The Mind of Primitive Man

Franz Boas

12 chapters · about 4 h

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The opening

I. RACIAL PREJUDICES

Proud of his wonderful achievements, civilized man looks down upon the humbler members of mankind. He has conquered the forces of nature and compelled them to serve him. He has transformed inhospitable forests into fertile fields. The mountain fastnesses are yielding their treasures to his demands. The fierce animals which are obstructing his progress are being exterminated, while others which are useful to him are made to increase a thousand-fold. The waves of the ocean carry him from land to land, and towering mountain-ranges set him no bounds. His genius has moulded inert matter into powerful machines which await a touch of his hand to serve his manifold demands.

With pity he looks down upon those members of the human race who have not succeeded in subduing nature; who labor to eke a meagre existence out of the products of the wilderness; who hear with trembling the roar of the wild animals, and see the products of their toils destroyed by them; who remain restricted by ocean, river, or mountains; who strive to obtain the necessities of life with the help of few and simple instruments.

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About this edition

The words
The author's text, copied word for word.
Left out
  • The source library's header, footer and license, in 2 places
  • The title page and opening pages before chapter 1
  • Page numbers and running heads from the printed pages, in 3 places
  • Pictures and their captions
  • Notes and pages added by translators, editors or publishers, in 3 places