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 History of Anthropology

A Project of the American Anthropological Association Centennial Commission

We are making available for educational purposes a large selection of articles published in the American Anthropologist on the subject of the history of the discipline of anthropology.  This is not a selection of papers of historical significance, but papers on the subject of the history of the field, along with some obituaries.  Our goal is to facilitate learning and teaching the history  of anthropology.

There are twelve categories of articles (eight currently available), all reproduced from the American Anthropologist, printable and downloadable in Adobe pdf format.  Each group of papers is accompanied by a brief introduction by Jonathan Marks.

Mid Century Reflections

Ancient Precursors of Anthropology

Roots of Anthropology in the Enlightenment

Anthropology in the early-to-mid 19th Century

Anthropology of the Victorian Era

Lewis Henry Morgan as Founder

The Beginnings of Professional Anthropology in America

Franz Boas as Second Founder

Non-, Para-, and Anti-Boasians

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