Unilinear Evolutionism

Anthropological TheoryIB AnthropologyUWC Costa Rica

Key TheoristsSir Edward Burnett Tyler (1832-1917)

Lewis Henry Morgan (1818-1881)

‘Ancient Society’ – Morgan (1877)• Example of 19th century evolutionism

applied to society

• Assumes human society evolved through a series of stages – savagery, barbarism and civilization

• Divided savagery and barbarism into three distinct sub-stages

Savagery• Lower savagery: humans exist through

subsistence based on fruit and nuts

• Middle savagery: people start fishing and gain control over fire

• Upper savagery: invention of bow and arrow

Barbarism• Lower barbarism: humans start making

pottery

• Middle barbarism: domestication of plants and animals (Old World) and irrigated agriculture (Americas)

• Upper barbarism: iron smelting and use of iron tools

Civilization• Invention of writing

Unilinear Evolutionism• Assumes one line along which all societies evolved

• E.g. any society in upper barbarism had to include in its history, in order, periods of lower, middle and upper savagery, and then lower and middle barbarism

• Morgan: societies of the time time could be placed into various stages. Some had not advanced beyond upper savagery. Some were at middle barbarism and others had reached civilization

Criticisms of Morgan’s Unilinear Evolutionism

• Used loaded terms such as ‘savagery’ and ‘barbarism’

• Many writers dispute the criteria used for each stage of evolution

• Morgan is incorrect to assume societies can only follow one evolutionary path. In practice, societies follow multiple developmental paths

‘Primitive Culture – Tylor (1871)• Takes evolutionary approach to

anthropology of religion

• Proposed unilinear path – from animism, through polytheism and monotheism to science

• Tylor – religion would retreat when science provided better answers

Survivals• Both Tylor and Morgan interested in survivals

– practices that survive in contemporary societies from earlier evolutionary stages

• E.g. belief in ghosts today represents survival from stage of animism

• Survivals taken as evidence that society had passed through earlier evolutionary stages