--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As far back as our knowledge takes us…" description: "\"As far back as our knowledge takes us, human beings have lived in families. We know of no period when this was not so. We know of no people who have su..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f9/margaret-mead-982_dissolving_as-far-back-as-our-knowledge-takes-us-hu_2828036.jpg" --- # As far back as our knowledge takes us, human beings have… ![“As far back as our knowledge takes us, human beings have lived in families. We know of no period when this was not so. We know of no people who have succeeded for long in dissolving the family or displacing it.” quote by Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f9/margaret-mead-982_dissolving_as-far-back-as-our-knowledge-takes-us-hu_2828036.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f9/margaret-mead-982_dissolving_as-far-back-as-our-knowledge-takes-us-hu_2828036.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f9/margaret-mead-982_dissolving_as-far-back-as-our-knowledge-takes-us-hu_2828036.jpg) > “As far back as our knowledge takes us, human beings have lived in families. We know of no period when this was not so. We know of no people who have succeeded for long in dissolving the family or displacing it.” [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Families are a universal, enduring human institution across history and cultures. **In simple terms:** Families are universal. Key Takeaway Support and nurture family connections. Themes anthropology family society Mood reflective analytical Type anthropological sociological When to use this quote - parenting - community building - policy making Key Concepts social structure evolutionary biology Questions to Reflect On - How do modern changes affect family roles? - What alternatives exist? A Different Perspective Family structures evolve and can be challenged. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dissolving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dissolving/) [Dissolving Family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dissolving-family-3637780/) [Families](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/families/) [Families Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/families-know-613924/) [Family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family/) [Family Displacing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family-displacing-3637781/) [Human beings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-beings/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Lived Families](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lived-families-3637782/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Periods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/periods/) ## Related quotes > [“Like Rosaleen and Arthur's house, this had the feel of generations of people who had lived there before, families that had grown up, run…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecelia-ahern/like-rosaleen-and-arthur-s-house-this-had-the-feel-of-generations-of/) [Cecelia Ahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecelia-ahern/) > [These families, you know, are our upper crust, not upper ten thousand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-f-cooper/these-families-you-know-are-our-upper-crust-not-upper-ten-thousand/) [James F. Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-f-cooper/) > [IVF is Pro-Life, and has helped so many families, several of whom I know personally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-paulina-luna/ivf-is-pro-life-and-has-helped-so-many-families-several-of-whom-i/) [Anna Paulina Luna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-paulina-luna/) > [“Everybody has a story. It’s like families. You might not know who they are, might have lost them, but they exist all the same.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/everybody-has-a-story-it-s-like-families-you-might-not-know-who-they-2/) [Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/) > [Families out there know that if they get in trouble and they've spent up a bunch of money and they've borrowed and they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-huckabee/families-out-there-know-that-if-they-get-in-trouble-and-they-ve-spent/) [Mike Huckabee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-huckabee/) > [Everybody has a story. It's like families. You might not know who they are, might have lost them, but they exist all the same.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/everybody-has-a-story-it-s-like-families-you-might-not-know-who-they/) [Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/) > [We'll just unwind in the evening by going out as a family for a pizza where we'll meet up with other families we know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-nightingale/we-ll-just-unwind-in-the-evening-by-going-out-as-a-family-for-a-pizza/) [Mary Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-nightingale/) > [I make sure in recruiting that the families know that the kids can come to me. I think that matters. I can be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-day/i-make-sure-in-recruiting-that-the-families-know-that-the-kids-can/) [Ryan Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-day/) > [Middle-class families know education begins at birth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-canada/middle-class-families-know-education-begins-at-birth/) [Geoffrey Canada](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-canada/) > [Too many families know what it's like to have to choose between providing care for a family member and keeping their job.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-murphy/too-many-families-know-what-it-s-like-to-have-to-choose-between/) [Chris Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-murphy/) > [Parents and families know best, and they should be in control of their individual child's education.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-britt/parents-and-families-know-best-and-they-should-be-in-control-of-their/) [Katie Britt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-britt/) > [The human race has not devised any way of dissolving barriers, getting to know the other chap fast, breaking the ice, that is one-tenth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/the-human-race-has-not-devised-any-way-of-dissolving-barriers-getting/) [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) > [Time is a corrosive fluid, dissolving motivation, destroying novelty, and leaching the joy from life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/time-is-a-corrosive-fluid-dissolving-motivation-destroying-novelty/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [The answer to any challenge you are having has nothing to do with God's willingness to help. It has to do with your acceptance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-beckwith/the-answer-to-any-challenge-you-are-having-has-nothing-to-do-with-god/) [Michael Beckwith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-beckwith/) > [Nostalgia keeps dissolving the ironic narratives in which I have contained my past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/nostalgia-keeps-dissolving-the-ironic-narratives-in-which-i-have/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) ## More by Margaret Mead > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [The contempt for law and the contempt for the human consequences of lawbreaking go from the bottom to the top of American society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-contempt-for-law-and-the-contempt-for-the-human-consequences-of/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [If one cannot state a matter clearly enough so that even an intelligent twelve-year-old can understand it, one should remain within the cloistered walls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/if-one-cannot-state-a-matter-clearly-enough-so-that-even-an/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [I learned the value of hard work by working hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/i-learned-the-value-of-hard-work-by-working-hard/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Children must be taught how to think, not what to think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/children-must-be-taught-how-to-think-not-what-to-think/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Women are scolded both for being mothers and for not being mothers, for wanting to eat their cake and have it too, and for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/women-are-scolded-both-for-being-mothers-and-for-not-being-mothers/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [we came to realize that a civilization which rode roughshod over the way of life of other peoples was incorporating evil in its own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/we-came-to-realize-that-a-civilization-which-rode-roughshod-over-the/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [WE MUST DEVISE A SYSTEM IN WHICH PEACE IS MORE REWARDING THAN WAR.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/we-must-devise-a-system-in-which-peace-is-more-rewarding-than-war/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Through a grandmother's voice and hands the end of life is known at the beginning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/through-a-grandmother-s-voice-and-hands-the-end-of-life-is-known-at/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [today's children are the first generation to grow up in a world that has the power to destroy itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/today-s-children-are-the-first-generation-to-grow-up-in-a-world-that/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [We are now at a point where we must educate our children in what no one knew yesterday, and prepare our schools for what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/we-are-now-at-a-point-where-we-must-educate-our-children-in-what-no/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Humanity . . . lies in man's capacity to question the known and imagine the unknown.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/humanity-lies-in-man-s-capacity-to-question-the-known-and-imagine-the/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Fathers are biological necessities, but social accidents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/fathers-are-biological-necessities-but-social-accidents/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [“One of the most dangerous things that can happen to a child is to kill or torture an animal and not be held responsible.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/one-of-the-most-dangerous-things-that-can-happen-to-a-child-is-to/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [We end up with the contradictory picture of a society that appears to throw its doors wide open to women, but translates her every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/we-end-up-with-the-contradictory-picture-of-a-society-that-appears-to/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) [Explore all 314 Margaret Mead quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) ## More Dissolving quotes > [Nostalgia keeps dissolving the ironic narratives in which I have contained my past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/nostalgia-keeps-dissolving-the-ironic-narratives-in-which-i-have/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [The answer to any challenge you are having has nothing to do with God's willingness to help. It has to do with your acceptance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-beckwith/the-answer-to-any-challenge-you-are-having-has-nothing-to-do-with-god/) [Michael Beckwith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-beckwith/) > [Time is a corrosive fluid, dissolving motivation, destroying novelty, and leaching the joy from life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/time-is-a-corrosive-fluid-dissolving-motivation-destroying-novelty/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [The human race has not devised any way of dissolving barriers, getting to know the other chap fast, breaking the ice, that is one-tenth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/the-human-race-has-not-devised-any-way-of-dissolving-barriers-getting/) [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) > [Nothing is as boundary dissolving, except for psychedelic compounds, as travel. Travel is up there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/nothing-is-as-boundary-dissolving-except-for-psychedelic-compounds-as/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [The denial of "self" challenges only the notion of a static self independent of body and mind-not the ordinary sense of ourself as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-batchelor/the-denial-of-self-challenges-only-the-notion-of-a-static-self/) [Stephen Batchelor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-batchelor/) > [Letting the last breath come. Letting the last breath go. Dissolving, dissolving into vast space, the light body released from its heavier form. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-levine/letting-the-last-breath-come-letting-the-last-breath-go-dissolving/) [Stephen Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-levine/) > [I'm not responsible for my photographs. Photography is not documentary, but intuition, a poetic experience. It's drowning yourself, dissolving yourself, and then sniff, sniff,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-cartier-bresson/i-m-not-responsible-for-my-photographs-photography-is-not-documentary/) [Henri Cartier-Bresson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-cartier-bresson/) > [ \[My\] pictures are about memory and forgetfulness. The evidence is dissolving. Bones crumble; human ash returns to soil; teeth, sandals, hair, bullets, axes disperse… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-norfolk/my-pictures-are-about-memory-and-forgetfulness-the-evidence-is/) [Simon Norfolk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-norfolk/) > [The real glory of meditation lies not in any method but in its continual living experience of presence, in its bliss, clarity, peace, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sogyal-rinpoche/the-real-glory-of-meditation-lies-not-in-any-method-but-in-its/) [Sogyal Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sogyal-rinpoche/) > [Power comes and goes. It can vanish in the twinkling of an eye, like smoke dissolving in the air.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archie-fire-lame-deer/power-comes-and-goes-it-can-vanish-in-the-twinkling-of-an-eye-like/) [Archie Fire Lame Deer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archie-fire-lame-deer/) > [You can plan all you want to. You can lie in your morning bed and fill whole notebooks with schemes and intentions. But within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/you-can-plan-all-you-want-to-you-can-lie-in-your-morning-bed-and-fill/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [Before AIM, Indians were dispirited, defeated, and culturally dissolving. People were ashamed to be Indian. You didn't see the young people wearing braids or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-means/before-aim-indians-were-dispirited-defeated-and-culturally-dissolving/) [Russell Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-means/) > [I've been so lazy all my life. I used to literally lie on the couch, up until the age of 35, fearing that my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-maddin/i-ve-been-so-lazy-all-my-life-i-used-to-literally-lie-on-the-couch-up/) [Guy Maddin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-maddin/) > [“The world around me is dissolving leaving here and there spots of time. The world is a cancer eating itself away.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/the-world-around-me-is-dissolving-leaving-here-and-there-spots-of/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) [Browse all 87 Dissolving quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dissolving/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "As far back as our knowledge takes us, human beings have lived in families. We know of no period when this was not so. 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