Humans Studying Humans

Hi All. My name is James Macaluso and I am a physical anthropologist (and Laura’s younger brother) who will be joining the team in Swaziland this year.

For those of you unfamiliar with the term, “anthropology” is derived from the Greek words anthrōpos (“human”) and –logia (“study”). Therefore, simply put, anthropology is the science of humankind.

As the focus of anthropology is very broad it is divided into several specialized fields of research. Cultural anthropologists study all aspects of human behavior in contemporary (or living) societies, including marriage customs, subsistence patterns, political organization, ethnicity, art, religion, music, technology, and language. Archaeologists (made famous by the fictional exploits of Indiana Jones) reconstruct, describe, and interpret past human behavior through the study of material remains called artifacts (such as pottery, tools, or food remains).

Although archaeologists are best known for studying prehistory (or the period before the invention of writing), historical archaeologists examine the evidence of later, more complex civilizations that produced written records, including living peoples.
The last subfield of anthropology, and which is my area of expertise, is biological (or physical) anthropology. This field of study is concerned with the non-cultural aspects of humankind. Non-cultural refers to all of those biological characteristics that are genetically inherited from parent to offspring in contrast to those that are learned. Some biological anthropologists are interested in understanding human variation (or the way in which people differ physically throughout the world) and human adaptation (or how people adjust to different environmental stresses, such as living at high altitudes or in environments that have extreme temperatures). Other physical anthropologists study the fossil record of early humans or our primate relatives (monkeys and apes, such as chimpanzees) in order to understand our evolutionary history—or how our ancestors changed through time to become what we are today. Central to physical anthropology is the study of the human skeleton (bones and teeth).

In future posts I hope to provide a little information concerning the scientific research I will be conducting at the National Museum while in Swaziland. I also look forward to your questions and comments about my research and other interesting facts concerning the natural history of Swaziland and its people.

Wild bird rehabilitation center at Mololotja

Twana, Kusa and I went up to Mololotja to see the beginnings of a wild bird rehabilitation center that Australian Nikki and her English boyfriend Jason were hired to create. They had a few falcons and owls and were making progress on helping these injured birds get back to flight status. Unfortunately, they did not get the support they needed from the park, and their year of work was for naught. A sad story indeed. Oh, yes, that is a locust you see in the first pic. I saw red, yellow and greens ones. A bit scary if you think about them in hoards.

Swazi snack food

My dear friend Twana prepared this snack for her family, and I just happened to visit. Her daughter was sitting on the couch, eating these flying insects (that taste a little like eggs -- thanks to the eggs in their little bodies). I put one in my mouth and ran around the room screaming. Her son Kusa, looked at me like was an idiot. I was. This snack food is gathered after a rain, when the insects lose their ability to fly. They are gathered, dried, you pull off the wings and pop them into your mouth.

Swazi museum objects

Examples of Swazi functional works of art -- a headrest in a Parisian museum, and a box, both carved of wood. The Fulbrighter who came after me, Prof. Bill Dewey, made these cultural objects the center of his study time in Swaziland. If you visit an exhibit of Egyptian civilization, it is easy enough to see a headrest (they have King Tut's too). A traditional and useful object that many people still use.

Ethiopia

These pictures are from my trip to Ethiopia. Amazing country. Went to participate on a field expedition in the Hadar region. Far, far away from urban centers. Eight hour drive to the site, where tribal people still live (and fight each other). The Afar, Muslims who are so tall, and dark, carry guns and were our "protectors." Best part about the week? Finding a hand axe that is now part of the collections of the National Museum in Addis Ababa. If you want to hear the story about how I found it, I am always ready to tell it!