Louis Henry Morgan (1818.11.21 - 1881.02.17)

On February 17, 1881, Louis Henry Morgan, one of the most outstanding social scientists in the United States and a great pioneer of ethnology, passed away. His "Ancient Society", which was hailed by Engels as "one of the few works of epoch-making", was translated into various languages. Until now, it has been regarded as an important masterpiece by historians of various countries.

Morgan was born on a farm near Oro, New York. As a young man, he developed a keen interest in the study of Native American society. In 1846, he visited the Iroquois Seneca tribe with two of his friends, and was accepted as an adopted son by the Eagle clan. From then on, he collected various information about the Native Americans in detail through investigation. In 1851, he completed his first great work, "The Iroquois Union of Jobs." Then he began a new exploration. Morgan discovered that there was a contradiction between the Iroquois' kinship system and their actual family relationships, and he hoped to find a regularity through the study of this contradiction. So he continued to investigate and study, and it took him a full 10 years to finally grasp the information of nearly 200 kinds of kinship systems in the world's nations. In 1865, he completed his second masterpiece, "The Blood and Affinity of the Human Family". Morgan began writing his most important work, "Ancient Society", in 1871. Through this book, he discussed the development process of human beings from the age of ignorance through the barbaric era to the age of civilization. It described the development of human economy and culture, and the continuous progress of the way of obtaining means of subsistence. It explained the development of human social organization from the clan system to the formation of the state. It discussed the evolutionary history of family marriage. It explained that property was from public ownership to private ownership, and finally led to the emergence of class society. According to Morgan's research, he asserted that contemporary capitalist society is not the final achievement of social progress and development. Morgan wrote many books in his life, but "Ancient Society" made him a great reputation and attracted the attention of the world academic community.