Reinvention Of Primitive Society, The - Transformations Of a Myth

The Invention of Primitive Society, Adam Kuper's decisive critique of ideas about the origins of society and religion that have been debated since Darwin, has been hugely influential in anthropology and post-colonial studies. This iconoclastic intellectual history showed that "primitive society" was the imagined opposite to Western civilization. By way of fascinating accounts of classic texts in anthropology, classical studies and law, the book revealed how wholly mistaken theories can become the basis for academic research and political programmes. The publication of this expanded and radically revised new edition, now entitled,The Reinvention of Primitive Society, coincides with a revival of the myth of primitive society by the "indigenous peoples movement," which taps into a widespread popular belief about the noble savage, and reflects a romantic reaction against "civilization" and "science." In a new final chapter, Kuper challenges this most recent version of the myth of primitive society. Another new chapter traces conceptions of the barbarian, savage and primitive back through the centuries to ancient Greece. The remaining chapters have all been recast and updated to take new research into account.