Customer Reviews

War in the Tribal Zone: Expanding States and Indigenous Warfare (School of American Research Advanced Seminar Series)

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Great book comprised of how state expansion helped initiate, dictate and continue trends of warfare; fostering, in some cases, the creation of tribes and at all times the 'tribal zone'. All the papers presented stem from the 1989 School of American Research advanced seminar on anthropology and warfare. Subjects range from ancient Roman and Sri Lankan state interaction in the tribal zone to Ferguson's more modern take on how western contact had major influence on Yanomami warfare.

The reviewer below must have something out for Ferguson since Fried is referred to many times in the chapter "The Violent Edge of Empire". Fried's idea of the state (expansion/domination) creating the category of 'tribes' and his rejection of the historical category of "Tribe" before state contact is referenced (Whitehead also refers to Fried in his chapter). Pretty bush league review from an anonymous anthropologist. The reviewer is probably upset that Ferguson shredded one of his favorite authors.

excellent book.

Ferguson has a great analytical mind, and a concise writing style. To dispel a myth, Ferguson does anthropological field research regularly.

This work should be read as an update on Morton Fried's "The Notion of the Tribe." The authors do not give Fried enough credit but well read anthropologists will recognize that the key points stem from Fried. Read with caution as the two editors have never done long-term fieldwork among indigenous peoples.