Death and the right hand

<p>First published in English 1960.<br> The historical value of Hertz's writings is that they are a representative example of the culmination of two centuries of development of sociological thought in France, from Montesquieu to Durkheim and his pupils. In the intervening years since publication, that development has grown into the systematic comparative study of primitive institutions, based on a great body of ethnographic facts from all over the world: in effect social anthropology.</p> A Contribution to the Study of the Collective Representation of Death 1. The Intermediary Period 2. The Final Ceremony 3. Conclusion The Pre-eminence of the Right Hand: A Study in Religious Polarity 1. Organic Asymmetry 2. Religious Polarity 3. The Characteristics of Right and Left 4. The Functions of the Two Hands 5. Conclusion