Abstract
As an account of ‘primitive’ man intended for the general reader and the student, this book is written on a novel plan. Instead of attempting a generalised account, the author has taken eighteen peoples not all contemporary or primitive in the strict sense and describes their life as they live it day by day in its framework of material, social and religious organisation. It is scarcely necessary to say that the author does not claim first-hand knowledge. His account of the Haida of north-west America, however, has been checked by his own personal field-work. In other instances:his material has been drawn from authoritative descriptions. The bibliography appended to each chapter indicates a critical appreciation by the author of his authorities.
Our Primitive Contemporaries.
Prof.
G. P.
Murdock
By. Pp. xxii + 614. (New York: The Maemillan Co., 1934.) 14s.net.
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Our Primitive Contemporaries . Nature 134, 164 (1934). https://doi.org/10.1038/134164e0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/134164e0