A reference work that marked the course and evolution of anthropology.

"When the anthropologist believes he is making history, he is doing the opposite; and when he imagines that he is not, then he behaves like a good historian," notes the leading French anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss (1908-2009) in the introduction to Structural Anthropology, his most representative work, which was published in 1958.

In this collection of essays, Levi-Strauss outlines the field of anthropology as a science, presenting in detail his model of structuralism in anthropological research. He compares anthropological perspectives, raises issues of methodology and theoretical interpretation, reflects on the position and contribution of anthropology to the social sciences - while also demonstrating its connection to other branches of knowledge, such as history, linguistics, and sociology - and finally questions the problems raised by its teaching within the framework of academic studies. The author examines, among other things, the concept of archaism and social structure in anthropology, analyzing through specific examples topics of kinship, social organization, language, art, religion, mythology, ritual activity, and symbolic action in indigenous societies.

"If one wants to deal with the solitary and peculiar phenomenon called Levi-Strauss, this work is the royal road, a path that may not be easy but certainly rewards the reader."

(Theodoros Paradellis, "I Avgi" newspaper, 6-12-2009)