French structural anthropology evolved throughout the 19th and 20th centuries and was shaped by many well-known theorists, sociologists, and anthropologists. Their influence led to the theories of structural Marxism, and the thought processes involved continue to influence anthropological study in modern times. Classical cultural anthropology never took hold in France, thanks to Emile Durkheim. The identity of French anthropology was not an innate departure from the legacy of the nineteenth century, but rather a continuation of previous theory. Structural anthropology deals with the elements of society and although these are not visible in social structures, but are in the observed social phenomena. Emil Durkhiem was born in 1858 and died in 1917. He was a pioneer in the field of sociology, considered by many to be the father of the field. Durkheim did not believe in conflict but rather in a harmonious and defined society. Durkheim studied social phenomena in the collective mind, in the entire society, and how society shapes the individual. His theories went on to shape structural anthropology and the anthropologists who followed it. Marcel Mauss was Durkheim's student and nephew. He was born in 1872 and was a French sociologist. He had a fruitful career, which included collaboration with his uncle, Durkheim. Mauss's authority in anthropology did not derive from fieldwork or his ethnographic monographs, but rather from his conscientious attention to the theoretical questions that were at the heart of many published works. Mauss strove to understand the structured nature of social coherence, which constructs “total social facts,” which have implications in society in legal, religious, political and economic environments. This…middle of paper…had become Lono, in precolonial Hawaii, a god responsible for fertility and fruitfulness (Erickson & Murphy,, 1008 121), and would reappear to represent his deity duties the following year. At the opposite end was Obeyesekere, who believed that the Hawaiians were aware of the Europeans' intentions in terms of colonization and agriculture. Structural anthropology has provided us with many insights into theory and practice. Many of the leading figures in the development of structuralism were prominent French social scientists, not all of whom came from the field of anthropology. Structuralism is a good example of how group ideas are constructed, from Mauss' thoughts on donation, to Levi-Strauss' thoughts on kinship, to the incorporation of Marxism into anthropology, structuralism may not be as influential today as it it was in the past. past, but continues to have an impact on currant anthropology.