Cultural anthropology and animism theory
Tylor's definitive work established the scientific study of culture, defining it as that 'complex whole' which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, and custom. This first volume focuses on the development of human language, the structural evolution of mythology as a form of 'early science', and the foundational concept of Animism—the belief in spiritual beings—as the primary stage in the evolution of religious thought across all human societies.
Comparative Religion
Comparative religion texts on ritual, myth, sacrifice, belief, ancient religion, and cross-cultural theories of sacred practice.
Comparative Mythology
Comparative mythology texts on gods, hero cycles, symbolic patterns, classical myth, Indo-European myth, and cross-cultural mythic structures.
Folklore Studies
Folklore studies texts on folk tales, fairy belief, superstition, regional customs, oral tradition, and the collection of vernacular belief.
Anthropology of Religion
Anthropological texts on ritual, animism, totemism, taboo, early religion, culture, and theories of belief formation.
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