Chapter 3: Historical Beginnings

Question 1

paradigm

Question 2

state of nature

Question 3

totemism

Question 4

What changes in society did Charles Darwin believe were necessary for social progress? Give an example.

Question 5

Compare and contrast the political beliefs of Hobbes and Rousseau and explain how the “myth of the savage” can be applied to both extreme understandings of human nature.

Question 6

How does Cook apply Rousseau’s concept of the “state of nature” when describing the Aboriginal peoples of Australia?

Question 7

Explain how Locke’s perspectives on private property informed Darwin’s interpretation of the Fuegians’ “savagery.”

Question 8

Summarize what Cook and Darwin failed to observe about the complex societies of Aboriginals in Australia and the people of Tierra del Fuego. Explain how the “myth of the savage” interfered with their understandings of these peoples.

Question 9

Describe the Iroquios people from the perspective of Lewis Henry Morgan’s ethnographic findings.

Question 10

Explain Lewis Henry Morgan’s approach to anthropology. What aspect of the social world was he most interested in? Why?