88 The LATIN AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGY REVIEW 3(2)

reconnaissance and exploration as a prelude to establishing prisoners or deserters.

trade.
Chapters 6 and 7 describe the arrival of buccaneers, first
English in the late 1670s and later waves of English and
French. Unlike earlier intruders, who arrived via the southern
tip of South America, the buccaneers arrived from the north,
crossing the Isthmus of Panama and taking what ships they
needed. Their aims were to plunder, to get rich quickly, and
they were "unrestricted by the niceties of proper conduct for
the sake of future good relations" (p. 186). The close of the
seventeenth century saw the arrival of the last buccaneers,
the voyage of Englishman Strong, and renewed French
interest in Peru.
Bradley's focus on the seventeenth century has produced
a valuable and much-needed synthesis gleaned from docu-
mentary sources which are carefully referenced in his lengthy
notes. He has succeeded in presenting data on each intrusion
from multiple points of view, contrasting the goals of the
invaders with the responses and reactions of the viceroyalty,
while also often including information from more neutral
Reading these accounts, one is painfully aware that these
intrusions were generally unsuccessful. No colonies were
established, no lucrative trading was accomplished, and
efforts at plunder and ransom netted very little. However, the
effect of these intrusions must also be measured in terms of
the Spanish response-measures taken for defense and re-
taliation. Localized trade was affected, resulting in the arming
of merchant vessels and defensive actions in coastal commu-
nities distant from Lima. More severe was the perceived
threat to long-distance trade and especially silver shipments
to Spain. Investments in efforts to defend the Viceroyalty of
Peru were substantial, on three occasions even exceeding
the value of revenue sent to Spain.
Despite the shortcomings of every seventeenth-century
penetration into the South Sea, the "lure of Peru" persisted,
stimulating increased traffic into the area during the eigh-
teenth century. This later exploration owes much to earlier
voyagers who gathered knowledge about routes, safe har-
bors, weather conditions, as well as food and water sources.

Linguistic Anthropology / Literature

Amazonian Linguistics: Studies in Lowland South of one's own corpus, the possibility of discussing grammatical
American Languages. DORIS L. PAYNE (editor). issues with other Amazon scholars provided an excellent
Austin: University of Texas Press, 1990. 584 pp., 8 opportunity. Out of the conversations and presentations of
data and analyses, interesting and new conclusions about
figures, 77 tables. $42.50 (cloth). ISBN 0-292- Amazon languages have been drawn.
70414-3. The introduction to Amazonian Linguistics, which is a very
valuable general introduction to languages of the Amazon,
HARRIET E. MANELIS KLEIN notes that although there is a temptation to categorize
Montclair State College Amazonia (a geographical region which includes the Guyanas,
the Amazon Basin, parts of eastern Peru, Bolivia and Colum-
In the past decade a number of linguistic works have bia) as a linguistic area different from the rest of South
appeared which have moved forward our knowledge of the America, that is not a valuable appellation. In fact, there does
approximately 400 South American lowland languages and not appear to be any evidence to support that distinction.
their structures and which have tripled our data base for Rather, it is argued that a most interesting feature about
further study. There is presently about one grammar for every lowland South America is its considerable diversity. On the
four languages in the Amazon area and there are even fewer other hand, there do seem to be subareal differences, a
dictionaries available. Thus, this volume, which covers some distinction which seems to be helpful in dealing with the
languages for which there is no other data available, makes languages of the western Amazon which share more com-
a significant contribution to the field. As frequently happens monalities structurally than does the rest of the area.
in scholarship, when one individual starts to work on the Although the works in this volume are largely descriptive,
language and culture of a previously unknown or relatively and include much data, they also provide ample examples for
unknown subject, others follow, leaving the unknown remain- those curious about phonological and morphology theory.
ing unknown. The volume being reviewed here thereby For more involved and/or trained scholars, some articles
serves as a response to the challenge for information on prove a greater challenge. The chapter on "Incorporation in
languages of the Amazon and on their speakers, and adds Nadeb" by Helen Weir is complex, but interesting. It is useful
enormously to the recent harvest of literature. It is also an for scholars who are concerned about understanding a phe-
important addition to the lowland bibliography because South nomenon (most simply stated as a derivation process) found
America is an area that has been essentially ignored in the in many languages. Just reading the first pages of the article
analyses that are made about language universals and lin- one gets a good sense of this particular linguistic problem.
guistic theory. The article by Aryon Rodrigues is very clearly written and
Doris Payne has edited a collection of articles that grew out covers a discourse centered issue in Tupinamba, which
of a working conference held in the summer of 1987. Different involves the personal pronominal system. This chapter will
from many other works, this one includes the efforts of several remind readers of their more favorite moments of introductory
South American linguists and represents an international culture and language courses.
array of scholarship. The motivation for the conference and Doris Payne's "Morphological Characteristics of Lowland
this subsequent publication was to find a forum to discuss South American Languages," provides a useful introduction in
grammatical issues that appear aberrant. Instead of the readily accessible terminology on morphological typology. It
continued work in isolation, drawing conclusions on the basis is especially useful as a source for offering students (for
 The LATIN AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGY REVIEW 3(2) 89

example, in introductory courses on non-Western languages) explain in their preface that "The changes were most numer-
clear definitions and examples of polysynthetic and isolating ous at the beginning and trailed off to almost nothing in the
languages and the processes of affixation in general. final chapters. In some cases there was only a marginal
Perhaps the most useful article is Terry Kaufman's "Lan- notation indicating a planned change." Miller and Dakin took
guage History in South America: What We Know and How to over the task, for the most part keeping within the compass of
Know More," which covers fundamental language history Sullivan's intentions. Given the circumstances, and in retro-
issues in an encyclopedic way. Its breadth and scope are spect of the large number of errors in the text, it would have
significant, and although written in a feisty tone, we are alerted
been best to abandon the project. The following remarks
to the author's willingness to be proven wrong. merely hint attheproblem.givingan extremely limited number
For those readers who are fascinated by languages and of examples of typical errors.
who have a wide ranging interest in language as culture Perhaps the weakness that undermines Sullivan's project
history, this volume offers some valuable insights as well. For most is an inadequate grasp of grammatical terminology.
example, several authors conclude that there are a number of With regard to "absolutive" Sullivan says: "A noun that is
morphological forms and structures which appear in lan- neither possessed (p.25) nor pluralized (p. 16) is usually in the
guages that do not appear to be related to each other. How absolutive. The absolutive noun is composed of a nounstem
can one explain the similarity? The authors argue that in the plus an absolutive suffix -in, -tli, -tl, or -//..." (p.15). Somehow
Amazon consistent and long term language contact must the category of absolutive has become intertwined with the
have taken place. How did this happen? The authors note category of number, so that only singular forms can be
that the languages discussed are found along major water- absolutive. Furthermore, Sullivan allows only the listed mor-
ways and therefore transportation and communication among phs to generate absolutive forms; cf., among other com-
groups was not such an unlikely scenario. ments, the ones on the "nonabsolutive" forms -tzin (pp. 19-21),
Finally, one may ask why Latin Americanist anthropologists -pit (p.22), and -pol (p.22). The term "stem" also exhibits
would want to have this volume in their own libraries? While problems. According to Sullivan "the noun stem (that is, the
its use for nonlinguists is somewhat limited, it is a work that form of the noun without the absolutive prefix)" (p.25). But
must be referred to nonetheless by anyone working on "prefix" is an error for "suffix" (see p.28 for the intended
Tupian, Cariban, Jivaroan, Nambiquaran, Arawakan, wording). The error here has to do with the failure to cope with
Tukanoan and Makuan languages, or on the cultures whose non-third-person forms. If one deletes the -///from niteuctli, "I
members speak languages in those families. Furthermore, am a lord," the result will not be a stem. Actually, a more
even if one has no interest in linguistics per se, the issues, serious problem is involved here. Throughout the work,
such as genetic relationships and contact, are discussed in Sullivan accepts as linguistically real only the most superficial
such a way that this book will prove most useful for all facts, that is, only the graphologically exhibited facts. Another
anthropologists, historians, et cetera. And perhaps the main instanceof this appears on page 26: "A few noun stems that
reason this book is so valuable is that it provides a forum for terminate in a consonant add the suffix -hui...huezhua
languages that are so rapidly becoming extinct. (z)tli...nohuezhui... (The vowel of the possessed form of
huezhauz-tli (sic!) is irregularly changed from "a" to "e")."
Sullivan's example does not fit her explanation and thus the
comment in parentheses is nonsense. Perhaps the "e" is a
Compendium of Nahuatl Grammar. THELMA D. misprint for "i", but if so the statement would not only be a
SULLIVAN (translated from the Spanish by Thelma misstatement, it would also disqualify the example on other
grounds. The term "possessed" also presents problems:
D. Sullivan and Neville Stiles and edited by Wick R. "possessed" (p.40), (and on pp.92ff the term "possessive") is
Miller and Karen Dakin). Salt Lake City: University a misnomer for noun forms such as tlale', "landowner." Such
of Utah Press, 1988. xxxi + 324pp. $25.00 (paper). forms do not indicate a possessed entity but a possessing
ISBN 0-87480-282-2. one. In chapter 3 "possessed nouns" are nouns with a
possessive prefix. Another terminological problem is found
J. RICHARD ANDREWS on page 41: "the exclamation 'oh!'" is incorrect for "the direct
Vanderbilt University address 'O'" (every one of the 37 instances of "oh" on pp.41 -
43 should read "O". Presumably, the problem with the
Thelma Sullivan was one of the most knowledgeable and following statement is terminological: "The [transitive] verb
sensitive translators of Nahuatl in our day. She had the knack must always include the object prefix, even when the object is
of choosing the right word, the fitting phrase, to capture the indicated by an expressed noun in the sentence; however, the
import of the Nahuatl text she was rendering. With her prefixes are different for those cases in which the object is
experience and expertise, with her practical knowledge of the expressed (definite) and when the object is unexpressed
art of translating Nahuatl, she could have made an inestima- (indefinite)" (p.45). I have no idea what this means. A very
bly great contribution to Nahuatl studies if she had undertaken curious terminological problem begins on p.50. Sullivan
to write a guide for translating the language, pointing out the misuses the term "past perfect tense" to name what is gener-
pitfalls to avoid and explaining techniques for handling this or ally called the preterit tense, apparently totally unaware that
that kind of problem. Instead she chose to write her Compendio this term is a synonym for "pluperfect tense" (which is used
de la gramatica Nahuatl, published in 1976 by UNAM, of starting on p.55 to name the pluperfect tense). The ridiculous-
which the present work is a translation. Upon her death in ness of using synonyms to name two entirely different tenses
August of 1981 she had not finished the changes and revi- is all the more glaring when they are exemplified in close
sions that she had undertaken for the English version. The proximity: "cochhi'Xo sleep,' o-coch (past perfect), o-coch-ca
editors of the present text, Wick Miller and Karen Dakin, (pluperfect)" (p.55); and a parallel listing of forms under the