Esther Hermitte facts for kids
Esther Hermitte (1921-1990) was an important social anthropologist from Argentina. She was known for her studies of different cultures and how people live together in communities.
Early Life and Studies
Esther Hermitte studied at the University of Buenos Aires in Argentina. She first earned a degree in History. Later, she decided to specialize in social anthropology, which is the study of human societies and cultures.
After her studies, Esther received a special scholarship from CONICET, which stands for the National Scientific and Technical Research Council. This organization helps fund scientific research in Argentina. At that time, a famous Nobel Prize winner named Bernardo Houssay was in charge of CONICET.
Research in Mexico
In 1958, Esther Hermitte moved to the University of Chicago in the United States to continue her studies. A year later, she traveled to Mexico to do "field work." Field work means going to a real place and living among the people you want to study to learn about their culture firsthand.
She worked in a Mayan community called Pinola, located in Chiapas, Mexico. She worked with a language expert, R. Radhakrishnan, and a local interpreter, Alberto Méndez Tobilla, to understand the community better.
Esther spent years studying the people of Pinola. Her hard work and analysis led her to earn two important degrees from the University of Chicago: a Master of Arts degree in 1965 and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in 1964. Her research focused on how people moved within their community and how beliefs about supernatural power affected their lives.
Her professors and the university recognized her great talent. She received the Roy D. Albert Prize for her master's paper and the Bobbs Merryl Award for her doctoral paper. These awards showed how important and well-regarded her research was.
