Mervyn John Meggitt (20 August 1924 – 13 November 2004 New York State) was an Australian

anthropologist An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms and ...

and one of the pioneering researchers of highland

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

and of

Indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

cultures. Born in

Warwick, Queensland Warwick ( ) is a town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in southeast Queensland, Australia, lying south-west of Brisbane. It is the administrative centre of the Southern Downs Region Local government in Australia, local governme ...

and educated at the

Anglican Church Grammar School The Anglican Church Grammar School (ACGS), formerly the Church of England Grammar School and commonly referred to as Churchie, is an independent, Anglican, day and boarding school for boys, located in East Brisbane, an inner suburb of Brisbane, ...

(formerly the Church of England Grammar School) in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

, Meggitt served in the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Following demobilisation, he studied psychology and anthropology at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

, and between 1953 and 1979, on the suggestion of A.P. Elkin, he carried out research amongst the Warlpiri (Walbiri) of Central Australia and the people of Engan Province,

. Throughout the 1950s he was a lecturer in anthropology at Sydney, but in the 1960s he took up a position as a professor of anthropology at the

City University of New York The City University of New York ( CUNY; , ) is the Public university, public university system of Education in New York City, New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven Upper divis ...

. His works include ''The Lineage System of the Mae Engan'' and ''Desert People: A Study of the Walbiri Aborigines of Australia''. But perhaps his most noted work is "Blood is Their Argument," an intensive analysis of the warfare habits of the Engan tribes. The book is widely considered to be among the first ethnographic studies of warfare. In his work on the people of Enga in

Meggitt found a firmly patrilineal system. This was unusual as compared to other highland groups, which tended to be organized on a basis of residence as well as descent. Restudies of his material as well the Engan suggest that Meggitt overstated the case, and the Engan may be more like other highland groups than was thought in previous decades.

Notes

1924 births 2004 deaths Australian expatriates in the United States Australian anthropologists People educated at Anglican Church Grammar School 20th-century anthropologists Australian expatriates in Papua New Guinea Deaths from cancer {{Australia-anthropologist-stub