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 matrilineal descent among the Iroquois preserved the integrity of the clan.
The evolution of society follows a law of development as fixed as that which governs the physical world.
In ancient society, the individual was subordinate to the gens.
The study of kinship systems unlocks the door to prehistoric society.
The Iroquois longhouse symbolized the unity of the matrilineal family.
Civilization advances as the monogamian family emerges.
The confederacy of the Iroquois was a model of democratic governance.
The gens regulated marriage and descent with unerring precision.
Human society has passed through successive stages of growth and development.
The classificatory terms of relationship indicate a communal family.
The Iroquois sachems were chosen by the matrons of the gens.
The state arose from the necessity to regulate property relations.
In the dawn of civilization, the family was promiscuous.
The Iroquois calendar marked the seasons with poetic names.
The phratry united gentes in a larger social bond.
Progress in society is inseparable from progress in the arts of subsistence.
The matriarchal system among the Iroquois empowered women in governance.
The monogamian family is the culmination of social evolution.
Kinship through males and females reveals divergent paths of social organization.
The Iroquois festival of the Green Corn was a celebration of communal life.