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Why did Alexander Goldenweiser argue that totemism was not a single unified system?

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totem fish mask — Totemism Totem fish mask from the Orokolo Bay area of New Guinea. Painted bark cloth over rattan frame with fringe of dried grass. Height 1.63 m.

Alexander Goldenweiser argued that totemism was not a single, unified system because he observed that the phenomena typically associated with it—clan organization, the use of animal or plant names/emblems, and the belief in a relationship between social groups and their totems—could exist independently of one another.1

He contended that these three elements only coincided in the rarest of cases, and because any one of them could occur without the others, they did not constitute a singular, cohesive phenomenon. Consequently, his critique fostered a skeptical attitude toward the idea of totemism as a unified category, particularly within American anthropology.1

Furthermore, Goldenweiser challenged the prevailing theories of his time by insisting that totemism was not a religion. He rejected the notion that individuals viewed their totems as deified beings or as superior to themselves, arguing instead that they were viewed as friends and equals.2