Homem, cultura e sociedade no Brasil: seleções da Revista de Antropologia

This work is a reprint of 19 key articles from the leading Brazilian anthropological journal (1953-1970?), complete with notes and bibliographies; unfortunately it neglects to indicate dates of original publication. Of most interest to historians are the following: F. A. Silva and B. J. Meggers’ review of the sparse archeological data for a prehistory of Brazil; J. V. César on Tupí-Guaraní culture as revealed in urn burials; F. Schaden’s comparative history of the pacification of the Xokleng and Kaingang of Santa Catarina; pieces by A. D. Lanna and E. Galvão-M. Simões on social change among Indians of the upper Xingú; and H. Baldus’s summary of the three classic methods of Indian mission work, from the colonial Jesuits to the S.P.I.—protection, pacification, and directed acculturation—and reasons for their common failure. Afro-Brazilian religious cults in Bahia and Recife are examined in differing and original ways by P. Fríkel and R. Ribeiro. R. Duarte adds to the growing list of case studies of peasant messianic movements, with a piece on the Pau de Colher rising of 1938 in the Bahian sertão; M. I. P. Queiroz provides a sociological analysis of the peasant dança de São Gonçalo in the same region. Aspects of Japanese and German immigrant cultures are explored by R. C. L. Cardoso, L. W. de Mello, and the editor. Overall, this is a collection of serious monographs, useful so far as they go, but it pays insufficient attention to the broader contexts and the possibilities of comparison.