the ethnographic atlas is the result of work beginning with george p murdock, an american anthropologist. his aim was to systematically organize ethnographic data, derived from published ethnographies, so that comparative research would be easier to do. one eventual result of his work was the human relations area files (hraf), a now independent project based in the usa. for over 40 years hraf has maintained paper databases consisting of indexed pages from over 1200 ethnographic texts. use the general ehraf collection (accessible from http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/ user name: ehraf/password: b6occoe5. also draw from other ethnographic resources. general help is available at http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/ehrafe/help/helpframes.htm OCM Numbers and Descriptors for Human Sexuality • 304 Body Alteration • 548 Organized Vice • 588 Irregular Sexual Relationships • 589 Celibacy • 684 Sex Offenses and Crimes • 786 Orgies • 831 Ideas About Sexuality • 832 Sexual Stimulation • 833 Sexual Intercourse • 834 General Sex Restrictions • 835 Kinship Regulation of Sex • 836 Premarital Sex • 837 Extramarital Sex • 838 Homosexuality • 839 Miscellaneous Sexual Behavior • 864 Sex Education OCM Numbers and Descriptors for Marriage • 581 Ideas About Marriage • 582 Regulation of Marriage • 583 Economics of Marriage • 584 Courtship • 585 Wedding Ceremonies • 586 Separation and Divorce • 587 Remarriage • 588 Unusual Unions • 589 Celibacy The Project: The general exercise must focus on the assigned topic using the eHraf databases. 1) From the Cultures available on eHraf select AT LEAST one society from Oceania, one from Europe or the Middle East, one from Asia or Africa, and one from North America or South America. Include additional societies from each region or additional regions if desired. 2) Using the databases, prepare a brief summary of the general approach to sexuality in each selected society (for each society the summary should include at least 1.5 pages original text (500 words), plus AT LEAST 2 pages of examples copied from the database WITH CITATIONS to the source you are copying from. The eHRAF is not a source, it is a library.). Topics you will cover INCLUDE (but are not limited to): basic practices (e.g. body alteration; sexual stimulation; sexual intercourse, premarital sex; extramarital sex), prohibited practices (e.g. rape; incest; sex offences AND Crimes), relation to life history (e.g. puberty; marriage; sex education; elder OR old), sexual roles available to males and females (e.g. marriage; celibacy; ideas about sexuality; homosexuality). Pay particular attention to relationships between participating individuals. 3) Briefly compare and contrast the four selected societies on each of these latter points, about 3 pages total. 4) Based on the cultural summaries for each selected society, attempt to account for some of the similarities and differences. What can you say about the range of practice? Essential: 1) The quality of comparison between the societies. Integrate the comparison rather than give it in stages. A well integrated comparison of the societies chosen. 2) Evidence that you did the searches on the computer and write the necessary number of pages (9 pages/2700 words + examples) with a basic comparison and general conclusion. 3) Well presented discussion relating to similarities, differences and the range of practice between the societies chosen. 4) This is not an essay. It is a research project. A research report, based on evidence. The only way you can get the evidence is to use the databases (or read a lot of ethnography) 5) The EHraf is not a suitable source for references and citations. The reference is given for each page you look at. Copy this when you copy the text. Each society should have about two pages of examples to illustrate your description, copied from the pages you found on eHraf with the CITATAION for the page (Author(s), Date, Title, Journal or Publisher, page number) which you can also copy