ABSTRACT
The anthropology of the early twentieth century stressed the differences among peoples rather than the resemblances. Primitive societies, especially those distant from each other, were shown to exhibit contrasting customs, opposing views of good life. This chapter is concerned with an anthropological frontier not only because the subject matter, peasantry, is such, but also because ethos or value-orientation has only recently become a matter of serious anthropological attention. Anthropologists are only now learning how to think about and how validly to report the basic values of primitive and self-contained communities. It seems to find a cluster of three closely related attitudes or values: an intimate and reverent attitude toward the land; the idea that agricultural work is good and commerce not so good; and an emphasis on productive industry as a prime virtue. Pitt-Rivers says that the attitude he found in the Andalusian town "is typical of the whole Mediterranean, though it contrasts with the north-west of the Iberian peninsula".
