Chowning, Martha Ann.

American anthropologist educated at the University of Pennsylvania. Her doctoral thesis was based on 1954 fieldwork with the Lakala people of West New Britain Province, Papua New Guinea. She carried out long-term fieldwork in four distinct Papua New Guinea societies from 1954 through 1992. She studied economic and religious organizations, beliefs, practices, and relations. Chowning especially focused on Austronesian languages and their comparative aspects, on folklore and religion, and on patters of insanity.

Biography

Ann Chowning, American anthropologist, received her B.A. from Bryn Mawr College and her M.A. and Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Pennsylvania. Her doctoral thesis was based on her 1954-1956 fieldwork with the Lakalai people of West New Britain Province, Papua New Guinea. She retired as professor of anthropology at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. Earlier she taught at Bryn Mawr and Barnard Colleges in Pennsylvania and at the University of Papua New Guinea, and was a senior research fellow at the Australian National University. She carried out long-term fieldwork in four distinct Papua New Guinea societies from 1954 through 1992. Studied groups included the Lakalai of West New Britain Province, the Molima of Milne Bay Province on Fergusson Island, the Sengseng of West New Britain Province, and the Kove of West New Britain Province. She studied economic and religious organization, beliefs, practices and relations. Chowning especially focused on Austronesian languages and their comparative aspects, on folklore and religion, and on patterns of insanity.