Lafitau (1724)

Lafitau, Joseph-François (1681?-1746). Moeurs des sauvages amériquains comparées aux moeurs des premiers temps [...]. Paris: Saugrain l'aîné; C.E. Hochereau, 1724.

Joseph-François Lafitau, a Jesuit missionary and the discoverer of ginseng in North America, was the son of a wine merchant and banker. Born in Bordeaux, probably at the beginning of 1681, he died there in July 1746. Lafitau stayed in New France on two occasions. From 1712 to 1717 he was a missionary at the Sault Saint Louis (Kahnawake) mission, and from 1727 to 1729 the superior of that mission.

As the title of his work indicates, Lafitau was interested in comparing the mores of the Indians of North America with those of the peoples of Antiquity, to gain a better understanding of the nature, origin and evolution of civilizations. As he was a careful and informed observer, his descriptions constitute a rich source of information on the material life of the Indians of North America of his time.

Today Lafitau is universally recognized as one of the founders of modern comparative anthropology, and his work is considered the first scientific treatise in the field. However, for over two centuries, he had more success in Germany and England than in France, where he was rediscovered only a few decades ago. Still, the wish he expressed in his work in 1724 did in fact come true: "That I may have been lucky enough to discover a few veins of a mine which will yield great riches in the hands of scholars and scientists."