Lewis Henry Morgan
A pioneering anthropologist known for his work on kinship systems and his theory of social evolution, influencing Marx and Engels.
Quotes by Lewis Henry Morgan
The family, as it exists among the civilized nations, is the result of a long process of development.
The Iroquois have preserved their ancient institutions with remarkable fidelity.
The gens is the unit of organization in the social system of the American aborigines.
Property has increased in value and in the means of its production with every step in human progress.
The overthrow of the gentile organization was the beginning of the state.
The American Indian family was organized on the basis of kinship through females.
In the earliest stage of human society, the family was the only social unit.
The progress of mankind has been marked by the successive development of the family, the gens, and the tribe.
The Iroquois confederacy is a masterpiece of political wisdom.
Kinship is the foundation of social organization among primitive peoples.
The state is an organization for the advancement of the interests of the whole people.
The history of civilization is the history of the development of the family.
Among the Iroquois, the mother held the key to social position.
The gens was the pillar of the social structure in ancient society.
Human progress is measured by the growth of institutions.
The classificatory system of consanguinity reveals the ancient structure of the family.
The Iroquois women exercised a powerful influence in council.
From savagery to barbarism, and from barbarism to civilization, each stage has its own family form.
The tribe is a federation of gentes, bound by common kinship.
Property in savagery was held in common by the gens.