The Andaman Islanders

by Alfred Reginald Radcliffe-Brown

Excerpt from The Andaman Islanders: A Study in Social Anthropology (Anthony Wilkin Studentship Research, 1906)

The results of my researches on the physical anthropology of the Andaman Islanders have not been published. I hoped to be able to obtain the services of some one more competent in such matters than myself to assist or direct me in the measure ment and study of the collection of skulls and skeletons that I brought to England and that is now in the Anthropological Museum at Cambridge. In this I was disappointed, and absence from England has prevented me from completing my work in this branch of research.

Genres: Anthropology, Sociology, British Literature

510 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1906

About the author

Alfred Reginald Radcliffe-Brown, FBA, was an English social anthropologist who helped further develop the theory of structural functionalism.

Reviews

[Lily Bronski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Struggles with the teleological quasi-Darwinist reasoning common of its time but nonetheless it requires only slight reformulation to be read as a fascinating and thoughtful account of the social and cognitive basis of mythology

[Alienne Laval · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maybe one never should send anyone to these islands who is not an anarchist? In the 2004 Tsunami all local teachers died...

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

The major problem with "The Andaman Islanders" -- aside from living on an unstable, low-lying archipelago that will soon be underwater completely -- is that this book is so obscure, and so quintessentially early-20th century British anthropology -- that once you've got a copy kicking around your flat, you'll never be able to sell it, nor even give it away free for a library book sale. I've tried several times, so take my word for it. Now that you've got one, you might as well sit down and enjoy it. I did. And I come back to it once in a while to marvel at the insanity of modern Western society.