Histoire des découvertes et conquestes des Portugais dans le Nouveau monde

$2,000 · Offered by Book Collector Inc

Author: Joseph-François Lafitau (1681-1746) Year: 1733 Publisher: Chez Saugrain pere, quai des Augustins, au coin de la rue Chez Saugrain pere, quai des Augustins, au coin de la rue Pavee Place: Paris Description: 2 volumes. [8]+xxiv+616+[47]+[1] pages with 4 maps ad view (one folding) and 3 plates (one folding); [2]+693+[89]+[2] pages with 1 map and 6 plates. Quarto (10 1/4" x 10 1/4") bound in half leather with raised spine bands and gilt lettering to spine over marbled boards. (Borba de Moraes, page I:453; European Americana 733/146; Sabin 38591) First edition. Joseph-François Lafitau was a French Jesuit missionary, ethnologist, and naturalist. He is best known for his use of the comparative method in the field of scientific anthropology, the discovery of ginseng, and his writings on the Iroquois. Lafitau was the first of the Jesuit missionaries in Canada to have a scientific point of view. Lafitau is considered the first of the modern ethnographers and a precursor of scientific ethnology for his work on the Iroquois. He developed a model of studying peoples that involved describing existing cultures on their own terms—not in comparison to European society. He distinguished generic and specific traits, transforming the "generic savage" into specific tribal groups. He explained that "only from specific identities can genetic relations be inferred."[5] Furthermore, he was the first to declare, "contemporary primitive cultures throw light upon the culture of ancient people an

• Binding: Hardcover

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