Sol Tax
Encyclopedia
Sol Tax was an American
anthropologist. He is best known for his studies of the Meskwaki
, or Fox, Indians, for "action-anthropological" research titled the Fox Project, and for founding the academic journal Current Anthropology
. He received his doctorate from the University of Chicago
in 1935.
Tax grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
. During his formative years he was involved in a number of social clubs. Among these was the Newsboys Republic with which his first encounter was when he was "arrested" for breaking their rules. Tax began his undergraduate education at the University of Chicago
but had to leave for lack of funds. He returned to school at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he studied with Ralph Linton
. He was also heavily influenced by the University of Chicago anthropologist Fred Eggan
, in whose footsteps he followed in attempting to integrate principles of social anthropology
to the study of Native Americans. He later taught at the University of Chicago.
He was the main organizer for the 1959 Darwin Centennial Celebration held at the University of Chicago.
The American Anthropological Association
presented to him and Bela Maday its Franz Boas
award for exemplary service to anthropology
in 1977. He was the association's president in 1959.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
anthropologist. He is best known for his studies of the Meskwaki
Meskwaki
The Meskwaki are a Native American people often known to outsiders as the Fox tribe. They have often been closely linked to the Sauk people. In their own language, the Meskwaki call themselves Meshkwahkihaki, which means "the Red-Earths." Historically their homelands were in the Great Lakes region...
, or Fox, Indians, for "action-anthropological" research titled the Fox Project, and for founding the academic journal Current Anthropology
Current Anthropology
Current Anthropology is a peer-reviewed anthropology academic journal published by the University of Chicago Press and sponsored by the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research. Founded in 1959 by the anthropologist Sol Tax...
. He received his doctorate from the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
in 1935.
Tax grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
. During his formative years he was involved in a number of social clubs. Among these was the Newsboys Republic with which his first encounter was when he was "arrested" for breaking their rules. Tax began his undergraduate education at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
but had to leave for lack of funds. He returned to school at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he studied with Ralph Linton
Ralph Linton
Ralph Linton was a respected American anthropologist of the mid-twentieth century, particularly remembered for his texts The Study of Man and The Tree of Culture...
. He was also heavily influenced by the University of Chicago anthropologist Fred Eggan
Fred Eggan
Frederick Russell Eggan was an American anthropologist best known for his innovative application of the principles of British social anthropology to the study of Native American tribes. He was the favorite student of the British social anthropologist A. R. Radcliffe-Brown during Radcliffe-Brown's...
, in whose footsteps he followed in attempting to integrate principles of social anthropology
Social anthropology
Social Anthropology is one of the four or five branches of anthropology that studies how contemporary human beings behave in social groups. Practitioners of social anthropology investigate, often through long-term, intensive field studies , the social organization of a particular person: customs,...
to the study of Native Americans. He later taught at the University of Chicago.
He was the main organizer for the 1959 Darwin Centennial Celebration held at the University of Chicago.
The American Anthropological Association
American Anthropological Association
The American Anthropological Association is a professional organization of scholars and practitioners in the field of anthropology. With 11,000 members, the Arlington, Virginia based association includes archaeologists, cultural anthropologists, biological anthropologists, linguistic...
presented to him and Bela Maday its Franz Boas
Franz Boas
Franz Boas was a German-American anthropologist and a pioneer of modern anthropology who has been called the "Father of American Anthropology" and "the Father of Modern Anthropology." Like many such pioneers, he trained in other disciplines; he received his doctorate in physics, and did...
award for exemplary service to anthropology
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
in 1977. He was the association's president in 1959.
Works
- (1937, revised 1955) contributions to Social Anthropology of North American Tribes, ed. by Fred Eggan. Chicago: University of Chicago PressUniversity of Chicago PressThe University of Chicago Press is the largest university press in the United States. It is operated by the University of Chicago and publishes a wide variety of academic titles, including The Chicago Manual of Style, dozens of academic journals, including Critical Inquiry, and a wide array of...
. - Rubinstein, Robert A., ed. 2001. Doing Fieldwork: The Correspondence of Robert Redfield and Sol Tax, New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Books.
- (1953, revised 1972) Penny Capitalism; a Guatemalan Indian economy ISBN 0374977852. Tax is said to have coined the term 'Penny capitalismPenny capitalismThe term penny capitalism was first used in 1953 to describe indigenous economies in which there is land tenure over tiny plots of land, where farmers produce crop surplus and engage in small-scale trading. Microfinance evolved in penny capitalist economies....
'. - (1988) and Puzzlement: A Retro-introspective Record of 60 Years of Anthropology Annual Review of Anthropology
External links
- Sol Tax - Fort Berthold Action Anthropology Project, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
- Sol Tax - Fox field notes and Fox Project records 1932-1959, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
- Obituary: Sol Tax, Anthropology
- Tax, Sol. 1963. Penny Capitalism: A Guatemalan Indian Economy. The University of Chicago Press.