Dance anthropology or the anthropology of dance has typically focused on the study of dance in non-Western, nonindustrialized or nonliterate societies. The discipline has changed, however, not only in terms of the types of cultures and societies it concerns itself with, but also in terms of its perspective on the subject matter. Through a careful cross-national review of the research literature, it is suggested that there have been three developmental stages in dance anthropology. The first stage was period of establishment. Early anthropologists, such as E. B. Tylor referred to dance activity by the evolutionary framework of the 19th century. In the early 20th century, under the direction of F. Boas, anthropologists in the US studied Native American cultures including the types and functions of dance in that society. Also in this period, British anthropologists like A. R. Radcliffe-Brown made contributions to the understanding of the value of dance in society. The next stage was the period of development. The first full articulation of dance anthropology is found in Panorama of Dance Ethnology by 'the mother of dance ethnology', G. P. Kurath (1960). Kurath discussed dance ethnology from three main standpoints: 1) common problems of choreology and anthropology, 2) choreographic procedures, 3) practical considerations. During the 1970s, J. Kealiinohomoku, A. P. Royce, A. L. Kaeppler, J. L. Hanna pursued a more anthropologically-oriented direction. Their subdiscipline has been termed 'dance anthropology', rather than dance ethnology, because it was informed by and addressed to prevailing anthropological theory. These researchers have published many papers dealing with the theory and methods of dance methodology. The final stage was the period of expansion. In 1979 J. L. Hanna used V. Tuner's poststructuralist framework to analyze the Ubakala dance-plays as mediators of Paradox in Nigeria. In Japan, from the 1970s dance researchers interested in anthropology gathered and analyzed data about the functions and structures of dance in Asia and Africa.