Tylor, Sir Edward Burnett

(born Oct. 2, 1832, London, Eng.—died Jan. 2, 1917, Wellington, Somerset) British anthropologist, often called the founder of cultural anthropology. He taught at Oxford University (1884–1909), where he became the first professor of anthropology. His Primitive Culture, 2 vol. (1871), influenced by Charles Darwin, developed the theory of an evolutionary relationship between what he called primitive and modern cultures, stressing the cultural achievements that marked the progression of all humanity from a “savage” to a “civilized” state. At a time when there was still controversy over whether all human races belonged to a single species, Tylor was a powerful advocate of the unity of all humankind. He was instrumental in establishing anthropology as an academic discipline. See also animism; sociocultural evolution.

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