New book analyzes mountain cultures

Listening to the Mountains analyzes the bleak conditions of mountain cultures worldwide through a collection of new and revised essays by Robert E. Rhoades, an anthropology research professor and director of the Sustainable Human Ecosystem Laboratory at UGA.
Rhoades, who has worked for more than 40 years with mountain cultures in places like the Andes, Himalayas, Alps and Appalachian mountain ranges, said humans need to “listen to the mountains.” Using his own experiences and knowledge in mountain anthropology, Rhoades explains how globalization has led to the destruction of numerous mountain societies. ­Societies once untouched by  industrialization have recently succumbed to modernization and are no longer the unique “islands in the sky” that Rhoades once knew.
In addition, the book discusses how the destructive nature of people living at lower elevations has affected mountain dwellers by destroying traditional ways of life, bringing poverty, warfare and climate change to these regions. Rhoades urges readers, governments, development workers and scholars to scientifically study the mountains to protect their inhabitants.