Polly Wiessner
Polly Wiessner is an anthropologist and author of the 2014 comparison of day and night talk among the Ju/'hoansi.
Who they are
The work of Polly Wiessner reaches this site through the paper listed below. The name is tied to Gossip, Reverse Dominance Hierarchy.
Key papers
Wiessner, P. W. (2014). Embers of society: Firelight talk among the Ju/'hoansi Bushmen. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. What it reports: Comparison of 174 day and night conversations among Ju/'hoan people plus 68 translated texts. Day talk centred on economic matters and gossip; night talk on singing, dancing, ceremonies and stories conveying how institutions work and building trust across regional networks. Firelight gave time for social life without cutting subsistence work; night activities steered away from the tensions of the day.
Key ideas
Gossip: Everyday talk about who did what, the low-cost end of norm enforcement.
Reverse Dominance Hierarchy: A small band's collective holding down of anyone who would dominate it, through gossip, teasing and shared sanction.
Sources
- Wiessner, P. W. (2014). Embers of society: Firelight talk among the Ju/'hoansi Bushmen. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.