THE CULTURE AREA CONCEPT AS A RESEARCH LEAD

CLARK WISSLER Yale University ABSTRACT in theculture areaidea is thatthey seein it the The interest ofsocialscientists ofa leadto theobjective ofcontemporary ifthe culture. However, suggestion study areaas conceived is a true theculture culture phenomby anthropologists lead,then cultures should and notpeculiar to primitive alone. While ena involved be universal of suchareashas notbeendemonstrated outside it is truethat, so far, theexistence in conare indications thatregional of aboriginal there differences North America, to thequeryas to how one is culture are of thesametype. In response temporary in an anthropological of contemporary to go aboutthestudy culture way,it is proas farm homeindustries, posedthata startbe madewithsuchtraits architecture, interests of theanthroetc. It is, however, inadvisable to carry overthehistorical forthehistorical culture is taken careofby theanpologist, aspect ofcontemporary should thestudyof contemporary culture itself rather concern withthe tiquarian; functional oftheproblem. aspect

area seemsto holdout a reThe nowmuchdiscussed culture is somesearchlure, orto suggest a kindof"folkhunch" thatthere in theidea thatpoints thewayto a better ofwhat thing realization in All investigators, is goingon in specific communities. whether of newleads because thesocial or naturalsciences, are expectant of their kindis thatsuccesses theaccumulating and adexperience comefrom suchnew research or "hunches," vancements insights, research them when realities. Also, preliminary exploratory proves ofscience, thehistory socialscience, seemsto justify the especially leads are thoseinvolving beliefthatthemostfruitful an objective newmaterials, or at leastwithmaterials in newaswith approach, ofcourse, sociations. we mean, suchtangible data as By materials, mustworkwith. The culture area idea suggests the investigator because anthropologists itselfin thisconnection can justlyclaim data for work with American Indianculenough empirical regional or to say thatwhenobtherequirement turesto fulfil just stated, treatedin a certainway, the data revealculture areas, jectively which areas seemto have a structure of their a own,thusmaking tentative claim to beingunitsocial organisms. as has Although, statedby culture beenrepeatedly area enthusiasts the themselves,
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forother has notbeendemonstrated presence of thephenomenon are readytoassumethatthepheworld, they partsoftheprimitive man. The lureto thesocialscito primitive nomenon is universal belief ofanthropolothe background however, out of encescomes, disthatthere are no important of theprofession, gy,or thefaith of thehuman man and the remainder primitive tinctions between area lead, if a true the culture family, and that,in consequence, assumption holds, In this case, if the validity. lead, has universal in contemporary culture and be shouldbe present thephenomenon of in research maybe thetruth Whatever therein. equallypotent in that"thereis something thismatter, deepergrowsthe feeling to an understanding ofcontemporary culture. it,"as an approach apdid grossly thewriter on Man and Culture, In his volume culture as developed area concept to contemporary plytheculture was one of buttheprocedure in Western Europeand hercolonies, and nota searching inquiry interpretation, analogyand sweeping nowfrequentThe question phaseofthatculture. intoanyspecific this is as towhether menin thesocialsciences ly raisedbyresearch in regional ofa localnature, as all field studies lead can be followed in contemporary thebestway mustbe. Naturally, studies culture in the wouldbe to attacka givenlocality to answerthisquestion in primitive studiesand to present thereway followed objective Such pioneer experisults,leavingthemto speak forthemselves. social itself to science mentation suggests withthislead naturally of whoin a number community surveys, dealing with investigators forhintsas to howtheconhave appealedto thewriter instances in be approached cultureof such a community might temporary of anthropologists withprimitive withthe experience conformity werelikelyto comeof whether anything cultures, and, of course, weremade. As indicated above,theonlyadeit,ifsuchan attempt but evenso, someexperience, quate answerwouldcomethrough Atleast,should one ask ifthere confidence. can be said with thing of a clearerinsight whenthecase is in, is reasonable expectation can getholdofan obwouldbe thatiftheinvestigator theanswer a stimulating there is everyreasonto anticipate jectiveapproach, of thishope,thatthe following and it is in justification outcome, are made. suggestions

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culturein thisway,one must In dealingwithcontemporary upona nationstandardized thatarewidely ignore thosetraits first acal level,exceptin so faras theymaybe givenwithreasonable scale,in whichcase it maywellbe that curacya place in a rating area inculture expected willappearintheform differences regional if of result, qualione feel surer the can But evenso phenomena. to explore task is, then, can be found.The first tativedifferences culturedifferences. life forqualitative community contemporary peoples,the withprimitive experiences uponfield Again,drawing would as traits be regarded trivial guesswouldbe thatwhatmight than localitiesand families have more weightin differentiating traits.But in any moreor less standardized, wouldwidelyflung, the searchmustbe detailedand traits are chosen, case, whatever to believethatthetask willbe is reason there Further, exacting. sinceamong cultures, thanin the case of primitive moredifficult politically differentiated is smalland sharply thegroup primitives, in theUnitedStates, a locality whilein contrast, and territorially, a is an integral forexample, part of the stateand of the nation, in which theinvestigator a complex within wheels, seriesofwheels to selectthe variboundaries and attempt mustset up arbitrary exclutheseboundaries, ants of culture traitsthatoperatewithin mayappear selected traits sively.It is in thissensethattheculture to in contrast thatconform to traits as trivial, or ofno importance standards. national to the actual now from thesegeneralconsiderations Turning as a bewouldone suggest to ask, "Whattraits task,it is pertinent have of ruraland townarchitecture ginning?"For one,students for Joseph example, studies, sensedtheimportance ofcloseregional parts of farm RuralNew England, buildings. K. Folsom'sstudies of severalsouthern opand sections statesoffer of Pennsylvania, inbutone especially withthesetraits, fortrialstudies portunities thehisis Ohioand Indiana,an area ofsettlement, teresting region been started having communities is stillobtainable, toryof which and othereastern thereby groupsof settlers from Pennsylvania lendsitself tosuch area,barnarchitecture states.In thisparticular Inand a section between a study Dayton,Ohio,and Indianapolis, at least three diana,may be takenas a sample,forherewe find Pennsylvania, in eastern typesof barns,one of whichis common

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probably theplace oforigin.Somepreliminary observations ofthis distribution havebeenmadebythewriter a grouping which suggest toprimitive similar culture traits.Thereare also a number ofassociatedtraits showing approximately coincident distributions, from which it follows thata kindofculture trait area exists.Asidefrom architecture and closelyassociatedtraits, we have gathered some information as to the distribution of certainspecific methods of farming, whichagain pointstheway to another approach.Thus, it is reported thatin someruralareas of the east wheatis rarely sownin standing cornas is thecase in Ohio and Indiana; cornis hoedto keeptheweedsoutoftherowand onlya single simple culused in the same easternlocalities, tivator whilein the western sections, a doublecultivator does thewholeworkwithout supplementary hoeing.Thereare also differences in themethods ofharnessing horses, etc. Here again is an approachto thedistribution of localizedcontemporary culture to traits whichare comparable observations made amongprimitive peoplesand no moredifficult toobtain.It is probable, also,thathousehold artsoffer an especially goodfield forsuchstudies, as methods ofmaking soap,smoking and curing meat,etc. The objection maybe raisedthatall these homely artsare so antiquated and largely eliminated from presentin their thatnothing can be accomplished day household economy study, but thiswouldimplya misunderstanding of the situation. in social anthropology Everyfield-worker meetsan analogoussitoneinwhich uation, is breaking downuntheold primitive culture in whichcase he must der pressure from intrusive foreign traits, workpartly methods. and partly No by observation by historical culture, however primitive, seemsto be actuallystatic; if it were, our problems wouldbe clear cut and theapproachdirect.So the presence of disintegration and changewouldnot in the least disconcert one accustomed in socialanthropology to research and the results should, in theend,be comparable. in dealingwithsuchsituations in contemporary However, culthedifficulty must ture, maybe enhanced becausetheinvestigator local data withthatof thecountry integrate at large. And again, thekindofstudies we havesuggested mayappearas tooantiquarian to haveanybearing lifein thatwe are seekuponcontemporary ingourapproachin obsolete procedures and thusputting theem-

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phasisuponwhatwas rather thanwhatis. According to thisview, thedifferences in farming methods, homeindustries, architecture, etc.,are localizedonlyin the sensethattheyare undesirable survivalsof whatwas once thehighest forthenation, and standard thatthe studyof themwouldbe merely of contrasting a matter thenewwiththeold, or playing withexisting knowledge. On the otherhand,as just stated,; the primitive culturearea presents a similar obscured situation, though by theinvestigator's lack of familiarity withthewholeculture background; butin any case, the primitive culture traitsstudiedvary from survivals of the old to thenew,and notinfrequently can a case be madeforthehistorical sequenceof thetraits in question, studies just as in contemporary one mightneed to take into accountsuch generalsequencesas sickles,cradles,reapers, binders.Anyway, the primitive culture area, as anthropologists but a regionin conceiveit, is not fixed, whichculture are underway,a groupof tribalcommunichanges tiesdiffering but continually moreor less in culture, adopting new traits, or variants of old ones,each at varying timeintervals and not simultaneously. Thus, it is equallypossibleto regard thelagging tribes as presenting transient survivals but ofan earlier culture, on theother hand,it is thisrelative distribution thatis significant in theliving culture area and inwhich liesa lead to an understandofconingoftheprocesses involved.Fromthecasual observation temporary culture, thereis reasonto believethatthe survival of in localities, old traits whencarefully checked thedistribuagainst tionof new traits, will give the geographical to pattern common primitive culture areas. Hence neither theapparent triviality, nor the assumedantiquarian aspect of regional studiesin contemporaryculture are valid objections to the proposedstudy. In other thesetting is fundamentally thesamewhether words, onetakesup in theproblem or contemporary cultures life. amongprimitive Reverting again to the questionas to whether such a tryat is worth contemporary culture consideration should be given while, to the oft-repeated assertion thatthe onlysatisfactory objective are economic and deal with approaches data amenable to statistical The writer treatment. believesin the economic basis to cultures, as faras it goes,butit seemsthatwhenone attempts to digintoa local economic sit ationby statistical methodshe sooneror later

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as the zones,bands,or patches, comesto feelthathis distribution case may be, are too detachedin respectto social life to throw The disposition aspectofthematter. muchlight on thefunctional usually approachto the problem, thenis to look fora different was to turn the practice Formerly, through social anthropology. of"a culture" has beenfortopsychology, butnowthattheconcept is to ask howthisparinsocialanthropology, thetendency mulated methods. by anthropological ticular can be approached problem justification fortheassumpso farhas offered The discussion autionthatsuchan approach can be made,butit does notfollow that the objective resultswill be more satisfying, tomatically notinfrequently, is that though theymaywellbe. The difficulty, in disguise, for and whenthedistributions one facesan old enigma the interpretation of have been made,thereremains segregations and suchan ofhumanbehavior and experience, thesamein terms out mayjust as well failone again,afterchecking interpretation in the situation.Nevertheless, the relatedculture traitsinvolved disrepresent something may be gainedif the objectivefindings fortheseare sufficiently tinctculture traitsand the distributions Yet there to indicate culture area phenomena. is anothcoincident In social anthropology, consideration. as in er important general thereis a systemic ideal and otherof the social sciences, certain one. These ideals are not necessarily a functional contradictory, an investibutare usuallyconsidered so. At least,it is rareto find in contempt. Perhapsa better whodoesnotholdoneofthem gator in anthropology term forsystemic wouldbe descriptive, and many social anthropologists go so faras to denythatthereis any other in an objecofprimitive groups thedoings problem thanto record tivemanner and thatonceyouhave madethe-record, yourtask is oftherecord, becausetheacdone. No one doubtstheimportance ofa primitive are passing tivities rapidly disapphenomena, group in competition hand, withEuropeanculture.On theother pearing if culture is evenin sight is based uponlifeitself, and ifhumanity oftheultimate insisted dead levelof function uponbyanthropoloas they is equal to ourownbloodbrother, gists, or iftheprimitive in contemporary thentheprocesses lifeshould involved maintain, in primitive rehavemuchin common with thoseoperating culture in culture wherefunctional are problems words, sponses.In other

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takenup,theresponses to situations becomeimportant and it is in contemporary cultures, evenmorethanelsewhere, thatwhenseekingan understanding ofwhatthedata mean,definite knowledge of the situation and the response failus. As we have said, the systemic or descriptive sideofprimitive culture receives theattention oftheanthropologist in functional and ifhe indulges studies at all, in hiscase may The justification are ofthearm-chair they variety. lie inthathe is recording unfamiliar and vanishing data,something worth whilein itself.On theother hand,one can scarcely justify contemporary culture studiesif carriedout in the same way because the historical and antiquarian needsof the timeare taken careofin other area apways,so we doubtiftheuse oftheculture proachin contemporary problems will be worth whileunlessthe is functional ultimate rather thandescriptive. It willnot objective of anthropology do, therefore, merely to carryover the methods and applythemto contemporary thatautomaticulture, trusting mustthesocialscicallysomenewinsight willbe attained;rather ence investigator the studyof primitive accept whatever insight culture has to offer and thenstrike out on linesof his own,if we are to understand whata culture area is. The pointat issue,then,is as to the universal validity of the inin social anthropology, culture area concept or if theprocesses in contemvolvedin a primitive culture area are also operative in porary culture, and ifso, thenwe have at handthephenomena, ofwhich thefirst-hand thesocialstudent can use to thelimit study the data and experiences of social anthropology as well as of the othersocial sciences.The task in contemporary culture is, then, in thata possiblelead is to be tried and experimental exploratory out as an approachto an understanding of regional culture phein social scienceis possiblyas nomena.The functional problem mucha unitproblem as it is in psychology and no more a primitive one. On the contrary, is problem thanit is a contemporary there reasonto believethatthe approachto functional problems is far lifethan in primitive moredirectin contemporary culture.The imperative thing, however, is real workwithconcrete data rather and theonlyjustification forthisbrief thanarm-chair discussions is thatthetask is something morethana one-man job, callingfor ofeffort and interest. at leastsomecommunity