Presents an alphabetical listing of information on the peoples of Asia and Oceania including origins, prehistory, history, culture, languages, and relationships to other cultures.

Deals with the controversy in defining indigenous people and indogeneity. Discusses standard-setting activities in international law and ethno-nationalist interpretations in Asia, including 15 country profiles focusing on terms used, government positions, and recognized indigenous nationalities. Makes reference to the LO Indigenous and Tribal Populations Convention, 1957 (No. 107) and the ILO Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169).

Contains 18 articles dealing with, inter alia, the definition of "indigenous peoples", the question of ethnic identity, historical priority, self determination, the ownership and control of land and resources, ecological exploitation, the colonial heritage, and relations with the State.

The Peoples of Southeast Asia Today offers an anthropological treatment of the ethnography and ethnology of Southeast Asia, covering both the mainland and the insular regions. Based on the proposition that Southeast Asia is a true culture area, the book offers background information on geography, languages, prehistory and history, with a particular emphasis on the role of colonialism and the development of ethnic pluralism. It then turns to classic anthropological topics of interest including modes of adaptation, ways of life, and religion, all illustrated with relevant, current case studies. Students will find well-supported discussions of subjects ranging from the development of agriculture and language dispersals, to fantasy and reality in hunter-gatherer studies, to disputed interpretations of Thai Buddhism and Javanese Islam, to ongoing government efforts to manage religion, create proper citizens, resettle and assimilate indigenous populations, end shifting cultivation and promote modernization.

The focus of Richard Zgusta’s The Peoples of Northeast Asia through Time is the formation of indigenous and cultural groups of coastal northeast Asia, including the Ainu, the “Paleoasiatic” peoples, and the Asiatic Eskimo. Most chapters begin with a summary of each culture at the beginning of the colonial era, which is followed by an interdisciplinary reconstruction of prehistoric cultures that have direct ancestor-descendant relationships with the modern ones. An additional chapter presents a comparative discussion of the ethnographic data, including subsistence patterns, material culture, social organization, and religious beliefs, from a diachronic viewpoint. Each chapter includes maps and extensive references.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1884.