Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Dept. of Anthropology, 2006. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-01, Section: A, page: 0239. Adviser: Richard R. Wilk. "Title from dissertation home page (viewed Jan. 22, 2007)."

Museo Na Bolom uses anthropology and archaeology to educate the public, organize for political change, and preserve cultural knowledge in Chiapas, Mexico. The museum was founded by Gertrude Duby and Frans Blom. This dissertation examines the substantial written legacy of Gertrude Duby Blom and her practice of what has since been termed "engaged anthropology." During fieldwork in the archives, the focus of the project shifted from research to "rescue archaeology" when a flood severely compromised the archives. All available typescript manuscripts were scanned to preserve their information in digital format from further environmental damage; 322 different typescript manuscripts were scanned (a total of 5442 pages). A CD of scanned documents has been deposited at Na Bolom. The script documents remain for future work. Gertrude Duby Blom's background and Mexican work is discussed, including her close personal relationship with the Lacandon Maya of southern Mexico. The Lacandon, two groups of formerly horticulturalists, inhabit a region that is highly contested and under close scrutiny since the 1994 Zapatista uprising. Gertrude Blom's papers, which include interviews with elderly female participants in the Mexican Revolution, notes from numerous excursions into difficult-to-access regions of Chiapas, and a record (over time) of environmental damage in Chiapas were assessed, as was Na Bolom's role in the preservation of cultural knowledge for a number of highland Maya groups and for the Lacandon. Essentially, this study is designed to be both an autoethnography of an important Mexicanist and a contribution to the preservation of indigenous cultural patrimony.

The connection between identity and place has been made many times by scholars from myriad disciplines. In Tyrol this connection has recently been complicated by the intersection of modernity and globalism at this identity: place connection. Rural communities in Tyrol have been faced with an increasing burden of caring and providing for thousands of visitors on a daily basis; this has been hampered by dwindling space, unacceptable quarters, and an inability of local inhabitants to cope with the stress of constant intrusion into their daily lives. This dissertation examines the problems encountered by a rural population in the Stubai Valley of the Austrian Tyrol. I discuss the difficulties of seasonal adjustment, as well as the constant problems of spatial negotiation as the crush of tourist populations ebb and flow throughout the year. Most importantly, I suggest that there has been a conscious construction and reconstruction of Tyrolean identity with the advent of the burgeoning tourist economy. I call this the "brokered image"; one that has been reluctantly accepted by local inhabitants, enhanced by tourist buros and museums, and made real by the tourist populations. This is not to say that Tyroleans in general regret their dependence on the tourist market; on the contrary, they have developed an economy which thrives on tourism and many Stubai inhabitants have grown wealthy due to their involvement in the industry. What the "brokered image" has accomplished is a caricature of the Tyrolese which is neither true nor false--it is somewhere in between the poles of authenticity.

Amidst the socioeconomic and political constraints imposed from a dominant Euroamerican society, the Hopi, Native American farmers living in northeastern Arizona, continue to be resilient in maintaining an overall tradition of their foodways. A rise through time in diet-related disease testifies to the biological consequences of a changing diet encircled and catalyzed by social disruption. This change continues to be resisted and negotiated in prophesy and tradition. In this dissertation I present data documenting change in Hopi foodways from such varied sources as dietary surveys of Hopi women and children, food processing surveys of Hopi women, a survey of Hopi storage and agricultural practices, and historic documents. Underlying contradictions at the point where cultural action or inaction and biological change interact. The contradictions and subsequent actions or coping strategies needed to contextualize, explain, and confront these contradictions lie at the heart of a biocultural interface. I present two materialist models, one based in political-economy, the other in adaptation. These models outline conditions under which Hopi foodways have been transformed along with the subsequent consequences of such transformations. This approach seeks explanation and an objective view on a perceived problem related to diet and health. In order to contextualize the issues, I also offer mentalist views, which are embedded in ideology and originate from Hopi explanations of the same change as well as from my own subjective perspectives. The ideal expression of this endeavor is the linking of ideology with biology. This blend of materialist and mentalist paradigms, and the dialectic that emerges, are necessary steps towards an investigation of the biocultural interface. They also serve as a platform for engaging in discussions that can facilitate and confront change. In this dissertation I call for bioculturalism, the dynamic interplay of theory with praxis. This process is an integral part of a needed emerging synthesis in biological anthropology.