Smithsonian Publishes Morgan's "Systems of Consanguinity and Affinity of the Human Family"
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PrintLewis Henry Morgan's "Systems of Consanguinity and Affinity of the Human Family" is published in volume 17 of Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge. At over six hundred pages, this memoir is the Smithsonian's most expensive to date, and becomes a seminal work in American ethnology. First Smithsonian Secretary Joseph Henry recognizes such studies as essential to understanding the origins and history of North American natives, and promotes scholarly work in this field. Morgan's work will later shape the theoretical framework underlying the Bureau of American Ethnology, established at the Smithsonian in 1879. That year, Morgan is also elected to lead the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Chronology of Smithsonian History
Institutional History Division, Smithsonian Institution Archives, 600 Maryland Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20024-2520, SIHistory@si.edu
1871
North America