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AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST

from the less human. Despite its researches, neither sociology nor anthropology
has been able to do much to make the transition to the contemporary world easier for
those who were not born into middle-class
families in the developed world.
I recommend this book highly for anthropologists, irrespective of age, who are concerned with intellectual directions, who consider knowledge as a tool rather than as a
hobby, and who believe that the purpose of
scholarship should be the pursuit of understanding which is united to action utilizing
the insights gained. Like Professor Lee, I
believe that borders and interests must be
fluid enough to encourage new explorations
rather than to serve as inhibitors of fresh
ideas which may deviate from definitions
handed down by the founding fathers.

Meditations on Hunting. JOSE ORTEGA Y

GASSET. Translated and with preface by
Howard B. Wescott. Introduction by Paul
Shepard. Illustrated by Lewis S. Brown. New
York: Charles Scribner, 1972. 152 pp., illustrations. $9.95 (cloth). [First English ed.
Original Spanish ed. 1943,Madrid.]

Reviewed by JAMES W . FERNANDEZ

Dartmouth College
This volume, containing provocative insights into anthropology and ecology, appeared before Christmas 1972. It enjoyed a
brisk sale and generally enthusiastic commentary in the Field and Stream columns
of American newspapers. Many a strong and
silent American sporting man whose wife
was concerned with the state of his culture
found this slim volume of intricate Iberian
speculation under his Christmas tree. Since
this anthropology is being more widely
read than the great majority of books
strictly within our discipline, we should
want to know what is being said in our
name.
These meditations were penned by Ortega
in the early 1940s and preceded by two
decades the ecological enthusiasm of the
1960s. He argues essentially that, for the
animal in us all, hunting is a necessary deviation from the unrelenting course of civilization-the increasingly relentless rule of rea-

[76,1974]

son. Hunting cannot progress. It is primordial and natural. In fact, as mans power
has progressed, he has had to work increasingly hard to preserve the conditions necessary to hunting. For it is not a matter of
obliteration, but of recapturing a primordial
scenario in which, while our mastery in the
zoological hierarchy is confirmed, at the
same time we achieve a mysterious communion with the animal in our own nature.
The mastery we obtain in hunting is exhilarating, but, as we finally contemplate the
death of the animal, we are in the profoundest way humbled as well. The scenario
carries far beyond reason t o what is spontaneous and instinctive. In hunting, man returns to his old homestead. He restores an
old alertness that he can nowhere else
achieve amidst the discontentments of
history and civilization.
These meditations do not occur in uacuo,
but relate to the Ortegan philosophy in
which life is understood as a mode of coexistence, a dialogue,, between the subject and
its circumstances. Authenticity in life is obtained first by possessing all that is other
(alteracibn) and second, by turning within,
in reflection upon the other, so as not to be
mastered by it (ensimismamiento). In
hunting, apparently, Ortega saw a veritable
exemplar of this process. The hunter both
possesses, or is possessed by, the other
through the necessity of imitating the animal
in hunting it. But he is carried beyond that
possession to the inevitable reflectionsmeditations-that accompany the death of
that other. Hunting by photography, that is,
hunting without the death of the animal, is
not hunting at all to Ortega, any more than
French or Portuguese bull-fighting is bullfighting.
The ecologist, Paul Shepard, contributes a
thoughtful introduction which enlarges our
understanding of the hunters vision, distinguishing it from the present-day poaching
upon nature by municipal man. The translation by Howard Wescott is very good. The
illustrations are evocative and very suitable.
This book may be recommended to all
those interested in fostering world wild
life-an enterprise in which many hunters
enthusiastically cooperate, of coursebecause of the insights it offers into those
fellow citizens-our primitive contempo-

GENERAL, APPLIED A N D THEORETICAL

raries-who are irremediably possessed by

the hunting scenario and its mortal denouement.

Anthropology Beyond the University.

ALDEN REDFIELD, ed. Southern Anthropological Society Proceedings, 7. Athens:
University of Georgia Press, 1973. v + 134
pp., chapter notes, chapter references. $3.75
(paper).

Reviewed by E. LAMAR ROSS

Florida International University
Traditional training of anthropologists
has severely limited their opportunities for
employment outside of the ivy-covered walls
of academe. One has but to look at the
anxiety-ridden recent and not-so-recent
anthropology graduates scrounging for
academic positions at the AAA employment
centers to realize that many perceive academia as the best, if not only, route for employment of their talents. The fault lies not
only with the emphasis on a traditional academic oriented training-which Casagrande
openly criticized in his 1972 presidential
address before the annual meeting of the
American Anthropological Association
(AAA Newsletter 14(1), January 17,
1973)-but with the professions failure to
call attention to other avenues of employment. Although its success is admittedly
limited, this book, derived from the key
symposium by the same title at the seventh
annual meeting of the Southern Anthropological Society, takes the first step toward
demonstrating to students of anthropology
that the future for employment of anthropologically trained scholars need not be as
bleak as it seems.
The stated purpose of the book is more
grandiose than the end result, yet this does
not detract from its usefulness. The stated
purpose was to:
attempt to illustrate some of the interrelationships between anthropology and
other fields, offering students the opportunity to discover inductively some of the
core ideas in anthropology. Furthermore,
the potential job market for people with
training in anthropology, whether con-

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sisting of a few courses or a degree, is

indicated in a number of these fields [p.
11.

The first goal, of showing interrelationships between anthropology and other fields,
can be at best-in a volume like this-only
suggestive. The second task, of indicating
potential job opportunities, appears to be
more realistic, and, to this reviewer, provides
the greatest contribution.
Opportunities were discussed in: (1)
forensic anthropology and primate research
for physical anthropologists; (2) salvage
archaeology, park service, and museum work
for archeologists; and (3) the areas of education, health and related social problems, and
governmental advisory capacities for sociocultural anthropologists.
Dr. Snows discussion of how the training
of physical anthropologists prepares them
for a career as forensic anthropologists in
both informative and amusing. Maples suggests that major primate field stations also
can provide nonteaching positions for the
student of physical anthropology, and he
describes his own experiences during the
three years that he was manager of the
Southwest Primate Research Center in
Nairobi, Kenya. He attempts to show how
the blend of biological and social science
training of physical anthropologists is
especially useful for doing primate research
in other regions of the world.
Of the three papers on archaeology
beyond the University, two (Sturtevants
and Fischers) suggest job opportunities outside of the university. If his suggestions are
heeded, Sturtevants portrayal of the museum as an untapped resource and data bank
could add a new dimension to research done
by anthropologists. Fischer is even more
pragmatic; he discusses the various programs
administered by the National Park Service
and their systems for disseminating information from archaeological projects. He also
provides a description of the types of employment available, the required qualifications, and the procedure for applying for
employment with the Service. Two appendices to his paper, one listing the National Park Service Areas and their location and
the other listing National Park Service Regional Offices, aid one in pursuing the employment possibilities.