Anthropologists have long recognized that cultural traditions in
different societies can be related phylogenetically in that they derive
historically from a common ancestral tradition in the same way that
languages can be related phylogenetically. Problems of method for
convincingly establishing such relations for cultural traditions
have remained unresolved. Remote Oceania, where we have reason
to assume that nearly all existing cultural traditions are phyloge
netically related, offers possibilities for comparative study to illus
trate the methodological issues to be resolved. The methodological
strategy is described and illustrative examples are offered.
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