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An Application of Dimensional Analysis in Cultural Anthropology
Author(s) -
Dobbert Marion Lundy,
Mcguire Dennis P.,
Pearson James J.,
Taylor Kenneth Clarkson
Publication year - 1984
Publication title -
american anthropologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.51
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1548-1433
pISSN - 0002-7294
DOI - 10.1525/aa.1984.86.4.02a00030
Subject(s) - cultural anthropology , materialism , anthropology , dimensionless quantity , set (abstract data type) , sociology , space (punctuation) , order (exchange) , function (biology) , politics , epistemology , computer science , philosophy , economics , physics , thermodynamics , political science , biology , finance , evolutionary biology , law , programming language , operating system
Lawlike generalizations can be developed only for variables exhibiting strict constancy in concept formulation. By considering anthropology a space and its basic concepts as dimensions and borrowing from ecology, cultural materialism, and social, political, and cultural anthropology, we develop a 14‐dimensional space defined by 42 scaled variables. Dimensional analysis performed yields 14 equations and 28 dimensionless expressions that satisfy them. Additionally, we derive a set of 28 ethnological expressions. Entering scaled data from five societies, we solve for each. Twenty‐one expressions yield significant order‐ings. Examination of their performance confirms that they function holistically.