The Project Gutenberg EBook of Anthropology, by Robert Marett

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Title: Anthropology

Author: Robert Marett

Release Date: December 11, 2005 [EBook #17280]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ANTHROPOLOGY ***

Produced by Ron Swanson

HOME UNIVERSITY LIBRARY OF MODERN KNOWLEDGE
No. 37

_Editors:_
HERBERT FISHER, M.A., F.B.A.
PROF. GILBERT MURRAY, LITT.D., LL.D., F.B.A.
PROF. J. ARTHUR THOMSON, M.A.
PROF. WILLIAM T. BREWSTER, M.A.

_A complete classified list of the volumes of_ THE HOME UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY _already published will be found at the end of this book_.

ANTHROPOLOGY

BY
R.R. MARETT, M.A.

READER IN SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD
AUTHOR OF "THE THRESHOLD OF RELIGION," ETC.

NEW YORK
HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY

LONDON
WILLIAMS AND NORGATE

CONTENTS

CHAP. PAGE
I SCOPE OF ANTHROPOLOGY . . . 7

II ANTIQUITY OF MAN . . . . . 30

III RACE . . . . . . . . . . . 59

IV ENVIRONMENT . . . . . . . . 94

V LANGUAGE . . . . . . . . . 130

VI SOCIAL ORGANIZATION . . . . 152

VII LAW . . . . . . . . . . . . 181

VIII RELIGION . . . . . . . . . 204

IX MORALITY . . . . . . . . . 235

X MAN THE INDIVIDUAL . . . . 241

BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . 251

INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . 254

"Bone of our bone, and flesh of our flesh, are these half-brutish
prehistoric brothers. Girdled about with the immense darkness of this
mysterious universe even as we are, they were born and died, suffered
and struggled. Given over to fearful crime and passion, plunged in
the blackest ignorance, preyed upon by hideous and grotesque delusions,
yet steadfastly serving the profoundest of ideals in their fixed faith
that existence in any form is better than non-existence, they ever
rescued triumphantly from the jaws of ever-imminent destruction the
torch of life which, thanks to them, now lights the world for us. How
small, indeed, seem individual distinctions when we look back on these
overwhelming numbers of human beings panting and straining under the
pressure of that vital