Conception of “tribe” in the modern anthropology. Cover Image

Понятие «племя» в современной антропологии
Conception of “tribe” in the modern anthropology.

Author(s): Nikolay Nikolaevich Kradin
Subject(s): History
Published by: Издательство Исторического факультета СПбГУ
Keywords: tribe; chiefdom; political and social anthropology

Summary/Abstract: The term tribe is the most controversial concept in modern anthropology, ethnology, sociology and history. Many modern researchers believe that this concept is generated by the colonial era and is a «colonial myth» or a «historiographical phantom», and on this basis it has to be rejected in the modern research practice. This article shows how the notion of tribe (and the attitudes to it) had been configured and was changing over time. It is stated that the term and the concept behind it the tribe has not lost its relevance, heuristic, and its use is extremely important for anthropologists to maintain their own professional self-identity. The concept of tribe is complementary to the key concept of political anthropology ― chiefdom.

  • Issue Year: 2015
  • Issue No: 2
  • Page Range: 4-12
  • Page Count: 9
  • Language: Russian