Primitive Culture - Volume One: Researches into the development of mythology, philosophy, religion, language, art, and custom (Fourth Edition) - Paperback

by Edward Burnett Tylor (Author), Nikolas Arhem (Preface by)

In Primitive Culture, Tylor explores cultural evolution and the development of human societies. This foundational work in anthropology seeks to understand the origins and progression of human civilisation through a comprehensive study of culture, customs, and beliefs across different societies.

In this volume (vol. 1), Tylor focuses on the evolution of human thought, social structures, and cultural practices. His primary argument is that culture evolves in a linear fashion, from simple to complex forms, and this process is universal across human societies. He proposes that all societies, regardless of their current level of development, pass through similar stages.

What is special with this edition?

- Good size for reading and sufficiently large fonts!

- A new preface by anthropologist Nikolas Århem allowing the reader to compare this classic with recent scholarship

Edward Burnett Tylor (1832-1917) was a highly influential Victorian scholar who played a key role in the development of social and cultural anthropology and comparative religion.

Nikolas Arhem is a cultural anthropologist with many years of experience in the fields of witchcraft studies, animism and fetishism. He has done fieldwork in West Africa and Southeast Asia.