Trading Zones Between Thick and Thin: Anthropological Description as Scaffold or Mosaic

ABSTRACT Referring to the work of historian of science Peter Galison, I argue that anthropology requires thin description as an essential counterpart for thick description. Thin accounts provide the scaffolding within which thick descriptions sit. Galison uses the idea of a “trading zone” connecting different communities who, despite their differences (possibly including different ontologies), manage to coordinate joint activity. This idea works well for anthropological accounts of many societies, not least in relation to silent trade, in which exchange occurs without direct communication so that there is literally no sharing of meanings! Anthropology consists of mosaics of thick descriptions, held within thinly described structures. Galison uses what he calls “laminated descriptions” to comprehend interaction in trading zones. Ideas from complexity theory, emergence, and autopoiesis can be applied to avoid forms of positivistic reductionism. Finally, I give a sparse, summary account of change in Mambila traditional religion in terms of a trading zone of influences.