"Anthropological theory may be compared to a large crossroads with busy traffic and a few, temporarily employed traffic policemen who desperately try to force the unruly traffic to follow the rules. (There are, it must be admitted, a number of minor crashes and other accidents almost every day.) Or it could be described, more harmoniously, as a coral reef, where the living corals literally build upon the achievements of their deceased predecessors."

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Added on April 10, 2026
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Original Language: English

Sources

Ch. 4 : Theories

https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Thomas_Hylland_Eriksen