Customs of the American Indians Compared with the Customs of Primitive Times, volume II (Publications of the Champlain Society, volume 49)

Joseph François Lafitau is acknowledged as one of history’s most influential and interesting figures in the fields of ethnology and anthropology. The second volume of the Customs of the American Indians Compared with the Customs of Primitive Times exhibits the progression of Lafitau’s practices on analyzing native cultures in a scientific manner by comparing their traditions with people of antiquity. Lafitau here utilizes his personal ethnographic concerns to supplement the topic, delving into gender responsibilities with an emphasis on the hierarchical role of women. In-depth insight into everyday activities such as hunting and fishing as well as occasions such as death and burial creates a historic view of native life prior to European intervention. This volume provides an English translation of one of the first anthropological studies ever conducted while simultaneously educating its broadening audience of the cultural traditions of North America’s original settlers.