what works?

Throughout both the Harris and Wilson articles, I was surprised that the authors were able to go into so much detail about Mayan health practices without actually assessing whether or not those practices work. In part, I was probably puzzled because I haven't taken anthropology classes before. I liked reading these very descriptive, unbiased perspectives about Mayan healthcare practices. However, at the same time I kept thinking to myself...'ok...but does it work?'

Particularly the Harris article contained absolutely no critique about whether throwing an egg in water and chanting to heal a sick baby has a medical benefit. Harris does state very clearly that many of the Mayan people believe that it works. However, is that the only thing we should take into account? Or should people be told that their beliefs are probably not the most helpful and that they should use aspirin or antibiotics instead (if aspirin and antibiotics would work better)?

I am not trying to say that Western medicine is always better. I actually believe that Americans should resort to medications a lot less than we do (even though I would be lying if I said that I don't rely on IBProfin even for the smallest pain). Herbal remedies and even spiritual healing can be very effective, and I would definitely be interesetd in using those a lot more than I do now. At the same time, there are undoubtedly some practices that work from a physical/scientific standpoint and some that do not. Maybe through syncronization with new Western medicine, the helpful traditional practices will be kept, while some others will not be (or will be continually used to uphold culture but in conjunction with treatment that is medically beneficial).

When talking about culture in general, I am sure that we agree that it's not possible (or desirable) to determine what is 'right' or 'wrong.' However, discussing a culture's healthcare seems different to me than considering their language or art; while we shouldn't judge which culture has 'good' or 'bad' art and language, maybe we can critique healthcare differently. It's not just a matter of culture, but also of science and even life-and-death decisions.