American Anthropology in Micronesia, 1941-1997

Abstract

Before the Second World War, relatively few American anthropologists had worked in the Pacific, and Micronesia was virtually unknown. After the war, the U.S. Navy sponsored the Coordinated Investigation of Micronesian Anthropology, the largest research project in the history of the discipline. Several CIMA participants became major figures, and they inspired substantial further work in the region. In this paper research trends in Micronesia during the past half century are discussed and suggestions for the future are offered.