This early work by Franz Boas was originally published in 1920 and we are now republishing it with a brand new introductory biography. 'The Methods of Ethnology' is a work on the techniques of anthropology. Franz Boas was born on July 9th 1958, in Minden, Westphalia. Even though Boas had a passion the natural sciences, he enrolled at the University at Kiel as an undergraduate in Physics. Boas completed his degree with a dissertation on the optical properties of water, before continuing his studies and receiving his doctorate in 1881. Boas became a professor of Anthropology at Columbia University in 1899 and founded the first Ph.D program in anthropology in America. He was also a leading figure in the creation of the American Anthropological Association (AAA). Franz Boas had a long career and a great impact on many areas of study. He died on 21st December 1942.

Development in Polynesian Ethnology assesses the current state of anthropological research in Polynesia by examining the debates and issues that shape the discipline today. What have anthropologists achieved? What concerns now dominate discussion? Where is Polynesian anthropology headed? In a series of provocative and original essays, leading scholars examine prehistory, social organization, socialization and character development, mana and tapu, chieftainship, art and aesthetics, and early contact. Together these essays show how history, anthropology, and archaeology have combined to give a broad understanding of Polynesian societies developing over time--how they represent a blend of modernity and tradition, continuity and change. This book is both an introduction to Polynesia for interested students and a thought-provoking synthesis for scholars charting new directions and posing possibilities for future research. Scholars outside Polynesian studies will find the perspectives it offers important and its comprehensive bibliography an invaluable resource.

Written by the most prominent Croatian ethnologist/anthropologist of her time, Dunja Rihtman-Augustin (recently deceased) offers a critical overview of her country’s ethnological tradition and its developments. Within ten essays, this book (compiled and completed by Jasna Capo Zmegac) sheds light on a series of research questions and problems, and makes crucial remarks regarding the relationship between ethnology and politics. The volume provides exceptional insight not only into Croatian ethnology but also into the key ruptures in Croatian society in general.

Originally published in German in 1923, this work records much of Vanuatu's early material culture. It is the result of two years of field work by Swiss anthropologist Felix Speiser between 1910 and 1912. Speiser attempted to collect everything that could still be obtained of the objects constituting Vanuatu's native culture. Ethnology of Vanuatu presents culturally and historically significant photographs and drawings by Speiser assembled during the expedition, along with color photos taken in the Basel Museum, which, taken together, represent the Speiser collection. Through the use of Speiser's collection of cultural photographs and illustrations, it has been possible to revive certain art forms thought to have already vanished.