7/27/2019 Book Review: Ancient Society
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REVIEW
Morgan, Lewis Henry, AncientSociety, 1877.
In its short History on Earth, the Humanity has created and
experienced many
civilizations; empires and kingdoms, many tyrants and elites.
From being mere bands of
hunter-gatherer societies to being settled and practice
agriculture and to witness the
evolution of self, family and state, the human species has
reached a point of being, whatwe like to call, a 'Modern Human
Society'. Historians, anthropologists, scholars, scientist
etc believe that the human race began its existence at the very
bottom of the scale and
since then has been continuously moving upwards along with the
elements of inventions,
discoveries, family, property, government, culture all
developing simultaneously. If we
read it like this, it seems that within a very short span of
time the human society has
evolved or is evolving rapidly, but obviously, this is not the
case.
There are various questions which come to mind when reading
about the human past.
What are the reasons and the factors which led to the formation
of this, 'Modern Human
Society'? Or How Lewis Henry Morgan sees the human progress from
savagery through
barbarism to civilization? What circumstances caused the humans
to become advanced
and civilized in a short period of time? How humans, within a
few centuries evolved from
near primitive life to computers, cars, space travel, government
etc.?
With these questions in mind, Lewis Henry Morgan presented a
book called, 'Ancient
Society. TheUnited States Anthropologist, Lewis H. Morgan
develops theory of the three
stages of human progress, i.e., from Savagery through Barbarism
to Civilization. It is
believed that Friedrich Engels, having being influenced by
Morgans work, wrote the
book, The Origin of the Family, Private Property, and the
State.
The Book, 'Ancient Society' is considered an important emblem in
social anthropology
where Morgan defined social evolution and kinship organization
in extreme detail. The
enormous amount of inventions and discoveries and history of the
institutions of family,
property and government complement the progress made by human
society from the
primitive stage to beginnings of civilization. This progress was
achieved through, asMorgan says, "the gradual evolution of their
(humans) mental and moral powers through
experience, and of their protracted struggle with opposing
obstacles while winning their
way to civilization.1
The book is divided in 4 parts. Part one of the book deals
with
1. Morgan, Lewis Henry, Ancient Society
