Cover of Primitive culture, vol. 1 (of 2)

Primitive culture, vol. 1 (of 2)

by Edward Burnett Tylor

Reading level
Plain English
Price
Free

About the book

"Primitive culture, vol. 1 (of 2): Researches into the development of…" by Edward Burnett Tylor is an anthropological work published in 1871. Tylor examines the relationship between "primitive" and "civilized" societies, proposing evolutionary stages of human development from savagery to civilization. Drawing on 19th-century ethnological theories, he explores cultural progress and development across different societies. His controversial framework, which viewed tribal societies as lower stages of civilization, shaped early anthropological thought but is now generally considered unsubstantiated by modern scholars.

  • Religion
  • Mythology
  • Prehistoric peoples
  • Ethnology
  • Civilization
  • Language and languages

Updated September 2026. Public domain in the USA. Text and summary from Project Gutenberg eBook #70458. Primitive culture, vol. 1 (of 2) on Wikipedia.

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