Browse Cultures

Overview

The Browse Cultures menu consists of two culture indices: one listed alphabetically by culture name and one organized by geographical region.  In Browse Cultures, you can access the Culture Profile with its File Description, the File Table of Contents (TOC) with pointers to the full-text documents, and the Cultural Summary.

A-Z Index

Figure 1: A-Z Index - Click to see image

The alphabetical index contains all of the common names of cultural, ethnic, indigenous, immigrant, and minority groups found in eHRAF.  Each of these groups is classified with an alpha-numeric code based on the Outline of World Cultures (OWC).  Many groups have several common names, such as the Blackfoot Native Americans of the northwestern Plains, whose other names include Peigan, Pikunii, Siksika, and Blood.  These alternative names, or ethnonyms, are all listed in the index and all have the same OWC code, making cultural information easier to locate.

Instructions – Browse Cultures by A-Z Index:

1.      Click on the “Browse” tab to enter the A-Z Culture Name Index.  Click on “P” and find the culture name “Pikunii.”  In the same list, find another culture with the same OWC code NF06.

2.      Click on “Pikunii” to open its Culture Profile.

Clicking on a culture name in the A-Z index opens its Culture Profile.  You may find that clicking on a culture name opens a Culture Profile of a different name.  For example, opening “Pikunii” will give you the Blackfoot culture profile.  This is because Blackfoot is the standard culture name in our database, for which Pikunii is an ethnonym.  Returning to the A-Z index, you will find that other culture names have changed color (usually to purple).  These names are the other ethnonyms for the culture name you just read about, and will all share the same OWC code (in this case, NF06).

3.      Click your browser’s Back button to see the other ethnonyms for Blackfoot have changed color.

Browse Cultures by Region

In Browse Cultures by Region, the cultures are organized by regions and by countries.  Cultures often appear in several countries because they cross political boundaries.  For example, the Blackfoot culture can be found listed under both “United States” and “Canada.”  Most of the information in eHRAF comes from anthropologists studying pre-industrial cultures (like the Blackfoot).  Also covered are some North American immigrant groups and some countries.

Figure 2: Browse Cultures - Click to see image

If you do not find a particular country or culture represented in the culture list, please be aware that the list changes in the spring of each year as new cultures are added. 

You may notice that some culture names have the phrase “Probability Culture File” to the right of their name.  This refers to the 60-culture Probability Sample that was designed by HRAF to provide primary descriptive information on a representative sample of the world’s traditional and pre-industrial cultures.

Instructions – Browse Cultures by Region:

1.      At the top left of the page in the eHRAF database, click on “Browse Cultures by Region.”

2.      Familiarize yourself with the organization of the list, noticing the alpha-numeric OWC codes listed beside each culture.  These are valuable for Search and other functions.

3.      Find “Blackfoot” listed under “North America” and “United States” and click to enter its Culture Profile.  Familiarize yourself with the layout of the culture file, and remain here for the next section of the tutorial.

Additional Information

- If you are interested in learning how we choose which cultures end up in eHRAF, read about the eHRAF Selection Process.

- Terms: ethnonym, OWC Culture Codes, Culture Profile