This document provides a historical overview of legal anthropology from the 1800s to the present. It summarizes some of the key theories and theorists that have shaped the field over time, moving from social evolutionism and functionalism in the early 1900s to more critical approaches examining power, discourse and ideology currently. Major figures discussed include Durkheim, Marx, Weber, Maine, Morgan, Malinowski, Hoebel, and the functionalist approach prevalent from the 1950s-1960s.