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Emotional Attachment – 25 May 2007

Frank and I met in an undergraduate anthropology class many years ago. This was an elective course in general anthropology. Since that time, when I occasionally read or see on TV anything related to anthropology, I take notice.

And one of the things I’ve noticed is the emotional attachment that some anthropologists appear to form to the cultures they study. Here’s an example: An anthropologist studying an ancient Peruvian culture that performed human sacrifices praises the artifacts unearthed. These are detailed gold, silver, pottery pieces, and decapitation knives obviously made by people who were highly skilled. The one theme that seems to connect all this work is a portrayal of demons and demonic activity (my interpretation). The fierce-looking faces of deities with exaggerated features designed to intimidate, the naked men being led to slaughter, the drinking of human blood, tell you something about this culture.

Yet the anthropologist uses his scientific distance, which appears more akin to emotional attachment, to glorify this culture and to compare the sending off of young men to battle in our culture with the alleged willing sacrifice of those ancient men.

Come to think of it, humans still haven’t progressed very far if they are still glorifying battles and killing, have they?
 

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