Margaret Mead was an American cultural anthropologist known for her groundbreaking work in studying and documenting various cultures around the world. She is best known for her studies of the attitudes towards sex and gender in different societies, particularly her work in Samoa. Mead’s research and writings have had a significant impact on the fields of anthropology, sociology, and gender studies. She was also a prominent public figure, advocating for social and environmental issues. Mead passed away in 1978, but her legacy continues to inspire generations of scholars and activists.

ACCORDING TO A commonly shared story, the anthropologist Margaret Mead was supposedly asked by a student what she thought was the earliest sign of a civilized society. There are many variations of the anecdote, but the general details are similar: To the student’s surprise, Mead replied that the first sign of civilization is a healed human femur—the long bone that connects the hip to the knee.

Mead proceeded to explain, as the story goes, that wounded animals in the wild would be hunted and eaten before their broken bones could heal. Thus, a healed femur is a sign that a wounded person must have received help from others. Mead is said to have concluded, “Helping someone else through difficulty is where civilization starts.”