Kingship and Sacrifice

This article reviews Marshall Sahlins's _Islands of History_, focusing on the theoretical issues it raises concerning the anthropological study of historical transformation. Sahlins's analysis of the Hawaiian kingdom's encounter with Captain Cook is used to illustrate the complex interplay between structure and event, cultural categories and historical action. The review examines Sahlins's concept of "heroic history," which emphasizes the role of cultural presuppositions in shaping historical outcomes, and discusses the implications of this approach for understanding cross-cultural encounters and the dynamics of social change. The authors also address the broader debate about the relationship between structure and history in anthropological theory, highlighting the contributions and limitations of Sahlins's perspective

Ancient history · Archaeology · Art · Monarchy · Political science · Politics · Sacrifice · Asian American and Pacific Histories · History · Law · Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies