INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY PUBLICATION NO. 1 



thropologist. At tlio same time, iindtTstanding of 

 the contemporary culture and the processes which 

 led to its formation requires a knowledge of the 

 Tarascan past. The Program consequently in- 

 cludes plans for archeological research to illuminate 

 the prehistoric period and for historical research 

 to determine the events of the Contact, Colonial, 

 and Republican p(»riods. 



Put in another way, the Progiam may be said 



briefly to envision a pooling of the techniques of 

 all the various branches of anthropology with those 

 of the other social sciences and the more pertinent 

 natural sciences to the end of understanding the 

 Tarascans and their past and present problems as 

 fully as possible. The Program is anthropological 

 only insofar as anthropology provides the central 

 core of essential studies and is the integrating 

 discipline. 



THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 



The present j^aper is a fiankly experimental 

 effort to reconcile scientific and applied objectives 

 in anthropology. The Tarascan Indians of Mi- 

 choacAn, Mexico, are one of the large Indian groups 

 of that country and so are the object of great con- 

 cern on the part of governmental agencies devoted 

 to Indian problems. Housing is one of the usual 

 subjects considered in programs of social welfare 

 and, hence, is a suitable topic for discussion from 

 this point of view. On the other hand, the 

 Tarascans are very little known scientifically. 

 Housing, as one of the important aspects of cul- 

 tural activity, is, therefore, a legitimate subject 

 of scientific study. The problem is whether 

 these two purposes may be combined, either in the 

 process of field study, or in the manner of presenta- 

 tion of data, in such a way as will be useful and 

 satisfactory to individuals interested in either 

 subject. 



Interest in applied, or "practical," anthropology 

 has been increasing in recent years among large 

 numbers of anthropologists. In Mexico, results 

 capable of application have long been regarded as 

 one important end of all anthropological research 

 in the country, although it must be confessed that 

 there has been more tendency to consider piu'cly 

 scientific research to be a necessary prerequisite to 

 the adequate solution of practical problems than 

 has been the case with administrators in the United 

 States. In the United States, the growth of inter- 

 est in applied anthropology is evidenced in the 

 recent birth of a journal devoted to this subject. 

 Moreover, many anthropologists who have been 

 reluctant to concern themselves with practical 

 problems in studying the Indians of the United 

 States, have confessed that it is undesirable and 

 perhaps impossible to ignore the practical prob- 

 lems in such countries as Mexico where the Indian 



question vitally affects the entire national welfare. 

 It would, consequently, seem important to attempt 

 a reconciliation of the objectives of "pure," or 

 "scientific," anthropology and "applied," or 

 "practical," anthropology. 



As this paper will attempt to reconcile the two 

 different approaches, a consideration of the ab- 

 stract problems involved seems desu-able. It is 

 obvious that scientific ends in anthropology are 

 often varied in character, but all depend to some 

 extent upon the primary problem of description. 

 It is obviously impossible to discuss anything re- 

 lated to Tarascan housmg without first knowing 

 its characteristics. Description, then, necessarily 

 provides the raw data for any scientific objective. 

 The amount of description necessary to any par- 

 ticular objective may, of course, vary, but imless 

 a precisely limited problem is set in advance, the 

 fullest possible description is apt to be of the widest 

 use to the most people. To the applied field, de- 

 scription is likewise necessary. We cannot decide 

 whether a people are adequately or poorly housed 

 until we know how they are housed, what natural 

 resources are available, or are used, and what 

 skills exist for the utilization of these resources. 

 So far, then, we may say in general that description 

 of housing and house use is necessary both to ap- 

 plied and to scientific objectives, even though the 

 amount and kind of description needed conceiva- 

 bly may vary. 



As indicated, scientific study may be directed 

 toward several objectives. One scientist may set 

 himself the problem of discovering the history of 

 the Tarascan house type, another may wish to 

 learn the history of the Tarascan use of the house 

 rather than the history of its construction. Yet 

 another may wish to know what the functions of 

 the house are within the total culture partly or 



