From Ape to Angel An Informal History of Social Anthropology

First published in 1958, From Ape to Angel is a popular history of social anthropology which sketches the extraordinary world of ethical, religious and marital customs revealed by the men and women who travelled to remote places to live among and observe primitive people. Here, in absorbing detail, are the findings of such scholars as Henry Schoolcraft, who unravelled the mysteries of kinship among American Indians; Edward Westermarck, who studied gorillas to seek the origins of monogamy; Sir James Frazer, who dealt with the meaning of ritual and symbolism; Franz Boas, who explored the nature of totem and taboo; Bronislaw Malinowski, who investigated the sexual life of savages; and many other whose adventurous study has added to man’s knowledge of social man. This book will be of interest to students of anthropology, history and sociology.