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868

MERIC N NTHROPOLOGIST

[76 1974]

from the less human. Despite its re

searches, neither sociology nor anthropology

has been able to do much to make the transi-

tion to the contemporary world easier for

those who were not born into middle-class

families in the developed world.

I recommend this book highly for anthro-

pologists, irrespective of age, who re con-

cerned with intellectual directions, who con-

sider knowledge s a tool rather than s a

hobby, and who believe that the purpose

of

scholarship should be the pursuit of under-

standing which is united to action utilizing

the insights gained. Like Professor Lee, I

believe that borders and interests must be

fluid enough to encourage new explorations

rather than to serve s inhibitors of fresh

ideas which may deviate from definitions

handed down by the founding fathers.

Meditations on Hunting.

JOSE

ORTEGA Y

GASSET. Translated and with preface by

Howard B. Wescott. Introduction by Paul

Shepard. Illustrated by Lewis

S.

Brown. New

York: Charles Scribner, 1972. 152 pp., il-

lustrations.

9.95

(cloth). [First English ed.

Original Spanish ed.

1943,

Madrid.]

Reviewed b y JAMES W . FERNANDEZ

Dartmouth College

This volume, containing provocative in-

sights into anthropology and ecology, ap-

peared before Christmas 1972. t enjoyed a

brisk sale and generally enthusiastic com-

mentary in the Field and Stream columns

of American newspapers. Many a strong and

silent American sporting man whose wife

was concerned with the state of his culture

found this slim volume of intricate Iberian

speculation under his Christmas tree. Since

this anthropology is being more widely

read than the great majority of books

strictly within our discipline, we should

want to know what is being said in our

name.

These meditations were penned by Ortega

in the early 1940s and preceded by two

decades the ecological enthusiasm of the

1960s.

He argues essentially that, for the

animal in us all, hunting is a necessary devia-

tion from the unrelenting course of civiliza-

tion-the increasingly relentless rule of rea-

son. Hunting cannot progress. It is pri-

mordial and natural. In fact,

s

mans power

has progressed, he has had to work increas-

ingly hard to preserve the conditions neces-

s ry

to hunting. For it

is

not a matter of

obliteration, but of recapturing a primordial

scenario in which, while our mastery in the

zoological hierarchy is confirmed, at the

same time we achieve a mysterious com-

munion with the animal in our own nature.

The mastery we obtain in hunting is ex-

hilarating, but, s we finally contemplate the

death of the animal, we are in the pro-

foundest way humbled s well. The scenario

carries far beyond reason to what is spon-

taneous and instinctive. In hunting, man re

turns to his old homestead. He restores an

old alertness that he can nowhere else

achieve amidst the discontentments of

history and civilization.

These meditations do not occur in uacuo

but relate to the Ortegan philosophy in

which life is understood s a mode

of

coex-

istence, a dialogue,, between the subject and

its circumstances. Authenticity in life is ob-

tained first by possessing all that is other

alteracibn) and second, by turning within,

in reflection upon the other, so s not t o be

mastered by it ensimismamiento). In

hunting, apparently, Ortega saw a veritable

exemplar of this process. The hunter both

possesses, or is possessed by, the other

through the necessity of imitating the animal

in hunting it. But he is carried beyond that

possession to the inevitable reflections-

meditations-that accompany the death of

that other. Hunting by photography, that is,

hunting without the death of the animal, is

not hunting at all to Ortega, any more than

French or Portuguese bull-fighting is bull-

fighting.

The ecologist, Paul Shepard, contributes a

thoughtful introduction which enlarges our

understanding of the hunters vision, dis-

tinguishing it from the present-day poaching

upon nature by municipal man. The trans-

lation by Howard Wescott is very good. The

illustrations are evocative and very suitable.

This book may be recommended to all

those interested in fostering world wild

life-an enterprise in which many hunters

enthusiastically cooperate, of course-

because of the insights it offers into those

fellow citizens-our primitive contempo-

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raries-who

re

irremediably possessed by

the hunting scenario and its mortal de-

nouement.

Anthropology Beyond the University.

ALDEN REDFIELD, ed. Southern Anthro-

pological Society Proceedings, 7. Athens:

University of Georgia Press, 1973.

v

134

pp., chapter notes, chapter references. 3.75

Reviewed by E. LAMAR ROSS

Florida International U niversity

Traditional training of anthropologists

has severely limited their opportunities for

employment outside of the ivy-covered walls

of

academe. One has but to look at the

anxiety-ridden recent and not-so-recent

anthropology graduates scrounging for

academic positions at the AAA employment

centers to realize that many perceive aca-

demia

s

the best, if not only, route for em-

ployment of their talents. The fault lies not

only with the emphasis on a traditional aca-

demic oriented training-which Casagrande

openly criticized in his 1972 presidential

address before the annual meeting of the

American Anthropological Association

AAA Newsletter

14(1), January 17,

1973)-but with the professions failure to

call attention to other avenues of employ-

ment. Although its success is admittedly

limited, this book, derived from the key

symposium by the same title at the seventh

annual meeting of the Southern Anthropo-

logical Society, takes the first step toward

demonstrating to students of anthropology

that the future for employment of anthropo-

logically trained scholars need not be s

bleak

s

it seems.

The stated purpose

of

the book is more

grandiose than the end result, yet this does

not detract from its usefulness. The stated

purpose was to:

attempt to illustrate some of the inter-

relationships between anthropology and

other fields, offering students the oppor-

tunity to discover inductively some

of

the

core ideas in anthropology. Furthermore,

the potential job market for people with

training in anthropology, whether con-

(paper).

sisting of a few courses or a degree,

is

indicated in a number

of

these fields [p.

11.

The first goal,

of

showing interrelation-

ships between anthropology and other fields,

can be at best-in a volume like this-only

suggestive. The second

task,

of

indicating

potential job opportunities, appears to be

more realistic, and, to this reviewer, provides

the greatest contribution.

Opportunities were discussed in: 1)

forensic anthropology and primate research

for physical anthropologists; (2) salvage

archaeology, park service, and museum work

for archeologists; and (3) the re s of educa-

tion, health and related social problems, and

governmental advisory capacities for socio-

cultural anthropologists.

Dr. Snows discussion of how the training

of

physical anthropologists prepares them

for career s forensic anthropologists in

both informative and amusing. Maples sug-

gests that major primate field stations also

can provide nonteaching positions for the

student of physical anthropology, and he

describes his own experiences during the

three years that he was manager of the

Southwest Primate Research Center in

Nairobi, Kenya. He attempts to show how

the blend of biological and social science

training of physical anthropologists is

especially useful for doing primate research

in other regions of the world.

Of the three papers on archaeology

beyond the University, two (Sturtevants

and Fischers) suggest job opportunities

out-

side of the university. If his suggestions are

heeded, Sturtevants portrayal of the muse-

um s

an untapped resource and data bank

could add a new dimension to research done

by anthropologists. Fischer is even more

pragmatic; he discusses the various programs

administered by the National Park Service

and their systems for disseminating informa-

tion from archaeological projects. He also

provides a description of the types of em-

ployment available, the required qualifica-

tions, and the procedure for applying for

employment with the Service. Two ap-

pendices to his paper, one listing the Nation-

al Park Service Areas and their location and

the other listing National Park Service Re-

gional Offices, aid one in pursuing the em-

ployment possibilities.