The founding fathers of anthropology Franz Boas, Edward Burnett Taylor, Bronislaw
Malinowski and Alfred Radcliffe Brown made great contributions to the groundwork
of anthropology. These contributions, alongside the principles of marxism helped
shape the key theories, methods and areas of focus within anthropology. Below is an
examination of the contributions of these influential figures and how these
foundational theories and perspectives shape our understanding of culture, society and
economic systems.
Definition of key terms
Anthropology - is the study of human kind across space and time
Contribution -refers to the original input made by an individual to advance knowledge
Marxism - is a theory developed by Karl Marx based on the idea that society is shaped
by class struggles
Foundation- core idea
Culture- everything that people learn and pass down in a society that shapes their way
of life
Society- a group of people who live together, follow common rules and share way of
life
Commonly known as the Father of American anthropology is Franz Boas, a German-
American theorist, who introduced cultural relativism and historical particularism.
Boas criticized cultural evolutionism and introduced historical particularism arguing
that each culture is a product of its own unique history. He developed the principle of
cultural relativism emphasizing that cultures should be understood on their own terms
not judged against western norms and values, rejecting the idea of cultural superiority.
This perspective encourages anthropologists to approach cultures without
preconceived assumptions and biases.
Franz Boas advocated for the importance of rigorous fieldwork and participant
observations as an essential method of research in anthropology. He fundamentally
transformed anthropology into an imperial science discipline rooted in fieldwork. His
emphasis on cultural relativism remains central to modern anthropology thereby
promoting tolerance and deeper understanding of cultural diversity. Franz Boas
contributed to contextual and empirical study of cultures, while changing the
trajectory of anthropology by promoting scientific rigor and combating racist
ideologies. Thus shaping our understanding of culture and society in anthropology.
Another one of the founding fathers is Edward Burnett Tylor a British anthropologist.
He is considered the father of modern anthropology and cultural evolutionist. Tylor’s
work laid the foundation for the development of anthropology as a discipline,
especially in terms of the study of culture, economic systems and the evolution of
human societies. In his book titled, ‘Primitive culture’(1872) Tylor provided what is
considered to be the first clear definition of culture in anthropology, “Culture, or
civilization, taken in its broad, ethnographic sense, is that complex whole which
includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and
habits acquired by man as a member of society.” This definition is still widely cited as
the foundation of anthropological concept of culture.
Edward Burnett Tylor also was a key proponent of unilineal cultural evolution, the
idea that all societies progress through stages of development from primitive to
civilized. He proposed a three-stage model that societies progress through stages from
savagery to barbarism to civilization . However this was later criticized and rejected
for its ethnocentrism and oversimplification, and based on a now outdated view of
cultural progress. Yet it can not be ignored that his framework introduced the idea of
systematic development and comparative analysis in anthropology.
Bronisław Malinowski (1884–1942) was a pioneering Polish-British anthropologist,
best known for revolutionizing fieldwork and shaping modern social and cultural
anthropology. One of his key contributions was founding modern ethnographic
fieldwork , he introduced participant observation as a core method of anthropological
research. He believed that anthropologists should live among the people, learn their
language, culture and observe their daily life first hand. His famous phrase was
anthropologists should study “imponderabilia of everyday life”, meaning the small
everyday details that reveal a culture’s true character. This hands on method became
the gold standard for field work in anthropology thus leaving a lasting impact.
Furthermore, through his research in the Trobriand islands he showed that primitive
societies had complex economic and social systems challenging the earlier
Eurocentric views, through his book, ‘Argonauts of the Western Pacific(1922)’.
Malinowski developed a form of functionalism, arguing that every part of a culture
(religion, rituals, customs) serves a practical purpose in meeting the biological and
psychological needs of individuals, for example he explained magic and religion not
as irrational, but as ways to deal with uncertainty thus helping to shift anthropology
toward understanding how cultural practices function to maintain social order and
individual well-being. Malinowski’s functionalist approach helped anthropologists see
culture as an integrated whole where each part has a purpose. His immersive
fieldwork methods revolutionized how anthropologists study societies.
Alfred Radcliffe Brown contributed on the structural functionalism focusing on the
social structures that maintain societal stability and order.He advanced the theory of
structural functionalism, viewing society as an integrated system where various
institutions work together to maintain social order. The theoretical framework of
structural functionalism, views society as a system of interrelated parts (institutions
such as kinship, religion, law) that function together to sustain the whole community.
He highlighted the importance of relationships and social structures in understanding
social stability. This analytic approach sought to identify universal principles
governing social life, leading to later developments of anthropological research on
social organization. He emphasized that the primary goal of anthropology is to
analyze the structure and function of social systems, rather than to trace their
historical origins or evolutionary development.
Moreover, Radcliffe-Brown’s work marked a significant shift in anthropological
thought by placing social systems, not individuals or historical progression at the
center of analysis. He argued that each institution in society has a function that
contributes to the maintenance of social cohesion and continuity. His approach
provided anthropologists with tools to study how societal institutions interconnect to
form a stable social structure. This laid the foundation for later studies on social
organization, norms, roles, and institutional relationships in various cultures.
Radcliffe-Brown also helped formalize anthropology as a comparative social science,
advocating for systematic fieldwork and cross-cultural comparisons focused on
institutional functions, not merely cultural artifacts or traditions.
While early anthropologists like Edward Burnett Tylor, Franz Boas, Bronisław
Malinowski, and Alfred Radcliffe-Brown laid the foundations of anthropology by
analyzing cultural evolution , historical particularism, societies, and structural
cohesion, Marxist principles add a critical economic and power dimension to these
foundations. Tylor’s focus on cultural development and Boas’ insistence on
understanding cultures in their historical contexts provide a framework for
recognizing diversity, while Malinowski’s functionalism and Radcliffe-Brown’s
structural functionalism highlight how social institutions sustain societal order.
Marxism complements these approaches by emphasizing that economic systems and
class relations fundamentally shape social structures, cultural practices, and power
dynamics. It encourages anthropologists to examine how materialistic conditions
influence cultural norms, social cohesion, and inequality, showing that culture is not
merely a set of isolated practices but is often interconnected with economic and
political forces. By integrating Marxist principles , anthropologists gain a deeper
understanding of how societies organize labor, distribute resources, and maintain or
challenge power, allowing for a more comprehensive interpretation of both culture ,
society and economic systems.
To conclude, The founding fathers and theorists of anthropology ranging from
Edward Burnette Tylor’s cultural evolution to Franz Boas’s cultural relativism,
Bronislaw Malinowski’s functionalism, and Alfred Radcliffe-Brown’s structural
functionalism; have deeply influenced the discipline’s core methods and perspectives.
When integrated with Marxist principles, these theories offer a comprehensive lens
through which to analyze human societies. Marxism enriches anthropological inquiry
by foregrounding issues of power, inequality, and economic exploitation, particularly
in a globalized world. Together, these perspectives continue to shape our
understanding of culture, society, and economic systems in meaningful and critical
ways.
References
Boas, Franz. Race, Language, and Culture. University of Chicago Press, 1940.
Malinowski, Bronisław. Argonauts of the Western Pacific. Routledge, 1922.
Radcliffe-Brown, A. R. Structure and Function in Primitive Society. Free Press, 1952.
Tylor, Edward B. Primitive Culture. John Murray, 1871.
Wolf, Eric R. Europe and the People Without History. University of California Press,
1982.
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