Introduction: Economies across Cultures — The Anthropological Approach

Abstract

An Eskimo woman and her husband butcher a seal together in summer; in winter she alone butchers the meat and distributes it to the appropriate kin, for in the winter season butchering is women’s work. A Kwakiutl chief holds an extravagant potlatch; a Trobriand chief is proud of the mounds of yams rotting in his front yard; a Dani goes to all efforts to prevent her pigs from ruining the sweet potato gardens. An elderly Californian receives bags of groceries at a neighbourhood community centre while her Mundurucu counterpart holds an honoured position as a decision maker; a Mexican grandmother works simultaneously as a curer, market vendor, and head of household.¹