FRAZER, James

Widely influential cultural anthropologist. He encouraged missionaries and other world travellers to send him reports of local customs and life styles. These he collated into the eventually 13 volume Golden Bough, which elaborated his own views of social evolution and commonalities of ritual preoccupations with birth, mating, sacrifice, scapegoating and death. Most important as a discoverer of the ‘legitimacy’ of others’ beliefs and an inspiration to successor scholars to engage more directly with field work.

Life

• Biography of Frazer from NNDB

Work

• The Golden Bough (abridged version)

• Works of Frazer in Project Gutenberg

• Magic, Religion and Science