CHAPTER I

MAN IN THE BRUTAL STAGE

Mr. Darwin on the primitive relations of the sexes--Primitive man monogamous or polygamous--His jealousy--Expulsion of young males--The author’s inferences as to the evolution of Primal Law--A customary rule of conduct evolved--Traces surviving in savage life--The customs of avoidance--Custom of exogamy arose in the animal stage--Brother and sister avoidance--The author’s own observation of this custom in New Caledonia--Strangeness of such a custom among houseless nomads in Australia--Rapid decay under European influences