Lewis Henry MorganBorn 21 Nov 1818; died 17 Dec 1881 at age 63.American ethnologist and a principal founder of scientific anthropology, known especially for establishing the study of kinship systems and for his comprehensive theory of social evolution. Morgan discovered that the Indians in North America had some kinship patterns in common with each other. He was the first person to classify the kinship system of relationship in The Indian Journals (1859-62). Morgan's work was the foundation for the new world view of genetic explanation, cultural evolution or social Darwinism, in Houses and House-life of the American Aborigines (1865). He also brought to the people's attention the organization of the ancient Greeks and Romans was the same as the clan organization of the Indian tribes. |
