The recent advocates of Morgan's and Bachofen's view, notably Sumner, Rivers, Keller, Briffault, have given a much better and more concrete outline of the hypothetical early stages of marriage. But even this last stand of the "group-marriage" theory is based on an inadequate analysis of the institution and an unwarranted assumption of early sexual and economic communism as well as of group-motherhood Modern theories of marriage follow closely the lead of Darwin on the biological side, of Westermarck in his sociological analysis, and of Crawley in some of his psychological suggestions. Such writers as Lowie, Kroeber and Howard in America ; Thurnwald, W. Schmidt and Koppers in Germany; A. R. Brown, Malinowski, and Pitt-Rivers in Great Britain, both in their theories and in their field work show a far greater interest in the sociological analysis of marriage, in its relation to the family, in the correlation of its aspects, in the sociological working of sexual customs, whether these be tabus, relaxations or excesses, in their reference to marriage.
Some new light on marriage has been thrown by those psycho analysts, notably J. C. Fliigel, who are prepared to give serious consideration to facts in their bearing upon the Freudian doctrine (cf. Malinowski, Sex and Repression in Savage Society). Finally important contributions to the theory of marriage have been made by those students who approach the problem in its practical appli cations : the eugenists (see Eugenics Review) : students of popula tion (see Raymond Pearl's Journal of Human Biology) ; and scien tific aspects of social hygiene (American J. of Social Hygiene).
Marriage like most problems of anthropology is ceasing to be a subject of speculation and becoming one of empirical research.