--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The anthropologist respects history, but…" description: "\"The anthropologist respects history, but he does not accord it a special value. He conceives it as a study complementary to his own: one of them unfurl..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a31/claude-levi-strauss-8995_accord_the-anthropologist-respects-history-but_1168772.jpg" --- # The anthropologist respects history, but he does not… ![“The anthropologist respects history, but he does not accord it a special value. He conceives it as a study complementary to his own: one of them unfurls the range of human societies in time, the other in space.” quote by Claude Levi-Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a31/claude-levi-strauss-8995_accord_the-anthropologist-respects-history-but_1168772.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a31/claude-levi-strauss-8995_accord_the-anthropologist-respects-history-but_1168772.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a31/claude-levi-strauss-8995_accord_the-anthropologist-respects-history-but_1168772.jpg) > “The anthropologist respects history, but he does not accord it a special value. He conceives it as a study complementary to his own: one of them unfurls the range of human societies in time, the other in space.” [Claude Levi-Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-levi-strauss/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Anthropology treats history as a complementary study to geography, both mapping human variation across time and space without assigning hierarchy. **In simple terms:** History and geography are equal lenses on humanity. Key Takeaway Study both past and place equally. Themes anthropology history geography methodology Mood analytical neutral Type theoretical academic When to use this quote - academic research - educational curricula - cross‑cultural studies - fieldwork Key Concepts complementary analysis temporal-spatial mapping Questions to Reflect On - Why might we prioritize spatial over temporal analysis? - How can integrating both perspectives enrich understanding? A Different Perspective May ignore the unique value of historical context. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accord/) [Anthropologist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anthropologist/) [Anthropologist Respects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anthropologist-respects-3378996/) [Anthropologists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anthropologists/) [Anthropology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anthropology/) [Complementary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complementary/) [Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [History Does](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history-does/) [Human Societies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-societies-249068/) [Human society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-society/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Range](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/range/) [Space](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/space/) [Special](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/special/) [Study](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/study/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Time Space](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-space/) [Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values/) ## Related quotes > [If a fish were an anthropologist, the last thing it would discover would be water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/if-a-fish-were-an-anthropologist-the-last-thing-it-would-discover/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [I spent nearly two years in a small village - perhaps seventy families. 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The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-levi-strauss/the-dogma-of-cultural-relativism-is-challenged-by-the-very-people-for/) [Claude Levi-Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-levi-strauss/) > [Religion is everywhere. There are no human societies without it, whether they acknowledge it as a religion or not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-e-butler/religion-is-everywhere-there-are-no-human-societies-without-it/) [Octavia E. Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-e-butler/) > [...no matter how complex or affluent, human societies are nothing but subsystems of the biosphere, the Earth's thin veneer of life, which is ultimately…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-smil/no-matter-how-complex-or-affluent-human-societies-are-nothing-but/) [Vaclav Smil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-smil/) > [Think how different human societies would be if they were based on love rather than justice. But no such societies have ever existed on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mortimer-adler/think-how-different-human-societies-would-be-if-they-were-based-on/) [Mortimer Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mortimer-adler/) > [Human societies as temporally and spatially far-flung as the Mesopotamians, Mayans, and Easter Islanders likely came to ruin by expanding beyond the capacity of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-e-rees/human-societies-as-temporally-and-spatially-far-flung-as-the/) [William E. Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-e-rees/) > [The numbers of distinct human societies or nations, when our race is twice its present age, may be far greater than the total number…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/the-numbers-of-distinct-human-societies-or-nations-when-our-race-is/) [Arthur C. 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I simply couldn’t get free of it. Each time it had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-levi-strauss/for-mile-after-mile-the-same-melodic-phrase-rose-up-in-my-memory-i/) [Claude Lévi-Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-levi-strauss/) > [Anthropology found its Galileo in Rivers, its Newton in Mauss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-levi-strauss/anthropology-found-its-galileo-in-rivers-its-newton-in-mauss/) [Claude Levi-Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-levi-strauss/) > [The scientist is not a person who gives the right answers, he is one who asks the right questions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-levi-strauss/the-scientist-is-not-a-person-who-gives-the-right-answers-he-is-one/) [Claude Levi-Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-levi-strauss/) > [Natural man did not precede society, nor is he outside it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-levi-strauss/natural-man-did-not-precede-society-nor-is-he-outside-it/) [Claude Levi-Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-levi-strauss/) > [“For everything is history: What was said yesterday is history, what was said a minute ago is history. 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