further notes that the volume explores causes of observed patterns of mate choice through evolutionary, economic, or ideological arguments.
The narrative progresses to discuss the island’s interactions with Europeans and Americans, with chapters covering early explorers, the establishment of a beachcombers’ community, and the influence of traders, whalers, and missionaries through the 19th century. By 1886, Pohnpei was incorporated into the Spanish colonial empire. Hanlon concludes that the Pohnpeians and their culture have “survived and persevered” despite these external contacts and colonial pressures.
Alkire’s review praises the book for concisely and clearly demonstrating that Pohnpeians were active participants in their history, not merely passive victims. However, he criticizes Hanlon’s handling of oral traditions, suggesting that these should be approached with greater caution, as they may reflect present social and political structures as much as historical facts.
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MAG: 2800487654 OpenAlex: W2800487654
