article
Hunza in the Himalayas: storied Shangri-La undergoes scrutiny
Natural History • 72 (8) • Published In 1963 • Pages: 38-45
By: Clark, John.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
The author attempts to correct certain misconceived ideas held by many people regarding the small, mountainous, central Asia kingdom of Hunza as a Shangri-La or virtual Himalayan paradise peopled by men and women of extraordinary health and longevity (reaching the ages of 120-140 years). Using these erroneous assumptions as a starting point, the author proceeds to list the many cases of disease he encountered while maintaining a general dispensary in the area, and the dietary deficiencies in the native foods which contributed immeasurably to the development of such diseases. Upon investigating the alleged cases of longevity, the author found that usually the individual was simply estimating his age. Later investigations based on the rate of dental wear indicated that such elderly Hunzas were in reality no older than sixty to seventy-five years of age. Other data to be found in the source pertain to the political organization of the kingdom, the status of women, weddings and the Tumushuling celebration, population emigration, and soils, agriculture and land use. The author, Director of the Central Asiatic Research Foundation, visited Hunza twice between 1948-1951, with the primary purpose of discovering what resources were available to the Hunzas and to teach the people to use them to the best advantage.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Topography and geology
- Descriptive somatology
- Telephone and telegraph
- Diet
- Normal garb
- Personal grooming
- Burden carrying
- Gender status
- Etiquette
- Community heads
- Informal in-group justice
- Chief executive
- External relations
- Taxation and public income
- Sanctions
- Judicial authority
- Hospitals and clinics
- Medical therapy
- Theological systems
- Religious denominations
- Status and treatment of the aged
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Burusho
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 2000
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- Asia
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- South Asia
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- article
- Evaluation
- Creator TypesThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Natural Scientist
- Physical Scientist
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- John Beierle ; 1966-1967
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1948-1951
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1948-1951
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Hunza, Pakistan
- NotesAdditional notes
- John Clark
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 20020046
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Burusho