collection

The people of Puerto Rico: a study in social anthropology

University of Illinois Press • Urbana • Published In 1956 • Pages: x, 540

By: Steward, Julian Haynes, Manners, Robert A. (Robert Alan), Wolf, Eric R., Padilla, Elena, Mintz, Sidney Wilfred, Scheele, Raymond L..

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
The objective of the series of monographs in this ethnographic survey is to analyze sociocultural variation in rural Puerto Rico, its historical modification and general processes of historical development. To clarify and refine the concepts and methods of Steward's theory of cultural ecology, the authors here limit their scope of investigation to the major forms of agricultural production of the rural population. Selecting communities that exemplify the principle types of Puerto Rican farm production (corporate sugarcane plantations, government owned sugarcane plantations, small cash-subsistence mixed crop farms, and the modified haciendas and small farms producing coffee), they undertake to determine how sociocultural institutions and processes co-vary with economic type. They also apply Steward's ideas of local and class subcultures and levels of sociocultural integration to their data by examining how these rural subcultures function within the larger context of national Puerto Rican culture. This source also analyzes the developmental factors and processes generating these rural subcultures by discussing what features of the local environment differentiate forms of land use and the adaptation of social and political features to the productive processes. In integrating their findings, the various authors develop a set of theoretical propositions about recurrent features of cultural structure, function, and history in all these contrasting Puerto Rican rural cultures, which had diverse regional and local origins and traditions. Accordingly, in the concluding chapters, the authors use historical and ecological evidence to construct a developmental or diachronic typology to determine the structural-functional origins and sequences of the existing synchronic variation in these rural agrarian ecosystems and sociopolitical systems. This field research on rural Puerto Rico was undertaken by the several authors as doctoral dissertation requirements at Columbia University under Julian Steward's direction. This volume represents a later compilation of their research findings and interpretations, again under Steward's editorship.
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
Theoretical orientation in research and its results
Classes
History
Acculturation and culture contact
External relations
Religious denominations
General character of religion
Special crops
Arboriculture
Occupational specialization
Gender status
Artificial kin relationships
Ownership and control of capital
Labor supply and employment
Status, role, and prestige
Cultural participation
Culture summary
cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
Puerto Ricans (Island)
HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
2012
RegionThe area the document pertains to
Middle America and the Caribbean
Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
Caribbean
Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
collection
Evaluation
Creator TypesThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
Ethnologist
Indigenous Person
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.
4: Excellent Secondary Data
5: Excellent Primary Data
AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
Gilbert Winer; 1967-1968 ; John Beierle; 2011
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
1948-1949
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
1700-1949
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
Puerto Rico
NotesAdditional notes
[by] Julian H. Steward [et al.]
Notes: "A Social Science Research Center study, College of Social Sciences, University of Puerto Rico."
Includes bibliographical references (p. 516-526) and index
LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
56005682
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Puerto Rico--Social life and customs
Puerto Rico--Rural conditions