To publish a critique of a famous book written by a famous social anthropologist is perhaps a hardy undertaking. It is a kind of enterprise, at any rate, that calls apparently for a special justification. The present monograph has been written, nevertheless, in the conviction that to analyse what has been done, particularly if this is theoretically in vogue, can be just as useful for the understanding of social facts as to attempt something entirely novel.
I desire to thank those who helped me in maintaining this conviction during the writing of this book. In the course of the three years in which I composed the analyses presented here, I had the privilege of working under the guidance of Dr Rodney Needham at the University of Oxford. I received then not only the benefit of his extensive published work relating to my subject but his personal instruction and constant help in solving all sorts of technical, theoretical, and practical problems. This book could not possibly have been the same without his invaluable aid.
Lic. Ada Korn was so kind as to criticize my own logic, particularly in chapters 1 and 3, and encouraged me throughout. Lic. O. Cornblit, Mrs G. Lawaetz, and Mr T. Simpson kindly read and commented on chapter 1. Mrs P. Grant gave me unfailing friendly assistance which did a great deal to leave me free to write.
Dr E. R. Leach, the foremost anthropological exponent of Lévi-Strauss’s views, and Dr P. G. Rivière read and commented on the manuscript.
The work was begun under the auspices of the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (Argentina), which awarded me, while I was a lecturer in the methodology of social research at the National University of Buenos Aires, an external scholarship in order to pursue my researches in England.
F. K.
University of Oxford