Foundations of Anthropological Theory: From Classical Antiquity to Early Modern Europe

Foundations of Anthropological Theory presents a selection of key texts that reflect the broad range of anthropological thought on human behavior, from Herodotus and Ibn Battuta to Adam Smith and Adam Ferguson.

•  Enables the reader to situate the modern discipline of anthropology within the larger context of intellectual history
•  Features key texts from the ancient and medieval worlds through to the Enlightenment
• Considers the presumptive rights of Europeans to judge the inherent moral worth of non-Western civilizations
• Provides fascinating insights into the ways historians, philosophers, missionaries, and even writers of fiction have made valuable contributions to modern anthropological inquiry