Man and His Works

Man and His Works (1948) is a significant work by American anthropologist Melville J. Herskovits. It is a foundational text in cultural anthropology, exploring the concept of culture in its many aspects. Herskovits, influenced by Franz Boas, championed a relativistic approach to understanding different cultures, challenging ethnocentric views and advocating for the study of cultural roots. The book emphasizes the interconnectedness of cultural elements, viewing a culture as a whole where various traits and patterns intermesh to form a functioning system. Herskovits' work was instrumental in establishing the study of the "New World Negro" and in opposing the idea that cultures must follow a Western model.123