What does an anthropologist do in the field?
No questionnaires, no statistical samples. So what does a researcher actually do when they “go into the field”?
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Articles
Everything published in Anthro, ordered and filterable by category, format, series and topic.
Popular souqs: who buys and who comes to look?
The old markets are still standing, but their customers have changed. What does it mean for a souq to become a destination?
Why does what we eat matter to the anthropologist?
A translation of an introductory piece on the anthropology of food, and why the table makes a good entry point for studying a society.
Ramadan in the city: a rite in transition
The cannon became a phone notification, and the shared iftar became a reservation. What is left of the rite?
Memory
What is not said twice is forgotten once.
Coffee Not Meant for Drinking
The first cup is for the guest, and the second for the sword,
The wasm: writing on stone and skin
Before identity papers, the wasm said whose camels these were and where their owner came from.
Field notebook: three days in a popular souq
A monthly column written by a researcher from the field — this time from the alleys of a souq whose arrangement has not changed in decades.
The AlUla inscriptions and the Lihyanites: documenting ancient belief and symbol
An anthropological analysis of rock texts and doctrinal symbols in the north-west of the Kingdom.
Saudi coffee: an anthropology of hospitality and social symbolism
An anthropological reading of what coffee means, and of the rituals of serving it in Saudi society across generations.
The Rawshan of the Hijaz: an architecture of light and privacy
A field study of the Hijazi rawshan and its relationship to social structure and climatic adaptation in historic Jeddah.
The Hijazi rawshan: a window onto a philosophy of social contact
The rawshan is more than a decorative architectural element. It is a complete social system that governs the relation of inside to outside, and private to public, in the traditional Hijazi environment.
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