Search

The last decade has witnessed a marked increase in the study of social anthropology, cultural sociology and archaeology in several Latin American countries and particularly in Brazil, Mexico and Argentina. There are several booknotes that will serve to illustrate some of the trends in this phase of sociology in these three countries. E. Roquette-Pinto, of the Brazilian Academy, is one of the most active and critical of Brazil's social anthropologists. In his book "Ensaios de Anthropologia Brasiliana," he is concerned primarily with population, migration and race. This last subject occupies more than half of the volume and ranges from race fertility to the spiritual qualities of the Negroes, Japanese, Indians, Hindus and the Portuguese. Eugenics is a side problem with those of race and population. The most important essay in the volume is on the anthropological types of Brazil, in which he reviews critically the accumulated literature on the subject. Numerous North Americans are cited and their views discussed. Of the fifteen essays in the Brazilian Studies, three are of especial interest to readers.