Anthropologist Branislaw Malinowski saw myths as “charters for social action” that describe and rationalize the structure and norms of social life, and make sense of the world for those who view the world through myth. Carolyn Merchant describes the Corn Mother myth, which was shared by many Northeastern Woodlands tribes. Thomas Jefferson, in his Notes on the State of Virginia, summarized the “Agrarian Myth.” Briefly explain how each of these served as “charters for social action” that rationalized the forms of social organization and resource management associated with Native American and colonist agriculture.
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