22nd Annual Student Research Conference
The Cognitive Implications of Participation in Harvest Rituals
Justin L. Nichols
Dr. Amber Johnson and Dr. Thomas W. Stewart, Faculty Mentors
Rituals of harvest, or first fruits, are conducted among many ethnographically recorded cultures, and therefore provide a firm foundation for comparative study. This study examines the cognitive impact of these rituals on individuals who practice them. Specific elements of particular rituals, such as types of sensory stimuli (e.g. sights, smells, and sounds), are related to the effect of a ritual on the cognition of individuals who have taken part, and their interaction with other participants. Such an analysis should improve our understanding of the function of harvest rituals in societies that perform them. This research explores cognitive anthropology by seeking the convergence of perspectives from disciplines such as anthropology, linguistics, philosophy, and psychology.
Keywords: Cognitive Science, Ritual, Ethnology
Topic(s):Anthropology
Interdisciplinary
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 35-2
Location: VH 1424
Time: 1:30