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Julian Steward and the Great Basin: The Making of an Anthropologist. Richard O. Clemmer, L. Daniel Myers, and Mary Elizabeth Rudden, eds. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1999. 288 pp.
Julian Steward, a foremost exponent of cultural ecology, influenced generations of anthropologists, particularly those interested in human cultural adaptations. This volume offers an appraisal and critique of Steward's work and represents an important contribution to the body of anthropological literature on the Great Basin and culture area studies. The editors and contributors-some of whom were former students of Stewardreevaluate and critically assess Steward's academic career and writings, propose new directions for research, and suggest further studies of environmental conditions and subsistence strategies to include the Natives' appreciation and deep attachment to their land (p. 117). They also correct wrong perceptions advanced by Steward and perpetuated by his followers about the life ways of Great Basin aboriginal populations. Focusing on different aspects of his research, the editors and contributors explore Steward's early work in the Great Basin, his later role as academic, mentor, and theorist, his contributions to the development of area studies, as well as his involvement with the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), the Smithsonian Institution, and applied anthropology. Since Steward's most impressive fieldwork was carried out in the Great Basin, the majority of the articles in this book evaluate the ethnographic research carried out among Native Americans of the Great Basin area while later articles assess Steward's role as an expert witness for the BIA, his concept of acculturation and development of area studies between 1930-60, specifically his involvement with area studies in the Viru Valley, Puerto...