Few studies of material
culture have been as thorough, have had as much influence, or have been
discussed in as many anthropology classrooms as Bronislaw Malinowski’s classic
treatment, Argonauts of the Western
Pacific. In the book, Malinowski chronicles a complicated network of gift
exchange known as the “kula ring” among inhabitants of numerous Trobriand Islands. By
detailing the people involved, the journeys, the items of exchange, ritual
practices, et cetera, Malinowski helped
to establish the significance of reciprocity in human culture and experience.
