researching cultural universals

I'm interested in researching cultural universals, the idea that there are
certain elements which are common to all cultures, like taboos against
incest, the development of mythology, the manufacture of tools. An essay by
George Peter Murdoch, "The Common Denominator of Cultures," discusses the
idea. I found this essay in a book, "The Science of Man in the World
Crisis," edited by Ralph Linton.

Murdoch mentions Wissler's "The Universal Culture Pattern," which I haven't
been able to locate yet. He also names Morgan, Spencer, and Tylor as having
looked into the subject. For those three, I haven't been able to identify
any works related to cultural universals, let alone locate them.

How should I best proceed with investigating this subject? Moreover, have
any of these men fallen into disfavor or disrepute among modern cultural
anthropologists, so that their work should be avoided in a research context?


.

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