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Franz Boas
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Franz Boas Boas, Franz: The Kwakiutl of Vancouver Island
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Franz Boas
Franz Boas Franz Boas, 1941.

Franz Boas

German-American anthropologist
Written by
Sol Tax
Professor of Anthropology, University of Chicago, 1948–76. Director, Center for the Study of Man, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., 1968–76. Editor, Current Anthropology, 1957–74. Authority...
Sol Tax
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Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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History

Franz Boas (born July 9, 1858, Minden, Westphalia, Prussia [Germany]—died December 22, 1942, New York, New York, U.S.) was a German-born American anthropologist of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the founder of the relativistic, culture-centered school of American anthropology that became dominant in the 20th century. During his tenure at Columbia University in New York City (1899–1942), he developed one of the foremost departments of anthropology in the United States. Boas was a...

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