Write notes on the following in about 150 words each: (a) Debate between formalist and substantivist approaches (10 marks) (b)…

(a) Debate between formalist and substantivist approaches

The formalist-substantivist debate forms a foundational epistemological divide in economic anthropology regarding the cross-cultural applicability of Western economic theory. Formalists like Melville Herskovits and Raymond Firth argued that neoclassical economic principles—such as rational choice, utility maximisation, and economising behaviour under conditions of scarcity—are universally applicable across all human societies. In contrast, Substantivists, led by Karl Polanyi (The Great Transformation) and George Dalton, asserted that the formalist framework is culture-bound to market economies. They argued that in pre-industrial and non-Western societies, economic activity is 'substantively embedded' in kinship, political, and religious institutions. Instead of price-making markets, provisioning and exchange operate through reciprocity and redistribution. While formalists focus on universal micro-economic decision-making, substantivists highlight structural institutions governing material flow. The debate expanded anthropological inquiry, establishing that economic systems must be understood within their broader socio-cultural matrices.

(b) Mesolithic rock art in Indian subcontinent

Mesolithic rock art in the Indian subcontinent provides vital archaeological evidence of the cognitive, ritual, and ecological life of prehistoric hunter-gatherers. Pioneered by V.S. Wakankar at Bhimbetka (Madhya Pradesh), these rock shelters feature dynamic paintings created using mineral pigments like haematite (geru) and charcoal. The thematic repertoire highlights food procurement and social life, depicting collective hunting scenes, trapping, honey gathering, and communal dancing alongside handprints. At Adamgarh, prominent faunal themes illustrate diverse non-domesticated wildlife such as deer, wild boars, and rhinoceros, reflecting intimate ecological knowledge before the onset of settled farming. At Patne (Maharashtra), engraved geometric patterns on ostrich eggshell fragments reveal early non-figurative symbolic expression. Superimpositions across shelters illustrate long chronological continuity. These expressions reveal not only Mesolithic subsistence strategies but also early shamanic rituals, aesthetic development, and division of labour.

(c) Radcliffe-Brown's ideas on status, role and institution

A.R. Radcliffe-Brown formulated a structural-functionalist framework that viewed society as an integrated system maintaining structural continuity. Rejecting Bronislaw Malinowski’s bio-psychological functionalism, he defined 'social structure' as the network of actually existing social relations between individuals. Within this network, status is the structural position or place occupied by an individual, carrying socially defined rights, duties, and differential prestige. Role constitutes the dynamic enactment of that status—the expected behavioral performance in social interactions. An institution is a standardized, socially established mode of behaviour or customary cluster of norms and roles regulating interpersonal relationships. For Radcliffe-Brown, institutions like joking relationships, segmentary lineages, and totemic rituals function to regulate potential conflict and preserve social cohesion. By conceptualising status, role, and institution as interrelated structural units, he established a comparative, anti-reductionist sociological methodology for social anthropology.

(d) Pedigree analysis in genetic counselling

Pedigree analysis is a core bio-anthropological and clinical tool used to chart the transmission of inherited traits across generations. Using standardized symbols—squares for males, circles for females, filled symbols for affected individuals, and double lines for consanguineous marriages—it constructs a visual genealogical record. This allows counsellors to determine specific Mendelian and non-Mendelian inheritance patterns, including autosomal dominant/recessive, X-linked, Y-linked, and mitochondrial transmissions. Through segregation analysis and Bayesian probability, counsellors calculate recurrence risks for prospective parents, guiding prenatal screening and diagnostic choices. In India, pedigree analysis is pivotal in managing monogenic disorders with high prevalence in endogamous communities, particularly Beta-Thalassemia and Sickle Cell Anaemia (as targeted under the National Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission). It enables non-directive counselling, pre-marital screening, and informed reproductive decision-making.

(e) Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) and Participatory Learning and Action (PLA)

Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) and Participatory Learning and Action (PLA) are participatory action-research methodologies designed to decentralize development planning. Introduced by Robert Chambers in the late 1980s, PRA transitioned development studies from extractive data collection toward community-led appraisal. It uses interactive visual and spatial tools, including resource mapping, transect walks, seasonal calendars, and Venn (Chapati) diagrams, enabling local people to articulate their own realities. PLA evolved as an advanced, reflexive iteration of PRA to overcome the latter’s vulnerability to becoming a brief, project-driven, extractive exercise. PLA emphasizes sustained, iterative cycles of learning, action, and critical reflection. While PRA serves primarily as a rapid diagnostic appraisal tool, PLA addresses local power dynamics, gender disparities, and long-term capacity building, institutionalizing genuine community ownership and bottom-up empowerment.