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Adventures in the Stone Age

A New Guinea Diary
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Adventures in the Stone Age recounts Leopold Pospíšil’s groundbreaking fieldwork among the Kapauku people of New Guinea, challenging the notion that 'primitive' societies lack laws. Living as a participant-observer, Pospíšil reveals a complex legal and social system beneath the surface, blending scholarly insight with vivid storytelling and personal photographs from his visits between 1954 and 1979.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This memoir will appeal to readers interested in anthropology, legal history, and cross-cultural studies, as well as those who enjoy well-told travel and ethnographic tales.

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The first publication of a charming fieldwork memoir by a giant of legal anthropology.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description
The first publication of a charming fieldwork memoir by a giant of legal anthropology.

When Leopold Pospíšil first arrived in New Guinea in 1954 to investigate the legal systems of the local tribes, he was warned about the Kapauku, who reputedly had no laws. Skeptical of the idea that any society could exist without laws, Pospíšil immediately decided to live among and study the Kapauku. Learning the language and living as a participant-observer among them, Pospíšil discovered that the supposedly primitive society possessed laws, rules, and social structures that were as sophisticated as they were logical.

Drawing on his research and experiences among the Kapauku—he would stay with them five times between 1954 and 1979—Pospíšil broke new ground in the field of legal anthropology, holding a professorship at Yale, serving as the anthropology curator of the Peabody Museum of Natural History, and publishing three books of scholarship on Kapauku law.

This memoir of Pospíšil’s experience is filled with charming anecdotes and thrilling stories of trials, travels, and war told with humour and humility and accompanied by a wealth of the author’s personal photos from the time.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9788024647517

Publisher: Karolinum,Nakladatelstvi Univerzity Karlovy,Czech Republic

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 01 September 2021

Country: Czechia

Imprint: Karolinum,Nakladatelstvi Univerzity Karlovy,Czech Republic

Edition: New edition

Contributors:

  • Edited by Jaroslav Jirik
  • Edited by Martin Soukup

Audience: General / adult, Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Width: 146.0mm

Height: 203.0mm

Weight: 250g

Pages: 350

About the Author

Leopold Pospisil is a pioneer in the field of legal anthropology. Born in Czechoslovakia, he studied law at Charles University before emigrating to the United States in 1948. He was a professor of anthropology at Yale University from 1956-1983, and the anthropology curator of the Peabody Museum. Jaroslav Jirik is director of archaeology at the Museum of Prachen in Pisek, Czech Republic, and teaches archaeology courses at Charles University, Prague. Martin Soukup is a cultural anthropologist specializing in Melanesia. He is an associate professor at Charles University.

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