Question

Attempts to document Native American cultures that were devastated by the westward expansion ofsttlers is called salvage anthropology. This method involves:

A)Collecting only material goods that were considered trash
B)Observing many participants over a long period of time
C)Rapid assessment of local conditions and detailed interviews
D)Rapid gathering of available material and key interviews

Answer 1

Salvage anthropology was an effort to rapidly collect materials and information from Native American cultures during the late 19th century. The technique attempted to preserve these cultures before they were expected to disappear, resulting in a wealth of materials that remain underexplored but invaluable for research and cultural recovery.

Step-by-step explanation:

The method known as salvage anthropology refers to efforts made by anthropologists in the late 19th century who were concerned about the extinction of Native American cultures due to the westward expansion of settlers. This practice involved the rapid gathering of material objects, stories, language lists, and ethnographies from tribal peoples. This information was often hastily collected and sometimes through controversial means such as theft or purchasing from intermediaries, with the objective of preserving these cultures before they were anticipated to vanish. Many of the collected materials ended up in museums or archives and have not been fully processed or studied, but they hold immense research opportunities for both anthropologists and Indigenous peoples interested in cultural recovery efforts.