Margaret Mead was an anthropologist who studied the customer and cultures of people all over the world. At the age of 23, Mead first sailed for Samoa in the South Seas. She especially wanted to learn about the adolescents, or teenagers, in this part of the world. For nine months, Mead lived among the Samoan people. They helped her build a house without walls, so she could observe their daily lives. Dr. Mead watched the way they reared their children. She listened and took notes without imposing her own views. So the Samoans trusted her and respected her work.
During her long career, Margaret Mead studied seven tribes in the South Seas. She compared their differences and similarities. In her conclusions, Mead noted that these people lived happy lives. Theft children seemed free from torment. They did not have the conflicts and problems of American teenagers.
Margaret Mead wrote books based on her studies. Some became best-sellers, such as Coming of Age in Samoa, From the South Seas, and Growing Up in NEW Guinea.
Back in the 1920s, Margaret Mead was the first woman working in a scientific field dominated by men. But that didn’t hinder her. Instead, she became the leading authority in her field.
When Margaret Mead died, people all over the world mourned her. As far away As Manus Island in the Pacific, drums beat out a death song tor this beloved and
honored woman.