ANT 233 - Language and Culture: Reference Sources

These volumes offer a one-stop resource for researching the lives, customs, and cultures of Africa's nations and peoples. Unparalleled in its coverage of contemporary customs in all of Africa, this multivolume set is perfect for both high school and public library shelves. The three-volume encyclopedia will provide readers with an overview of contemporary customs and life in North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa through discussions of key concepts and topics that touch everyday life among the nations' peoples. While this encyclopedia places emphasis on the customs and cultural practices of each state, history, politics, and economics are also addressed. Because entries average 14,000 to 15,000 words each, contributors are able to expound more extensively on each country than in similar encyclopedic works with shorter entries. As a result, readers will gain a more complete understanding of what life is like in Africa's 54 nations and territories, and will be better able to draw cross-cultural comparisons based on their reading. Supplies entries that are more extensive than in most comparable encyclopedic works Arranges content alphabetically by country, then by topic, with suggestions for further reading following each Includes contributions from numerous eminent scholars of African history Provides a clear African voice via entries from scholars from the African continent

Covering the entire continent from Morocco, Libya, and Egypt in the north to the Cape of Good Hope in the south, and the surrounding islands from Cape Verde in the west to Madagascar, Mauritius, and Seychelles in the east, the Encyclopedia of African History is a new A-Z reference resource on the history of the entire African continent. With entries ranging from the earliest evolution of human beings in Africa to the beginning of the twenty-first century, this comprehensive three volume Encyclopedia is the first reference of this scale and scope. Also includes 99 maps.

Dispelling myths, answering questions, and stimulating thoughtful avenues for further inquiry, this highly readable reference provides a wealth of specific information about all known North American Indians. Readers will delight in the stirring narratives about everything from notable leadersand relations with non-natives; to customs, dress, dwellings, and weapons; to government and religion. Addressing over 200 groups of Native American groups in Canada and the United States, A Native American Encyclopedia: History, Culture, and People is at once exhaustive yet readable, coveringmyriad aspects of a people spread across ten geographical regions.Listed alphabetically for easy access, each Native American group is presented in careful detail, starting with the tribal name, translation, origin, and definition. Each entry then includes significant facts about the group's location and population, as well as impressive details about thehistory and culture of the group. Bringing each entry up-to-date, Editor Barry Pritzker also addresses with ease current information on each group's government, economy, legal status, and reservations. Engaging and precise, Pritzker's prose makes this extensive work an enjoyable read. Whether he isgiving the court interpretation of the term "tribe" (Many traditional Native American groups were not tribes at all but more like extended families) or describing how a Shoshone woman served as a guide on the Louis and Clarke expedition, the material is always presented in a clear and lively manner.In light of past and ongoing injustices and the momentum of Indian and Intuit self-determination movements, an understanding of these native cultures as well as their contributions to contemporary society becomes increasingly important. This book provides all the essential information necessaryto fully grasp the history, culture, and current feelings surrounding North American Indians. It is not only a compelling resource for students and researchers of Native American studies, anthropology, and history, but an indispensable guide for anyone concerned with the past and present situationof the numerous Native American groups.

At the dawn of the twentieth century the universal consensus was that the American Indian was about to "vanish." More than two centuries of devastating wars, forced migrations, confinement, starvation, and disease had cost untold Indian lives, and the Native population was at a historic low. Pressure for land and resources was intense. Advocates and reformers urged the government to "assimilate" Indians by breaking up their remaining land base and stamping out tribal cultures. Yet American Indians did not disappear. Rather, they have adapted and thrived, maintaining much of their cultures, languages, and identities. The Encyclopedia of the American Indian in the Twentieth Century provides a comprehensive overview of this dramatic process through profiles of key individuals, organizations, government policies, and events that have defined Native history since 1900. Providing one-stop alphabetical access to information not readily available in other sources, with extensive cross-references and suggestions for further reading, this authoritative reference work offers the clearest and most unified picture of the American Indian in the twentieth century.

Presenting the most up-to-date coverage on our knowledge of this society, The Oxford Encyclopedia of Mesoamerican Cultures is the first comprehensive and comparative reference source to chronicle Pre-Hispanic, Colonial, and modern Mesoamerica.Written for a wide audience, it is an invaluable reference for interested lay persons, students, teachers, and scholars in such fields as art, archaeology, religious studies, anthropology, Latin American culture, and the history of the region. Organized alphabetically, the articles range from500-word biographies to 7,000-word entries on geography and history to the legacy of the arts, writings, architecture, and religious rituals.An extensive network of cross-references, blind entries, and annotated bibliographies guide the reader to related entries within the Encyclopedia and provide the groundwork for further research.

Home to a fifth of the world's population and the largest democracy in the world, India holds a prominent place in current events yet remains unknown or misunderstood by many people who seek a single, authoritative source for information on this political and economic dynamo. The Encyclopedia of India meets this need, encompassing the history, cultures, geography, and religions of India from ancient times to the present day. As India's role in global politics and economics continues to grow, readers will find the wide range and depth of information contained within this work an indispensable tool to gaining a solid appreciation of India and its place in our modern world.