The Dictionary of Anthropology
Edited by Barfield (chair, anthropology, Boston Univ.), who called on some 125 anthropologists to provide both historical and contemporary definitions of anthropological terms, this dictionary is yet another in a recent spate of anthropology reference tools. Coverage is broad, touching on key concepts, theories, methodologies, and ethnographic and thematic research, though definitions for any religious traditions are lacking. While entries vary in length and depth, many short entries are enhanced with cross references, and there is a cumulative bibliography. With more than 500 entries, including 42 biographies, this dictionary invites comparison with the Encyclopedia of Social and Cultural Anthropology (LJ 2/1/97), which has 231 subject entries, 238 short and five long biographies, and a 600-term glossary. The encyclopedia, whose entries are expansive, provides meatier discussions and, with the inclusion of the glossary, serves as a dictionary as well. It emphasizes and treats some concepts somewhat differently, covering major religious traditions, geographical areas, and regional anthropological traditions, while entries for such subjects as poverty and social Darwinism are found only in the dictionary. The encyclopedia has far more biographies, but the treatments in the dictionary are fairly substantial. Both provide minimal coverage of archaeology and biological and linguistic anthropology. A bargain at $29.95, the dictionary is a handy ready-reference source and should be particularly useful to students. If one needs only one source for basic information, however, the encyclopedia is the better choice.AJoyce L. Ogburn, Old Dominion Univ., Norfolk, VACopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.