"Making-Twos": Pairing as an Alternative to the Taxonomic Mode of Representation

Document Type

Article

Journal/Book Title

American Anthropologist

Publication Date

12-1981

Publisher

American Anthropological Association

Volume

83

Issue

4

First Page

773

Last Page

795

Abstract

Melpa-speaking children do very poorly on cognitive tasks, in general, and as compared to children from another traditional society in Papua New Guinea. Causes for this difference are sought in an analysis of the tasks which shows them to require a taxonomic strategy for successful performance and in an analysis of the folk taxonomies of the respective societies which shows them to vary in complexity. Further study of Melpa representation reveals that this can better be represented as a pairing rather than a taxonomizing tendency This finding allows a reinterpretation of the cognitive task results.

Comments

Originally published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American Anthropological Association. Publisher's PDF available through remote link.
Note: David Lancy was affiliated with Arizona State University at time of publication.

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