The Process of Sociocultural Continuity [and Comments and Replies]

Abstract

Almost since its inception, anthropology has had a major concern with sociocultural traditionalism and innovation. This paper argues that the terms "tradition" and "change" have created a dichotomy that is counterproductive for understanding how sociocultural systems are utilized by real people to deal with real events. Rather, we should stress the dynamic of continuity wherein "old" and "new" are defined according to the situation at hand. The extent to which the two are synthesized and the components rearranged in the optative mode is illustrated by ethnographic material from the Pueblo villages of the American Southwest-often cited as classic examples of traditionalism in the face of acculturative pressure-combined with a focus on tourism, a contact situation with great potential for altering the lives of those in the host society. Four case studies show how the challenge of synthesis for continuity is met by the people of Santo Tomas and what implications their response has for anthropological theory.