Edward Burnett Tylor

Edward Burnett Tylor
Edward Burnett Tylor (1832–1917) was a British anthropologist often regarded as the founder of cultural anthropology. He introduced the concept of cultural evolution, suggesting that human societies progress from "savagery" to "barbarism" and finally to "civilization." Tylor's influential work, "Primitive Culture" (1871), outlined his theory of animism, the belief that spirits and supernatural beings inhabit natural objects and phenomena. He also authored "Anthropology" (1881), a comprehensive introduction to the field, where he defined culture as "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."

Author's Books:


CHAPTER I. THE ISLE OF PINES. In the spring of 1856, I met with Mr. Christy accidentally in an omnibus at Havana. He had been in Cuba for some months, leading an adventurous life, visiting sugar-plantations, copper-mines, and coffee-estates, descending into caves, and botanizing in tropical jungles, cruising for a fortnight in an open boat among the coral-reefs, hunting turtles and manatis, and... more...