This paper intends to show the application of the Marxist theory of social evolution to the reconstruction of Magyar proto-history and it examines critically this application.
E. Molnar, a Hungarian Marxist proto-historian, published a book under the title A Magyar Nep Ostortenete (proto-History of the Magyar People). This work is shown to represent a Marxist response to the ideological importance of proto-historical studies in Hungary.
The argument developed in this paper is as follows:
1. The study of proto-history has been important in Hungary scientifically as well as ideologically. Molnar's attempted reconstruction of Magyar proto-history is a most important Marxist response to the scientific and ideological importance of Hungarian proto-historical studies.
2. The application of this Marxist theory of social evolution makes for bad anthropological theory. Molnar is forced by his Marxist persuasion to look for traces of proto-Communistic social organization in the proto-history of the Magyars, and his attempt to do so results in the formulation of some hypotheses that are not borne out by available evidence.
3. American anthropology is not a unified, and codified set of officially endorsed theories as Molnar implies. Even among American evolutionist anthropologists one finds significant differences in approach and emphasis. At the same time, some aspects of American evolutionist anthropology are seen as capable of providing better ways of approaching the problem of proto-historical reconstruction than Molnar's own Marxist doctrine.
Molnar's argument is presented in some detail in this paper. His arguments are outlined and commented upon. His linguistic, physical anthropological, archeological and ethnographic material is discussed and interpreted, and his dependence upon Engels and Soviet anthropologists is indicated.
The final conclusion of the paper is that the Marxist theory of social evolution as interpreted by Molnar is based on a set of a priori laws which are not validated by the available evidence. / Arts, Faculty of / Anthropology, Department of / Graduate
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UBC/oai:circle.library.ubc.ca:2429/39642 |
| Date | January 1960 |
| Creators | Hamori-Torok, Charles |
| Publisher | University of British Columbia |
| Source Sets | University of British Columbia |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, Thesis/Dissertation |
| Rights | For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use. |
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