IMPORTANT

PERSONALITIES IN
ANTHROPOLOGY
Definition of Terms:
 1.Unilineal evolution-a late 19th –century
evolutionary theory that envisaged all human
societies as evolving along a common track from
simple hunting and gathering communities to
literate civilizations.
 2. laissez faire- is the theory that governments
should have a very minimal regulation of
commerce.
“that people should be able to do what they want
without interference.” – free enterprise
 Adam Smith(1723-1790) – was a Scottish
economist, philosopher also knows as “the Father
of Economics.”
Definition of Terms:
3. Capitalism – an economic and political
system in which a country’s trade and
industry are controlled by private owner
for profit, rather than by the state.
4. Racism-is the belief in the superiority of
race over another, which often results in
discrimination and prejudice towards
people based on their race or ethnicity.
 Edward Burnett Tylor
(1832-1917)
 was an English anthropologist, the founder of
cultural anthropology
 “father of cultural anthropology”
 defined anthropology as the “science of
culture”
 said “culture, or civilization” in ethnographic
sense, is that complex whole which includes
knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom,
and any other capabilities and habits
acquired by man as a member of society.”
Edward Burnett Tylor
(1832-1917)

 Primitive Culture (1871) introduced the

concept of “unilineal cultural evolution.”
 Explained that modern forms of religion present
in civilized societies are mere “survivals” of past
cultures.
 Lewis Henry Morgan
(1818-1881)

o was a lawyer by training and profession

o became fascinated with the land disputes
between the United States government and the
American Indian people known as the
“Iroquois”
o In 1851 he released his classic work “League of
the Ho-dé-no-sau-nee, or Iroquois"
Lewis Henry Morgan
(1818-1881)

o he embraced the social Darwinist approach.

o Social Darwinist –the life of humans in society
was a struggle for existence ruled by “survival
of the fittest”
-follows the mantra of
“the strong survive”
Charles Robert Darwin
(1809-1882)

was an English naturalist, geologist and

biologist, best known for his contributions
to the science of evolution.
“A man who dares to waste one hour of time
has not discovered the value of life.”
Lewis Henry Morgan
(1818-1881)

Example of social Darwinism

 Social Darwinists embraced the laissez faire
capitalism and racism.
 They believed that government should not
interfere in “the survival of the fittest” by
helping the poor, and promoted the idea that
some races are biologically superior to others.
Lewis Henry Morgan
(1818-1881)

Three Stages of Societal Development:

1. Savagery (savage societies)- as those chiefly utilizing
crude technology like fire, bow, and pottery.
2. Barbarism (barbaric societies)- are defined by the
practice of metallurgy, domestication of animals, and
agriculture.
3. Civilization (civilized societies) –are characterized
by development and a system of writing.
Franz Uri Boas (1858-1942)

was a German-born American

anthropologist and a pioneer of
modern anthropology who has been
called the “Father of American
Anthropology.”
 did not use science to justify racism.
Franz Uri Boas (1858-1942)

 “culture is not a by-product of a

humans group’s physical characteristics,
but of social learning affected by
various factors like environment and
history.”
Franz Uri Boas (1858-1942)

 pioneered the importance of

fieldwork as opposed to the armchair
anthropology.
 Armchair anthropology-research by
sitting and reading the accounts that
were already written by travelers,
missionaries, and explorers about
other cultures.
Franz Uri Boas (1858-1942)

 Boas’s scientific method of doing

anthropological research led to the
recognition of cultural relativism as one
of anthropology’s key concept.
 Cultural Relativism- promotes the
study of peoples and their lifeways
based on the context of their culture
and not of the researcher.
Franz Uri Boas (1858-1942)

 He was regarded as the Father of

American Anthropology for four
reasons:
1. he considered archaeological,
biological, cultural, and linguistic data
to understand culture, which later
became the four fields of American
anthropology
Franz Uri Boas (1858-1942)
2. he first developed his theory of
historical particularism in the United
States.
3. He founded the first department of
anthropology in the United States at
Columbia University.
4. he trained future influential scholars of
the discipline.