Anthropological Study of Spirits

​Christine S. VanPool earned her BS in anthropology at Eastern New Mexico University and her MA and PhD in anthropology from the University of New Mexico. She is an Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Her research focuses on the anthropology of religion, especially shamanism among Native Americans. Many of her analyses use shamanic art to examine the cognitive structure of religious practices across the New World, especially the North American Southwest and Mesoamerica. She has published over 60 peer-reviewed articles and books. Her works include Ancient Medicinal Plants of South America (2019, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences) and Signs of the Casas Grandes Shamans (2007, University of Utah Press).Todd L. VanPool earned his BA in religion and anthropology at Eastern New Mexico University and his MA and PhD in anthropology from the University of New Mexico. He is a Professor ofAnthropology at the University of Missouri—Columbia. His research focuses on the archaeology of the North American Southwest, especially the religious and economic organization of the Casas Grandes culture of northern Chihuahua (Mexico) and southern New Mexico (USA). With Christine, he has led field work in the region for over two decades, and has published over 60 peer-reviewed articles and books. His publications include: Religion in the Pre-Hispanic Southwest (2007, Altamira Press) and The Reality of Casas Grandes Potters: Realistic Portraits of Spirits and Shamans (2021, Religions).

“The book is very comprehensive, and covers the dominant anthropological theories and perspectives in a clear way, with good use of ethnographic examples to illustrate the variety and cross-cultural commonalities of human spirit beliefs. … This book would make a welcome addition to any serious academic library of the paranormal.” (Jack Hunter, Journal of the Society for Psychical Research, Vol. 88 (4), 2024)

• Chapter 1. Things that go Bump in the Night (and Day).- Chapter 2. Anthropology and the Science of the Supernatural: Souls, Ancestors, Ghosts, and Spirits.- Chapter 3. An Operational Classification of Spirits.-  Chapter 4. The World of Spirits.- Chapter 5. Spirits and their Helpers.- Chapter 6. Defense against the Dark.- Chapter 7. Neurology, Physiology, and the Mind/Spirit Interface.- Chapter 8. Conclusion.