Anthropology is regarded as “the study of human nature, human society, and the human past” (5). Anthropologist work to holistically define and reveal what it means to be human through comparison, cultural immersion, and research. Often misunderstood, culture includes learned behaviors and ideas that explain why humans act, think, and feel the way we do. To understand the present, anthropologists must work to understand the past which has influenced human nature in distinctive ways. A portion of this entails understanding present human actions and thoughts, such as those involving one’s surroundings and the imagination. Keith Basso touches on this particular topic in his ethnography: Wisdom Sits in Places: Landscape and Language Among the Western Apache. He reveals the details of his field work, as he examines specific cultural
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In doing so Basso uses the Ethnographical method; he interacts with one member of the Apache society (Charles) and is able to gain knowledge of several Apache landmarks, their names, and the reason for those names. These landmarks are: Water Lies With Mud In An Open Container, Snake’s Water, Juniper Tree Stands Alone, and Shades of Shit. Each of these landmarks is representative of its name; the ancestors of the Apache created a language for the purpose of describing the places they discovered. For example, Snake’s Water was a spring that was home to snakes. Upon discovering this the Apache leader instructed his people to stand back so he could talk to those who the water belonged to (the snakes or some kind of deity), so that it could be made suitable for them to drink. Thus, as the text states, they were able to drink the good water. However, as the story goes on, it is revealed that the spring has now dried up. This is believed, by the Apache people, to be a result of
In doing so Basso uses the Ethnographical method; he interacts with one member of the Apache society (Charles) and is able to gain knowledge of several Apache landmarks, their names, and the reason for those names. These landmarks are: Water Lies With Mud In An Open Container, Snake’s Water, Juniper Tree Stands Alone, and Shades of Shit. Each of these landmarks is representative of its name; the ancestors of the Apache created a language for the purpose of describing the places they discovered. For example, Snake’s Water was a spring that was home to snakes. Upon discovering this the Apache leader instructed his people to stand back so he could talk to those who the water belonged to (the snakes or some kind of deity), so that it could be made suitable for them to drink. Thus, as the text states, they were able to drink the good water. However, as the story goes on, it is revealed that the spring has now dried up. This is believed, by the Apache people, to be a result of