Tylor, Sir Edward Burnett, 1832–1917, English anthropologist. His extensive researches helped to develop interest in anthropological science in England. Tylor became (1883) keeper of the University Museum at Oxford and was professor of anthropology there from 1896 to 1909. His work on the mentality of primitive peoples, and especially on animism, made an important contribution to the study of primitive religion. Tylor's pioneering book, Anthropology (1881, abr. ed. 1960), is still essentially modern in its cultural theories and concepts. His other works include Researches into the Early History of Mankind (1865) and Primitive Culture (1871, repr. 1958).
See study by R. R. Marett (1936).
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