Furthermore, the study of the present surroundings is insufficient: the history of the people, the influence of the regions through which it has passed on its migrations, and the people with whom it came into contact, must be considered.

He applied the scientific method to the study of human cultures and societies; previously this discipline was based on the formulation of grand theories around anecdotal knowledge. Like many such pioneers he trained in other disciplines; he received his doctorate in physics and did post-doctoral work in geography. Boas once summed up his approach to anthropology and folklore by saying: "In the course of time I became convinced that a materialistic point of view for a physicist a very real one was untenable.